Fixing My iPod

This is a bit of a departure for this blog, but I thought I would show a bit about how to fix an older iPod. There are a number of places to find great information about fixing iPods, some even include videos (look here, here and here for GREAT help). Here I just want to mention just how easy it is and mention that the process has become much less expensive than it once was.See how after the break.In my case, as in many others, the hard drive died. This is actually great news. The 1.8 inch drives used in many of the iPods are now standard and can be found for less than $50. I got my new 20 G drive from CompuVest for $47 after shipping.

The first step is to get the case off; that is, separate the white plastic from the aluminum. I had great luck by using a razor blade as a rather delicate and thin pry bar. Start on the right side, just to the right of the fast forward button. Move your way to the bottom. Once the prybar-blade is near the bottom, gently try to get the corner to pop off. You can delicately pry the rest with a combination of a guitar pick as a pry bar and your fingers to pull off the plastic. By prying from the right side you will avoid some of the thin ribbon cables and other things you could accidentally cut. Again, there are some great videos of this one somewhat dicey part of the process.

The big loose thing you see dangling is the hard drive. Carefully remove it and look for the model number. Hit up Google, buy a replacement, and a few days later you’re back in business. You probably want to scrape off the padding that apple put on your old hard drive and put it on your new one.

The restoring process took less than an hour, including fitting in the new drive and getting iTunes to throw many a Gig onto the new drive.