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Can't open RAM door!

N

nigrunze

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 28, 2007
150
0
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
So I got the new 20" iMac a few weeks ago. I decided to do a small memory switch between mine and my brother's iMac. A 1*1GB stick from my computer swap with 2*512MB sticks from his computer.

So anyways, here's the problem. With my brother's iMac, I was easily able to remove the Memory Door to take out the RAM but on my iMac I can't get the freaking thing off!:confused: The screw turns clockwise and counter clockwise but it won't loosen or tighten at all. Has anybody else had this problem.
 
Same problem

Hey nigrunze,

i had the same issue with my 20' 2.4 bought online in the UK, called up apple and its going back. You shouldn't have any problems as it seems they know of the issue now. :)
 
Has anyone been able to resolve this problem without going to the Apple store? I really don't feel like doing the 100 mile drive.
 
I had this happen to me. Turns out the screw is bad and not long enough to actually screw it in. So, you also can't take it out as normal. In effect, the door is not even secured down. Find something even smaller than the holes (paper clip, #0 screwdriver) in the grating and simply pull it up. It should fall right off.
 
how to turn a too-tight screw

it happened to me, too: i couldn't get the screw to turn, and i thought i'd have to take the whole frakkin' imac to the apple store to install my 3rd-party RAM.

i had used a phillips screwdriver, as instructed. this only softened the cross-hair threading on the screw, and it became even more difficult to turn the screw. it didn't turn a bit--nada.

then i got creative. i took a small flathead screwdriver, angled it so that one corner of the flathead went toward the dead center of the screw's crosshairs. the V-shape of my angled flathead placed the edges of the flathead into two of the screw's four grooves (the groove pair being 180 degress apart). then i pushed really hard to keep the flathead from coming loose and softening the crosshairs even more.

**this is key: push very firmly into the screw while gradually turning it counterclockwise. to keep your imac from sliding away from you, you should stabilize the top end of the mac with your non-dominant hand.**

you won't need to apply as much pressure when you're tightening the screw, after RAM insertion. and don't tighten the screw too much, so that the next time you need to access the RAM door, it won't be such a bitch to unscrew the screw again.

i had a similar problem on my wife's ibook a few years back. i tried to install the RAM myself, even bought special hobbit-sized screwdrivers for the operation, but jacked up the screws' threading. then had to take the ibook+memory in to macmall (i didn't know apple stores would help you for free) and pay $40 to see some dude jam his screwdriver with sasquatchian force into the screw.

a bit long-winded, but i hope this helps.
 
Well, unfortunately no matter how much I try to tighten or loosen the screw, nothing helps. Just keeps turning. I've tried doing it lightly, and I've tried pushing with as much force as I can on the screw while trying to unscrew but I just couldn't get it out.

And eaghra, congrats on your first post:apple:. Unfortunately the paperclip, toothpick, and pliers methods didn't work.

I'm gonna go see a Mac Genius when I can.

Thanks for your tips. Even though none of them worked:confused:.
 
goatrealm said:
i had used a phillips screwdriver, as instructed. this only softened the cross-hair threading on the screw, and it became even more difficult to turn the screw. it didn't turn a bit--nada.
Click to expand...

This is what we call "stripping."
 
suneohair said:
This is what we call "stripping."
Click to expand...

Oh, how enlightening. Except your wrong. Stripping refers to the threads of the screw. The poster was referring to the the phillips head which he "rounded over". We all know what he meant. Why is it necessary to state the obvious?
 
It was not that hard to open the door once we got the right tool, which is not a Phillips screwdriver, none would work. We took a flat small precision screwdriver and it worked quite easily, now running with 4GB RAM, it screams!!!
 
Can you please explain further. What exactly was the problem with your iMac? Did the screw not loosen or tighten same as mine? Was it completely stuck in the aluminum piece and you couldn't even get it to turn with the screwdriver?

What's a flat small precision screwdriver? Is it just a regular minus screwdriver?

Thanks
 
I had the same problem. The screw on my iMac's is defective. The screw is not milled correctly. It is not deep enough in the center for the phillips screwdriver to get a good grip. :mad:

nigrunze said:
Can you please explain further. What exactly was the problem with your iMac? Did the screw not loosen or tighten same as mine? Was it completely stuck in the aluminum piece and you couldn't even get it to turn with the screwdriver?

What's a flat small precision screwdriver? Is it just a regular minus screwdriver?

Thanks
Click to expand...
 
Conclusion

So to conclude, I brought my iMac to the Apple Store and they let me exchange it for a new one and transferred all the files for me.

On my new iMac, I was able to get the trap door off without a problem:)
 
This is asinine, I wouldn't have my imac replaced because I couldn't open the ram door. I can't believe the genius at the genius bar can't just pry it open somehow.

Now I'm paranoid that I won't be able to open my ram door! :eek:
 
Believe me. I tried, but the trap door just wouldn't come off. If you're worried about it try taking yours off. Chances are that it's fine and will unscrew quite nicely.

Whatever. They were nice enough to transfer the files and settings (most of them were the same, some settings weren't how I had them so I had to change them back) so (almost) everything was how I had it. They weren't able to copy the Windows NTFS partition though. I just installed XP instead of Vista. Didn't wanna have to deal with all the unnecessary RAM usage. Hopefully Vista SP1 fixes that.

That's the end of my post since I'm going off topic.

Don't worry about it too much as it's just one screw. Either it's broken or it's not and if it is, that really sucks.
 
I have the same problem as the original poster, the screw in my ram door on my 20" iMac just turns without doing anything. It is obvious that is not screwed into anything but the RAM door is a tight fit and I have tried using a paper clip to get it open but no luck so far. I will try some other means of prying the RAM door off before I resort to taking the system I purchased yesterday, back to the Apple Store to remedy such an annoying little problem.

[edit] Man do I hate getting old. I put on some reading glasses and determined that the philips screw head was slightly burred and the screwdriver I was using, which was the correct size for a non-burred screw, was actually turning without moving the screw. I used a larger screwdriver and applied some force and the screw came out.

I am thinking of leaving the door off the RAM compartment so if I upgrade from the 2 gig I have now I won't have future struggles with a recalcitrant burred screw head.
 
kckiwi said:
I have the same problem as the original poster, the screw in my ram door on my 20" iMac just turns without doing anything. It is obvious that is not screwed into anything but the RAM door is a tight fit and I have tried using a paper clip to get it open but no luck so far. I will try some other means of prying the RAM door off before I resort to taking the system I purchased yesterday, back to the Apple Store to remedy such an annoying little problem.

[edit] Man do I hate getting old. I put on some reading glasses and determined that the philips screw head was slightly burred and the screwdriver I was using, which was the correct size for a non-burred screw, was actually turning without moving the screw. I used a larger screwdriver and applied some force and the screw came out.

I am thinking of leaving the door off the RAM compartment so if I upgrade from the 2 gig I have now I won't have future struggles with a recalcitrant burred screw head.
Click to expand...

I used an extremely thin Allen wrench to get the RAM door off. I just inserted it into one of the holes, pulled, and the door popped right off.
 
Is this the same problem everyone else is having??

I just took of my RAM access door tonight for the first time since I've owned it to see what brand the RAM was and the plastic around the screw guide pretty much denigrated (see pic) and now the RAM door will not sit flush or screw in tightly and the screw guide is just loose instead whats left of the plastic...is the RAM door supposed to have a little bit of a "V" shape to it or be totally flat? because mine has a little curve to it. In case you were wondering it unscrewed easily, I didn't force anything so i know I didn't damage it was I unscrewed it.

Please let me know...I'm within the first year warranty and I do have applecare, will this be covered?

Thanks.

IMG_2692-1.jpg
[/IMG]
 
My theory is it looks like they are probably screwing it too tight at the factory, which is breaking the cheap plastic inset that holds the piece of metal the screw screws into. When the plastic breaks, the piece of metal just twirls around since its not being held in place anymore.
 
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