Suggestions for opening a compact sans Mac Cracker?

[chris]

Well, Computer Hardware club at my school has acquired a Mac Classic. It's ugly and yellowed as sin, and currently not working (checkerboard, though I did get it to boot from ROM once)

I know what to try to stop the checkerboard. However, I don't know what to do to open the thing. Because of its condition, we don't really care if the case is bent or scratched, so.. any ideas?

 

[tomlee59]

I have not used a case cracker in many years, mainly because I can never find it when I need to open a Mac. Here's what I do instead: First, remove all the screws (of course). Next, hold the mac by the rear cover, with the crt facing down, about 6" or so above something soft, like carpet. Simply shake -- gently -- and the front half will fall out.

 

[porter]

Assuming you have the appropriate torx screwdriver of course.

 

[equill]

The same screws as those that hold a Compact AIO together are the means of cracking the case, if porter's pre-condition is met.

1) Remove the bottom rear case-screws entirely.

2) Slacken off the top case-screws for a couple of turns.

3) With the Mac face-down on a cushioned surface, hold the bucket by its top handle, and press firmly on each of the slackened top screws in turn with the Torx-15 driver.

4) As the bezel loosens in the bucket (ie, the case 'cracks'), slacken the top screws again and press them again.

5) Just a couple of repetitions of this, and you should be able to lift the bucket off the prone AIO.

6) Voilà! No mess. No fuss. No marring of the case joint.

de

 

[Scott Baret]

I have NEVER used a case cracker in my life. What I found helps is pushing on the SCSI port (use the floppy port if you've got a 128K or 512K). Do this while pulling slightly on the case with both hands.

Unscrew the two screws in the lid but don't remove them. They are a pain to put back if removed completely. (I've also seen a few Macs that are missing these, perhaps from a past technician who had bad luck replacing them after a repair or upgrade). By keeping them in the handle shaft of the Mac they will not fall out provided you don't turn the Mac's case back upside down.

This has worked for me on the most stubborn compacts and the ones that have obviously been opened many times before plus all those in between the two extremes.

I've never had any "case joints" damaged by this either, so it seems pretty safe.

 

[Christopher]

It's ugly and yellowed as sin.

I thought it was piss yellow [] ]'>

 

[skeletor]

yellowed as sin,

I didn't know that sin was yellow !

' once you try yellow, you'll go mellow ']

-----Dr. Fabian J. Fate

 

[Bunsen]

equill's procedure is definitely the lowest impact of those suggested above. If I was to follow tomlee59's 6" drop technique, I would (just personally) want something softer than carpet underneath, like a foam sofa cushion or suchlike. Pushing on ports sounds like asking for loose solder joint trouble IMHO.

My $0.02. Not valid with any other offer.

 

[Scott Baret]

The port pushing technique shows that I'm an oldtimer, I guess...back when this was a common technique the solder was still relatively fresh!

Don't try it on a Classic II, whatever you do...it seems to me they have the weakest joints of them all.

 

[kreats]

Although I have a cracker, the easiest way I find is to position the compact face down on a pillow/towel/etc, undo screws, give the sides side a quick "one-two" slap then lift (holding on to both sides at once) - comes straight off.

 

[JDW]

It's ugly and yellowed as sin... we don't really care if the case is bent or scratched, so.. any ideas?

Hammer? Seriously, if you honestly couldn't care less about the case.

Why not a wide flat head screw driver? Why not? Again, if this thing is destined for the dumpster anyway, right?

I have 3 compact Macs. The case on all of them is so tight that I cannot get it off with any manner of shaking. I therefore use the poor-man's Mac cracker which came with one of these Macs I bought off EBAY. I don't really like it that much, but it works. It consists of two thin pieces of metal, both of which are bent at an angle at one end. Put them back to back and then insert in the case gap, then wedge open slightly. I do this in 4 sections of the case, a few millimeters on each section, and then the case loosens enough to slide off.

 

[equill]

Long, long ago, in a Forum far away, I posted a description of The Ultimate case-cracker.

Visualize a metal disc of about 1.5" or 3.8cm dia. Across a diameter of the disc is a raised plastic (nylon?) bar, 2mm high and 1mm wide to fit into the joint between the bezel and bucket of a Compact AIO. On the other side of the disc is a perpendicular shaft of 5-mm rod welded to the centre of the disc. About 1.5" from the disc, the shaft is cranked at 90° to form a 'handle' or lever, of 9-7/8" or 24.5cm, which lies at 90° to the nylon bar. Onto the end of the shaft is an axially-welded Torx-15 bit. The shaft is long enough to reach into the wells containing the top case screws without fouling the case. The polished metal disc prevents marring of the case's surface. The cracker is stamped next to the bit with 'APEX TX15 440'. The metal is well chrome-plated.

In use, the nylon bar is slipped into the 'seam' between bezel and bucket with one hand, and stabilized in the seam with the other hand. The crank is then levered, carefully but firmly and parallel to the plane of the side of the AIO's case, to separate bezel and bucket a little at four points around the bezel. No sweat. No tears. No marring, thumping, shaking or bouncing of the Mac. I scored one such case-cracker a few years ago from a wound-down Apple sell-hire-repair business that I helped to dispose of its (obviously long-time) accumulation. Regrettably, most of the CRT displays went to a waste station. I wish that I had snaffled the other two such case-crackers.

So, out with your tinsnips and pliers, soldiers. You too can whip up such a cracker, and your AIOs will thank you.

de

 

[gobabushka]

When opening a compact, especially a classic, I combine the jiggle method along with a little tug on either side of the bucket.