Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Replace Cracked Display 2012 27" iMac

M

manoamuppet

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 14, 2016
5
3
Hi all,

I have unfortunately cracked the display on my beloved 27" late 2012 iMac (part #Z0MS). I've checked out the iFixit vids and I'm pretty savvy with hardware repairs. I'd like to attempt the replace the display panel with a replacement part to save some money on the repair. There are several on eBay, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them and could recommend a specific panel.

While I have the display off, I figured I might as well upgrade the hard drive as well. I'd like to put in at least a 3tb drive to replace the 1TB drive (I currently have a fusion drive if it matters). Do I just use system recovery and Time Machine to restore the system after the drive install? Does anyone have a recommendation for the drive?

Thank you very much in advance for the help.
 
been inside a 2011 a few times so I cant offer any specific advice on the work ahead of you. what I do know is that you have to replace the thermal sensor on the drive if you mean to replace that.

I would start by looking into this,
https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMACHDD12/

my go to drive is the Western Digital Black line. you can hopefully keep the SSD part of the fusion drive through your upgrade.
 
manoamuppet said:
Hi all,

I have unfortunately cracked the display on my beloved 27" late 2012 iMac (part #Z0MS). I've checked out the iFixit vids and I'm pretty savvy with hardware repairs. I'd like to attempt the replace the display panel with a replacement part to save some money on the repair. There are several on eBay, and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them and could recommend a specific panel.

While I have the display off, I figured I might as well upgrade the hard drive as well. I'd like to put in at least a 3tb drive to replace the 1TB drive (I currently have a fusion drive if it matters). Do I just use system recovery and Time Machine to restore the system after the drive install? Does anyone have a recommendation for the drive?

Thank you very much in advance for the help.
Click to expand...

I have upgrade quite a few of the Slim iMac(s) with SSDs.

As "thats all folks" stated, you'll need that OWC kit which includes the in-line digital thermometer.
 
Ok, I replaced the screen and drive. For the sake of someone searching this forum for results, here is a rundown of what I did.

I used the following parts:
1. ($55) Hard Drive replacement kit recommended by "thats all folks" https://eshop.macsales.com/item/OWC/DIYIMACHDD12/
2. ($435) Bought a replacement display panel from ebay. I used this one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/401153271630?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT, but all of them have roughly the same description: " 27" LCD Screen Display Panel For Apple iMac 27 A1419 LM270WQ1(SD)(F1) or (F2)"
3. ($72) Hitachi 3TB 7200rpm hard drive from amazon.

Total: $562.

To prep, I did a backup with Time Machine and made an El Capitan recovery USB stick.

The install was actually much easier than I thought. The video at the macsales link above is for the hard drive replacement, however doing this requires removing the screen anyway. So following the video is almost all you need. The only added steps were to move the display cables from the old display to the new one. Make sure to move the small temperature sensor as well. Total time was about an hour for the whole thing.

After install I booted onto the recovery stick and ran Disk Utility. The Disk Utility complained about an error with the Fusion Drive (since the hard disk was now missing). It offered to fix it, which I was hesitant to do, but doing this created a new fusion drive with the new Hitachi hard drive and everything was good. After this I restored from the Time Machine backup. Every thing came back as normal except there was a 3TB fusion drive and an uncracked display.

My only (slight) gripe is that the Hitachi drive is noisier than the Western Digital that shipped with the iMac. This was mentioned in the Amazon reviews but I didn't pay too much attention. It isn't bad (the drive is almost never used because of the fusion SSD), but I'd recommend another brand if you want a quiet computer.

All in all, the repair and upgrade was pretty quick and easy. Thanks to the people in this forum for the help.
 
  • Like
Reactions: willmtaylor and tubeexperience
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back