Introduction
Upgrade your mini's aging Core Duo processor to a blazing Core 2 Duo.
What you need
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You'll need a putty knife in order to open the case. A 1.5 inch thin putty knife will work well, but you'll want to grind the edge down. Rub the putty knife's short edge back and forth on a sheet of all purpose rough grit sandpaper (100 grit will work fine) until it attains a beveled edge.
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Carefully insert a putty knife into the crevice in between the top cover and bottom housing. Start on the left side first. Push the blade down until you meet firm resistance (roughly 3/8 of an inch).
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Gently enlarge the existing crevice by prying the handle of the putty knife downward and away from the mini.
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Next insert the putty knife into the crevice on the optical drive slot side of the computer.
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Pry the putty knife downward while working along the edge of the mini until the bottom housing further separates from the top housing.
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Repeat the same procedure as the past few steps for the right side of the mini.
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Turn the mini over.
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Slightly squeeze the two retaining arms toward each other and lift the AirPort antenna off its post.
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Use the tip of a spudger to slightly lift the left side of the ZIF cable lock up from its socket.
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Use a pair of tweezers to lift the hard drive thermal sensor cable connector up off its socket on the logic board.
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Remove the recessed Phillips screw near the power button securing the internal frame to the bottom housing.
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Remove the recessed Phillips screw near the sleep light securing the internal frame to the bottom housing.
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Remove the Phillips screw near the audio ports securing the internal frame to the bottom case.
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Gently lift the internal frame up from the bottom housing, minding the AirPort antenna and any other cables that may get caught.
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Firmly grasp the power button cable connector with a pair of tweezers and lift it straight up off the logic board.
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Firmly grasp the sleep light cable connector with a pair of tweezers and lift it straight up off the logic board.
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Use the flat end of a spudger to slightly lift the logic board near the PRAM battery to separate it from the bottom housing.
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Gently lift the free end of the logic board and wiggle the board as you pull it away from the I/O ports.
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A spring loaded plastic pin at each corner of the heat sink holds it firmly against the face of the processor.
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Using a plastic opening tool (or similar) in one hand, push down one pin holding the heat sink on the logic board. The spring under the pin will provide moderate resistance.
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While holding the pin down from the heat sink side of the board, use a pair of pliers in your other hand on the underside of the board to squeeze both barbs against the plastic shaft of the pin.
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With both barbs squeezed together, push the pin through its hole in the logic board.
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Repeat this process for each of the four pins holding the heat sink on the logic board.
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Use the tip of a spudger to push the heat sink thermal sensor connector out of its socket.
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Remove the heat sink and set it aside.
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To unlock the processor, use a small flathead screwdriver to rotate the processor lock 180 degrees counter-clockwise until the indicator is near the open lock symbol.
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To aid in installation, processors and sockets have a small alignment arrow (shown in red) so the chip is installed in the correct orientation.
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Align the chip so that the arrow in its upper right corner corresponds to the arrow molded into the upper right corner of the socket.
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Carefully lower the processor onto its socket.
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Note that if you are upgrading from a core solo or core duo processor to a core 2 duo processor and wish to run operating systems of Lion or later, you must delete the hidden file /System/Library/CoreServices/PlatformSupport.plist after the upgrade.
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Use a small flathead screwdriver to rotate the processor lock 180 degrees clockwise until the indicator points toward the closed lock symbol.
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Now that the processor is in place, turn your attention to the heat sink.
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Apple uses a thermally conductive film that must be removed prior to reinstalling the heat sink.
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Use a razor blade (or anyother flat object such as a credit card, etc.) to remove all of the old solidified thermal material from the heat sink.
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Next use a small amount of rubbing alcohol to remove all traces of the old thermal material.
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Allow the heat sink to dry before proceeding.
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Apply a thin layer of thermal paste to the reflective silicon face of the processor.
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Check out our thermal paste guide for detailed instructions on applying thermal paste.
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Lay the heat sink on the AirPort card and use a spudger to reconnect the heat sink thermal sensor.
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While holding the heat sink in place, press the four plastic posts down through the logic board to reattach the heat sink.
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To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
To reassemble your device, follow these instructions in reverse order.
