[jyl]

Alright, done. Took about 40 min. Probably would have helped to have consulted some directions first. I simply removed the iMac back and started looking for screws to remove around the ODD. I bought a naked drive (from OWC, as it turns out) so had to transfer over the perforated shield/bracket thingy, that took a little while for me to understand. Your Mac mini might be harder, but I bet you do it faster, because you'll actually have instructions in hand. I needed a small Phillips and a small Torx driver (bought a set for $10 once, they have been very useful). And a pair of chopsticks to retrieve the screw I dropped.

New drive is ripping CDs as we speak. How come with a Windows PC I'd still be installing drivers now, whereas with the Mac you simply install the hardware and the Mac starts using it right away?

This iMac has been going since 2004/5. It is a G5 that gets used 6+ hours a day by the whole family. I've maxed the DRAM, replaced the hard drive, added a wireless card, now replaced the ODD. Its been quite the trooper of a machine. It's time is coming, alas, because the G5 is just too slow (takes me literally all night to rip a DVD) and because Leopard won't install on a G5. So it will be retired to the family room as a music player, I guess. Macs are good stuff.