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jruschme

macrumors 6502
Dec 20, 2011
265
30
Brick, NJ
as herebemonsters asked, will this work with a 4th gen? i know they are limited and not many on this thread seem to mod them. but mine has a HD that is slowing down/on its last legs. i have a adapter on order that goes to CF, but if i read it correctly, that draws too much power. are CF to SDXC adapters easier to fined? do they work more reliably than CF?

Replacing the HD of a 4th gen with a CF or SDXC is not a big deal. I have done the HD to CF swap in both a 4th gen and an iPod Photo. No big issues, but a couple of minor caveats... the main one is to watch out for jumper pins (master/slave) that stick up too high. A low-profile jumper and careful use of wire cutters is recommended if yours does.

Using an SDXC-to-CF adapter instead of a CF card should work just fine and is cheaper in larger sizes. The caveat here is that you probably need the larger back from a 40/60GB iPod unless you have one of the newer Type I SDXC-to-CF adapters, otherwise the adapter may be little too thick for the thin back of the 20gb models. Reliability should be the same as using a CF card.

AFAIK, no one has tried an SSD in a 4th Gen Classic. In theory, it should work. In addition to the mSATA adapter and SSD, you would also need an adapter to go from the 50-pin ATA port of the 4thGen to the Zif connector on the mSATA adapter. All this would definitely require the thicker back in order to fit. The big questions would be whether the firmware can recognize above 128gb and if the battery could deal with the SSD.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 20, 2010
5,751
2,337
Los Angeles, CA
I have a 30gb iPod video with a faulty screen, are you saying apple will upgrade it to a refurb classic for a fee ?

I'm saying that they will do it as far back as the 2007-era thin 80GB and thick 160GB classics and that I have now replaced a fair number of broken 2007-era 80GB silver iPod classics with new/Apple-refurbished 160GB replacements (for $130 each) and I plan to do this a few more times in the future. Whether they will go one year further to the 5th Gen Enhanced or two years further back to the original 5th Gen I don't yet know. I'd definitely give it a shot though. Worst case scenario, you waste a half hour of your time and best case scenario you end up with a new 160GB classic.

When I got a 5.5g, the back was all scratched and had a small dent on it. Had an extra 6g back and it worked well on it.

I have a 5.5G in a Classic housing as well as a 7.5G in a Video housing.

Very cool. This is what I was hoping. I don't anticipate working much with the 5th gen and 5th gen enhanced, but if I do, it's good to know that I don't have to get a whole 'nother set of fronts and backs and that, more importantly, the custom backs that I get for the classics can be used with the video iPods.

Replacing the HD of a 4th gen with a CF or SDXC is not a big deal. I have done the HD to CF swap in both a 4th gen and an iPod Photo. No big issues, but a couple of minor caveats... the main one is to watch out for jumper pins (master/slave) that stick up too high. A low-profile jumper and careful use of wire cutters is recommended if yours does.

Using an SDXC-to-CF adapter instead of a CF card should work just fine and is cheaper in larger sizes. The caveat here is that you probably need the larger back from a 40/60GB iPod unless you have one of the newer Type I SDXC-to-CF adapters, otherwise the adapter may be little too thick for the thin back of the 20gb models. Reliability should be the same as using a CF card.

AFAIK, no one has tried an SSD in a 4th Gen Classic. In theory, it should work. In addition to the mSATA adapter and SSD, you would also need an adapter to go from the 50-pin ATA port of the 4thGen to the Zif connector on the mSATA adapter. All this would definitely require the thicker back in order to fit. The big questions would be whether the firmware can recognize above 128gb and if the battery could deal with the SSD.

The Tarkan adapters don't work in a fourth gen? I suppose this would make sense; they do seem perfectly fitting for the classics and 5th gen models.
 

jruschme

macrumors 6502
Dec 20, 2011
265
30
Brick, NJ
The Tarkan adapters don't work in a fourth gen? I suppose this would make sense; they do seem perfectly fitting for the classics and 5th gen models.

The 4th gen uses an HD with a different physical interface than the one in the 5th gen and later (50-pin vs. Zif).
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 20, 2010
5,751
2,337
Los Angeles, CA
The 4th gen uses an HD with a different physical interface than the one in the 5th gen and later (50-pin vs. Zif).

Snap! So they do! Wow. Has anyone been able to either make a converter, or a different cable that ends with ZIF for compatibility? Even furthermore has anyone done an SSD mod for those older iPods? It'd be interesting to try, for sure.
 

jruschme

macrumors 6502
Dec 20, 2011
265
30
Brick, NJ
Snap! So they do! Wow. Has anyone been able to either make a converter, or a different cable that ends with ZIF for compatibility? Even furthermore has anyone done an SSD mod for those older iPods? It'd be interesting to try, for sure.

You mean something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Pin-ZIF-to-50-Pin-1-8-Inch-CF-Toshiba-HDD-Adapter-/261233119880?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd2b51288

Theoretically, that and the PATA-to-MSATA adapter would let you install an MSATA SSD in a 1st through 4th gen Classic. What I don't know is how well it would all fit in the case. (Along with the other caveats re: battery and LBA limitations.)
 

rgarjr

macrumors 604
Apr 2, 2009
6,820
1,050
Southern California
You mean something like this: http://www.ebay.com/itm/40-Pin-ZIF-to-50-Pin-1-8-Inch-CF-Toshiba-HDD-Adapter-/261233119880?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cd2b51288

Theoretically, that and the PATA-to-MSATA adapter would let you install an MSATA SSD in a 1st through 4th gen Classic. What I don't know is how well it would all fit in the case. (Along with the other caveats re: battery and LBA limitations.)

Yep, those old school 1G ~ 4G are pretty much uncharted territory when it comes to what's the maximum drive it could see
 

Ipod Collector

macrumors member
Feb 12, 2015
48
3
Yep, those old school 1G ~ 4G are pretty much uncharted territory when it comes to what's the maximum drive it could see

hey man, sent you PM, so sorry for my late reply though,
have been away with work for the last couple of weeks.

Back home now and all that good stuff. I see that I've missed
out on some stuff here so had to play a little catch up.

I see many are catching on to the mods to the classics.

I have probably at least 50 1-4th gens that I am going to have
to dig out and see what kind of mod could be done, if any, and
if so, how much and what platform. Would be kinda cool to take
an original (holy grail if sealed in box) 1st gen classic with firewire.
Gotta find out what the limitations of the board are, not to mention
on board buffer memory size. That's really the kicker right there,
what size memory is on the board itself. If it's only like 16-32mb,
then MB would need to access drive 4-8 more times over than
with a 7th 160gb 2009 mb with 128mb of on board buffer memory,
which would really have to limit the ssd memory size you could go
with, with not even knowing actual DBA limitation and "seeable"
hdd memory limitation, as in the 6th's with the 128gb limitation.

When I get a moment I'll dig up the ones I have and do a little
bit of research to find out what the specs were of the 1st's
through the 4th's. It would be nice to know myself for the
knowledge of it all. I truly never thought about going back
that far with them, but as far as the retro style of it all, it
might be worth taking a look at, you know ?

any thoughts or specs you can find would be most greatly
appreciated if you didn't mind posting them.

Hey, also, sent you PM, let me know if you got it when you
get the moment. I wrote this message here so I could post
pics that I spoke about in message. I'm still a noob as far as
this site goes, still learning, didn't know or don't know if you
can send pics through PM's. If so, let me know, thanks !!

Check out the pics. I gotta get my butt to bed so I'll get
online later after work and explain and/or try to answer
any questions/comments you may have....

Have a great day, ttyl, J
 

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Crippledonkey

macrumors newbie
Apr 16, 2015
2
0
Ahhh, ok, I'm still a fast learner :)

here you go for anybody interested.

Hit me up with any questions you may have.
I'd be more than happy to help you out if you'd like.


Hi do you know where i can find the firewire cables?
Thanks

----------

Just got the mSata drive in.

where did you get the firewire cable form could you be able to link me where i can find them,

Thanks
 

TMacGuy

macrumors member
Apr 3, 2015
41
0
I'm wondering if CF/SSD hack could be done to an Original iPod 5GB.

I have two.
One perfectly functional.
One dead HDD -> the one id want to modify.
 

sim667

macrumors 65816
Dec 7, 2010
1,390
2,915
Out of curiosity, how did you bork it?

I have no idea....... the screen just shows a folder and a exclamation mark now, and I have to unplug and plug the battery to get it to boot. I did replace the battery at the same time, so maybe I shorted it.
 

10minuteaccount

macrumors newbie
Apr 28, 2015
1
0
I have no idea....... the screen just shows a folder and a exclamation mark now, and I have to unplug and plug the battery to get it to boot. I did replace the battery at the same time, so maybe I shorted it.

Simply connect it to iTunes and hit 'restore'.

It doesn't find the operating system I suppose. Restoring the iPod will reinstall it.
 

jruschme

macrumors 6502
Dec 20, 2011
265
30
Brick, NJ
Nah that doesn't work either....... Im pretty sure I've shorted it somehow

Or damaged the hard drive cable. (The first 4th gen I got was from a failed CF conversion. The cable was the problem then.) Though I did short out a 4th gens trying to do a SDXC mod.
 

venomgt95

macrumors 6502
May 8, 2014
458
126
Michigan
Okay, so i want to make my 3rd flash based, but ive never done it before. Im completely clueless as to what adapter i'll need, and how big of storage i can go to. I hope i can get at least 256 in the little guy. Any help?
 

Ambulon

macrumors newbie
Sep 24, 2015
1
0
Hi There,

Sorry to be the newbie and sort of have to ask for an answer specific to my specific model / situation, but I am hoping someone on here can sort of send me in the right direction.

I certainly did read through this thread, and got some valuable information out of it, and was able to go off to Amazon, ebay and Tarken to research prices and parts. But i'm kind of at a loss as to what parts I should purchasing for my specific iPod Classic model. Further, I noticed that the Tarken iFlash kit does not even seem to be compatible with my model.

My iPod Classic:

iPod Classic Video 80 GB
5th Gen, Serial ending in V9R
Model # A1136
fat / deep back

This model number is not listed under the compatible devices for the Tarken iFlash kits. So I am wondering if I can still do the modification / upgrade to SSD myself by buying the necessary parts. If so, perhaps someone could recommend the best parts / HD / Battery to purchase? I am interested in putting in a 128GB drive.

Thanks!
J.
 

Yebubbleman

macrumors 603
Original poster
May 20, 2010
5,751
2,337
Los Angeles, CA
Hi There,

Sorry to be the newbie and sort of have to ask for an answer specific to my specific model / situation, but I am hoping someone on here can sort of send me in the right direction.

I certainly did read through this thread, and got some valuable information out of it, and was able to go off to Amazon, ebay and Tarken to research prices and parts. But i'm kind of at a loss as to what parts I should purchasing for my specific iPod Classic model. Further, I noticed that the Tarken iFlash kit does not even seem to be compatible with my model.

My iPod Classic:

iPod Classic Video 80 GB
5th Gen, Serial ending in V9R
Model # A1136
fat / deep back

This model number is not listed under the compatible devices for the Tarken iFlash kits. So I am wondering if I can still do the modification / upgrade to SSD myself by buying the necessary parts. If so, perhaps someone could recommend the best parts / HD / Battery to purchase? I am interested in putting in a 128GB drive.

Thanks!
J.

You have the 5.5G or "Fifth Generation Enhanced" model. It will definitely work and be compatible; but you will need to get a thin back and a new hold-switch/headphone jack assembly. But yeah, the 5th Gen, 5.5th Gen/5th Gen Enhanced, and 160GB thin iPod classic are all compatible with capacities larger than 128GB.
 

duffman8

macrumors newbie
Sep 1, 2015
2
0
I recently upgraded my 30GB 5G iPod Video (Model A1136) to a 128GB PNY Elite Performance SDXC card using the Tarkan iFlash adaptor. For the most part, the mod works very well. The only issue I'm having is that the last few albums I've added (just topping 70GB/12,000 songs) have had any song longer than ~4.5min get cut off at the end at about the 4:30 mark. This only applies to these more recently added songs. I've checked the files themselves (they appear fine), played them in iTunes (works well), and even added them with the same cable to a modded 4G iPod with 128GB Compact Flash (plays fine there too). Renaming the problematic songs/albums, deleting large chunks of previously added music to free up space/memory, as well as resetting and restoring all seem to have had no effect on this error.

What I'd like to know is if this is likely a result of the limited memory (32MB) on this iPod or if it might be something else. Does anybody have any experience with this sort of error? Would either an installation or RockBox or a 64MB logic board be my best alternatives? Thanks.
 

tycham

macrumors newbie
Dec 21, 2015
2
0
There seems to be confusion. Any iPod 5.5 or 7 with the 64 Mb ram will handle more memory. The limitation is not the iPod but iTunes. For instance on my 256 Gb 5.5, iTunes will only recognize 50,000 titles. I have 12,000 occupying 134 gb. If you extended that I will have 24000 if I fill the card.
 

Tsalq50

macrumors newbie
Jan 10, 2016
3
0
There seems to be confusion. Any iPod 5.5 or 7 with the 64 Mb ram will handle more memory. The limitation is not the iPod but iTunes. For instance on my 256 Gb 5.5, iTunes will only recognize 50,000 titles. I have 12,000 occupying 134 gb. If you extended that I will have 24000 if I fill the card.

Does anyone know if there is someone on this board that will perform memory upgrades for a fee? I have a new 160 gig classic that I would like to upgrade to at least 256 gig

Thanks
 

tycham

macrumors newbie
Dec 21, 2015
2
0
Does anyone know if there is someone on this board that will perform memory upgrades for a fee? I have a new 160 gig classic that I would like to upgrade to at least 256 gig

Thanks
If you are talking about a 6th generation Classic, there is nothing you can do. It is only going to recognize 128 gb no matter what card you use. I don't know about a replacement hard drive. If you are talking about the 7th generation Classic you can update it. When I upgrade (usually due to a drive failure) I always go SSD. Price wise it is the best value. I do the upgrade of $65 (not including parts) You can supply the parts or I can supply them
 
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