It took forever to copy my old drive. I swapped in the Samsung drive in about 45 minutes. It was a pain and worse than I thought it would be, but not too bad. I think the Mac Mini is easy to work on, but it was well worth it. My iMac is SIGNIFICANTLY FASTER.
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iMac AL 24" Hard Drive Swap - Pics/Procedure inside
- Thread starter Tom Sawyer
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I'm a bit confused as why it takes longer to boot my iMac than it used to. When I press the power button I get at least 10 seconds of a blank grey screen before the Apple logo shows up. Once the Apple logo and the spinning 'loading' icon appear it boots much faster. I only have this slowdown on boot up. Does anyone have any suggestions because it is rather annoying since I reboot my Mac maybe twice a month...
If you want to find out what LCD panel your Mac has, use this command in Terminal:
In my 2008 24" iMac, the pane is "LM240WU2-SLB1" which is an "IPS" (In plane switching) type.
Code:
ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6In my 2008 24" iMac, the pane is "LM240WU2-SLB1" which is an "IPS" (In plane switching) type.
The glass panel, on front of the ALUMINIUM AND *GLASS* iMac, is glass (d'oh!), as detailed in the official
Apple Service Source :
*BE CAREFUL WITH THE GLASS PANEL!!*
Don't you guys know that the New Western Digital 1TB BLACK is the new speed champ and its quiter and cheaper. That is the one I am putting in mine. Waiting for it to arrive. 3 platters of super quiet goodness.
Don't you guys know that the New Western Digital 1TB BLACK is the new speed champ and its quiter and cheaper. That is the one I am putting in mine. Waiting for it to arrive. 3 platters of super quiet goodness.
I would have bought one of those had it been out two weeks ago http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
It is the same price as the Samsung drive.
Just dropped a Samsung Spinpoint F1 - 750gb (model No. HD753LJ) in my 2008 24". I must say, I couldn't be happier!. The only thing that panicked me, was HOW easy it is to get dust on the reverse side of the glass panel. This being said, when you see the endless dust particles under bright sunlight, it looks 1,000 times worse than when the panel is attached to the iMac - I can see NONE WHATSOEVER now it's up and running again, and I've had plain white/grey backgrounds to test it - flawless!.
I went out and bought a can of aerosol air duster - wasn't needed - the TFT itself is spotless, and, as I said, I can see NO DUST AT ALL (it was all VERY tiny particles anyway!).
Xbench gives me average write speeds of 95-119MB (that's BYTES, not bits!), where before I was getting a paltry 65MBps. I have turned AAM (acoustic management) to level 128 (quiet) using Xubuntu LiveCD (Linux) in command line mode, and it's quiet AND fast.
Command to set AAM (acoustic management - makes the drive seek noise quieter, usually at the expense of performance) modes on your Mac (Intel) using Linux liveCD:
find out the default setting your drive was/is on from the factory BEFORE changing it!:
quiet:
performance (loudest):
AAM off:
The Samsung Spinpoints DO support AAM, but be aware that some drive makes/models DON'T!
_Summary_
If you feel proficient enough to take on what, in all reality, is FAR from being anywhere CLOSE to a challenging task, then go for broke and wham that sparkling new drive into your iMac. It is NOT as big a deal as people make out that it is - they're just scaredy cats - it's not "dangerous" by ANY means, if you have the most basic grasp of common sense. DON'T let the fanboys put you off this, just because THEY are clueless about taking things apart, and bow to Steve Jobs!!
BOTTOM LINE
---------------
Although not ONE "Warranty Void" label is disturbed doing this, be careful as to leave NO signs of entry to the machine. Unless you don't value your Apple Care plan at all (I do) KEEP THE ORIGINAL DRIVE - IF ANYTHING ELSE SHOULD EVER GO AWRY WITH YOUR IMAC, YOU JUST PUT THE ORIGINAL DRIVE *BACK* INSIDE, AND SEND FOR SERVICE!.
Funny how my local Mactailer wanted £200 for such a cheap upgrade - cost me £59 (and *I* get to choose the specific model of hdd) - how I giggled!!
I went out and bought a can of aerosol air duster - wasn't needed - the TFT itself is spotless, and, as I said, I can see NO DUST AT ALL (it was all VERY tiny particles anyway!).
Xbench gives me average write speeds of 95-119MB (that's BYTES, not bits!), where before I was getting a paltry 65MBps. I have turned AAM (acoustic management) to level 128 (quiet) using Xubuntu LiveCD (Linux) in command line mode, and it's quiet AND fast.
Command to set AAM (acoustic management - makes the drive seek noise quieter, usually at the expense of performance) modes on your Mac (Intel) using Linux liveCD:
find out the default setting your drive was/is on from the factory BEFORE changing it!:
Code:
sudo hdparm -M /dev/<drive address> (mine was /dev/sda)quiet:
Code:
sudo hdparm -M 128 /dev/<drive address> (mine was /dev/sda)performance (loudest):
Code:
sudo hdparm -M 254 /dev/<drive address> (mine was /dev/sda)AAM off:
Code:
sudo hdparm -M 255 /dev/<drive address> (mine was /dev/sda)The Samsung Spinpoints DO support AAM, but be aware that some drive makes/models DON'T!
_Summary_
If you feel proficient enough to take on what, in all reality, is FAR from being anywhere CLOSE to a challenging task, then go for broke and wham that sparkling new drive into your iMac. It is NOT as big a deal as people make out that it is - they're just scaredy cats
- it's not "dangerous" by ANY means, if you have the most basic grasp of common sense. DON'T let the fanboys put you off this, just because THEY are clueless about taking things apart, and bow to Steve Jobs!! BOTTOM LINE
---------------
Although not ONE "Warranty Void" label is disturbed doing this, be careful as to leave NO signs of entry to the machine. Unless you don't value your Apple Care plan at all (I do) KEEP THE ORIGINAL DRIVE - IF ANYTHING ELSE SHOULD EVER GO AWRY WITH YOUR IMAC, YOU JUST PUT THE ORIGINAL DRIVE *BACK* INSIDE, AND SEND FOR SERVICE!.
Funny how my local Mactailer wanted £200 for such a cheap upgrade - cost me £59 (and *I* get to choose the specific model of hdd) - how I giggled!!
So I realize this isn't the best place to post this, but this may help you all in your drive choice. I threw in the 1TB Samsung drive and other than the Apple loading screen taking forever at start up the iMac was much faster. Well now I am experiencing significant slow down's that are most likely a sign of a failing disk.
Freshly installed:
Today:
Freshly installed:
Today:
Your disk is not failing. Its because now there is more on the disk, it takes longer. Standard. Both my fully functional Seagates in my g5 get around 50. I have a 320 and a 500, and they get 54.92 and 63.85 respectively.
Well I have massive slowdowns with everything on my computer and my HDD is no more full than when I put it in the computer. My sequential uncached wrote speed is atrocious.
Thanks for the pictorial blow-by-blow
My hard drive died on me a couple of days ago and was unsure if I could replace it myself since the iMac is a lot more of a challenge than the old towers.
Your detailed instructions were great. I was a little concerned about the glass removal but it was a piece of cake. It is merely held on by a series of magnets. I used my Magellan GPS window mount as a suction cup to do the job. I found the screws holding the hard drive rather loose and wonder if there should be a torque requirement for them. Since it is an elastic mount I guess they need to be not too tight to prevent noise and vibration.
My hard drive died on me a couple of days ago and was unsure if I could replace it myself since the iMac is a lot more of a challenge than the old towers.
Your detailed instructions were great. I was a little concerned about the glass removal but it was a piece of cake. It is merely held on by a series of magnets. I used my Magellan GPS window mount as a suction cup to do the job. I found the screws holding the hard drive rather loose and wonder if there should be a torque requirement for them. Since it is an elastic mount I guess they need to be not too tight to prevent noise and vibration.
So glad to hear that the instructions came in handy on the hard drive swap! That is odd the screws were loose... some drives vibrate more than others so that could have attributed to that over time.
Anyway... glad your back up and running!
The instructions were perfect except for one thing. On the Display panel, I disconnected the Panel from the end underneath the tape. It came off really easily and installed really easily. I used the suction cup from my GPS that connects to the windshield. I definitely recommend having a bottle of canned air around. I waited one year until my warranty expired and then I upgraded from a 250 gig to a new Western Digital (Black) 1 Terabyte drive. There is definitely a faster ready/write access. Not to mention, now I have enough room to create a dual boot system. The 24 inch panel is by Philips....I also saw something in there that is AMD?? What is that? I thought these iMacs were Intel machines. My machine is a 2.4 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo, with 4 GB of Ram. Works like a champ. I should be good for another 3 more years before it will be time to upgrade. I upgrade every 4 years.Thanks for the original post. It took me about 1 hour, taking my time while doing laundry and watching the football game. Just take your time an follow the wires...don't tug!
David
Thanks for the original post. It took me about 1 hour, taking my time while doing laundry and watching the football game. Just take your time an follow the wires...don't tug!
David
You know, I didn't think about peeking under the tape on the panel... that would be SO much easier indeed! Good find, will update the first post with the easier method.
You know, I didn't think about peeking under the tape on the panel... that would be SO much easier indeed! Good find, will update the first post with the easier method.
Well I'd have thought that would have been blindingly obvious - it's evidently the easier of the two ends of the cable to free from the machine!. This is exactly how I upgraded my drive
. I sometimes wonder you know - it's as if people hang about waiting for other people to suggest the obvious solution, and then carry it out. The screen end of the cable is simple; you just peel back the tape and pull! (d'oh?!).
Have fun - you certainly notice the speed difference once upgraded.
Tom:
Thanks for paving the way on this. You took what would have been a very challenging and daunting task and reduced it to "do-able" with simple instructions and plentiful tips. This community is lucky to have you.
Thanks for paving the way on this. You took what would have been a very challenging and daunting task and reduced it to "do-able" with simple instructions and plentiful tips. This community is lucky to have you.
Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind comments. I'm glad to see that people are still finding this thread / guide useful!
At my previous job, the moment a mac was out of warranty (1 year on the dot) any and all hardware issues came to my desk. When we installed a lab of twenty 20" imacs I pored over them looking for a way to get a peek inside. I never guessed a suction cup was the tool I would need. I changed jobs before their warranties ran down so reading this post was mostly to fulfill my curiosity... Congrats on getting the thing open!
Great guide.
Do Apple do these kinds of upgrades in-store? I wouldn't mind a bigger HDD but don't want to go the external route and doing the upgrade myself gives me a sense of panic!!
Do Apple do these kinds of upgrades in-store? I wouldn't mind a bigger HDD but don't want to go the external route and doing the upgrade myself gives me a sense of panic!!