I have a 1ghz pc mini that died some time ago. It actually died twice, but we never figured out why. Anyway, it has Bluetooth and wifi hardware. I just acquired a 1ghz pc iMac. Anyone know if I can cannibalize the mini and install the Bluetooth and wifi on the iMac? If so, are there sites that say how to install?

There was no 1Ghz mini, but there was 1.25. If it was the G4 model mini the Airport Extreme card should work.

To install the card you take the bottom off of the iMac, 4 small Phillips screws, #0 I think, and slide the card in. Easy.

The bluetooth is a different story. You would need to take off the bottom cover, then the inner frame, then remove the logic board. It's quite a project. You also need to put more Arctic Silver heat paste on certain parts when you re-assemble. You might also need a bluetooth extension cable, not sure if it came with the iMac if it didn't have bluetooth installed from the factory.

You can get a D-Link DBT-120 external bluetooth adapter that plugs into a USB port, or your keyboard, for $7 shipped from ebay. It says USB 2.0 but will work with the USB 1.1 on the iMac.

As far as the wi-fi goes, there is a removable "Airport" card that should be very easy to transfer over. I don't know if the iMac would have an airport antenna pre-installed, you might have to transfer that over, too. While the Bluetooth card and antenna are fairly easy to remove from the mini, I really don't know if they would fit the iMac. This is a great resource for the mini teardown, but unfortunately, they don't seem to have any info on your particular iMac.

Edit: Reboot scoops once again! That's a much better idea for the bluetooth: just get a dongle.

Edit: Reboot scoops once again! That's a much better idea for the bluetooth: just get a dongle.

I just grabbed a magic marker and used the bathroom mirror. Voila! Bluetooth in 2 minutes and it was free!

The wife seems to be having a problem with it though.