iPod Upgrade to my iPod video to 256gb SSD

[aycon]

Hello there, I have a 30gig 5.5 gen ipod looking to upgrade with the Micro Cable mSATA to ZIF adapter (Amazon) and a Samsung 840 evo 250gb mSATA. Everything worked fine after the install. I did not pre-format the drive. iTunes recognized the drive, restored it to new and synced my entire library (80gb worth). Here starts the problem. Upon ejection the ipod is stuck in the Apple dark logo, it will try to boot (light apple logo) and then will go into the "wait, low battery" warning. The cycles continues endlessly even overnight. Any suggestions


*********SOLVED*********
Just for those who might be going through the same problem. Here is what I did to get the iPod running.
I put it in Disk Mode then plugged into a Mac. Opened Disk Utility and the Disk was present. I formatted it using MAC OS Extended (Journaled). After formatting iPod now asked to be restored which I did with iTunes, Synced my Library, ejected it and peaches..... So could it be that the disk needed to be formatted first as posted above? While others reported not needing to do so in their case, it seems to be the solution in mine.[/QUOTE]

Thanks for this post diblon. Interestingly enough, after some great successes with the gen 5.5 80gb ipod, I've into the same problems with a 30gb 5.5. I'll give this a try - if it does not work with my 230gb library, I will have to assume the problem lies in the RAM size differential between the 30 and 80 gb models. At this point I have restored this 30gb (now 480gb) ipod about 10 times and still get the bright Apple logo, usually indicative of disk errors. However, when I remove the mSATA and put it in an enclosure, the Mac recognizes the mSATA as "ipod" just fine. I would appreciate any insight anyone can offer

 

[Ipod Collector]

30gb 5g MB versus 80gb 5.5g MB....

Hello there, I have a 30gig 5.5 gen ipod looking to upgrade with the Micro Cable mSATA to ZIF adapter (Amazon) and a Samsung 840 evo 250gb mSATA. Everything worked fine after the install. I did not pre-format the drive. iTunes recognized the drive, restored it to new and synced my entire library (80gb worth). Here starts the problem. Upon ejection the ipod is stuck in the Apple dark logo, it will try to boot (light apple logo) and then will go into the "wait, low battery" warning. The cycles continues endlessly even overnight. Any suggestions


*********SOLVED*********
Just for those who might be going through the same problem. Here is what I did to get the iPod running.
I put it in Disk Mode then plugged into a Mac. Opened Disk Utility and the Disk was present. I formatted it using MAC OS Extended (Journaled). After formatting iPod now asked to be restored which I did with iTunes, Synced my Library, ejected it and peaches..... So could it be that the disk needed to be formatted first as posted above? While others reported not needing to do so in their case, it seems to be the solution in mine.

Thanks for this post diblon. Interestingly enough, after some great successes with the gen 5.5 80gb ipod, I've into the same problems with a 30gb 5.5. I'll give this a try - if it does not work with my 230gb library, I will have to assume the problem lies in the RAM size differential between the 30 and 80 gb models. At this point I have restored this 30gb (now 480gb) ipod about 10 times and still get the bright Apple logo, usually indicative of disk errors. However, when I remove the mSATA and put it in an enclosure, the Mac recognizes the mSATA as "ipod" just fine. I would appreciate any insight anyone can offer[/QUOTE]

Hey there,

I was reading the last part of your quote about your problem
with the 30gb that you're running a 480gb in. I believe I know
what your problem is that you're having with it.

The main thing I think it's suffering from is called PCU (power consumption
loss). Basically speaking, when syncing ipod with itunes with a 480gb SSD
in it, that SSD uses a lot of juice. Do you have one of them older firewire
chargers ? If so, great, it'll be of great use for what you need to do.
You need to, 1, either buy a new usb sync cable like this one here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321633063896?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It's got a 30 pin dock connector at one end with 2 cables that come
out of it, one usb and one firewire cable. When syncing, keep it plugged
up to firewire charger as this will supply ipod with continuous power needed
while writing to SSD. When using original battery or even the same sized
replacement battery in it is not supplying enough juice to sync correctly,
so in turn you end up with all the issues you're having now with it.

I've already learned this through trial and errors myself and both my
5.5g 256gb samsung ssd modded pod and my 7.5g 512gb work great
without any issues.

If you wanted to get a little more complex with it, you could get a big
1900mah battery such as this one here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/high-capaci...371?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a49d11fd3

But you'd also need to upgrade the back plate and headphone jack in it.
You'd need the thick 5th gen 60 or 80gb back plate and the longer ribbon
cabled headphone jack to go with it.

Put it this way though, I have a 7.5g classic that I modded to a 256gb SSD,
with a thick back plate and that battery right there installed in it. I'm testing
how many hours I can get off of one complete charge on it right now.

I'm already over the 50 hour mark so far and the battery is finally down
to halfway. It's on track number 851 so far and still going strong. I'm hoping
it'll hit 100 hours off of 1 charge, that would simply be fantastic.

I plan on building some to sell on ebay, so figured I'd test it as much as
possible to give some good clean facts about it in my listing.

Here's some pics of it if you'd like to check it out, tell me what you think.

You can also check out my other thread I wrote about it here:

https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20710381#post20710381

Also, if you have any questions feel free to ask and I'll help you out as
best as possible.

Main thing I believe you have going on is power consumption loss with it
though. I haven't really tested how well my 5.5g (64mb buffer mb) would work with a 512gb ssd yet, but I know it works perfect with a 256gb in it
using a 900mah battery. I get around 12 hours of play time off of 1 charge.
Nothing great, but good for what I need it for and much much better than
your typical 650mah battery that they normally have in them or usually get
replaced with. It's all about the power consumption that causes many of
the issues you'll get, especially when using SSD's in them and in your case
a big memory one at that. Each time you try to start up the SSD, it'll pull
upwards of 3 watts of juice to fire it up each time. It only takes around 1.5
continuous watts to actually "read' ssd once fired up.

 

[rgarjr]

T

The main thing I think it's suffering from is called PCU (power consumption
loss). Basically speaking, when syncing ipod with itunes with a 480gb SSD
in it, that SSD uses a lot of juice. Do you have one of them older firewire
chargers ? If so, great, it'll be of great use for what you need to do.
You need to, 1, either buy a new usb sync cable like this one here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321633063896?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

It's got a 30 pin dock connector at one end with 2 cables that come
out of it, one usb and one firewire cable. When syncing, keep it plugged
up to firewire charger as this will supply ipod with continuous power needed
while writing to SSD. When using original battery or even the same sized
replacement battery in it is not supplying enough juice to sync correctly,
so in turn you end up with all the issues you're having now with it.

A must have cable for mSATA drive based iPods

 

[aycon]

A must have cable for mSATA drive based iPods

Well, great minds think alike! Thank you to both rgarjr and iPod Collector for your replies. I actually secured one of these cables a couple of weeks ago, and should have mentioned it on the last post - agree, this is a must have cable if one is going to spend any time at all modding iPods.

To this point, I have two VERY highly functional gen 5 iPods: a 256gb (formerly 30gb) and a 480gb (formerly 80gb.) Where I seem to be running into trouble is attempting to go up to 480gb on a former 30gb, gen 5 iPod. I always replace with upgraded batteries and fully charge before synching. Even with letting the modded iPod rest overnight before synching with the dual cable, I still get the same problem when disconnecting: the perpetual Apple logo; usually indicative of some sort of file corruption. Am I missing a step?

BTW, I am using Tarkan's iFlash SATA adapter - it fits snugly into the iPod case and is worth every penny - it is a very clean install compared to what was available 6 months ago. Note, as I received Tarkan's adapters, I have been changing them in the two original (functional) modded iPods and have had no problems whatsoever.

Thanks for any insight or assistance!

 

[Ipod Collector]

Hey Aycon,

I read your message and what you explained.

This is just my 2 cents about what you got going on
and why the original 30gb 5th wouldn't be a good choice
to use such a big mem sized ssd. First, if you are just
using a stock (original sized) battery, it simply does not
offer enough oomph (current) for what it takes to fire
up that drive efficiently. Just firing up an ssd of that
memory size probably draws around 3 watts of power.
I don't know what the actual power consumption numbers
your ssd consists of, but I'm sure you can look up the
specs of it. It might use around 1.5 watts when reading
and 2-3 watts writing to it, depending on the speed it's
capable of writing at.

Also, 30gb 5th only has a 32mb on-board buffer, while the
60gb 5th and 80gb 5.5 sports a 64mb buffer, meaning that
just under normal playing conditions of the ipod, that the
5th board with 32mb buffer has to access the drive double
the time that the 5.5g board with 64mb has to, which in
turn leaves the drive very vulnerable to power loss corruption
(PLC).

You mentioned upgraded battery in your post. What is the
mAh of the battery ? 650mah, 850mah ?

Does your 5th 30gb work good, no bugs, with the 256gb ssd in it ?
If so, that is a good thing. I personally think with what I've stated
above that 256gb on the 30gb 5th board is pretty much the max
it's capable of sustaining, even though I'm sure your battery is
having to work pretty hard to keep powering up. Have you tested
battery life between the 2 ipods ? If not, try it out sometime.

Run the 256gb in the 30gb 5th board from a full charge, 2/3's volume
with headphones plugged in, and test it in hours how long from fully
charged until you notice the first reboot sequence when battery gets
too low to keep ssd powered on. Now do the same test on the 80gb
5.5g board and measure it in the same manner.

I have a 80gb 5.5g board with a samsung 128gb ssd and a 900mah
battery in it. I get around a total of 12 hours of play on one charge.
I actually use mine pretty much almost daily while at work, but I'm
actually using this ipod with a bluetooth adapter plugged into the
bottom dock, synced to a bose sounddock portable. Running ipod
with bluetooth adapter takes me down to around 7 hours on one
charge. Bluetooth sucks up some juice! But it works great !!

Ok, sorry so winded. If you have any questions, feel free to post
a reply or hit me up.

 

[doolick]

Solved errors!!! Just flip it over and plug it up backwards...

So, if you're trying to put the mSata adapter in the ipod, and it keeps coming up with the "ipod support" screen or the "battery low" screen, here is how I fixed it...

I got the small zif adapter off Amazon shown on page 1 of this thread. There are several versions of the same thing, probably all will work just fine. I also tried formatting FAT32, HFS, HFS+, no format at all, got the same result above every time.

So if you pay attention to how the connector is oriented on the original hard drive and then attempt to install the same way into the SSD adapter, it won't work. Finally, I found a picture where someone had installed the thing where the mSata card could be seen when disassembled (such that the memory chips on the mSata card would rest against the back of the ipod). This is better for heat dissipation anyway. So I installed it "backwards" (upside down) instantly worked and the ribbon cable lays in there better, too. Ridiculous, but glad I tried it.

I'm guessing installing it the way that seemed correct initially was causing some power issues since the pinout was backwards. Glad it didn't fry my ipod, I would have been pi$$ed

I'm curious if all the "bad adapters" or trouble people have had can be attributed to this. Anyway, hope this helps...

FWIW, I have the 30GB G5 model, replaced the screen to resolve flickering screen issue, replaced battery due to age and didn't work in cold, this was my final mod. I used an old 128GB samsung or toshiba msata card pulled from an HP laptop.

 

[aycon]

IPod modding - some tips to follow

Fiddling and modding the iPod gen 5 and 5.5 has been fun and interesting. Originally, I got into this endeavor because I wanted to take my entire music collection with me on my motorcycle - it has a dedicated USB as well as Bluetooth for the sound system. My music collection is approaching 260gb. I currently have 2 former 30gb models with Crucial 256gb mSATA (formated 238,) and three former 60 and 80gb models with Crucial 480gb, 500gb and 512gb mSATA drives installed (formatted out to 447gb+). All work quite well. Some things I have learned:

> Pre-plan and pre-order all of your materials - it is good to have back-ups for all parts - the switches, wheels and covers are all inexpensive and relatively easy to find. An example: I damaged the ribbon on a switch/headphone assembly and had to wait while another arrived. Buying one first would have been a smarter choice. This includes face and backplates.

> Get the max mAh battery you can find for the model you choose to modify. For example, I am using 900 mAh batteries for the 30gb models, and 1900 mAh batteries for the 60 and 80gb models.

> In a previous post, iPod Collector mentioned obtaining a dual Firewire and USB cable:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321633063896...:MEBIDX:IT

I agree, this is a must - it is essential to keep the power up during the synch process. Secondarily, once one completes a "Restore" on the modded iPod, disconnect the iPod and choose your language. Turn the newly modded iPod off and completely charge it - overnight if possible - BEFORE performing the synch.

> Choosing the right mSATA for the iPod model you are modding will save a lot of time and frustration. As to the Gen 5 iPod Video, I have found the max (due to buffer) appear to be: 256gb for the iPod 30gb (32mb RAM) while the 60-80gb versions (64mmb RAM) can support from 480gb, up to 1TB (see my previous post.)

> The brand of the mSATA is critical too, I have had to return some less expensive mSATA's that just would not work. It seems that the voltage they draw is inconsistent at best. Rather than go over the ones that do not work well, I can tell you from experience and what I have found in my research on the web, both Crucial and Samsung are solid choices.

> Finally, DO use Tarkan's ZIF to mSATA board - at $40 it is a bargain; it provides a superior fit and finish.

One other side note as to Tarkan - he has recently completed the modding of a 160gb iPod classic, with the newer OS - he made a functional, slim 1TB version,though it took him quite some time to synch. Currently, I don't need that much space. But it is interesting none the less. You can check out his video at www.tarkan.info. There is also a lot of good information here on iPod modding.

Did I miss anything? I hope this helps your learning curve.

Happy iPod modding!

 

[noodles5666]

Fiddling and modding the iPod gen 5 and 5.5 has been fun and interesting. Originally, I got into this endeavor because I wanted to take my entire music collection with me on my motorcycle - it has a dedicated USB as well as Bluetooth for the sound system. My music collection is approaching 260gb. I currently have 2 former 30gb models with Crucial 256gb mSATA (formated 238,) and three former 60 and 80gb models with Crucial 480gb, 500gb and 512gb mSATA drives installed (formatted out to 447gb+). All work quite well. Some things I have learned:

> Pre-plan and pre-order all of your materials - it is good to have back-ups for all parts - the switches, wheels and covers are all inexpensive and relatively easy to find. An example: I damaged the ribbon on a switch/headphone assembly and had to wait while another arrived. Buying one first would have been a smarter choice. This includes face and backplates.

> Get the max mAh battery you can find for the model you choose to modify. For example, I am using 900 mAh batteries for the 30gb models, and 1900 mAh batteries for the 60 and 80gb models.

> In a previous post, iPod Collector mentioned obtaining a dual Firewire and USB cable:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321633063896...:MEBIDX:IT

I agree, this is a must - it is essential to keep the power up during the synch process. Secondarily, once one completes a "Restore" on the modded iPod, disconnect the iPod and choose your language. Turn the newly modded iPod off and completely charge it - overnight if possible - BEFORE performing the synch.

> Choosing the right mSATA for the iPod model you are modding will save a lot of time and frustration. As to the Gen 5 iPod Video, I have found the max (due to buffer) appear to be: 256gb for the iPod 30gb (32mb RAM) while the 60-80gb versions (64mmb RAM) can support from 480gb, up to 1TB (see my previous post.)

> The brand of the mSATA is critical too, I have had to return some less expensive mSATA's that just would not work. It seems that the voltage they draw is inconsistent at best. Rather than go over the ones that do not work well, I can tell you from experience and what I have found in my research on the web, both Crucial and Samsung are solid choices.

> Finally, DO use Tarkan's ZIF to mSATA board - at $40 it is a bargain; it provides a superior fit and finish.

One other side note as to Tarkan - he has recently completed the modding of a 160gb iPod classic, with the newer OS - he made a functional, slim 1TB version,though it took him quite some time to synch. Currently, I don't need that much space. But it is interesting none the less. You can check out his video at www.tarkan.info. There is also a lot of good information here on iPod modding.

Did I miss anything? I hope this helps your learning curve.

Happy iPod modding!

900mAh batteries fit in the thin housing?

 

[rgarjr]

I personally think the iPod Video 60GB and 80GB, and the Classic 7th Gen 160GB are the Pods to get if you want to mod them and climb over 160GB.

The 64MB RAM on the logic boards really help out once you dump more than 18,000 songs.

The 6th Gen Classics have the 128GB cap so those you don't want to get if you want more capacity.

 

[XC-3730C]

@rgarjr,

I have a 5th Gen 80gb ipod video currently with a 128gb SDXC card. Can I use a 256gb SDXC card, and can you recommend a good battery that is a better capacity?

 

[rgarjr]

Yeah u can get a 256GB SDXC. I really haven't tried out different batteries aside from the 2000mah that only fit the mSATA setup.

 

[aycon]

900mAh batteries fit in the thin housing?

Yep! It will. Got the higher capacity for the 30gb from Amazon. Had to flip through a number of pages to find it......

 

[noodles5666]

Yep! It will. Got the higher capacity for the 30gb from Amazon. Had to flip through a number of pages to find it......

link?

 

[aycon]

I personally think the iPod Video 60GB and 80GB, and the Classic 7th Gen 160GB are the Pods to get if you want to mod them and climb over 160GB.

The 64MB RAM on the logic boards really help out once you dump more than 18,000 songs.

The 6th Gen Classics have the 128GB cap so those you don't want to get if you want more capacity.

The best I have been able to get out of a 30gb (32mb RAM) model is around 20,000 songs, and NO video - no matter what size of mSATA or memory card.

 

[noodles5666]

The best I have been able to get out of a 30gb (32mb RAM) model is around 20,000 songs, and NO video - no matter what size of mSATA or memory card.

Which is weird as as I and others have loaded more than 20,000 songs on our modded 2G iPod Mini

 

[rgarjr]

Which is weird as as I and others have loaded more than 20,000 songs on our modded 2G iPod Mini

I think the Mini has no problem because it doesn't have to deal with the cover art, so that's less stress on it.

 

[XC-3730C]

The cover art could be turned off (at least in Rockbox), which is what I do.

I am wondering what options I have as far as a larger capacity battery for my 80gb 5th Gen ipod video?

 

[rgarjr]

The best I have been able to get out of a 30gb (32mb RAM) model is around 20,000 songs, and NO video - no matter what size of mSATA or memory card.

I had around 18,000 songs (45GB free of 223GB - 256GB mSATA drive) using the 5.5G 30GB board and noticed that after every sync it would not display the cover art, it needed a reboot. The 64MB RAM board has no issues like that.

Some photos of the Tarkan board on my iPod Video.

 

[noodles5666]

Just got done with my 2 7.5G mods, one black and one white. Put them in the 5G housing, for a nice light weight design, and upgraded to 256GB SDXC. Time to sell these puppies off and work on a 7.5G terapod for myself.

 

[Praxis91]

Oh wow, I gotta look into upgrading my hd!

 

[XC-3730C]

Noodles5666,

What is the advantage of the 7.5G inside of a 5G case? Do you have a 2000mah battery for it?

Do you run rockbox on it? That would make sense in your case if you enjoy FLAC format (which I do - it is a very noticeable improvement over mp3, even to a non audiphile such as me, and you certainly have the space for it.

 

[noodles5666]

Noodles5666,

What is the advantage of the 7.5G inside of a 5G case? Do you have a 2000mah battery for it?

Do you run rockbox on it? That would make sense in your case if you enjoy FLAC format (which I do - it is a very noticeable improvement over mp3, even to a non audiphile such as me, and you certainly have the space for it.

Lighter weight. I am using regular battery, as I like the thin profile. I run stock OS with ALAC files.

----------

 

[sadavac530d]

Hi
Im looking forward to the day I will have my 3 iPods without H Drives.
Can someone tell me if the following combination works on iPod Video 5.5 gen. (Originally 80GB)?
Will the adapter fit inside the original case?
Thanks a lot!!

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=111091174857

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=271813102800

 

[XC-3730C]

I have an ipod 5th Gen 80gb with tarkan CF adapter (with CF to SD adapter and 128gb card). Trouble is, I get no display, but when I plug in my charger I do.

Any ideas how to fix this or can anyone fix this for me?

 

[rgarjr]

Hi
Im looking forward to the day I will have my 3 iPods without H Drives.
Can someone tell me if the following combination works on iPod Video 5.5 gen. (Originally 80GB)?
Will the adapter fit inside the original case?
Thanks a lot!!

That's a fake card. You need to grab Tarkan's adapter, those ones from eBay are not made for the iPod.

I have an ipod 5th Gen 80gb with tarkan CF adapter (with CF to SD adapter and 128gb card). Trouble is, I get no display, but when I plug in my charger I do.

Any ideas how to fix this or can anyone fix this for me?

What do you mean you get no display?