In the MacBook Pro Retina, the Flash Storage device is NOT permanently soldered to the logic board, and yes, it can be upgraded, on both the Late 2012 13-inch Retina models: MD212LL/A (2.5 GHz with 128 GB), MD213LL/A (2.5 GHz with 256 GB . . . and the Mid 2012 15-inch Retina models MC975LL/A (2.3 GHz) MC976LL/A (2.6 GHz). Here is an original Apple 512 GB flash storage drive on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/200858649301
In the MacBook Pro Retina, the Flash Storage device is NOT permanently soldered to the logic board, and yes, it can be upgraded. I found an original Apple 512 GB flash storage drive on eBay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/200858649301 I'm going to try to fill in the missing link here -- Flash Storage and Flash Memory are indeed the same, and it is just like a Solid State Hard Drive, but with a different shape and connector and no enclosure. Solid State Hard Drives, USB thumb drives, and the new Flash Storage devices are all composed of NAND or NOR gate Flash memory technology, as are Compact Flash cards and SD cards for cameras and phones. This technology is unique from other types of memory such as battery-powered Static RAM or Dynamic RAM. Flash memory is NON-VOLATILE permanent data storage and can be removed and connected to another computer and the data on it will persist without power, just like a typical "hard drive" or "thumb drive", making it a suitable replacement for magnetic media such as tapes and...
There should be a button here for "I did it -- EPIC FAILURE!!" When I put my iPod back together, the components on the mainboard were scraping against the clickwheel, and maybe the battery wasn't in perfect alignment, but the result was that there was a lethal amount of friction when sliding the assembly back into the case. As I was trying to relieve the pressure by tilting the board down using a spudger from the bottom, the top of the display bezel ended up scraping against the casing in such a way that it cracked from the center of the right edge. OUCH!! There goes a $50 repair job and a $40 replacement cost! Bye Bye perfectly working iPod Mini )-;
There are two safeguards that can be done when reassembling this iPod. First, use a stiff piece of plastic film as a shim and lubricant between the top of the logic board and the top inside of the case, such as anti-static packaging, or the clear bag packaging of Apple display dongles (use an exacto knife to cut a long strip of it). Don't cover the display with the plastic, just the logic board components. Second, instead of pushing down on the assembly from the top or sides of the display which will place dangerous pressure on it, connect a cable to the dock connector and pull on it from the bottom, and pull out the plastic shield deftly and easily after the assembly is in position.
There should be a button here for "I did it -- EPIC FAILURE!!" When I put my iPod back together, the components on the mainboard were scraping against the clickwheel, and maybe the battery wasn't in perfect alignment, but the result was that there was a lethal amount of friction when sliding the assembly back into the case. As I was trying to relieve the pressure by tilting the board down using a spudger from the bottom, the top of the display bezel ended up scraping against the casing in such a way that it cracked from the center of the right edge. OUCH!! There goes a $50 repair job and a $40 replacement cost! Bye Bye perfectly working iPod Mini )-;
There are two safeguards that can be done when reassembling this iPod. First, use a stiff piece of plastic film as a shim and lubricant between the top of the logic board and the top inside of the case, such as anti-static packaging, or the clear bag packaging of Apple display dongles (use an exacto knife to cut a long strip of it). Don't cover the display with the plastic, just the logic board components. Second, instead of pushing down on the assembly from the top or sides of the display which will place dangerous pressure on it, connect a cable to the dock connector and pull on it from the bottom, and pull out the plastic shield deftly and easily after the assembly is in position.