iPod Changing 4th Gen IPod drives?

[derrybawn]

Has anyone replaced the hard disc in a 4th generation iPod themselves? I've read that there was an issue with special partitioning on earlier models, but am unclear if this applies to the 4th generation 40 GB models. I notice that mine has a 39mB partition that I can't access on a PC and a 37GB one which I can (sometimes). I had also read that Apple used a modified Toshiba 1.8" drive and that changing for an off the shelf one would leave the iPod with no Firewire. This may only apply to earlier models though.

At the moment I am having lots of problems with it & it is all pointing to the hard disk. This is the second time in 6 months & at this stage my warrenty is up & the repair cost they quoted is really too expensive. With this being the second time I have had a similar fault, I'm really reluctant to spend a lot of money on it.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[kainjow]

http://www.pdasmart.com/ipodpartscenter4g.htm has it for $170 (20GB) and $194 (40GB). Mine as well buy a new iPod at those prices

 

[MmmPancakes]

Great question. I havn't replaced one myself, but http://www.techrestore.com replaces hard drives. It seems they charge about $180 for a 40gb drive...Seems kind of pricey considering you can buy a fourth gen in good shape from E-bay for about the same price, unless you're completely married to the idea of keeping the iPod you have now. It's definetly cheaper to do it yourself, but I understand the fourth gens are a little tricky when it comes to replacing the HD and battery - which might explain some of the high prices for professional replacements.

 

[MmmPancakes]

Also, Joe, have you posted somewhere on here specifically what problems you're experiencing? There are some pretty good Techs here who can walk you through a lot of diagnostics. But if you've tried Restoring, firmware updates, defrags, disk utility, etc, its probably safe to say your HD is shot.

 

[derrybawn]

Re:Changing 4th Gen IPod drives?

I can get them in England for STG87 (US$150) Model #MK4006GAH. It does not specifically say they are for iPods though. Regarding getting one off E-Bay, I've just had 2 of these go down in the last 6 months with drive faults (new units). It would not be terribly wise to think I could do better on E-Bay. My experience with the service I've gotten from Apple does not exactly inspire me with confidence either. If I had enough info to go on I'd get the drive & do the job myself.

Joe

 

[derrybawn]

Also, Joe, have you posted somewhere on here specifically what problems you're experiencing? There are some pretty good Techs here who can walk you through a lot of diagnostics. But if you've tried Restoring, firmware updates, defrags, disk utility, etc, its probably safe to say your HD is shot.

Initially the unit refused to be seen in iTunes (Windows XP). It was playing OK right up to this, but was occasionally showing the Apple logo on power on. I downloaded the latest restore SW from Apple & tried to apply it. - Would not work. Left it alone as I had 'been there, done that' earlier in the year with my previous unit. Later in an idle moment I tried again & it worked. So I reloaded some music & went for a walk.

I got 20 minutes out of it before it started freezing/skipping. Once again the PC would not see it. Since then I have found that if the iPod is cold, it plays fine for a while, the PC can see it & all is well for 20-30 minutes. Then the disk starts spinning up, clicks & spins down. Now any Windows program which accesses the discs will freeze until the iPod is disconnected.

As I indicated in my previous post, I can see the partition in windows storage manager, but as it is a USB drive, I can't do anything with them. When it heats up, I can't even see the partitions.

Joe

 

[MmmPancakes]

I can get them in England for STG87 (US$150) Model #MK4006GAH. It does not specifically say they are for iPods though. Regarding getting one off E-Bay, I've just had 2 of these go down in the last 6 months with drive faults (new units). It would not be terribly wise to think I could do better on E-Bay. My experience with the service I've gotten from Apple does not exactly inspire me with confidence either. If I had enough info to go on I'd get the drive & do the job myself.

Joe

Sounds like a good plan. I'm sure Google would have lots of tutorials on replacing the driive yourself. Might be a good way to save a lot of money while having the security of knowing a good HD was used in your iPod.

 

[derrybawn]

Sounds like a good plan. I'm sure Google would have lots of tutorials on replacing the driive yourself. Might be a good way to save a lot of money while having the security of knowing a good HD was used in your iPod.

Ah yes you'd think that. Sadly I've not come across too much so far save the concerns I raised in my earlier posts. I can't even say for sure that these are valid for the 40GB 4th gen model. The best tech type info I've seen so far was a video showing how to open it to replace the battery. Useful info if I can only find out more about the drive.....

Joe