iPod Took apart iPod Classic, broke it. New iPod or just new hard drive?

chocolate632 · May 31, 2011

A few weeks ago I decided to take apart my iPod Classic. The screen had these black lines on it, and being out of warranty, I took it upon myself to fix it. I purchased a new screen on eBay for $7 and then thought to myself "Hey, the iPod is pretty scratched, I wonder how hard it would be to replace the front and back cover?". I watched some videos on Youtube and it looked easy enough, so I ordered a new front, back, and clickwheel.

Anyways, I get the iPod open and I'm super careful not to break anything. I replace the parts I want and put the thing back together. I turn it on and to my dismay, I get an x inside of a red circle. Now I've read that this is most likely caused by a hard drive failure or by a loose cable. I double checked all the cables and I still get this message. When I put the front of the iPod inside of my iHome dock (without the back, hard drive, etc. Just the motherboard and screen) the screen lights up fine.

Is it possible that I did something to the hard drive when I opened it? Should I try buying an 80GB hard drive on eBay and replacing it myself? Or should I just not bother?

Thanks

blackburn · May 31, 2011

I would get an ssd

Now seriously the flat that connects the hdd to the ipod motherboard is really fragile, are you sure that you didn't damage it? It might not be well connected (happened to me before).

Anyway the hard drive spins up?

chocolate632 · May 31, 2011

blackburn said:
I would get an ssd Now seriously the flat that connects the hdd to the ipod motherboard is really fragile, are you sure that you didn't damage it? It might not be well connected (happened to me before).

Anyway the hard drive spins up?

LOL my friend suggested I put an SSD in it!

I was really careful when opening it up, but I guess it is possible that it got damaged. I tried reconnecting it a good 3-4 times so I don't think that the problem. And yes, the hard drive spins up (and sounds) fine.

jailwut wunnow · May 31, 2011

I've had my Classic apart a few times now (battery, Hd and now an SSD) and the Zif connector is always removed from the HD not the motherboard. I'll bet that is where your problem lies. Here's a pic from iFixit of what connector to release to remove the HD:

chocolate632 · Jun 1, 2011

jailwut wunnow said:
I've had my Classic apart a few times now (battery, Hd and now an SSD) and the Zif connector is always removed from the HD not the motherboard. I'll bet that is where your problem lies.

I reconnected it twice from the hard drive and the motherboard and I'm still getting the x. Do you think the Zif connector is damaged? Also, the iPod is not completely closed. Everything is plugged in properly, but I didn't snap it back together just in case I have to remove the hard drive or something.

BTW why/how did you put an SSD drive in your iPod? Just curious

chocolate632 · Jun 1, 2011

I went into diagnostics mode and went HDD Spec and got the message "ERROR! Diag Halt". I've reseated the cables a bunch of times. Should I just get a new hard drive?

jailwut wunnow · Jun 1, 2011

chocolate632 said:
I reconnected it twice from the hard drive and the motherboard and I'm still getting the x. Do you think the Zif connector is damaged? Also, the iPod is not completely closed. Everything is plugged in properly, but I didn't snap it back together just in case I have to remove the hard drive or something.

BTW why/how did you put an SSD drive in your iPod? Just curious

Generally the Red-X means the drive is dead or stuck. There are a couple of things you can try: format it Windows and connect to iTunes. Formatted this way still works on a Mac too. It might come back to life.

Do you hear the drive clicking when you are powered up? If so, you can smack the back of the iPod hard with your hand to jar the needle loose. This has worked for me in the past. Make sure the iPod is completely closed up though.

I have left my iPod open and powered it up to check things out, so not having the back closed isn't a problem.

As far as the SSD, it's the same as replacing the HD. Just make sure you get one that runs at 3.3v and NOT 5v. I purchased one that required the 5v power supply and it will not power up. I had to return it and get the right one. There is a thread 128GB SSD iPod Classic that has some examples. I used the SuperTalent Master Drive SSD, but the 64gb one. And I did buy it from there too. The drives aren't too cheap. I changed my 120gb to a 64gb SSD due to price. Heck, I even found a 160gb classic refurb on Apple (a couple of weeks ago) for the price of that 128gb drive. They do boot up quicker ( I compared mine with a 160gb classic) and in my car I hear music before I see the data on my head unit.

chocolate632 said:
I went into diagnostics mode and went HDD Spec and got the message "ERROR! Diag Halt". I've reseated the cables a bunch of times. Should I just get a new hard drive?

Probably. You could try putting it in disk mode then restore it. If you cant get into restore more than likely the drive is dead.

chocolate632 · Jun 1, 2011

Wow, thanks for all the info!

jailwut wunnow said:
Generally the Red-X means the drive is dead or stuck. There are a couple of things you can try: format it Windows and connect to iTunes. Formatted this way still works on a Mac too. It might come back to life.

I tried this a few weeks ago using Windows 7 through Parallels. Unfortunately, iTunes would only restore it half way and then give me an error. I tried this multiple times in Windows, OS X, and other Windows based computers with no luck.

Do you hear the drive clicking when you are powered up? If so, you can smack the back of the iPod hard with your hand to jar the needle loose. This has worked for me in the past. Make sure the iPod is completely closed up though.

I have left my iPod open and powered it up to check things out, so not having the back closed isn't a problem.

I hear the subtle clicking noises that it usually makes, but not any noises that would indicate a broken drive. Since I don't want to close the iPod until it works, would it be a good idea to smack the actual HD? I'm guessing this would just cause more damage.

As far as the SSD, it's the same as replacing the HD. Just make sure you get one that runs at 3.3v and NOT 5v. I purchased one that required the 5v power supply and it will not power up. I had to return it and get the right one. There is a thread 128GB SSD iPod Classic that has some examples. I used the SuperTalent Master Drive SSD, but the 64gb one. And I did buy it from there too. The drives aren't too cheap. I changed my 120gb to a 64gb SSD due to price. Heck, I even found a 160gb classic refurb on Apple (a couple of weeks ago) for the price of that 128gb drive. They do boot up quicker ( I compared mine with a 160gb classic) and in my car I hear music before I see the data on my head unit.

Probably. You could try putting it in disk mode then restore it. If you cant get into restore more than likely the drive is dead.

An SSD sounds AWESOME, but unfortunately I'm strained for cash at the moment. Not to mention that I only really use this iPod for its huge capacity. Seems like a fun project to do in the future though!

I haven't tried recently, but when I first got the red x (a few weeks ago) I could successfully put it into disk mode. iTunes could not restore it though, it would just go about half way and then freeze.

Thanks for all the help!

jailwut wunnow · Jun 1, 2011

Those subtle clicking noises may just be the drive failing. Especially if you say it partially restores then fails. My last drive failure would happen during a sync, about half way thru, but after it rebooted would play fine. I just couldn't sync any new music or remove any. It also failed a few times during playback and the hit technique would usually solve the problem. It just got to be too much, too often, so I replaced the HD.

HD replacements aren't as expensive as the SSDs if you really need one.

Considering you need to really slap the iPod pretty hard to "free" up the drive, I would definitely close it up first.

Good luck.

chocolate632 · Jun 1, 2011

jailwut wunnow said:
Those subtle clicking noises may just be the drive failing. Especially if you say it partially restores then fails. My last drive failure would happen during a sync, about half way thru, but after it rebooted would play fine. I just couldn't sync any new music or remove any. It also failed a few times during playback and the hit technique would usually solve the problem. It just got to be too much, too often, so I replaced the HD.

HD replacements aren't as expensive as the SSDs if you really need one.

Considering you need to really slap the iPod pretty hard to "free" up the drive, I would definitely close it up first.

Good luck.

I've heard those subtle clicking noises from when I first got the iPod back in 2008, I'm pretty sure its just the normal sound of operation. I'll try putting it back together with the old casing and trying the slap trick, but if that doesn't work I guess I have to buy a new hard drive. Ebay has a few 80GBs for $60-$70.

Thanks for all the help!

T'hain Esh Kelch · Jun 2, 2011

Yeah the clicking sound is normal on iPods. Both of mine has been making those noises whenecer they power up.

jailwut wunnow · Jun 2, 2011

OK, maybe "subtle" was the wrong word. If the clicking is "noticeable" and the iPod is frozen, then it's likely a stuck/failing drive.

chocolate632 · Jun 2, 2011

jailwut wunnow said:
OK, maybe "subtle" was the wrong word. If the clicking is "noticeable" and the iPod is frozen, then it's likely a stuck/failing drive.

Nope, no noticeable clicking noises that weren't present before. I think I'm gonna try putting it back together with the old casing, trying the slap trick, and if that doesn't work I'll buy a new HD.

mstrze · Jun 3, 2011

At this point, wouldn't buying a brand new iPod have been the cheaper option?

T'hain Esh Kelch · Jun 3, 2011

mstrze said:
At this point, wouldn't buying a brand new iPod have been the cheaper option?

Not as fun as turning your iPod inside out..

chocolate632 · Jun 3, 2011

mstrze said:
At this point, wouldn't buying a brand new iPod have been the cheaper option?

A new iPod classic is $250 vs a $60 HD

Maybe if Apple utilizes Bluetooth in the next gen Classics, then I might pick one up.

If anyone has anymore suggestions, please feel free to help me out!

mstrze · Jun 3, 2011

chocolate632 said:
A new iPod classic is $250 vs a $60 HD

$60 HD, plus new screen, plus case, clickwheel...etc. Might as well put in a new battery while you have it opened.

chocolate632 · Jun 3, 2011

mstrze said:
$60 HD, plus new screen, plus case, clickwheel...etc. Might as well put in a new battery while you have it opened.

Well, I already bought the casing and click wheel, $25 for all of that, plus the screen for $7. If I buy the hard drive, thats $92 vs $250

Laststop · Aug 10, 2011

I've got the 128GB 3.3V super talent ssd. I'm trying to find info on which ipod classic slim it works in.

Can I use the newest 160GB 7th gen slim?

If I cant use that can I use the 120GB 6.5 gen slim

If I cant use tthat then it must be the 6th gen 80GB slim that only works

Or does all 3 of them work?

I really need to know I already got the SSD drive and not knowing the ipod classic model to get for sure is delaying me.

njaremka · Aug 11, 2011

Laststop said:
I've got the 128GB 3.3V super talent ssd. I'm trying to find info on which ipod classic slim it works in.

Can I use the newest 160GB 7th gen slim?

If I cant use that can I use the 120GB 6.5 gen slim

If I cant use tthat then it must be the 6th gen 80GB slim that only works

Or does all 3 of them work?

I really need to know I already got the SSD drive and not knowing the ipod classic model to get for sure is delaying me.

i would think it would work in any of them. not much has changed in the classics for a long time.

Laststop · Aug 11, 2011

7th gen added the genius mixes or something.

I just want to be sure I get the right ipod

iPod Took apart iPod Classic, broke it. New iPod or just new hard drive?

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