Desktop Icon

The underside of your iMac, with the little panel removed. Photo courtesy Bleedingedge TV.

I needed to upgrade the memory in my iMac from the 1GB that it shipped with in 2007 to 4GB so that I can run Parallels Desktop. This is so I can use MS Office 2007 and the Beta version of Office 2010 in their native habitats, because the Mac version of these apps is like a toy.

I ordered the upgrade from OWC, which has a little video on how to install it, but I was really inspired by this video because they showed what actually happens when you, a real person, upgrade your own memory cards. They’re supposed to pop out of the slots like Pop Tarts out of a toaster, but they don’t. I had to ease the old one out with that most intricate of contemporary instruments, the bent paper clip.

Also, I thought I was pushing the new ones in too hard, so I didn’t push: I didn’t want to ram the RAM. So when I plugged the computer back in and turned it on, instead of the familiar Bwwwoongggggg! I got “boop boop boop…boop boop boop…” So I pressed them in harder than I’d thought I was supposed to, turned it on again, and got the familiar start-up sound.

And there you have it:

"Nom-nom-nom!"

Now I’m going to look for a hard drive upgrade. What part of the iMac do you unscrew for that, and what sound does it make when you’re doing it wrong?