Hi Now, here's something I've done quite a few times. The general process of opening up the Mac Mini is as follows: 1. Get a putty knife or other flat instrament. If you don't want to scratch the case, plastic is best although with a stronger metal knife this is actually easier but much more likely to scratch. 2. Slide the putty knife in between the cover and the computer, approximately a quarter inch or so. You'll be able to feel the seem where the cover meets the computer, slide it up in there and begin to move it around. Try not to cut through the foam as much as possible, but move along until you feel a metal clip. At this point, start prying gently outward, i.e. away from the computer so as to release the clip while at the same time pulling up on the cover slightly. You'll know when the clip disengages, repeat this process for all the clips. On my Mini there were eight clips. Once these clips are disengaged it's fairly easy to lift the cover away, though you may have to wiggle it a bit. Now, depending on what you wish to clean there is more to do, and here's where it gets tricky. You have access to the vent already, but if you want to have a look at the processor and its fan you will have to open the Mini further. This gets a bit tricky, and patience is very much a virtue here. Around the bottom edge you will see four screws. Look carefully for them, they are not easy to feel. They're around the bottom ledge, I stress this as there are some screws that are easier to locate but if you unscrew those you'll actually be taking apart the DVD drive, and you probably don't want to be doing that :). Once you've got the screws out, unclip the airport antenna. It looks like a cable with an oddly-shaped plastic clip on the end, simply unclip it from the underside. I have seen some Minis where you need to unclip this antenna before you have access to one of the four screws, however this is not the case on all models. Then, locate the tiny cable in the front that runs from a circular projection (almost looks like a giant watch battery) downward to a connector. Unclip this cable (note, very hard to clip back in unless you have long fingernails or very small hands). Be very careful with this cable, it's fragile and very expensive to replace if you break it. Now, lift the top half away, straight up. Note that it is stil connected by a cable at the rear, this is normal. Do not attempt to force the top part (which has a riser card on the bottom) away at an angle or you will very likely destroy your Mini. Once disengaged although still connected, lay it backward (useful to have a book or something else to keep it level). You now have access to the processor and the cooling system around it. Incidentally, you also now have access to the ram and hard drive if you want to upgrade those. Once cleaned, put the mini back together. Do not forget to clip that cable back in the front, if you forget you will power up your Mini only to find that the fan goes berserk. Push the riser card down gently until it is flat, a little resistance is normal but do not force it. Clip the cable, then screw the four screws back into place (long-handled screwdriver is a must for this part). Clip the airport antenna back into place, and replace the cover. Note, to fit the top back onto the mini, line it up and push it straight down. If all goes well, the cover will simply snap into place and the clips will re- engage. Note that you may want to power up the Mini and make sure everything works before you put the cover back on, it will save a lot of irritation if you put it all back together then have to open it again if something isn't working. Disclaimer, Apple does not recommend this and it will void any warranties you may have, yada yada yada. hth
On Nov 30, 2:12 pm, ben mustill-rose <bmustillr...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hey all. > > Guess who's just been given a mac mini, which quite honestly is the > best computer I've ever touched! However all is not well, this mini > seems to be getting a bit hot and bothered - ie: when doing anything > intense it will get hot then shutdown; I understand this is actually a > feature. > > I want to open the case to try and remove some of the dust that I'm > assuming is the cause of this problem, but I've never delved inside a > mini before so am a little bit warey about how to go about it. > The general concensus seems to be to use a putty knife or 2 or to cut > & strip an ethernet cable then loop the wires around the tabs in order > to release them. However, when I've found posts about how to do this, > they've been quite pictorial so they haven't been that helpfull. > I'd be interested in hearing if any totally blind person has ever > managed to open the g4 1.42 mac mini without scratching it, using > either of the above methods. I should be fine locating everything once > the case is open, its just the actual removal of the casing that is > worrying me a little. > > As always, any response what so ever would be great. > Thanks for reading, Ben. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionar...@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en.
