iPod Death of a 4th Gen

[jockeyrob]

My 4th generation Black and White 40 Gig iPod died today.

It served me well for three years.

I've been trying to get it to start up, connected and unconnected to my mac, for about half an hour. The hard drive spins up but then spins down and it never starts up. Sad.

Would anyone know what it would cost me to fix it? And if it would be cheaper than buying a new one? Anyone?

Thank you, your prayers are much appreicated.

In lieu of flowers please donate to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

 

[gavd]

No idea how much it would cost but unless it was a lot less than buying a new one, then you might as well put the money it would cost to a new one.

 

[mad jew]

Get a Flash-based one like a nano. I find they last longer.

 

[dornoforpyros]

http://www.ifixit.com sells iPod replacement parts if you want to attempt to fix it yourself.

 

[Sol]

Maybe it is too hot and you have to cool it first. If my 4G iPod does not connect properly I put it in the fridge for five to ten minutes before connecting it to my Mac. When major problems re-occur, restoring the iPod to its factory settings through iTunes usually works. The tricky bit is not to sync a big music library all at once; if my iPod's hard drive writes more than six to ten GB it gets too hot and stops working. I suggest splitting your library into five equal parts using smart playlists and syncing one at a time with breaks to let the hard drive cool down. Also, consider replacing the original battery which would be next to useless by now in a 4G iPod.

 

[jockeyrob]

Thanks to everyone for your responses. Apparently the 4th generation's hard drives stick sometimes. Making it unable to start up, and seem to individuals unaware of this problem, like myslef, that your iPod has died prematurely. If you just hit the iPod lightly on a table or something hard, the drive will unstick. Thereby bringing your iPod to life.

Guess I shouldn't have filled in that death certificate already...

 

[mad jew]

That kinda does sound like it's on its last legs though.

When mine was dying, I had to cool it down for large transfers except I used a sealed ice bucket instead of the fridge. I had to keep it cool as it was syncing.

 

[J.B.Horns]

I bought a refurbished 20GB 4th gen off eBay a few months back for like $80. It works like a charm. I polished it up with a car polish/scratch remover, and put a Protech skin on it, and it looks brand new. The skin really hid a lot of the scratches that the car polish didn't get out. I'm listening to it right now, in fact. Some punks lifted my 3rd gen from my car. BASTARDS!

 

[triobot]

My ipod did that (start up, crash, heat up and die once charge was all gone)

D.I.Y. upgrade. If u wanna keep the 4th gen... Depending on how badly you wanna make it, in u.k....:::

• ~£15-20 for a new battery
• ~HDD varies in price... Depending how big you want it, and how badly you want it... there are basically no 8o GB HDDs (unless u pay £150ish) 6o GB and less cost under £100 usually.

subtotal: ~£60->£170
(only a guestimate)

Cheaper than buying a new iPod and a bit more hassle, but if you do upgrade your own ipod, you'll feel so much better than buying a new one... (a sence of accomplishment)

Or you wait for compact flash to be implimented to the 4th gen iPods...