Video Guide: hard drive upgrade/replace intel iMac 7.1 (2008)

[stereocilia]

I made this video guide to help anyone that wants to upgrade or replace the hard drive on their new iMac (2008/2009).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2YsCTNVEYt8

My hard drive failed one month after the warranty expired so I took care of it myself and I encourage anyone else to do the same.

I was told my post was in the wrong place, and I still don't know where to put it, so I'll just try it here and hopefully it will help someone.

 

[stereocilia]

Video Guide, Hi-Res Photos, and Hard Drive Replacements: Intel iMac 7.1

Update:
I've added some helpful information to my blog, including High Resolution photos, compatible hard drives, and the video of course.

harddrive.fixmac.info

 

[Maim]

thanks for the effort of filming it for others its always nice to see things done on video than following pics

 

[dshj]

harddrive.fixmac.info no longer works...

harddrive.fixmac.info no longer works.

I'm looking for the high def photos of connecting the LDC back to the iMac. I must have mis-marked the connectors, because I have a fuzzy yellow-green line on the left side and a flashing white bar across the middle (assuming it's the "no startup volume found" icon).

 

[Papanate]

That's very cool of you to post a video guide. Still even with the knowledge on how to replace a drive...I can tell you from a business owners point of view the amount of time it takes to get all those screws out; then get the old drive out and the new drive in; then get all those screws back in....well I've lost more money in time than it costs to have the Apple guys do it for me.<G>

Plus I have no patience for unscrewing 500 screws....

 

[dshj]

Found the problem...

When you're 100 miles away from the closest Apple Store, it's much easier to replace the HDD by removing the 20 screws for me.

So I figured out what the problem was. The ribbon cable on the back of the LCD is apparently VERY sensitive and it needs to be taped properly for the video to work correctly. I don't know if this is a short or just the design of the cable, but I realized this was the issue after I'd tried all combinations of the cable hookups and I had inconsistent results.

Even though this is under AppleCare, I can't wait a week for the "Genius Bar" folks to finally get around to replacing the HDD in my iMac.