iFixIt

New iFixIt kits offer expansion to new iMacs

When it comes to packing more storage into Mac systems, the only model that Apple supports adding more internal hard drives to is the Mac Pro, where you have four drive bays to use for new hard drives. While drives on other Mac systems may be user serviceable, the only supported options for adding more drives to them is to use external storage options.

External storage options are relatively fast and easy to set up, however, they do offer a bit of an inconvenience as they can clutter your workspace, or be a burden to lug around with a portable … Read more

Access iFixIt manuals on your iPhone and iPod Touch

When it comes to performing do-it-yourself fixes or upgrades on your Mac, one of the main resources to use is the online take-apart guides from iFixIt.

The company has detailed how to open and access internal components of many Mac models, and has gained a reputation for quickly tearing down newly released Apple hardware and outlining what's inside.

The manuals and high-quality detailed images offered by iFixIt can be invaluable, but if for some reason your Mac is not working and you need to use one of the manuals to replace a component, then you will need to access … Read more

iFixIt takes apart Apple Thunderbolt Display

When new Mac systems and devices come out, expect the do-it-yourself repair guide iFixIt to be one of the first to rip it apart and show you what's inside. When Thunderbolt was issued iFixIt disassembled the first MacBook systems to show the Thunderbolt controller chips, and also took apart the Thunderbolt cable to show the signal conditioning electronics in them. Only days after Apple released its Thunderbolt Display, iFixIt is at it again and has fully disassembled the monitor to show a surprising amount of circuitry.

Apple's Thunderbolt Display is in essence a Thunderbolt hub, and as iFixIt … Read more

iFixit teardown confirms active Thunderbolt cable

Without any devices initially being available for it, Apple's Thunderbolt technology was relatively dormant in the public eye after its debut in the latest MacBook Pro and iMac systems. However, since the release of the Promise Pegasus RAID system, Apple's accompanying Thunderbolt cable, and some recent firmware updates for it, Thunderbolt appears to have caught a new wave of interest, particularly around the cable itself. People have wondered not only about its compatibility with Displayport (which has a similar connector as Thunderbolt), but also about its seemingly expensive $49 price tag.

iFixit today released a teardown of the cable to look at its components and in doing so revealed that the cable's unusually large connector jackets actually house a controller that is used to boost and condition the signal so it makes it from one end of the cable to another without any data loss.

Not only does the cable contain chips, but it contains a fair number of them. Each end of the cable contains six chips, with a large controller by gennum technologies, and a number of other smaller electrical components on printed circuit boards. Gennum technologies provides signal conditioning chips that allow for data transfer at high speeds. This technology appears to be the root of the cost for the cables.… Read more

iFixit Manuals now free to the public

The website "iFixIt" has been a goldmine of information and how-to instructions for repairing various models of Macintosh that have been released over the years, starting with the "Pismo" PowerBook G3 in 2004. Their take-apart manuals have been filled with detailed photographs and illustrations that clearly show the steps for replacing parts, and accessing components for servicing. On December 15th, they licensed all of their repair manuals to the public for free.… Read more