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Tamer Brad

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 13, 2005
212
0
My friend has been looking into buying an iMac G5, but we can't figure out how to disassemble it and upgrade it (mostly RAM and maybe HDD) on our own. Any ideas, folks?
 

CanadaRAM

macrumors G5
To open the machine, you lay it screen down on a non-scratching surface (a towel on a desk is grand), unscrew 3 captive screws on the bottom edge (they don't come all the way out, just loosen) then the back casing (including stand) tilts up from the bottom and kind of hinges off the top edge of the case.

The only tricky thing is getting the angle right to put it on again - it helps to have a friend to hold the top edge in place as you hinge it back down.

Upgrading RAM is easy, just make sure you buy RAM that is tested and guaranteed compatible by the seller. You don't want RAM with heat-spreaders on them, nohow.

If you are planning to replace the hard drive, you will have to totally reinstall wvweything -- it's SATA and there is no way to transfer the data from the old drive unless you have a Firewire - SATA adaptor or you temporarily install the new drive in a G5 tower and network it over from the iMac G5. So it is best done before you start using the iMac.

BUT -- always run a new machine in stock configuration for a little while before making any modifications -- otherwise how would you tell if it was delivered with a problem vs. you introducing the problem?

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
 
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