can you remove the imac(intel) 21.5 inch stand

thanks for the advice PeteF10. Well if you remove the stand out and wrapped the iMac 21.5" screen with bubble papper it has just the size of a carry on luggage. The maximum size is 50 cm and the would be just 2cm longer which i guess should not be a big deal.

On the other hand, sending an iMac throught UPS to a Third world country like the one i am travelling is like playing russian rulette. They either can steal it or retain it in customs for whatever reason the want. I know what i am talking because i did a lot of travel on those regions.

If the stand is definetely not removable i will not buy this iMac and might choose a Mac Mini instead. A decent powerfull Mac Book Pro is way too expensive.

sir,

you say "You should be able to. I personally haven't tried it yet, but it is pretty easy".

i haven't tried it, but its pretty easy?!?! well at the very least, you updated to ACCURATELY say you didn't do your homework and admitted you gave bad NON EXPERIENCED advice.

there are many frustrated 21.5" imac owners. i hope none of them fubar'd their macs because of you.

I should have thought this is possible. I have removed my stand for the 27" iMac 2010 and replaced it with an Apple VESA mount so you can mount it to your wall, desk arm etc. It doesn't look like they have an equivalent for the 21.5 inch model though ...

The instructions to remove it I received with the VESA mount. Let me see if I can link you to it...

Hmm .... can't find anything online actually. The manual that I got with the mount says that you specifically need a torx tool to remove the screws in the stand.

I scanned the first few pages of the manual to see if it helps. Good luck.

yes 100% sure, the stand is not removable, unfortunately. See below.

http://store.apple.com/uk/question/answers/product/M9649G/A?pqid=QT4JPJAH4K9YDUT 4XDXUYFP7ACT9XDCFF

The 21.5" iMac has a non removeable stand, only the 27" has one you can remove to wall mount.

You should be able to. I personally haven't tried it yet, but it is pretty easy

1) turn your computer off and unplug it.

2) take it off of your desk

3) lay out either a big sheet of cardboard or a large microfiber cloth on the desk

4) Place your iMac screen down onto the cardboard of cloth. MAKE SURE THERE IS ENOUGH ROOM FOR THE STAND TO CLEAR THE DESK. iF NOT YOU CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE THINGS.

(by seriously damage I mean you'll have to call Apple to service it) Basically a good way to insure this is place it near the very edge of the desk.

5) move the stand downward until it stops

6) using a plastic card (credit card, driver's licence, what have you), insert it into the space between the stand and the computer

7) there should be a latch in there. Depress that, and the stand should start to go down a little further.

8) Bring the stand ALL THE WAY down until it clicks, or locks.

9) remove the newly exposed torx screws (don't know the size of those. Just try different torx bits. If they even are torx nowadays)

10) The stand should now lift away from the computer.

Obviously reverse those steps to put it back on.

UPDATE : whilst reading through the forum a bit, it seems that the 21.5 incher may not have a removable pedestal. Still try this, but be careful with the card. I had assumed that all iMac models had removable pedestals.

are you 100% sure about The 21.5" iMac has a non removeable stand? i will make an international fly for more than 14 hours and i was counting on removing the stand. I need to take the iMac in the cabin, there is no way i will send it in the luggage compartment. If it not removeable that could be trouble.

Perhaps a better idea would be to carefully pack it and ship it UPS instead of trying to transport it as a carry on item. Packed I'm pretty sure the dimesions would be over the limit. That being said, you risk being required to put it with checked luggage whether you want to or not.

Thanks guys! that is bad news. I don't get what is the reason for this great design to have the stand not removable. Maybe they don't want the 21.5 model to have some portability features in order to have 0 competition with Mac books? i just know that the iMac is the best price/feautures model and this is a clear drawback.