Today I ran into a challenge that I haven’t experienced since the very early days of my career when I did web design/computer tech support (I think my title was “dances with computers”). Trying to work with computers from the early to mid 90s is real pain. Specifically, about a third of the time I couldn’t figure out how to open the thing. Keep in mind these weren’t the 90% plastic easy-to-break-if-you-really-need-to cases we have now, they were the all steel cases that rivaled Buick for amount of steel in their machines. If only they had taken the ease of opening the case from a car manufacturer. Instead, most computer companies hired frustrated, out of work puzzle-box manufacturers to tease and torment a the “digital generation.”

As a case in point, there is the IBM Aptiva. I need to transfer a hard drive out of this for a friend getting a new computer today. Like all riddles, I decided to try and figure this one out myself. After much inspection, I found a switch! By sliding what looks like a case lock to the side it “unlocks.” By unlocking, I think it means that somewhere in a Gothic castle a stone wall just slid open revealing a secret passage. I assume this because nothing happened here.

After much more studying and a few rude gestures to the computer I gave up and turned to the resource that was not robust enough to help me years ago, web search. Now, my first search yielded a site with that answers the question “What is the best way to identify my Aptiva model? …and how do I open the %$#@ case?” My thoughts exactly. It turns out that what I was missing was to then use the hidden lever under the front of the case that is the release. At that point the entire case slides off thusly. Of course, its all so simple now!