Apple Mac Screen & CT-36

[Woodwork Wizard]

I know next to sweet FA about computers but I was advised to replace my HDD with an SSD in my now 8 year old iMac by my daughter's boyfriend. Thing is with Apple they really want to keep you out so they can charge you the earth to do the repairs for you. We read on the www that you need a suction device to very carefully remove the screen as there's a ring of strong magnets round the outside holding the screen on.

I thought I'd try my CT-36 in one corner and it lifted it off a treat, then once you're in it's just tiny torx screwdrivers to get in to the rest of it. Job done, it's all upgraded now with double the original RAM capacity as well and I hope it will last another 8 years.

Apple would have charged me the price of a CT-36 to do all this yet it was all very straightforward once the screen was removed. I hope this helps someone to save their money and do it themselves. Just remember to back up the important stuff, as I'd lost every email address I'd had for years so we had to trawl through the original hard drive in order to retrieve the important ones.

 

[Matthew Lennon]

Wow! That is pretty awesome indeed! This needs to be added to the list of "Unconventional Dust Extractor Uses".

 

[RKA]

Interesting, I never bothered to look into it.  I have an imac which is close to the same age as yours.  Memory was max'd out the day after I got it (I recall that was externally accessible and quite easy), but the HDD is original ( [eek] ).  I never looked into opening this pandora's box. 

 

[grobkuschelig]

I'd say, go for the upgrade, especially with the intel macs, sticking in an SSD will keep you smiling.
They support updates quite long and the speed bump you get from the SSD feels like a new computer...

I'm still running an old MacBookPro, which also turns 8 or 9 this year. SSD and Max Ram, perfect machine.

 

[newinwood]

I replace HDD on my old iMac a few years ago. I don't remember much problem at all. And I did use home vacuum for screen removal)
Ed.

 

[McNally Family]

Our iMac has just turned 10, and over the initial warranty period (+apple care extension), we had two hard drive failures.

I watched the repair and replacement both times (they sent the repairman to our home), and was amazed how easy it is to access the motherboard.  It turned out the cause of both hard drive failures was due to excessive heat, which built up after fan failures.  It is a shame you can't change out the video capabilities while your in there.  While my computer still functions (just how fast do I need that spell check to work anyway), I have noticed some slight flickering of the screen at times.  I hope to get this model replaced while it is still working, then put the old model in my shop, where it will continue to serve for several more years.

If you think about it, the iMac is nothing more than a laptop on a stick.  As I pointed out, the only major weakness I have seen is being married to whatever video capability came with the machine when it was new.  When I custom order my replacement, purchasing the highest video capability available will be my priority.

I will remember the idea of using my CT26 for screen removal, should I ever need it!  Also, I bet the Festool Gecko clamp would work as well:
https://www.festoolproducts.com/festool-492617-gecko-suction-handle.html