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Follow the steps in this guide to upgrade or replace the SATA hard drive in a 21.5" Retina 4K 2017 iMac. 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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What type of SATA SSDs are compatible with iMac? I don't want to buy the kit because I have the necessary tools, but I'd like to know which brand of SSDs work the best.
>Will take any SATA SSD.
>On a mac with a fusion drive, it just removes the spinning drive from the mix, leaving you with a separate 28gig or 128 gig SSD drive that will appear on your desktop along with the newly installed SATA SSD.
>NO TEMPERATURE monitor is needed. This generation of iMacs has done away with the propietary temp sensor. It just relies on S.M.A.R.T. tech now.
Does the screen stick back on with the same adhesive or do you have to reapply new adhesive? If yes, does it come in the kit?
You have to apply new adhesive. Go slow and careful, it’s really not hard at all.
Will this work similarly for an iMac with a fusion drive? -> (what about upgrading the ssd portion?) Will there be a guide for that in the future?
