iPod iPod Classic 4th Gen SSD Upgrade Adventure

[MacSince1985]

Sorry for reviving an old thread.

What's the reasoning behind using a CF adapter and micro SD card instead of a CF card?

 

[Slix]

I used a CF adapter to SD to Micro SD because of cost. It was cheaper to find the adapter and the SD card than to buy a large CF card. Plus moving forward, if I ever wanted to get a larger card as a replacement, it would be easy to swap in a new one.

 

[thepno95]

Time to revive this thread yet again...

I tried this upgrade (using this thread and the guide on iFixit) to try to fix my 30GB Ipod Photo that I've had for years. Initial indications were that it had worked as it's supposed to, but it didn't last. I've tried 2 different 1.8 IDE-to-CF adapters, and a couple of different CF cards, with the same indications each time. Can anyone help me get my poor Ipod back?

Upgrade piece parts:

Filed the nub on the end of the adapter to allow the thing to seat fully:

I peeled the blue rubber/polyurethane "bumper" off the original HD, cut it into pieces, and used those as padding around the CF drive so it wasn't so loose in the case. So now it was time to see if it would work.

- I plugged the Ipod into the desktop for the first time after installing the adapter and CF card. ITunes started, and a pop-up window said something along the lines of, "You've plugged in an Ipod that appears to be corrupted. It may need to be restored."
- I acknowledged that pop-up, and there was a window in ITunes offering me to do the restore. So I clicked "Restore Ipod"; a progress bar showed "Restoring Ipod", which took maybe 20 or 30sec.
- Once ITunes was done, it told me to plug the Ipod into a wall outlet to finish the process. I unplugged the USB from the desktop and the Ipod had a little icon on the screen indicating "plug me into the wall".
- I plugged it into the wall and the Ipod started up and prompted me to select a language. I selected English, it thought for a second, and then it displayed the main menu (Music, Photos, Extras, Settings, Shuffle Songs, Backlight). So far, so good. However, that's as far as I could get it to go.

Here's where things go wrong:
- After charging for a bit, I unplugged it from the wall and plugged it back into the desktop. I already had ITunes open. I heard the normal Windows "you've just plugged in a USB device" chime, but ITunes didn't indicate that any Ipod was plugged in. The "DO NOT DISCONNECT" screen appeared on the Ipod.
- After maybe 30sec, I heard the "you've just unplugged a USB device" chime from Windows. A pop-up appeared telling me that the USB device that was last plugged in was not recognized.
- If I unplug the Ipod, it stays frozen on the DO NOT DISCONNECT screen until I do a reset. After resetting it, if I power it up and go to "About", I get what appears to be the proper indication:

I don't get why it's not working. 😕 Windows recognizes it as a proper USB device initially, and ITunes "sees" it such that it is able to restore it. So how come a little while later, after putting it on the wall charger, those 2 facts are no longer true?

Anyone have any thoughts on what else I can try? I appreciate any assistance!

 

[mikentosh2003]

I recently revived my 20g 4th gen click-wheel with a 64gb sd card, that gave me 59.6gb capacity. I was surprised when everything worked with no problems, on my first attempt. I was expecting a hiccup or two, from all the posts I'd read.
I am not at all an expert on this topic, and just followed simple directions.
But the one thing that I couldn't tell from your post, was if you tried the final restore using a firewire power adapter, or usb?
From what I've read, these ipods are very picky when it comes to voltage. They will work on the 5v output of usb, but for certain operations like a restore, it needs the precise voltage that firewire supplies. I read a couple of posts from guys who couldn't finish the restore until they dug out their original firewire power adapters. Once they plugged in the FW, they were able to finish the restore, and everything worked just fine.
I'm assuming your model iPod originally shipped with a firewire adapter. Your iPod is a newer model than my black+white clickwheel, so I'm not sure.
So, I figured I would mention this info just in case it might be useful to you. I read a Ton of posts+comments on multiple sites before attempting this mod myself. 🙂

-Mike

 

[thepno95]

Mine came with a USB wall-charger, and I still have that original one. Maybe I just didn't leave it plugged into the wall long enough to complete whatever it needs to complete?

 

[Bkoodoo]

Hey guys!

A few months ago, my previously trusty 4th gen 20 GB iPod photo's (with the color screen) hard drive died on me, so I've been waiting for a good time to buy the necessary equipment to replace the hard drive with a flash card or SSD. Today, I ordered from Amazon, a 1.8" iPod to Compact Flash Adapter, a Compact Flash to SD Card Adapter, and a 64 GB class 10 Micro SD with a Micro-to-SD Adapter!

When it arrives, I'll be sure to post photos of the upgrade, and I hope all goes well! I'm excited to be able to use that iPod again, because I love the 4th gen iPod's feel and the ability to hold all my music, plus the increased speed (and probably battery life) will be awesome as well!

[doublepost=1505447376][/doublepost]Trying to upgrade my iPod 4th/Gen but not sure of the cable connection/adapter? Is there a recommended manufacturer for the adapter?

Thanks

Bkoodoo

 

[Ashdown25]

Hey guys!

A few months ago, my previously trusty 4th gen 20 GB iPod photo's (with the color screen) hard drive died on me, so I've been waiting for a good time to buy the necessary equipment to replace the hard drive with a flash card or SSD. Today, I ordered from Amazon, a 1.8" iPod to Compact Flash Adapter, a Compact Flash to SD Card Adapter, and a 64 GB class 10 Micro SD with a Micro-to-SD Adapter!

When it arrives, I'll be sure to post photos of the upgrade, and I hope all goes well! I'm excited to be able to use that iPod again, because I love the 4th gen iPod's feel and the ability to hold all my music, plus the increased speed (and probably battery life) will be awesome as well!

[doublepost=1509230343][/doublepost]
Hi I tried doing this with a 128gb as card and it work with a 900 song test run but after putting over 9000 songs on it the whole thing comes up blank. The memory says it only has 51gb free so the songs are defiantly there but they just don't show up anywhere

 

[rgarjr]

[doublepost=1509230343][/doublepost]


Hi I tried doing this with a 128gb as card and it work with a 900 song test run but after putting over 9000 songs on it the whole thing comes up blank. The memory says it only has 51gb free so the songs are defiantly there but they just don't show up anywhere

It's probably crashing from all those songs loaded into it.

[doublepost=1505447376][/doublepost]Trying to upgrade my iPod 4th/Gen but not sure of the cable connection/adapter? Is there a recommended manufacturer for the adapter?

Thanks

Bkoodoo

Tarkan from iflash.xyz sells this adapter so you can use any of his adapters.

 

[CactusPete23]

Hi, I am trying to do this upgrade on a 4th gen iPOD for a Friend. Not sure what is going wrong.
*** So asking for some help!.. ***
Here is what we have:
We opened, removed the HDD. Replaced the battery. Replaced the HDD with the adapter, and a Class 1 CF Card to MicroSD Adapter, and a 64GB Sandisk Class 10/U1 MicroSD. The MicroSD is formatted to Fat32. Using iTunes on a Windows 10 Desktop. (Note, Win10 give a popup saying that the HD is not recognized and it needs to be reformatted) When we connect the ipod to the computer, itunes recognizes it, and asks to restore. We agree to restore. See the green bar showing the green bar go to completion. Then get pop-up window saying the the ipod needs to be connected to wall charger to complete. Note that the ipod itself says "do not disconnect". We disconnected the pod from the computer, and plugged in the wall charger. After 15 minutes (or as long as 2 hour) when we disconnect the ipod. Get a apple logo for a second, then get a screen with link to Apple Support.... Have tried this many times. Same result each time. NOTE that the ipod was giving this screen periodically with the old HDD, and we thought this new Flash drive would resolve what we assumed were problems with the HDD.

We did try to let windows to format the drive, but it said it was unable to.

Took out the microsd card and using adapter plugged it into the computer directly. It showed no files on it... FAT32 .

The CF to MicroSd card adapter is this one... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-SD-S...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The Adapter to the CFCard is this one... https://www.ebay.com/itm/CF-Compact...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Please ask any questions if I left out anything else important !

Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated !

Pete

 

[thepno95]

Pete - Sounds like you're seeing similar indications to what I saw with mine (post #78 back in August). I never have figured it out. My poor Ipod is just sitting on my desk, unfixed.

 

[CactusPete23]

Pete - Sounds like you're seeing similar indications to what I saw with mine (post #78 back in August). I never have figured it out. My poor Ipod is just sitting on my desk, unfixed.

Thanks for the superfast response ! If we find a solution, you'll be sure to see it posted here. Thinking about going over to a friends house with an Apple computer to see if the ipod can be reformatted as in post #7. But unsure if that would require an Apple/IOS computer for future ipod-itunes syncing....

 

[togruber]

Hi, I am trying to do this upgrade on a 4th gen iPOD for a Friend. Not sure what is going wrong.
*** So asking for some help!.. ***
Here is what we have:
We opened, removed the HDD. Replaced the battery. Replaced the HDD with the adapter, and a Class 1 CF Card to MicroSD Adapter, and a 64GB Sandisk Class 10/U1 MicroSD. The MicroSD is formatted to Fat32. Using iTunes on a Windows 10 Desktop. (Note, Win10 give a popup saying that the HD is not recognized and it needs to be reformatted) When we connect the ipod to the computer, itunes recognizes it, and asks to restore. We agree to restore. See the green bar showing the green bar go to completion. Then get pop-up window saying the the ipod needs to be connected to wall charger to complete. Note that the ipod itself says "do not disconnect". We disconnected the pod from the computer, and plugged in the wall charger. After 15 minutes (or as long as 2 hour) when we disconnect the ipod. Get a apple logo for a second, then get a screen with link to Apple Support.... Have tried this many times. Same result each time. NOTE that the ipod was giving this screen periodically with the old HDD, and we thought this new Flash drive would resolve what we assumed were problems with the HDD.

We did try to let windows to format the drive, but it said it was unable to.

Took out the microsd card and using adapter plugged it into the computer directly. It showed no files on it... FAT32 .

The CF to MicroSd card adapter is this one... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Micro-SD-SDHC-to-Compact-Flash-CF-1-Type-I-Card-Adapter-Converter-16GB-32GB-64GB/332142795849?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

The Adapter to the CFCard is this one... https://www.ebay.com/itm/CF-Compact-Flash-Memory-Card-to-50pin-1-8-IDE-Hard-Drive-SSD-Converter-Adapter/302264660761?ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

Please ask any questions if I left out anything else important !

Any ideas/help would be greatly appreciated !

Pete

Hello,
i had the same issue for a while and found a solution.

1. Setup your CF adapter with SD card arrangement you would like to use. If you want to only use one MicroSD make sure you put the SD card in the correct slot. If you are unsure check the size/capacity of the CF card. If its 30MB then move the SD card to the other slot in the adapter and you should have the same capacity of the single card. Dual card set-ups need to be matching (I am using 2x 64GB) and when mounted should show the combined total size.
2. Download Easeus Partition Master - and plug in the iPod with installed CF adapter and CF card in to your PC.
3. Drive should now pop up and use the above partition tool to format the drive to FAT32. Remember to apply the settings or the drive wont format.
4. Now this may sound weird but right click on the iPod drive in the Partition Manager software and hit rebuild MBR. Do not hit apply yet.
5. By this point iTunes has most probably complained about the iPod and wants to restore the iPod. This is the tricky part. We want iTunes to restore the iPod and when the restore progress on the PC hits 100% we want to hit the apply button in the partition management software before the iPod reboots.
6. If it worked then you should be greeted with "plug iPod in to wall" icon and doing this allows the iPod to finish restoring and you will have a iPod you can now install Rockbox on.

I have no idea why the adapter needs this process and normal CF cards do not need this process.

source: https://www.reddit.com/r/rockbox/comments/3o9kry/ipod_4g_classic_with_cf_to_sd_adapter_a_howto/


Another way:
After restoring the iPod and connecting the iPod with the wall charger the flashing process fails.
Eject the SD-card and connect it to the pc/mac.
Install and open "AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition".
There are listet 2 partitions on your SD-card, one little and a big one called "IPOD".
Click with the right mouse button on "Disk x"(x for your card) (windows down right) and click "Create new MBR" or something like this (I use the german version).
Click execute (or something like this) in the upper left.
Insert your SD-card in your iPod.
Connect your iPod with your wall charger.
It should work!

BUT: Don't restore your iPod, because you have to repeat the whole operation.

Regards from Germany

 

[CactusPete23]

Hello,
i had the same issue for a while and found a solution.

1. Setup your CF adapter with SD card arrangement you would like to use. If you want to only use one MicroSD make sure you put the SD card in the correct slot. If you are unsure check the size/capacity of the CF card. If its 30MB then move the SD card to the other slot in the adapter and you should have the same capacity of the single card. Dual card set-ups need to be matching (I am using 2x 64GB) and when mounted should show the combined total size.
2. Download Easeus Partition Master - and plug in the iPod with installed CF adapter and CF card in to your PC.
3. Drive should now pop up and use the above partition tool to format the drive to FAT32. Remember to apply the settings or the drive wont format.
4. Now this may sound weird but right click on the iPod drive in the Partition Manager software and hit rebuild MBR. Do not hit apply yet.
5. By this point iTunes has most probably complained about the iPod and wants to restore the iPod. This is the tricky part. We want iTunes to restore the iPod and when the restore progress on the PC hits 100% we want to hit the apply button in the partition management software before the iPod reboots.
6. If it worked then you should be greeted with "plug iPod in to wall" icon and doing this allows the iPod to finish restoring and you will have a iPod you can now install Rockbox on.

I have no idea why the adapter needs this process and normal CF cards do not need this process.

source: https://www.reddit.com/r/rockbox/comments/3o9kry/ipod_4g_classic_with_cf_to_sd_adapter_a_howto/


Another way:
After restoring the iPod and connecting the iPod with the wall charger the flashing process fails.
Eject the SD-card and connect it to the pc/mac.
Install and open "AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition".
There are listet 2 partitions on your SD-card, one little and a big one called "IPOD".
Click with the right mouse button on "Disk x"(x for your card) (windows down right) and click "Create new MBR" or something like this (I use the german version).
Click execute (or something like this) in the upper left.
Insert your SD-card in your iPod.
Connect your iPod with your wall charger.
It should work!

BUT: Don't restore your iPod, because you have to repeat the whole operation.

Regards from Germany

Vielen Dank ! The MicroSd Card to CF adapter I have has only one slot, so should not be an issue.

It may be a week or more I can test this out. We will try what you recommend and hopefully have the ipod back working with the new 64gb microsd card ! But will reply here with feedback.

Wenn es erfolgreich ist, schulde ich dir ein Bier für deine Hilfe!

Pete

 

[defn]

Just completed this successfully on an iPod Photo with a Mac.

1) Replaced the drive with the adapter and SD Card.
2) Plugged into MacBook Pro, nothing detected.
3) Plugged into FireWire wall charger, folder and exclamation mark displayed. Left this on the charger for 5 minutes.
4) Plugged into the MacBook Pro again, “Do not disconnect” was displayed on the iPod and SD card was detected in Disk Utility and Finder.
5) Tried to erase SD card in Disk Utility. It got stuck on “Unmounting...”.
6) Got impatient and removed the cable from the iPod after 4 minutes.
7) Plugged it in again and iTunes recognised the iPod as corrupted.
8) Restored and voila! It works.

 

[CactusPete23]

Just completed this successfully on an iPod Photo with a Mac.

1) Replaced the drive with the adapter and SD Card.
2) Plugged into MacBook Pro, nothing detected.
3) Plugged into FireWire wall charger, folder and exclamation mark displayed. Left this on the charger for 5 minutes.
4) Plugged into the MacBook Pro again, “Do not disconnect” was displayed on the iPod and SD card was detected in Disk Utility and Finder.
5) Tried to erase SD card in Disk Utility. It got stuck on “Unmounting...”.
6) Got impatient and removed the cable from the iPod after 4 minutes.
7) Plugged it in again and iTunes recognised the iPod as corrupted.
8) Restored and voila! It works.

Thanks for sharing your method !

 

[CactusPete23]

Hello,
i had the same issue for a while and found a solution.

1. Setup your CF adapter with SD card arrangement you would like to use. If you want to only use one MicroSD make sure you put the SD card in the correct slot. If you are unsure check the size/capacity of the CF card. If its 30MB then move the SD card to the other slot in the adapter and you should have the same capacity of the single card. Dual card set-ups need to be matching (I am using 2x 64GB) and when mounted should show the combined total size.
2. Download Easeus Partition Master - and plug in the iPod with installed CF adapter and CF card in to your PC.
3. Drive should now pop up and use the above partition tool to format the drive to FAT32. Remember to apply the settings or the drive wont format.
4. Now this may sound weird but right click on the iPod drive in the Partition Manager software and hit rebuild MBR. Do not hit apply yet.
5. By this point iTunes has most probably complained about the iPod and wants to restore the iPod. This is the tricky part. We want iTunes to restore the iPod and when the restore progress on the PC hits 100% we want to hit the apply button in the partition management software before the iPod reboots.
6. If it worked then you should be greeted with "plug iPod in to wall" icon and doing this allows the iPod to finish restoring and you will have a iPod you can now install Rockbox on.

I have no idea why the adapter needs this process and normal CF cards do not need this process.

source: https://www.reddit.com/r/rockbox/comments/3o9kry/ipod_4g_classic_with_cf_to_sd_adapter_a_howto/


Another way:
After restoring the iPod and connecting the iPod with the wall charger the flashing process fails.
Eject the SD-card and connect it to the pc/mac.
Install and open "AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition".
There are listet 2 partitions on your SD-card, one little and a big one called "IPOD".
Click with the right mouse button on "Disk x"(x for your card) (windows down right) and click "Create new MBR" or something like this (I use the german version).
Click execute (or something like this) in the upper left.
Insert your SD-card in your iPod.
Connect your iPod with your wall charger.
It should work!

BUT: Don't restore your iPod, because you have to repeat the whole operation.

Regards from Germany

HI, I have a Quick Question... Will it work OK to do this from Windows 10 Computer? Just checking... Noticed that AOMEI allows me to select the "TYPE of MBR" ; but only gives me 3 different Windows Options! Since the iPod is Apple, want to be Sure that Selecting "Windows 7/8/10/2011/2012" as the TYPE will work in the ipod.

And the closest I can find to "Create new MBR" is "Rebuild MBR" so am assuming that is correct. (It appears between "Surface Test" above, and "Delete All Partitions" below when I right click the mouse on the drive.

Thank you again !

Peter

 

[togruber]

HI, I have a Quick Question... Will it work OK to do this from Windows 10 Computer? Just checking... Noticed that AOMEI allows me to select the "TYPE of MBR" ; but only gives me 3 different Windows Options! Since the iPod is Apple, want to be Sure that Selecting "Windows 7/8/10/2011/2012" as the TYPE will work in the ipod.

And the closest I can find to "Create new MBR" is "Rebuild MBR" so am assuming that is correct. (It appears between "Surface Test" above, and "Delete All Partitions" below when I right click the mouse on the drive.

Thank you again !

Peter

Hi,
rebuild MBR is the right option. A Flash iPod can run with fat32 without any problems!

Good luck!

 

[Scoot65]

Keep us updated with your results. Maybe the CF card or adaptor is flakey?
Have you tried searching for the iFlash adaptors 'Tarkan' makes? They seem pretty good quality and

He's UK based but I've read that they're also available in the US

 

[CactusPete23]

I used a Tarkan adapter for an iPod Classic Gen 7. As that worked well, my friend then asked if we could also do his Gen 4 Classic. As the Tarken adapter is a little expensive, went the CF adapter route, as there seemed to be a lot of success. Will probably get a chance to test out the MBR formatting on Tuesday, Jan 30. If that does not work, I may try another adapter. At ca. $5 it's worth trying another one. This is kind of like solving a puzzle...

 

[somedatabase]

I tried to complete this mod last night, but I keep running into the same issue.

I plug the iPod into my computer (Windows 10). I get a message saying I need to format the drive. I've tried several times to format it. It either gives me an option to format in FAT32, or says that the format can't be completed. iTunes recognizes a corrupt iPod, and if I try to restore it, it gives me error 1439 and says that the iPod can't be restored. It doesn't seem to want to accept the FAT32 formatting. Then I get an "OK to disconnect" message from the iPod. I've tried formatting in both EaseUS and Disk Management, but nothing. Anything else I can try?

 

[somedatabase]

I tried to complete this mod last night, but I keep running into the same issue.

I plug the iPod into my computer (Windows 10). I get a message saying I need to format the drive. I've tried several times to format it. It either gives me an option to format in FAT32, or says that the format can't be completed. iTunes recognizes a corrupt iPod, and if I try to restore it, it gives me error 1439 and says that the iPod can't be restored. It doesn't seem to want to accept the FAT32 formatting. Then I get an "OK to disconnect" message from the iPod. I've tried formatting in both EaseUS and Disk Management, but nothing. Anything else I can try?

So, sorry for the double post, but I made some progress. Just in case someone here stumbles across this thread later and runs into the same issue I did:

I took the SD-CF adapter out of the CF to IDE adapter. A friend had an external SD Card reader (my laptop doesn't have one) and I was able to get the SD card in FAT32 formatting! Following that, I still had the iTunes error 1439. I followed the instructions here. Following the instructions, I'm at least getting a different error. It tells me that it can't restore due to the iPod files being in use on another system. I'm working on trying to resolve that. Wish me luck.

 

[togruber]

So, sorry for the double post, but I made some progress. Just in case someone here stumbles across this thread later and runs into the same issue I did:

I took the SD-CF adapter out of the CF to IDE adapter. A friend had an external SD Card reader (my laptop doesn't have one) and I was able to get the SD card in FAT32 formatting! Following that, I still had the iTunes error 1439. I followed the instructions here. Following the instructions, I'm at least getting a different error. It tells me that it can't restore due to the iPod files being in use on another system. I'm working on trying to resolve that. Wish me luck.

Hello,
when you insert the SD-card after the failed iTunes restore process in a windows machine and open AOMEI partition manager, how many partitions does the software show?
(Have you tried to format the SD-Card in FAT32 and tried to restore it with iTunes on a Mac? I guess this would work, because I had those issues just with windows-machines and FAT32 because of the MBR! Then you know for sure, that it is a FAT32 /MBR issue.)

Regards Torsten

 

[Avenged110]

Excited to join all of you in trying this myself with a monochrome 4th gen. (my favorite iPod). I just ordered all my parts last night (iFlash and adapter cable, 128GB microSD, 20GB 4th gen. iPod, iFixit battery kit) so we'll see how it goes. Should be a lot of fun!

Update:
iPod and battery kit arrived today. Just replaced the battery and swapped faceplates with my other 4th gen. Works great. Just waiting on the iFlash and microSD card now.

 

[CactusPete23]

Sadly, I am still being defeated by this 4th gen Ipod Classic microsd upgrade.... I have tried rebuilding the MBR.(at varying times in the sequence) Even reformatted the 64GB SD card while it was inside the 4the Gen. iPod. Ran Diagnostics on the Ipod, and Ram tests OK, the now "60GB HDD" tests OK,, Diagnostics tells me everything is OK. But connect to PC and itunes tells me to restore, And Every time I do, and then get the message to "connect to the Firewire Charger", (While the ipod says do no disconnect after hours of waiting), So When I eventually disconnect from itunes.the PC, and connect to the firewire charger for 10 minutes to hours... I still get the Folder and Astrex(!) And when I connect to computer again, Itunes tells me again that it's corrupted and needs to be restored... Is it possible that the "old" firewire charges is not putting out enough power to complete the restore? Is there any alternative power supply I can try? Again, O am open to any ideas/help ! Thanks ! Pete

 

[Avenged110]

Is it possible that the "old" firewire charger is not putting out enough power to complete the restore? Is there any alternative power supply I can try?

While unfortunately I can't help you much, I can confirm that after restores on my 4th gen. I used normal Apple-branded USB chargers (10W and 12W) to set it up without issue. So you don't have to use a FireWire charger. Not sure if that'll help you, though.