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Follow the steps in this guide to upgrade or replace the SATA hard drive in a iMac Intel 21.5" EMC 3068. Note that if you are upgrading your drive, you will need to clone your existing hard drive onto the replacement prior to performing this upgrade to keep your files and operating system.
Some images in this guide use a 2015 iMac, which has minor visual differences. These differences do not affect the repair procedure.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0iMac Intel 21.5" Cardboard Service Wedge$4.99
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Before beginning any work on your iMac: Unplug the computer and press and hold the power button for ten seconds to discharge the power supply's capacitors.
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Starting on the left of the display, near the power button, insert the iMac Opening Tool into the gap between the glass panel and the rear enclosure.
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Use the tool like a pizza cutter—roll it along through the gap, and it will cut the foam adhesive through the center.
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Run the tool up along the left side of the display.
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Continue running the tool up around the top left corner.
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Cut the adhesive along the top left of the display.
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Continue along the top of the display.
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Push the tool around the top right corner of the display.
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Wheel the tool down along the right side of the display.
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Finish pushing the opening tool to the bottom of the right side of the display.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0Plastic Cards$2.99
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Starting from the top right corner of the iMac, wedge a plastic card between the display and frame.
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Gently twist the plastic card sideways to create a gap between the display and frame.
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Move slowly and be careful not to stress the display glass too much—you only need to make a gap of about 1/4".
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Slide the card toward the center of the display to cut any of the remaining adhesive along the top right corner of the iMac.
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Wedge the plastic card into the top right corner once again, and leave it there to prevent the adhesive from resticking.
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Insert a second plastic card into the gap between the display and frame near the top left corner of the iMac.
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Gently twist the card upward, slightly increasing the space between the display and frame.
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Slide the plastic card toward the center, again stopping just before the iSight camera.
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Wedge the plastic card back into the top left corner.
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With both plastic cards inserted as shown near the corners, gently twist the cards sideways to increase the gap between display and case.
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Begin to lift the top of the display up from the frame.
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Hold the display with one hand while using your other hand to unplug the display power cable.
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Continuing to support the display with one hand, flip up the metal retaining bracket on the display data cable.
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Carefully pull the display data cable from its socket on the logic board.
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Lift the display up to a near-vertical position.
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crwdns2935267:0crwdne2935267:0Plastic Cards$2.99
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Grasp the small tab at the end of one of the bottom edge display adhesive strips and pull the adhesive toward the top of the iMac to remove it.
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Repeat this step with the other adhesive strip and remove it.
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Lift the display up from the frame and remove it from the iMac.
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It may be necessary to slowly lift from one side to peel against the remaining adhesive.
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Remove the following T10 Torx screws securing the hard drive brackets to the iMac:
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Two 21 mm screws
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One 9 mm screw
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One 27 mm screw
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Remove the left and right hard drive brackets from the iMac.
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Lift the hard drive from the edge nearest the logic board and pull it slightly out of its recess.
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Use a spudger to disconnect the single SATA cable by prying it gently away from the hard drive.
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Remove the hard drive assembly from the iMac.
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Peel the rubber bumper off one side of the hard drive.
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Repeat for the other side.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
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This tutorial is excellent but has the final step missing: how to replug the SATA connector given that it is stuck under the storage bay.
I had to unscrew the storage bay to be able to replug the SATA connector and follow the tutorial in reverse to finish it.
Don't try to remove the left speaker as it requires to remove the CPU fan first which adds extra steps to the process.
The most difficult part of the whole process was connecting the new HD to the connector (even if not stuck under the bay). There's not enough slack in the connector's cabling to allow use of one's fingers. It took me 20 minutes and the use of a couple of wooden popsicle sticks and a spudger to eventually nudge it in place. Otherwise, great tutorial Adam O'Camb!
2020 kaufte ich mir einen iMac 21,5 Zoll einfachste Ausführung (8GB RAM, 2,3 GhZ). Der Computer brauchte mindestens 65 Sekunden, um Applikationen hochzuladen, was die Arbeit mit dem Computer nahezu unmöglich machte. Letzte Woche habe ich die HDD-Festplatte dank des Reperatur-Kits von ifixit ausgetauscht. Seitdem funktioniert der Computer mühelos. Applikationen, Dokumente, Bilddateien lassen sich unter einer Sekunde öffnen. Man bekommt schon das Gefühl einen neuen iMac gekauft zu haben! Ich kann das Reperatur-Kit samt Anleitung nur wärmstens empfehlen. Hierbei ist allerdings zu beachten, dass die Reparatur genaustens nach Anleitung durchgeführt werden sollte. Kleiner Tipp: Wenn die Schrauben von dem Lautsprecher gelöst werden, lässt er sich leicht nach links verschieben. Damit ist das SATAkabel leichter zugänglich! Viel Erfolg!
