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Difficulty

Moderate

Steps

18

Time Required

                          15 - 30 minutes

Sections

5

  • Battery
  • 1 step
  • Memory Door
  • 2 steps
  • Upper Case
  • 7 steps
  • Hard Drive
  • 6 steps
  • Hard Drive
  • 2 steps

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Introduction

What you need

Video Overview

Step 1

              Battery
  • Use your fingers to push both battery release tabs away from the battery, and lift the battery out of the computer.

Use your fingers to push both battery release tabs away from the battery, and lift the battery out of the computer.

1024

Step 2

              Memory Door
  • Remove the three identical Phillips screws from the memory door.
  • Make sure to record which sets of screws came from where. This will help when re-assembling.

Remove the three identical Phillips screws from the memory door.

Make sure to record which sets of screws came from where. This will help when re-assembling.

Step 3

  • Lift the memory door up enough to get a grip on it, and slide it toward you, pulling it away from the casing.

Lift the memory door up enough to get a grip on it, and slide it toward you, pulling it away from the casing.

Step 4

              Upper Case
  • Remove the two Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch.

Remove the two Phillips screws in the battery compartment near the latch.

Step 5

  • Remove the following 6 screws:
  • Two 10 mm T6 Torx screws on either side of the RAM slot.
  • Four 14.5 mm Phillips screws along the hinge.

Remove the following 6 screws:

Two 10 mm T6 Torx screws on either side of the RAM slot.

Four 14.5 mm Phillips screws along the hinge.

Step 6

  • Remove the four Phillips screws on the port side of the computer.

Remove the four Phillips screws on the port side of the computer.

Step 7

  • Rotate the computer 90 degrees and remove the two Phillips screws from the rear of the computer.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees and remove the two Phillips screws from the rear of the computer.

Step 8

  • Rotate the computer 90 degrees again and remove the four Phillips screws from the side of the computer.

Rotate the computer 90 degrees again and remove the four Phillips screws from the side of the computer.

Step 9

  • Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.
  • Lift up at the rear of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case. This stage can be quite tricky. Over the DVD reader are 4 tabs set back which pull out vertically.
  • Note that the two small tongues on the left hand front of the upper case may bend while you remove the upper case. When re-installing, you may need to bend them back to fit in the grooves in the lower case.

Do not yank the upper case off quickly. The case is attached to the logic board via a ribbon cable.

Lift up at the rear of the case and work your fingers along the sides, freeing the case as you go. Once you have freed the sides, you may need to rock the case up and down to free the front of the upper case. This stage can be quite tricky. Over the DVD reader are 4 tabs set back which pull out vertically.

Note that the two small tongues on the left hand front of the upper case may bend while you remove the upper case. When re-installing, you may need to bend them back to fit in the grooves in the lower case.

Step 10

  • Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.
  • Remove the upper case.

Disconnect the trackpad and keyboard ribbon cable from the logic board, removing tape as necessary.

Remove the upper case.

Step 11

              Hard Drive
  • Disconnect the orange hard drive ribbon cable from the logic board.

Disconnect the orange hard drive ribbon cable from the logic board.

Step 12

  • Use a spudger to carefully loosen the adhesive securing the sleep light and IR sensor connectors to the top of the hard drive.

Use a spudger to carefully loosen the adhesive securing the sleep light and IR sensor connectors to the top of the hard drive.

Step 13

  • Remove the two silver Phillips screws securing the hard drive retaining bracket to the lower case.
  • In some machines these screws may have T6 Torx heads.

Remove the two silver Phillips screws securing the hard drive retaining bracket to the lower case.

In some machines these screws may have T6 Torx heads.

Step 14

  • Slide the Bluetooth board out of its slot next to the hard drive. The Bluetooth board is still connected to the orange hard drive cable, so don’t try to remove it entirely from the computer.

Slide the Bluetooth board out of its slot next to the hard drive. The Bluetooth board is still connected to the orange hard drive cable, so don’t try to remove it entirely from the computer.

Step 15

  • Lift the hard drive up with one hand and use your other hand to remove the retaining bracket from the side of the hard drive.

Lift the hard drive up with one hand and use your other hand to remove the retaining bracket from the side of the hard drive.

Step 16

  • Disconnect the orange hard drive cable.
  • After installing the new hard drive, make sure the vent hole (on top) is not covered by the orange ribbon cable.

Disconnect the orange hard drive cable.

After installing the new hard drive, make sure the vent hole (on top) is not covered by the orange ribbon cable.

Step 17

              Hard Drive
  • Remove the two silver T6 Torx screws and black rubber bumpers from the right side of the hard drive.
  • You’ll need to transfer these screws and bumpers to your new hard drive if you’re changing drives.

Remove the two silver T6 Torx screws and black rubber bumpers from the right side of the hard drive.

You’ll need to transfer these screws and bumpers to your new hard drive if you’re changing drives.

Step 18

  • Remove the two black T6 Torx screws and black rubber bumpers from the left side of the hard drive.
  • You’ll need to transfer these screws and bumpers to your new hard drive if you’re changing drives.
  • If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

Remove the two black T6 Torx screws and black rubber bumpers from the left side of the hard drive.

If you are installing a new hard drive, we have an OS X install guide to get you up and running.

To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.

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                    iRobot

Member since: 09/24/2009

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Steve Shelley - Jan 21, 2011

Reply

i found that i needed to “rock” the upper case left to right, not up and down, in order to remove it. and although i was trying to be careful, the keyboard ribbon cable was so tight that the connection popped off when i released the upper lid. took a minute to find the connection on the logic board.

when i was removing the hard drive, for whatever reason, there was no bluetooth board on top of the retaining bracket.

other than that, the directions were fantastic. i’ll recommend you to all my friend!

the only sad part is that it turned out the hard drive was not the source of the “rice crispies” noise, which is what sent me on this journey in the first place. i now think it’s the right-hand fan. whoo hoo! more maintennance!

thanks again,

steve shelley

Bruce campbell - Jan 26, 2012

Reply

Even better than little bags or a sorting tray–get an old egg carton, 12 or 18, and use a Sharpee to mark the step number on each egg holder. That way, bumping the table won’t screw up your sorting, and you can easily find the right screws in the right order.

Mark Adsit - Jan 5, 2013

Reply

Worked for me exactly as shown! Thank You!

netdude21 - Apr 12, 2013

Reply

One thing that was not mentioned is if you are upgrading to a larger capacity hard drive from the original, you can clone the original hard drive (if it hasn’t crashed) to the new one then do the swap. You can then use the Universal Drive Adapter to format the smaller drive and use it as you wish.

jennifer - Jan 7, 2015

Reply

Hello, I do not have the disc with which to replace my OS, it is lost. Will the above videos address this issue? Is it possible to replace an OS once the original disk is lost? Thanks!