How to Change the Hard Drive in a 24" Aluminum iMac (Finally HD)

[gg0wned]

having a second set of hands helps tremendously ;) good vid.

[deltaflyer1997]

How can I transfer all my stuff including the OS X to my new HD?

[AIK3MAN3CHIONG3]

Thanks dude good video! I got question? I'm buying a iMac with 500Gb Hard drive and I'm gonna be editing video's and stuff should get 1TB hard drive???

[magicmc23]

omg this process is brutal

[MrGregkdeal]

... Followed this, and had zero issues. Excellent vid. Very happy. Thank you.

[MrGregkdeal]

Worked like a charm. Had no experience cracking open iMac. Followed this,

[neekrusher]

This was a good video. I was wondering how you break down the imac. Thanks.

[johntkooz]

hey mate, great "walkthough!" xD. I got snagged on "hardest part" that section was suitably labeled! Freaked me out popp off cable off lcd. The "large clip" part could've used a close-up and more explanation. Good "computer surgery" like upgrade video game. this is like surgery! Good times! good lab environment.

This is like proper computer surgery!! This is so awesome. I loved this project. Thanks. vid helped me out when was nervous "dissecting" hd, but read howto elsewhere.

[thecannybus]

Thank you, didn't remove the screen connector as it was tight and I was afraid of breaking it.

[hijferhu]

What is the best HDD to buy for this iMac, i don't know which one to pick. I need around 1TB-ish.

[Mac4280]

iMovie does output HD! Just go to output options in export menu!

[gasseyflyer]

Thanks for the video, I wouldn't have attempted this without it! However I think you are making life difficult for yourself. I didn't need to remove the LCD; just take the screws off and tilt it forwards, there are 2 small cables to detach (clips) and the either get someone to hold it tilted forwards or use a kitchen roll (as I did!) to prop it up. Plenty of space to change HD, I did in 40 mins start to finish.

[OneManShowShow]

how did you get xbox controller working with crap mac os? that mac white keyboard is RUBBISH.

[theapeman10]

2011 and apple can't provide a door flap to the hard drive - It must go like this Steve jobs says we need people to buy the next model up, we won't allow the consumer to access their hard drive ,they will void their warranty. Consumer wants a 1TB drive entry 21" 1149 (may 2011) has 500Gb - can you upgrade to 1TG for 40 bucks like dell. NO you need to spend 300 quid for the next model a 1TG drive and slightly faster graphics card. ( LOL people comment buy a Mac pro for extra disk space)

[snyprecon2]

I'd rather use a portable usb external HD than risk messing up my machine ...

[Nuclear793]

im scared to do this :\

[jdivina15]

if you upgrade hard drives, why not just buy a mac pro

[wwwsagaboycom]

Thank you.....

I got SHOCKED when i reached in to remove the lcd in the the back SO BE CAREFULL. It deffinately woke me up.

[oreosmooshy]

Great tutorial but the text flying right over the top of the important part of the video over and over got really annoying.

[Artycloughiii]

Very helpful. Thanks for taking the time. Some videos are made with the cables removed ahead of time and don't really show the caveats like this did.

[shiloharts]

Btw, was told that a 2tb drive might overheat machine...would like to hear if anyone successfully installed a 2tb. Also, will the machine work with 64mb cache?

[shiloharts]

Can u upgrade to 2tb with first gen 2.4 ghz iMacs?

[scubywrxr]

thanks for the excellent vid

[wolfetb]

Thank you very much! This video really helped me change my 24" iMac's HDD.

[jstudiosny]

Thanks for the video, I'm also down to 30GB left from my 500GB internal drive, I need to upgrade my hard drive to 2TB on my iMac 3.06Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo 21.5" is it the same case? Thank in advance with anyone that can help.

[hungimahar]

Much easier and cheaper with PCs.

[agoradzwn]

@hungimahar Yeah, those tools he had to buy really broke the bank.

*rolls eyes*

[lolwut3213]

What size Torx screwdriver do you have to use?

[SaltyBallsProduction]

Great guide dude, allowed me to learn to how to do it myself and then make my own tutorial.

[CSKforlifeee]

Is it possible to make it dual-core?

[herouxb]

Pretty nice, you just convinced me to stay with my FW800 & usb external drive :) There is NO WAY i will touch the LCD screen.

But i would do it if we can add a second SATA drive with cable going out of the box... or something?

[talkingpyramids]

Thanks for the video. I have the flashing folder icon like many others. This means the drive is stuffed and I need to replace it. Many comments suggest taking it to an Apple store to get it fixed.

For those of us who live outside of the US and don't have a local Apple Store, this type of video is vital. Thanks again.

[sadnacman]

Dude, thanks for posting. I may have to do this soon. Great job on the video, btw.

[dsk7419]

probably best to lay the iMac down on its back so when you remove parts you don't put too much strain on the little cables you have to detach.

[jaytay2010]

You did time lapse so i was wondering full amount of time to take it apart and put it back together? Thanks for posting!

[KleenezeDon]

Thanks for that, not yoo scary. My iMac is hanging and showing White screen with flashing file. What is the advice? Cannot afford to let apple fix it.

[dsk7419]

@KleenezeDon if your iMac is showing an unhappy Mac Face it probably means the OS X Files are screwed up. Reinstall OS X from OS X install DVD should fix that.

[snakedoc1306]

Hey thank you very much for this! I just used this last night to upgrade my 320gb hard drive in my 24" iMac...worked like a charm and was a lot easier than i thought it would be. Now i have 2TB in my iMac...awesome!

If your thinking about upgrading your hard drive, don't worry it's cake...just take your time and don't be rough with any of your wires!

[snakedoc1306]

I agree with most people....I love my iMac but the damn drive is soooo small! I purchased a 2tb drive and I'm going to attempt this....kind of afraid, but oh well I need a larger drive!

This should be as easy as the new macbooks.....unscrew and done!

[HxXFromFirstToLastXx]

how do you remove the psu?

[dbalieiro]

there is a lot of videos here @[youtube] #lol

I like this... thanks, the iMac here's with a 1.5TB HD.

#wikiWorld

[savioroftehuniverse]

use the damn stabilizer!

[brandtaylor93]

apple really made it easy

[pksmb1120]

it's funny how iMacs are really user friendly, but this is waaaaay too much work for risking it on my pocketbook (not to mention it would void the warranty). it would be nice if they made it where the end-user could change the hard drive as easily as upgrading the RAM, but apple would rather you spend money to take it to a store and have it upgraded. still love my iMac though!

[Jebucristo]

lolicon?

[phill977]

shit video.

Remove the audio when you speed it up.

[GoPriusGo]

thank you for taking the time to make this video

[racer4200]

Nice vid.

[restricted310]

thats funny i have the same set up

[s043487263]

hahah i got the same computer

[hkdapplefan]

nice computer, not the sweetest set up though (:

[siamanspaps]

Hard drive change on iMac should be like Sony Playstation 3, this is just pain in ass....

[aahmed753]

This is sooooooo stupid of Apple to put hard drive soooooo deeeep inside. Everyone knows that the first thing that breaks in computer is Hard Drive. My just gone after 14 months. Lucky I found this video, but so stupid of Apple.

[adamjgb]

I wish I was that brave. I just bought an external 1TB drive instead. Thanks for sharing!

[jiaweizheng1990]

great video looks like PAIN IN THE ASS compare to Macbook

[AaronBalitskyz]

great video... i think im going to have to replace mine too...

[webzenstar]

The music is wayyy too loud..

[dave70000]

What video editing software did you use for this?

[DillonCampbellVideos]

iMovie '09

[AaronBalitskyz]

iMovie

[xubuntu2]

Great vid, but some drives may produce more heat, so doesnt that potentially damage your imac? For instance a 10000 rpm drive?

[chargerfun34]

That's why 10,000 RPM Drives have Huge Heat Sinks. To compensate for their heat.

[IIIClydeBarrowIII]

Well...

That looks like one big pain in the butt!!

[teunfaber]

Haha, this is awesome :P

You are a beast. I wanted to change my 320 gig hard drive to a 1 tb. I learned how to clone my old hard drive on the new one. So than i came to the phase where i had to change my hard drive. I checked out this movie and i am like WTF. This is way to hard for me, don't want to do my baby any harm.

So now i need to figure out what i'm going to do.

anyway, great vid!

[Khalduknight]

Here is an idea. Just bring it down to the Apple Store (make an appointment for the Genius Bar) and have the Apple Geniuses replace it, if you are afraid that you would mess up the iMac.

[cdp1990]

how do you install mac os x on the new drive and transfer all the old info?

[Hamkaastosti1]

Use osx dvd start up put the dvd in your mac and hold c, dvd will boot mac osx install. Go to Disk utility select hard drive, format it to HFS+ and close Disk Utility now your hard drive will show up at the install of OSX

[tomasito89]

can you tell me what hard drive fits inside

[ryutensai]

Any 3.5in SATA (It looks like SATA, I doubt they would use PATA/IDE, and I'm not sure they make TB PATA/IDE drives) will work. I recommend Western Digital, since they make really good drives.

[SMG4LIFE01]

does this void the warrenty

[goddesfreackz]

Yes it does. Apple only allows you to upgrade the RAM, I believe.

[tomasito89]

yes it does this avoid yourwarrante

[PawelSikora]

CAn it be replaced by SSD?????

[FeelTheAnthem]

yes it can be replaced

[Voldemortkein]

Hi FrankTinsley !

Tnks for your Tutorial, No w i Have 1TB HDD on my iMac 20".

But i have a question: Which program uses you for make this Texts effects on the Video??.

Windows App, or Mac App??, and which name?

Thanks in Advance

[FrankTinsley]

Just used iMovie.

[KidNepro]

Great video. My drive crashed yesterday and your video was critical in helping me sort things out. I'm typing this using my brand new 700 gig drive! Thanks dude. :-}

[xandrox22001]

waw you need balls to do this dude :D nice..

[yottabyte21]

thanks for this, though i think i may call and ask Apple Store what they charge to install before I take mine apart.

[jcruzs3]

Much easier to buy an external HD

[fh1mahfanzai]

lol i totally agree

[nanngg]

After Does It Work

[spyder7559]

the song is never win by fischerspooner.

[dittohobbs]

great video, but why add music? just because you can?

[pinkmonkeyglove]

omg, this almost looks like an ad to get apple techs to do this. So much could easily go wrong.

[stonecoldsteven]

great video ill be using this and the website you gave as reference when i do mine :)

What song did you use?

i likes it

[statebowler2003]

i had a 2nd optical drive failure not even going to bother with getting it fixed, my warranty is out and its not worth all the trouble and cost to replace it.

[stonecoldsteven]

buy an external one :)

[dsk7419]

@statebowler2003 get a external usb - sata dvd drive, it'll be faster and much cheaper

[eridium]

Thanks Frank. Was your new internal HD SATA or not? Great video. What program did you use to edit it and slide the cool text that meets up (like Step 1 / Remove Ram Cover)?

[FrankTinsley]

Yeah it only works with SATA so that's what I used. I edited this in iMovie.

[OptimistDoubt]

Hey man. Just wanted to say that I respect your editing style. It was funny that while I was learning how to switch my hard drive, I was also nodding my head to the beat. Lol.

[live4mac]

I would be so afraid of breaking my baby. I think I'll just take it to Apple. Good tutorials though 5 stars.

[Sikwidityo]

Wow! Thanks for posting this. I really want to change out my 320gb hdd but, now that you've shown me what it takes. I think I will take it in and pay the $40. There is too much room for error. Cool posting though.

[ILove64Bit]

Seems to be quite a project just to switch a hard drive.

[GHman205]

does this void the warranty?

[FrankTinsley]

Well, technically no, but if you break something in there it's all on you to pay for the new piece. Unless you're comfortable with paying for new parts, should something like this lead to their failure, I would recommend having an Apple Hardware Certified tech do the work.

[mflake96]

ha dude your a beast

[ayeplussjr]

Hey Man....Nice video!! I've been looking to upgrade my hard drive on my iMac as well but I don't know if I got the guts to do so. I might just visit my local "Apple Certified Technician" and have them do it for 90 bucks. That's just a 3.5" 7200RPM Sata drive right? What was the original manufactured hard drive that was originally in there?

[FrankTinsley]

Disk Utility calls it WDC WD32 00AAJS-40VWA1 Media which I guess means it was a 320GB Western Digital with... maybe an 8MB cache and a cute Apple logo printed on the label. Also was a bit quieter than this new one that is also from Western Digital. Could be the last one supported the Automatic Acoustic whathaveyou mode that this one does not but oh well, it's faster without it anyway. I'm actually working towards becoming my own Apple certified tech so this was good times for me.