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Introduction

Each step has a bullet indicating the tool you'll be using. Don't worry about getting lost or confused; hundreds of people have successfully used the Fixit Guide series to repair their laptops.

Tools used in this guide

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Step 1 — Disassembly

  • We got our new Apple TV today, skipped the 'plug it in' step, and went straight to our disassembly. It's Apple model #A1218.

  • The packaging has been reviewed to death other places, so we're going to skip that.

  • Peel up the rubber base (remove the rubber carefully so you don't tear it) and remove the four T8 Torx screws beneath:

    • Two 10 mm T8 Torx by the ports.

    • Two 15 mm T8 Torx near the front.


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Step 2

  • Lift off the metal base, revealing the hard drive.

  • Disconnect the ATA hard drive cable from the right side of the logic board. Try to pull straight up so you don't bend the pins on the hard drive.

  • The hard drive is mounted on the baseplate of the unit. It is a 40 GB 2.5" Fujitsu ATA drive (NOT an SATA drive). You can replace this drive with a standard ATA laptop drive if you want to upgrade it.


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Step 3

  • Behold, the Apple TV. Looks like a Mac Mini sans the optical drive and all the useful ports.


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