The Journal | Tyler Galpin

Installing an SSD in your iMac: a Tyler Galpin Guide

First of all, I did this and it was a hugely ridiculous process. I learned a lot of things the hard way as I went along with the install, so hopefully this guide will help some of you through the process. Details: I have a mid-2010 27” iMac and installed this SSD to work alongside my HDD which was already factory installed in the iMac. 

• I used the guide here: http://www.twam.info/hardware/apple/installing-additional-ssd-in-mid-2010-27-imac 
• The guide was good, but definitely not perfect. Through some of the hard steps they glossed over details and didn’t really take in-depth pictures of some of the things you are supposed to do. Having gone through the process myself, I’m totally comfortable with it but going through the guide alone for the first time meant I was shitting my pants. For reals.
• You have two options when doing an install - you either replace the HDD with an SSD and therefore save yourself the hassle of removing the logic board et al, OR you do what I did and remove the whole logic board - this method allows you to have both an SSD and an HDD in the iMac allowing for more internal storage. 

If I’m going step by step here:

• Buy the 3 parts they outline at the very beginning of the guide. You need all of them. Also, go get some suction cups from ifixit http://www.ifixit.com/Tools/Heavy-duty-Suction-Cups/IF145-023 - you need these to remove the glass panel of the iMac.
• Read through the guide. Like 3 times. Also, make sure you have the correct TORX screwdriver as it will be a real pain in the arse if you don’t. Should NOT be a drill bit or anything because when you lift off the glass, the screws you need to unscrew around the LCD panel are in this thin space between the casing and the LCD panel about 1 inch deep into the iMac.
• I’ll go over how the steps basically go
  1. Use suction cups to remove the glass panel. It’s super thin and quite light, which was surprising to me. 
  2. Now you have to remove the LCD screen. It’s heavy, and it’ll scare the hell out of you since you feel like you’re breaking it. Use the screwdriver (TORX) to remove all the screws around the casing like they indicated in the guide. After, what I did was use the screwdriver and placed it near the camera, to pry the LCD up. Leave the screwdriver stuck in between the LCD and the casing. You have to remove FOUR fucking cables to the LCD. I know. It sucks. It sucks because you can only lift the LCD like 4 inches upwards before snagging a cable or three. There are two ribbon cables that are relatively easy to figure out how to get back on, but it’s the two small connectors that are a pain. Here’s what to do: rest the imac upside down (laying flat on it’s back, display stand furthest away from you), that way you can lift the display from the top (closest to you) about 5 inches before any cables start fighting back. The first cable is in the top right, and it’s blue-ish. The second and most important is in the middle and is connected to the logic board “clusterfuck” area. Easy to get out, but REMEMBER WHICH PORT IT WAS IN. Seriously, putting it back together you’ll thank yourself because there are about 6 or 7 other very similar cables you’re gonna have to plug in around that area.
  3. Now the LCD is off! Yay! Rainbows should be spouting from your monster of a computer. Everything from here is pretty standard for a while, biggest thing to remember is to use some masking tape and label the cable when you detach them, that way it will be hella easier to reconnect them all. I neglected to do this in my excitement to install my SSD, and that’s how I ended up getting drunk while trying to reassemble the thing. 
  4. Remove all the cables on the logic board as they instruct you to, pretty standard.
  5. Now, removing the logic board was one the biggest OH MY GOD moments because it’s pretty large, and super delicate (obviously). There’s a little cube-like connector that is right underneath the front Apple logo. It’s connected to the memory modules underneath. This slides right out and you should slide this out before removing the logic board since it’ll pop out anyways.
  6. Remove the airport, etc. Standard stuff. 
  7. Remove the plastic part blocking the area where you need to install the SSD mount. Follow the instructions.
  8. They aren’t kidding when they say flat screws for the SSD mount. Make sure to get these before starting the install. They should be short, and flat on the top.
  9. Plug the power cable and SSD cable into the SSD using the cables that you ordered from Apple Components. 
  10. Reattach everything. This is easy, except for putting the logic board back in. This thing was super tough for me to get back in - about 45 minutes. This is the point of the install where I cracked the first of 9 beers. Basically, you have to get the board back in without screwing anything up, making sure you don’t accidentally place cables underneath it, and (the hardest part) aligning/guiding the USB/Firewire/Ethernet ports into the actual aluminum casing. I got a little (read: pretty) violent with it, and it still functions just fine so don’t be afraid to man-handle it a bit. 
  11. Reinsert the little square-cube memory module connector, and then follow the instructions to reconnect everything. 
  12. Make sure the LCD panel is spotless and that there’s no dust. That’s easy - the hard part is making sure that the actual glass panel doesn’t have dust/smudges on the inside. Worst case scenario you have to take it off once or twice to clean the inside. 

…and there you have it - an SSD! If you remembered to correctly re-attach all the right cables you are golden. Make sure the various temperature sensors are put back on properly, otherwise your iMac might melt. Happy building!