I did it! Opened Intel Mac all by myself!

Hello,

For a girl, I like to think I'm a little tech savy. I like gadgets just like most guys. I have recently picked up a Intel Mac Mini and was kinda itching to crack it open to see what kind of trouble I could get into. (Hopefully none of course)

Its my 3rd day with this new toy and I found it running very slow just surfing and thought maybe if I put a bit more ram in it, it might help. However, I only had an old 512 and turns out to be the wrong kind (ddr333). But I cracked open the case none the less just to torture myself!!!!

All I can say is it was EASY as pie to open the case. I used a spatual, kind of rectangular, about 1.5 to 2 inches wide (didn't measure it) it was pretty flimsy and very thin and looked like it would do the job. I had on hand the tools that came with a replacement battery for the Ipod MIni. Futureshop had installed it and gave back the tools for me to keep. The plastic thingy used to pry open the Ipod Mini helped a bit to wedge the Mac Mini when I went to the other side, so all in all it took less than a minute to open the case. It actually looks hard and scary but isn't at all.

I fretted about the antenna and checked the web abit ....just squeeze the 2 black thingys under the antenna together and it will pop up..but don't let it fly off, there's a spring under the antenna so be careful. The antenna is attached to a wire, so don't pull away..just lay it over the side for now and and remember its there so as to not rip it off the wires.

Next step that was a bit tricky was getting this wire attached to a small plastic thing at the front off. Sorry can't really explain what it is but it needs to be popped off from where it is attached. I used my Ipod plastic tool to help wedge it upwards bit by bit to get it off. It is a very tight spot and even my little fingers got in the way. That took a few minutes.

Now the part I hated the most was removing the screws. 3 are the same size and the 4th is longer. Make sure you place the mac mini a certain way when removing the screws so as to not mix them up. I place the screws in the way they were removed and made sure the mini was facing the same way when putting the screws back in. Not really rocket science but helps.

Okay, what I didn't like about the screws is it was a bit tricky to get them out as they were not out in the open except for one. The screws are very tiny..my "00" screwdriver didn't work well but the tools from the Ipod Mini did come in handy..I used the screwdriver to remove the screws . (glad I had it) You need to be careful not to drop them in the hole when screwing the back in.

Once all the screws were off and the little plastic connector removed, you can now gently lift up this top half where the harddrive is housed. When lifting, watch for the brownish cable that is attached on one side, it is attached to the top and bottom halves. You need to lean to top half over towards the brown cable so not rip it off. Also this is where the antenna is hanging over, so watch out you don't rip the antenna off at this stage too.

To change the ram is just like changing ram on your laptop. Same clippy things.
I checked the ram and yes, my old ram is not compatible so I'm S.O.L. and have to re-open this baby tomorrow as I'll be running out to get some.

So when closing up the Mini, I gingerly flipped the top part back over and watched out for the antenna. Put the antenna back on by squeezing the black thingys again and it snapped into place nicely. No big there.

Fussed a teeny bit to line up the holes. Put the plastic wire connector thingy back in at the front...it was tricky again as the space is so small to work in. Once I felt the top portion lined up, I carefully put the screws back in....praying that they didn't fall off into the unit. That would really pee me off as I would have to probably turn it upside down to get the screw out!?!? But all was well!

Lastly, put the case back on. First gently placing it on and lining it up as there is a metal thingy at the back end and make sure no wires are hanging out. Once I thought everything looked okay, I had to tap each corner down until the case went into place completely. Viola!!! All for not!!!

Hopefully everything will be fine tomorrow when I do it all over again. If I can do it..so can you!!!

Enjoy all!