New iPod Classic 120GB hard drive compatible with MBA?

[yaemes]

I believe the MacBook Air 80GB HDD comes straight from the iPod Classic. So up until now, I don't think it's been possible to upgrade the MBA since the 160GB drive was a bit thicker than the 80GB. Well now since the iPod classic 120GB is the same exact size as the 80GB classic, that leads me to believe the new 120GB drive is the same size as the 80GB. Which if that's the case and someone can verify that, I'd swap out the drives in a heartbeat. I'd definitely post a tutorial with pics too.

[dudup]

Yes, Toshiba announced new 1.8" drives recently. 120 GB and 240 GB replacing the previous 80 / 160 GB.

So its perfect reasonable that a upgrade will be painless and easy.

But be mindful we have lots of SSD coming soon. Intel just announced their 80GB SSD for US$ 500 (no word on 1.8" form yet). I know SSD is more expensive, but I would be completely game for a 80 GB SSD below US$ 500.

[xparaparafreakx]

I would like to see this and maybe try it out myself. Extra 40GBs would be nice on an Air.

[yaemes]

hot damn you are right, http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/1.8-inchHardDiskDrives/MK1214GAH

definately gonna get the new iPod and swap out the drives. the toshiba is $150+ online btw

[dudup]

One less issue for an MBA refresh.

New CPU, new HDD...
RAM amount will still be the same, I think...

And a hopeful project design revision that won't have graphic chip issues.

[yaemes]

just bought the new classic, probably going to attempt the mod tomorrow. now just one thing: my plan is to boot into the leopard installer via the included DVD and launch disk utility. then, with the ipod plugged in, restore my ipod to the contents of the built in hard drive. then i'll do the swap, power it on, and hope for the best. sound like it'd work?

[gcmexico]

sweet keep me informed...sounds interesting

[yaemes]

actually trying to do the mod now. macbook air is taken apart, hard drive is removed.

but oh GOD the iPod is a bitch to take apart.... wish me luck because this may bend the case beyond repair.

[DaveOZ]

Good luck. Please post results here.

[DaveOZ]

This may help.

http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPod/iPod-Classic/Hard-Drive/130/4/Page-1

[ducatidoc]

i guess the $64k now is buy the drive and do it yourself today or hold out till oct 14 to see how sweet the update is.

am i being too optimistic to hope for a complete core shutdown fix with the next update??

[iCantwait]

going good?:confused:

[yaemes]

i have temporarily stopped until i can get some ipod opening tools. gonna try going to the apple store and pilfering some but otherwise ill just order from ifixit

[yaemes]

i guess the $64k now is buy the drive and do it yourself today or hold out till oct 14 to see how sweet the update is.

am i being too optimistic to hope for a complete core shutdown fix with the next update??

i'd rather replace the hd for $250 than replace the whole laptop for $1800 but still i cant wait till they release the new airs.

unrelated: i installed MacBook Air Update like a month ago. wasn't that supposed to solve the heat closing down one core?

[nathans89]

after seeing the new thin ipod classic I was going to do this as well! especially as it was announced as $249 which is about 125 GBP here in the UK, then on the apple UK website its listed as 179GBP which as about $358 which is damned unreasonable! just because we're british doesn't mean we should pay a crap load more!

[RealEvil]

Check the exchange rate - it isnt anything like what you just quoted. It used to be 6 months ago but not anymore. Now $250 = £142. And the exchange rate is (in the short term) likely to get worse - i.e. very very soon $250 will be £150 etc. And then you have to consider VAT which is included in the UK price and NOT included in the US etc etc.

I am not saying this to justify high prices but the 'normal' USD exchange rate (which is around what it is now), better justifies Apple's pricing. When the dollar was weak Apple could have reduced UK prices but companies just dont do that ;-)

after seeing the new thin ipod classic I was going to do this as well! especially as it was announced as $249 which is about 125 GBP here in the UK, then on the apple UK website its listed as 179GBP which as about $358 which is damned unreasonable! just because we're british doesn't mean we should pay a crap load more!

[yaemes]

good news. i ordered three pairs of ipod disassembly tools from iFixit. note they're having a coupon dealio going on now, 9colors gets you $5 off.

so hopefully when they come ill come back and revive this thread. thanks for the support everyone!!

[SFStateStudent]

Extremely interesting project at hand. KMA (Keep Me Advised)! :cool:

[mac jones]

This topic has been doing the rounds :)

It definitely won't work. as it's 8mm and the present version of the Air uses 5mm.

Also, i'm not sure it's even a ziff connector.

As far as I know there is no room in the Air for mods.

[ayeying]

This topic has been doing the rounds :)

It definitely won't work. as it's 8mm and the present version of the Air uses 5mm.

Also, i'm not sure it's even a ziff connector.

As far as I know there is no room in the Air for mods.

The new 120GB should be 5mm. Its kinda crowded since the depth is only 10.5mm with the outer case/electronics.

[alexlovesmacs]

Can't wait for the photos!:)

[glitch44]

This topic has been doing the rounds :)

It definitely won't work. as it's 8mm and the present version of the Air uses 5mm.

Also, i'm not sure it's even a ziff connector.

As far as I know there is no room in the Air for mods.

Toshiba MK1231GAL Specs Page (http://www.toshibastorage.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/1.8-inchHardDiskDrives/MKxx31GAxSeries/MKxx31GAxSpecs)
1.8-inch PMR HDD 120GB*
Height 0.20" (5mm)

[powerbook911]

They need a 5400 RPM drive even more than extra storage.

[yaemes]

They need a 5400 RPM drive even more than extra storage.

I'd rather have the storage...

[robfol]

Have a look http://tinyurl.com/59ftw7

Direct replacement I think

120GB - 5mm high - ZIF connector

[glitch44]

Have a look http://tinyurl.com/59ftw7

Direct replacement I think

120GB - 5mm high - ZIF connector

read 3 posts above yours.

[CaptainCaveMann]

Come on, come on! I want results, give us an update or something. Throw a dog a bone man! :D

[pgharavi]

I'd rather have the storage...

I strongly disagree. I'd much rather have speed.

[aleksandra.]

I strongly disagree. I'd much rather have speed.

SSD?

[pgharavi]

SSD?

Price to too absurd.

[aleksandra.]

Price to too absurd.

Well... I can't argue, really. But it's already down since January and hopefully will be even more so next year. Still I think it's better solution than a faster-than-current HDD that'll generate more heat and yet remain slower.

[yaemes]

hey everyone - i haven't forgotten about you! the ipod dissassembly tools should be here around sep. 19th - 23rd. i'll have an update as soon as i get them in the mail!

[mobilehaathi]

Curses! In this age of e-mail, I want instant satisfaction!!!

[ducatidoc]

hey everyone - i haven't forgotten about you! the ipod dissassembly tools should be here around sep. 19th - 23rd. i'll have an update as soon as i get them in the mail!

yah, chomping at the bit to find out how it works out... best of luck!!

ps - post pics as you go, would be MUY helpful for those of us trying to follow in your footsteps

[DaveOZ]

Pah, just use a butterknife or do you want to use the ipod again. :p

[yaemes]

i plan on putting the 80 GB drive from the Air, so i'd have a 80 gb ipod and 120 gb Air... so no butter knife... although i may eventually have to resort to that. disassembly does involve a putty knife. (got two of those already)

i have taken pics of the air with instructions on how to remove the HD. i'll post them today but right now im at school :-P

[yaemes]

I AM 3/4 DONE WITH IT!!!!

I am so excited, i'll post super soon!!!!

[DjAmTraX]

Sweet! Can't wait! :):):):):):):)

[yaemes]

got it back together, it didnt work, took it apart and put the 80 gig back in, worked just fine, then i put the 120 back in and it actually detected it but could not format because of an i/o error. still trying.

[DjAmTraX]

got it back together, it didnt work, took it apart and put the 80 gig back in, worked just fine, then i put the 120 back in and it actually detected it but could not format because of an i/o error. still trying.

Thats too bad. I hope it works out. Pictures please...

[yaemes]

the drive will not format (i/o error) but it seems to be zero-ing out the disk just fine, 30 mins left till its done. fingers crossed.

[yaemes]

word of warning: you do not need ipod dissassembly tools. they don't even help.......

5 mins left till the drive is zeroed out.

[DjAmTraX]

word of warning: you do not need ipod dissassembly tools. they don't even help.......

5 mins left till the drive is zeroed out.

I've been wanting to open my 5th gen iPod for fun, but don't want to risk bending the casing. What did you use the open the ipod? picture of the tool is a +.

[yaemes]

one chisel, two putty knives, and a hammer

it is impossible not to scuff it up substantially so do this only if you absolutely have to

i'll post pics when i get it to work, otherwise itd just be wasted effort

[yaemes]

oh and same i/o error, booting into Ubuntu to try and format the disk there.

[yaemes]

epic fail, ubuntu had trouble formatting it too

i put the 120 back in the ipod then formatted it on my other mac with disk utility, transfered it back to the air, and then the same error.

please does anyone know what input/output error means?

[yaemes]

wonderful. just great. now the original 80gb doesnt work.....


i have a broken MBA now.

[pstauff]

Maybe you can try formatting it externally?

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=433729

[Vikz]

i think, if im correct, you damaged the drives input output writer... can someone confirm this? :confused:

[pstauff]

Not sure if this is the answer, but it seems somewhat related.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1376191&tstart=584

[Satori]

please does anyone know what input/output error means?

Just a guess but if you are getting the same error for both drives it may be a problem with the ZIF socket. Have you pulled the lever all the way back up?

[yaemes]

I thought the ZIF socket didn't have a lever, i just firmly pushed the cable in hoping i would not break it. it is a little bent now but from the looks of it it's still perfectly fine. i'd bust out the ohm-meter but those contacts are painfully small and i can't really follow the traces as they're obscured.

details: if i put the 120 back in the ipod, and plug it into my leopard mac, it can format just fine with disk utility. however if i put it inside the air, i get i/o error.

should I try putting it back into the ipod and formatting it with Tiger?

the ipod is not *quite* a usb drive. its almost one but i beleive there is something a little different about it from say a zif drive to usb adapter.

i don't know what to do!

Edit: also note that you can not boot into tiger with an MBA, it's not compatable.

[aleksandra.]

I thought the ZIF socket didn't have a lever, i just firmly pushed the cable in hoping i would not break it. it is a little bent now but from the looks of it it's still perfectly fine. i'd bust out the ohm-meter but those contacts are painfully small and i can't really follow the traces as they're obscured.

details: if i put the 120 back in the ipod, and plug it into my leopard mac, it can format just fine with disk utility. however if i put it inside the air, i get i/o error.

should I try putting it back into the ipod and formatting it with Tiger?

the ipod is not *quite* a usb drive. its almost one but i beleive there is something a little different about it from say a zif drive to usb adapter.

i don't know what to do!

Edit: also note that you can not boot into tiger with an MBA, it's not compatable.

And if you put 80GB drive in the iPod, does it work? If so, maybe the problem is the connection in your MBA?

From http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=3226&p=14 :

We found that the connector on the Samsung HDD Apple used had a more snug fit than the SSD we received from DVNation, we're not sure if this is a modification Samsung made for Apple and if it's possible to get a drive after market with the same drive-end connector. Having a snug fit is very important as we found that unless we taped the cable in place very well, the drive would sometimes not be detected by OS X upon boot. Make sure the connector is secure and then reverse the process to install the new drive.

If the 120GB in the new iPod is indeed Toshiba's, it might be hard to fit the ZIF connector well enough for it to work.

I'm sorry if you've already checked it twenty times and I sound stupid, I'm just trying to help.

[yaemes]

Oh wow, good catch... Yeah I tried about 20 times, very painful and my zif connector is worn out now although i think it still works. the new drive is toshiba and the old is samsung

right now i am in the process of installing leopard back onto the 80

i tried putting the 80 in the ipod but it could not be mounted. so the zif cable being incompatible is a possible problem...

[yaemes]

I am very sorry to announce this but after that near miss with the laptop I don't have the courage anymore to do the mod.

So if anyone else wants to attempt it, contact me and I'll walk you through the steps.

Thanks everyone for your support

[fsosx]

Any idea if it has to do with the drive itself as other drives are recognized properly, even 8mm drives (the cover won't close obviously)?

Maybe a special firmware for the iPod?

This is strange. I can see the drive in Disk Utility as a Toshiba MK1231GAL drive, can zero it but I always get the I/O error.

[Lumpydog]

The Rev A uses PATA... is the iPod's 120GB drive SATA?

[fteoath64]

Could it be that the PATA ZIF ribbon cables has a different pinout on the drive side ?. I remembered some UK sites warning that specific ZIF cable works for Toshiba 1.8 inch drives only. The standard cable that comes probably works for the Samsung N2 drives only.:confused: