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Hardware / Re: HOT MINI
« Last post by aBc on May 16, 2024, 05:13:42 PM »Kudos for the original thought of possibly using the desolder tool. Maybe removal of the teflon tip, replaced with a similar length of the nylon spacer stock (mentioned above) in its’ place, might then work as a pin removal tool?
I really don’t use the desolder pump that I have due to the “shocking” recoil of the thing when working on very small bits. (It’s quite unnerving to me, working so closely and with magnifying headgear on - so I revert to using solder wick instead.)
And I mean, that when you “fire” such desoldering pumps they don’t extend (shoot) that metal plunger out of the end “towards the board”. That’s only extended when you elect to push the “un-cocked” plunger down through the nozzle to clear any hardened solder out of that nozzle. So if the nylon stock could be cut & fitted instead, one might actually have their own special Mac Mini heatsink removal tool?
Well, worth a shot anyway. There’s a project for someone. (You did put the hemostats/forceps back into your fishing tackle box?)
Looks like the processors’ mylar shield stuck to your heatsink (as if often the case). I usually remove that and don’t even attempt to reuse it. Also I peel the original thin foil off on the heatsink, which I assume originally served as a “paste-treated” barrier between the processor and the heatsink.
And looking at the red-outlined area, the white-ish looking areas are where the thing remained “stuck” to the processor (green dots). While the smoother, dark grey areas (yellow dot) might represent where actual heat-exchange contact was no longer in effect. (i.e. baked and separated.)
So whereas most recommend replacing heatsink paste every two-to-four years... some have G4 Mac minis that have never had this done (now, in nearly twenty years!).
Again, it would have been interesting to note the exhaust air temperature of your mini before replacing the paste. But big congrats on a job that many simply choose not to attempt!
I really don’t use the desolder pump that I have due to the “shocking” recoil of the thing when working on very small bits. (It’s quite unnerving to me, working so closely and with magnifying headgear on - so I revert to using solder wick instead.)
And I mean, that when you “fire” such desoldering pumps they don’t extend (shoot) that metal plunger out of the end “towards the board”. That’s only extended when you elect to push the “un-cocked” plunger down through the nozzle to clear any hardened solder out of that nozzle. So if the nylon stock could be cut & fitted instead, one might actually have their own special Mac Mini heatsink removal tool?
Well, worth a shot anyway. There’s a project for someone. (You did put the hemostats/forceps back into your fishing tackle box?)
Looks like the processors’ mylar shield stuck to your heatsink (as if often the case). I usually remove that and don’t even attempt to reuse it. Also I peel the original thin foil off on the heatsink, which I assume originally served as a “paste-treated” barrier between the processor and the heatsink.
And looking at the red-outlined area, the white-ish looking areas are where the thing remained “stuck” to the processor (green dots). While the smoother, dark grey areas (yellow dot) might represent where actual heat-exchange contact was no longer in effect. (i.e. baked and separated.)
So whereas most recommend replacing heatsink paste every two-to-four years... some have G4 Mac minis that have never had this done (now, in nearly twenty years!).
Again, it would have been interesting to note the exhaust air temperature of your mini before replacing the paste. But big congrats on a job that many simply choose not to attempt!
