Low End Mac Reader Specials

Memory To Go Special: MacPro 8 Core 8GB kit $232 / 4GB kit $116 / 2GB kit $72. New Macbook 2GB DDR3-$65. HARD DRIVES available -- Free shipping / LIfetime warranty.

Download Typestyler, still the Ultimate Styling Tool for Internet, Print and Video Graphics. Works great in Classic with a Native OS X Version on the way. Free Tryout: www.typestyler.com

LA Computer Company: Specials on AppleCare, iMac's, MacBook Pros and more. Optical Drives for Apple iBooks, Powerbooks, MacBooks, MacBook Pros in Stock. Call 1-800-941-7654 Click Here.

OWC: Premium Memory for Mac without the Premium Price. DDR2 4GB from $47.99, DDR3 4GB for Unibody $79.99, Mac Pro 4GB $97.99. Expert Support, Free Installation Videos & Guides. www.MacSales.com

Poker Mac Don't install Parallels to play poker online! Poker Mac will show you how to download and install a native Mac poker application such as Full Tilt Poker Mac.

Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.

Compare products like desktop computers, apple laptops, apple macs, and LCD Monitors side by side! All the information and reviews to make the best purchasing decision for new mobile phones, sat nav systems, or MP3 players. The Ciao online shopping community makes searching products easy for you.

Recycled Computing

Taking Apart a Tray-Loading iMac

- 2008.09.29

Popularity: LEMLEMLEMLEM

del.icio.us Bookmark in del.icio.us

You've always wanted to look inside the first iMac, right? I mean, this was the first computer to come out that was designed after the all glorious, all powerful Steve Jobs returned to Apple.

the original Bondi blue iMacThe Bondi blue iMac launched the small "i" revolution, and we all know what that led to.

At any rate, we're tossing out our Revision A iMacs at school - about 10 of them - because of they don't have FireWire. That means that restoring a hard drive is not as easy as it in on a Mac with FireWire.

They also lack the power that we need to run Tiger. Face it, they're old and tired.

But waste not, want not - so I'm strippin' and rippin' the Rev. A iMacs to mine them for useful stuff. (The Rev. B through D iMacs are put together the same way.)

The first thing you do after you pulled the power cord and any other cables (remember, safety first!) is to turn the Rev. A upside down. Then you unscrew this single screw on the back under the small handle.

removing the first screw

Now, take that handle and pull the plastic shroud off. It's not that easy. You may have to run a small straight blade screw driver around the seam.

It will come off; it just requires some time.

shaking it loose

Now you're going to have to remove the two screws that lurk under the handle of the (for lack of a better word) sled that has all the electronic goodies on it.

more screws to remove

Don't get crazy. There are a whole bunch of cables that you are going to need to remove before you can remove the sled.

cables to disconnect

All four of these cables need to be detached to remove the "guts " of the Rev. A.

cables disconnected

Now you can grab the handle and pull out the sled with all the guts.

pulling out the guts

Now you have the good stuff to look over. It's all here: the hard drive, the CD-ROM drive, the system, and the RAM chips- all in one weird looking package.

the insides of the iMac

The memory is easy to snap out. You are going to have to remove a metal cage to get at one of the memory cards.

removing the RAM

There are two screws on either side of the housing that hold the CD-ROM drive. These screws also hold the hard drive in. Remove the screws.

removing the CD-ROM

Now push the CD drive back about a half an inch and then pull it up and out. You need to push the hard drive back as well, to free up the drive. Make sure the that the two tabs on the hard drive sled will clear the housing.

there are two of these

The hard drive and sled can now come out.

hard drive removal

You need to take out the hard drive and pile it with the other spoils.

the spoils

I'm not saying that the iMac - the computer that started up the second Mac revolution - needs to be stripped and thrown out. The Rev. A can be networked, and you can upgrade the hard drive and memory. I think that OS 9.2 might be the operating system to go with, but there are folks who do run OS X on the old girl. It might be a good email machine for those who need a minimum computer platform.

Either way, it's an easy computer to take apart. LEM

Recent Recycled Computing Columns

Links for the Day

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Recent Deals

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
  LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
  Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
  Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
  PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
  Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.


Navigation

Used Mac Dealers
Apple History
Video Cards
Email Lists

Favorite Sites

MacSurfer
MacMinute
MacInTouch
MyAppleMenu
InfoMac
Macs Only!
The Mac Observer
Accelerate Your Mac
RetroMacCast
PB Central
MacWindows
The Vintage Mac
   Museum
DealMac
DealsOnTheWeb
Mac2Sell
ramseeker
Mac Driver Museum
JAG's House
System 6 Heaven
System 7 Today
the pickle's Low-End
   Mac FAQ
Abandonware
   Petition
Mac vs. PC Info

Affiliates

The Apple Store
Mac Connection
MacMall
TechRestore
ExperCom
Crucial Memory
batteries.com

Have a question?
Ask an expert!

Advertise

All of our advertising is handled by BackBeat Media. For price quotes and advertising information, please contact at BackBeat Media (646-546-5194). This number is for advertising only.

Open Link

Problems viewing this page with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6? It works fine in other browsers, including IE 7. We recommend Firefox for those using Windows, as it is standards based and more secure than IE 6 (and earlier). More LEM visitors use Firefox than any other browser.