turn your iPod mini into a flash based iPod
click to enlarge
There’s an update/add-on to this project:
flash based iPod mini, now up to 8GB!
...and another update:
the iPod mini remastered, now with 16GB!
...and an addendum:
battery life on the flash based iPod minis
...and don’t forget to visit my other project:
put flash memory into (almost) ANY iPod! ^_^
For me personally, of all the iPods that have been around or still are, the iPod mini is one of the greatest. With its small form factor (compared to the big iPods, not to the later Nano or shuffle or such) and metal scratch-resistant housing it’s a no-nonsense MP3-player with a great interface. I understand Apple needs to keep selling iPods in ever different tastes, but personally and as far as only an MP3-player is concerned , I’d say: look no further.
These iPod minis are discontinued a while ago and are coming of age. The two major issues for these players to stop working are the battery and the internal microdrive.
For batteries there’s a fairly good after market, I’ve just replaced the one in the mini showing on this page and that works great. You can find them fairly cheap on sites like eBay and such. I’ve paid 15 euros for the battery.
The microdrive is a little wonder on its own, it’s a very tiny harddrive but the downside to that is that it’s a mechanical device with moving parts. Sooner or later these will all stop working. From the iPod Nano onwards the small iPods (nano, shuffle) have all been fitted with solid state flash memory instead of these microdrives.
Now with prices of flash memory cards dropping and sizes increasing, the idea was born to replace the microdrive inside my Mini with a 4GB Compact Flash card. I can’t see a reason why a bigger card wouldn’t work but 4GB was the maximum my budget would allow me at this moment. I paid 40 euros for my card. I’m eager to hear of anyone who, after this, tries out 8 or 16GB Compact Flash cards inside his/her iPod Mini and, when time goes on, I guess we could even try out really large CF-cards since the CF-standard is able to support capacities up to 137 GB and again, I can’t think of a reason right now why that wouldn’t work.
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Anyway, I already took apart my Mini to replace the battery and hadn’t put it back together again because I’m planning on doing something to the metal casing as well… *^_^*
So, to get your mini in the same state I got it in, I’d recommend you follow the steps over at ifixit.com or you can download the guide as a pdf-file, (mirror)
DISCLAIMER:
I’m not responsible for any damage you do to your iPod, yourself or others by trying this. Scroll down for useful pointers in the comments before you decide to do this. But still, you’re on your own if your iPod or anything else goes haywire because of this little tutorial.
the how-to
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Here you can clearly see the microdrive. Now even though I’m suggesting you use the guide on ifixit.com for taking apart your mini, I actually didn’t. *^_^* So I now see you can remove the microdrive at the point where it says ‘molex’. I’ve been inspecting that and didn’t dare to try that and have been removing the microdrive with the connector still attached to the motherboard of the mini.
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When you work carefully, you can detach the sticker with which the drive is covered.
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Here you can clearly see the two stickers/tape and some protection (the blue bits) for the microdrive. Once you have that removed, you can carefully pry the connector out of the microdrive.
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The connector to the microdrive.
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Make sure you place the Compact Flash card with the right side up because there’s two ways to connect it. Whatever brand Compact Flashcard you end up buying, it will be clear which side is up and which side is down. The upside has to face outwards.
Once you have the Compact Flashcard installed, you can turn on your iPod and it will show you a screen where it says to look for support. Well, I suggest you don’t cause I don’t think Apple-support will help you at this point… *^_^*
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You can simply connect the iPod to your Mac/PC which has iTunes on it and hit restore. This way there will be a fresh firmware written to the iPod. After this you need to connect the iPod to an external powersupply. I’m not sure why that is, but you have to do that. This also works on aftermarket Non-Apple USB-powersupplies by the way.
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And guess what? it works!
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To show you this iPod mini really is operating from a cheap Compact Flashcard, I made this picture with a mirror underneath.
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But well… original firmware is nice, but podzilla is much nicer!
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booting linux… (still from Compact Flash) ^_^
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And we’ve got Pong on our Solid State iPod Mini!
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So, here you have it. With bigger and cheaper Compact Flash-cards around the corner and this little proof-of-concept that a iPod Mini can work right off a non-microdrive non-Apple CF-card, thereby eliminating the moving parts in our beloved player, we’ve got ourselves a way to use this great MP3-player for a long time to come. I truly hope so.
ADDED
There seem to be some questions about which CF-card works or not. I’ve been using a CF-card from PEAK, so if you want to make sure this works, use one of them.
For international (re)sellers, check their website.
and there’s an update/add-on to this project:
flash based iPod mini, now up to 8GB!
...and another update:
the iPod mini remastered, now with 16GB!
...and an addendum:
battery life on the flash based iPod minis
...and don’t forget to visit my other project:
put flash memory into (almost) ANY iPod! ^_^
Terms and Conditions of Use
Even though I give away all this info for free, I would like to point out that everything on this website is licensed through a Creative Commons License. It’s free for any non-commercial use, so anybody trying this out for themselves is something I’d like to encourage. Still, if you/your business would like to offer this information/modification on a commercial base, I would appreciate if you’d contact me first and I’m sure we can work something out. Don’t be evil ^_^
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featured on Mac OS Ken‘s podcast. mp3 overhere
I guess it will have a very positive impact on battery time, have you tested it?
It might also make the mini slightly more responsive?
Great proof-of-concept!
>I guess it will have a very positive impact on battery time
Yes indeed, that’s my guess too but I have to find an answer to that in time. Next to that, these after market batteries come with a higher capacity than the original ones… So, in all, I guess this player will indeed have a better battery-life than when it left the store. And if bigger CF-cards (of say 16GB+) become available for little money, with a larger capacity too!
Nice!
Looks like it’s even worth buying a faulty ipod off’ ebay and giving this a shot!
I went through the same thing with my daughter’s dead iPod Mini and I learned two things:
1. This only works on first generation IPod Minis, which it seems is what you have (the second generation units have wheel markings in a matching color to the body of the iPod).
2. eBay has replacement 4 gig hard drives that are specific to the Mini for about $25 US shipped.
I love to play with my iddie-biddie dinwiddie. I do it until I’m breathing heavy and turning colours I am. Lying about neath the tables at the back of the library near the carrels. Where no one is during the evening if’n ya know whut I mean. Wink, wink.
nice little hack.
I can see a reason why a bigger card wouldn’t work: 4GB is exactly the address range of a unsigned 32bit integer. Apple only wants to sell the overexpensive HW – if I was as evil as Apple, I’d break it right at bit 32.
I tried this as well, albeit with a 2GB card and my aging original batteries. I eked out about 50 minutes extra, or somewhere around 20 percent, for what it’s worth.
So, I am curious, does the card need to be formatted a certain way, or a specific type of Compact Flash? I tried this with my mini a few months ago, and got the new card in there. I am still seeing the support.com screen. Does that mean that it wasn’t the hard drive that was bad?
It’s probably not the best idea to place sensitive micro-electronics on a cloth surface.
You know, cause of static electricity and all that racket.
now, if i can only find a use for that microdrive.. any ideas?
So this won’t work with a second Gen? There are sites out there like http://ifixipodsfast that sell upgrades to 8GB for both 1st/2nd gen minis.
Does any one know whether it has to be compact flash 1 or 2?
Also, if someone has a CF to SD adaptor maybe they could see whether SD cards work. Considering how much cheaper they are it might be a better option .
how about buying a cf card holder and moving the cf card down to the bottom of the ipod, and have interchangeable memory? also can you put songs on the cf card directly?
Hey, can you make me a flux capacitor out of parts lying around your house? Perhaps an old Holly-Hobby oven and the engine from an Evel Kenievel wind-up motorcycle?
No soldering required ?
What goes between the card and pins ?
I dropped my 4 gig Mini a 2 years ago but ended up keeping it in case some hack like
this came along. I think I may give this a shot. Could someone list what is exactly needed.
There are different types of compact flash.
I dropped my 4 gig Mini a 2 years ago but ended up keeping it in case some hack
like this came along. I think I may give this a shot. Could someone list what is exactly
needed. There are different types of compact flash. Also, how big can the card be?
Okay, battery life should improve, that’s cool… but what I’d like to know is if it’s faster now, too!
“how about buying a cf card holder and moving the cf card down to the bottom of the ipod, and have interchangeable memory? also can you put songs on the cf card”
No you can’t, at least not unless you are using iPodlinux (or RockBox , for that matter), because iTunes creates a database and names the tracks on the iPod all funky.
So, if you were to put songs on the CF card and just plug it in again, the iPod wouldn’t even know they’re there…
So would this work with another type of ipod … say a 4th gen big old bulky one?
Yeah my 4th gen big and baulky’s Hdd crapped it self a long time ago.
Does anyone know what the Go is for an inexpensive hack for it?
It is important that the CF card you choose is ATA compatible. If it isn’t, you will not be able to format it through Apple’s software and will not work with the iPod mini. All of SanDisk’s CF I checked worked, however some of the off-brands did not.
Nice, I’ll have to try that. The HD on my mini went out on 14th. And my psp won’t intergrate with itunes. thanks.
thats wicked,, however ,,, i dont think this will help my mini,, coz i was trying to load a movie from my friends pc as a back up,, and then suddenly ,, it go t so hot that even an hour after unplugging it from the pc ,,it was red hot trust me,,, it doesnt work ,,it boots ,but ,,, there are no files,, my ituse wouldnt recognise the ipod….. sos
@vodka:
Actually it should because that sounds like a messed up hard drive.
If anyone tries using a CF larger than the Harddrive it is replacing, please post the results here…
23 – that would be the ipod self destructing after being asked to copy a film. Damn those new anti piracy methods.
Awesome hack! I featured it on The Daily Hack.
C. Flowers
TheDailyHack.net
MikeFromMichigan,
I put an 8G CF into a 6G iPod mini and it worked fine. As I said earlier, make sure it is ATA-compliant and you will be okay.
Dude, “it’s” with an apostrophe means “it is”. To make “it” possessive, just add an “s” and skip the apostrophe.
Spelling matters.
>Spelling matters.
I agree, fixed it.
Hm. When the harddisk of my iPod mini broke down, I simple repartitioned ‘around’ the broken bit of the hard disk. So now I have an iPod with 2 extra partitions: instead of the one big 4 GB partition I have a 1, a 2.8 and a 0.2 Gb partition. The first one is the one with the bad secors at the end, the second one is the functional one that contais the music files, and the third one also has some bad sectors at the beginning. The operation reduced the useable disk space, but that doesn’t bother me. Yet.
Heh, I just did this last night to my son’s mini – seems ONLY CERTAIN CF CARDS WILL WORK PROPERLY. People (like me) have luck w/SANDISK ULTRA IIs (I used a $30 (shipped) 2GB one in my son’s ipod). Make sure you FAT32 format 1st if its a Windoze ipod.
Does anyone have suggestions about replacement for the tape that secured the blue protective dealies to the hard drive?
I’m not even sure that the little rubber protective dealies would even be necessary for the CF card.
Glad to hear that larger card sizes work!
hi dude, that’s simply awesome.
but does the connector to the microdrive fit well with the compact flash card? I mean, didn’t you have to hack that connector to plug the cf card on it?
Thanks. :)
Has anyone tested anything above an 8GB CF card? I’d Really love to outfit my wife’s Ipod Mini with a much larger ammount of space.
Does anyone know the minimum size CF card you’d need? I’d really like to try it out with some older (smaller) cards I have first before getting a CF card I’d never otherwise use if it doesn’t.
Beware! Not all CF cards will work. Some even will explode due to different power requrements of cards and harddrives. We at iPodrepair tried this (evidently) some 2 years ago when the mini’s were newly introduced. We have (expensive!)proof over here which shows you what damage can be done to your CF cards.
But still, Mark: give us a call at 0113-302659.
Went and bought a sandisk compact flash card. 1gb i’m cheap and didn’t want to be out a lot if it didn’t work. well it did for me thanks. now i must use my psp for videos and contra in a nes emulator
“make sure it is ATA-compliant” Any idea how one goes about doing this? Thanks
To answer Juan Pablo Pincheira, the microdrive and cf cards share the same connector shape. Many digital cameras support either type of memory. The drives in the newer mp3 players have the same connector as well.
I know it’s not an ipod, but I’ve got a friends old Creative Sleek Photo with a trashed drive I’m going to replace with cf. I’ll post how it turns out.
Mr 26 wrote: “that would be the ipod self destructing after being asked to copy a film. Damn those new anti piracy methods”
Does this destroy just the hard drive,or does it fry everything ?
It does have to be ATA-Compliant, and works with the 2nd Gen. I have seen a few sites w/ 8GB working.
Also heard the Fast Sandisk II,III,IV series dont work but the base model ‘one’ series does. The drawback there is, is they discontinued the 8GB size in the cheapo series. =(
Just got my 4g 2nd Gen a few days ago, and instantly wondered about the prospect of flash based, as I am clumsy as hell and I know I am going to drop it.
Overall there are some quirks to the hack, but it can be done. Confirmed up to 8GB. If anyone has a bigger size 12/16/32GB and it works, let us know. If you can afford those cards, you probably dont have a mini =D
6
> “make sure it is ATA-compliant” Any idea how one goes about doing this?
The only way to be sure is to check the tech specs or product packaging. If there is any doubt, choose another brand.
To Dan,
Just have a look at the folowing pic. This shows the way to connect a CF card to IDE PC port. Thus the CF card is ATA compliant. http://mes.sonneries.free.fr/Electronique/cf_to_ide.jpg
Thanks, Manu. I must be getting way to old for this.
How about your CF flash card must have the ability to run in IDE (or sometimes known as True-IDE) mode. For whatever reason, some CF memory cards only support a memory model rather than being able to be accessed like a hard drive. (Could be to eliminate a controller to cut costs but I really don’t know.) Unfortunately some manufacturers are not forthcoming with this information in the specs or packaging. So if you try this mod and can’t figure out why Apple’s software won’t “restore” your iPod, then that is likely the problem.
I haven’t heard of trouble using SanDisk CF. So if you can afford it, that is your best bet.
I have a 4GB drive from a Creative Labs Zen Micro. The voltage does not match that of my 3rd Gen iPod, something like 5v versus 3v I think. Is anyone aware of a workaround for this? I would love to use my iPod again, but I don’t want to spend a large sum on it, just a spare-parts kind of thing. It also says “for embedded application only” — is this to infer that it’s an ATA only micro drive? Seagate 5GB ST1 drive.
Peak Hardware rules! :-)
This looks like the sort of drive that would work…
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820211048
This is probably a stupid question, but is the mini the only iPod version that could support the compact flash memory cards, due to the microdrive connection? Or is there some solid-state solution out there for regular ipods, too?
Hi, off-topic but related in a way; I tried to do this with my Palm LifeDrive.
It has been done succesfully by others, but mine is bricked at the moment.
I want to get it working again ofcourse, but it doesn’t even work with the original MD anymore either…
I think it has something to do with the statig electricity, but I’m not sure.
Does anybody know how I can test that?
And is the damage allways irreparable?
Any clues would be welcome…
More information about replacing the microdrive in an iPod mini with a CF flash card: http://www.entrenched.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1393
I fixed mine (fix is a subjective word.. I nearly “fixed” it when I accidently poked a screwdriver through the data cable for the click wheel.. and ripped part of the HD data cable) with a generic 2gb flash card from newegg.
$24 and it’s a super speed demon, battery saving, mp3 playin’ ipod with 2 less gig to play with. That sucks, but I didn’t want to spend $60 on the card. I’d rather wait until 8 or so gig cards come down in price.
You guys are all my heros. This is crazy talk. So has anyone confirmed this with anything larger than a 8 gig? I don’t remember seeing anything but my eyes are about to fall out of my head.
Why the iPod demands a wall plug during reinstall (from what I understand).
To ensure the success of the reboot, power must be guarantied, which the battery can not be relied upon because there are too many variables (laptops tend to have the same demand). USB can not be used because the USB spec requires a device to request the power it wants access to, which a rebooting iPod can’t do, and would therefor not be USB compliant if it tried to pull unauthorized power (that would not fly for an Apple device). FireWire does not have the same requirement, which is why 5th Gen iPods can charge over FireWire even though they don’t have the Firewire controller. My 4th Gen B&W will request the wall plug when plugged into the FireWire bus at times, but is normally happy if I unplug and re-plug.
If anyone knows better please correct me.
Transcend CF cards also work. I successfully did this with 1 1GB version.
Newegg also states these as having built in ATA interface.
Transcend CF cards also work. I successfully did this with 1 1GB version. Newegg also states these as having built in ATA interface.
I’ve modified a Zune to have a larger HDD before but this is really interesting. I’d try a 16GB card but only if I could sell it on ebay, do you think that would fly with anyone, and if so for how much?
I tried this, but it wont install the new firmware, the Ipod Updater doesnt recognize my ipod :(
does anybody have any tips? i would love to use my ipod again, its been broken for almost a year now :(
@ Bonky: How did you fix the ripped datacable? That’s my problem right now… I have a perfectly usable Mini with no controls. :(
sweet project, dude. I replaced my ipod Battery (got it at www.ipodjuice.com) in my mini a while back but it was not THAT involved – Good Job!
Anti-static tape is available from electronics repair suppliers, but you won’t need the impact bumpers for the CF card. In fact, getting everything back into the mini’s case is such a tight squeeze that you’re better off leaving them out. Nothing sucks more than having to stop and clean the inside of the lens because the LCD gasket peeld and got adhesive all over that previously spotless window. A little double-sided tape (or a loop of anti-static tape) on the underside of the CF card should keep it from rattling around inside your mini.
I did this last year after the mini took a bath in the washing machine. The hard drive was never the same.
Can’t say anything about battery life since I swapped it at the same time but song seek is much faster
found this 8gb cf, $94.99, as cheap as I can find. It also says in the spec “Fully compatible with PC Card ATA specification “
Guess it should work fine. Any body wanna give this a go?
I’m trying still some weeks to install
a CF card instead of the broken microdrive and I read many forums.
I installed a kingston CF card-> only a (: ipodface.
Today I tried the 4GB SanDisk :)))) no problem
the mini works proberly. Thank’s for the tips
Wow… Awesome. I’m gonna try this out on one of my mini’s. Would iTunes recognize that it has more the 4GB, or would you only be able to put 4 Gigs of music on an iPod with 137 Gigs of space?
kun je die mini daarna weer gewoon terugkrijgen in zijn oude verpakking, maar dan wel met flash geheugen.. of moet je persé met de open hardware blijven rond swingen. Heel leuk gevonden trouwens! Thumbs up!
Good grief people – ALL CF cards are ATA-Compliant. Some drive controllers have problems with certain brands of CF cards, however – YMMV. Some of the bigger cards have fairly high power requirements, so in theory you could blow the PS in your mini if you’re not careful.
As for SD cards, they are a different beast altogether; CF cards have a built in ATA controller (and therefore are plug-and-play compatible with other ATA devices), while SD cards are raw storage requiring proprietary drivers.
I’ve found SanDisk to be consistently reliable and compatible. You can find 4GB ultra II cards for under $100 US; 8GB are under $200 US. If your pockets are extremely deep, They have a 16GB version available for around $1000 US…
For kicks, I’ve tried replacing the HD in a 4g ipod with a bad microdrive from 2nd gen Mini…The ipod responds to it in Diagnostic mode, but as I mentioned earlier, it is a bad microdrive…Been looking around for weeks to see if anyone has “officially“replaced the HD in a “full sized” ipod with a flash. Maybe I’m dumb but I haven’t seen any confirmation yet. I’m bored, I think I’ll give it a try today…The idea of interchangeable libraries fascinates me especially since these damn HDs turn into a steamy pile of shit on a regular basis. What!? Are we supposed to walk around like monks delicately cradling our precious iPod wherever we go? Restricting our lives? Our activities? Your telling me I can’t fuck on the same bed with my ipods!!??? Whatever happened to longevity, HUH!!! If you like the new you buy the new one, assholes! The old one doesn’t have to break for you to consider the next one!!!!! Forgive me. As I was saying, I’m considering modding the case to allow me to BLAH BLAH BLAH...The hell with it! I’ll get back t’ya when I make this happen. Fuck the iPhone.
at gnetics: About the 4G iPod on flash, I guess it could be done, but not by simply plugging it in. I’ve checked up on pin-outs and there’s no way (or I’m horribly wrong) that that is going to work. Let us know the results though.
Well, this compact flash card hack is a real crap shoot! I have a 512 Sandisk card. Not an Ultra or anything special. Just Sandisk. I formatted it to Fat32. I tried it on a G1 AND G2 board a few times each with no luck — just the folder with the exclamation sign.
The boards work. I made sure the card was connected to the molex and facing the right way as described on this site. I ran the diagnostics on my G1 board and the Sandisk passed.
I guess I’ll keep tuning into this site to learn what cards are working. With luck, we may see a pattern emerging. Please describe your cards as fully as possible.
I note that Sandisk cards have worked but mine does not. The ipod mini seems very fickle!
This is a great site with a lot of excellent input. Thank you to all for your valuable information.
dear sir information use full thak you
I have A Ipod 4GO and the hard drive is broken.
I Want to change with a compact flash.
I want to know how i can open my iPod. Thanks
There are a couple links on how to
disassemble your Ipod near the top
of the page,right above the disclaimer.
I am also having problems trying this hack with a Sandisk 512MB card. My only other CF card laying around is Sandisk 64MB and that too doesn’t work. Is there a minimum size? Maybe at least 2GB is needed?
i just used this guide to install a Kingston 4gb cf 45X elite pro card that i got from adorama for $25 after rebate. works great! the mini died due to what i thought was the itunes 7 problems but apparently it’s just that microdrives are teh suck.
What a bargain! 4 gigabytes of flash memory for $25!!!
We now know that the Kingston 4gb cf 45X elite pro card is a flash card that WILL work.
I hope the list of workable flash cards will keep growing!
I’m in need of HELP. I have the a 2 GB CF card installed and I can get it to show up in my computer. It occasionally shows up in itunes, but never for long and it wont let me restore it. It just says the files are corrupted and that I need to restore, but again it won’t let me. Is there any other way to put the firmware on the ipod so that it works?
Emetec 2Go CF does not work guys !
Someone tried a PNY card ???
Just wanted to say thanks for the great write-up!
I placed a 2GB Sandisk Ultra II CF card in an ipod mini (2nd gen) this weekend, and did a battery play test. Results were:
22 hours of playback at 1/2 – 3/4 volume!
My colleugue give me a a Sandisk ultra III 4gb to try and it works perfectly.
Btw I didn’t need to use the power supply after restoring. Luckily, as I don’t have any:-)
Now I need to buy my own card, look what I’ve found here at ridicolous price:
http://cgi.ebay.it/150X-4GB-OEM-Samsung-CF-HIGH-Speed-Compact-Flash-4-GB
Any idea any of these will work?
Mike, I’ve been having the exact same problem: “it occasionally shows up in itunes, but never for long and it wont let me restore it. It just says the files are corrupted and that I need to restore, but again it won’t let me.” I’ve tried numerous solutions that have come up in my continuous search, but no luck—frustrating!!
i tried this with a flash card made by Q memory: http://www.qmemory.com/cf.html
i bought a 4gig 150X and it apparently doesnt have an ATA interface. is there anyway to bypass this? i tried putting it in and all the ipod did was beep when plugged into a power source. can anyone help or do i have to go buy a different card?
cgi, I’ve been trying everything I can think of aswell. Nothing yet! There is one thing though: I told my friend about my issue the other day and he said that I probably need to restore the ipod on a Mac if it’s not working on Windows. I definately need to try this. Are you using Windows too? I don’t understand why, but this may be our issue.
I tried this with a card I bought on eBay,
http://cgi.ebay.com/...
and it worked great! The only hiccup I’ve had is that Winamp will no longer recognize the iPod. Also, don’t forget to put the screws back in when you’re putting everything back together.
So how has this affected battery life, have you seen much of an improvement? That would be the main reason for me to upgrade with a CF card, well that and the complete geeky awesomeness of the who idea. I’m planning on giving my iPod Mini to my young son so replacing the HD with CF would be awesome for durability.
Regarding post 84, I found out that the latest version of itunes broke the Winamp compatibility. All I had to do was uninstall v7.1 and reinstall v7.0.2 and everything went back to normal.
Just put a cheap ass 8GB ($70) A-Data CF card in my mini, and it works great!
Compiled Compatibility List – look for in a card: Type II-compatibility and ATA-compatibility
Peak Xtreme (yes)
Sandisk (maybe)
Sandisk Ultra II (yes)
Sandisk Ultra III (yes)
Transcend (yes)
A-Data (yes)
Kingston (maybe)
Kingston 45X elite pro (yes)
Emetec (no)
Qmemory (no)
Hi all,
I tried doing this upgrade and with a broken iPod mini I bought off craigslist. I had problems to no end. Turns out, the original microdrive was never broken and the various CF cards should’ve worked. And the last CF card I tried did work! For everyone experiencing problems, see if the PROBLEM IS A BAD IDE MOLEX CONNECTOR !!! $5 replacement gets me a 2nd generation 6GB iPod mini !!!
Re: Post 87 – joekewl
What a A-data card was it?
Was it the 120x speed one?
Hi,
Fantastic! Great tutorial and idea…was wondering if anyone knows if “seagate cf photo hard drive” cards work? thanks
I have a 4GB 2nd Gen. A 512MB Transcend and 4GB Kingston 45X Elite Pro did NOT work.
An 8GB A-DATA CF card from NewEgg DOES work.
However, I know of a guy with a 4GB 2nd Gen where the A-DATA does NOT work. Maybe it’s a board, cable, or other issue, but his original issue was that the MD died – and it is indeed dead. What are the chances of an MD dying and a board, cable, etc. going bad at the same time?
Just replaced my mini’s HD with an 8gb transcend CF card that I got from newegg works great.
I ordered a replacement Molex harddrive cable from DMDepot.ca and got it today. I had taken the good cable out of my 4gb gold mini and put into the ‘broken’ 6gb silver mini which was then no longer broken. So I put the new cable into the gold and instead of putting back the microdrive, I used a regular Sandisk 512mb. Works great! Think I’ll leave it in there awhile. Battery is original so testing is moot. Seems half as light though.
I just tried with 8GB ADATA 120x and it works fine
Contacted Samsung to get a 32GB one but they told me “f*** **f” :((
so does the pens to the ipod have to be modded or does it just plug right in?
Yesterday I put to my broken Mini (2nd Gen) a new SanDisk Ultra II. Works fine. Thanks for the hack!
after stressing like a few other around here with a card that was under 1 gb and having no success, i went out and bought a 2 gb and it worked right away.
i had the same problems with itunes not wanted to restore the ipod or the computer not seeing it until i used the 2 gb card.
thnx for the solution
I am using a Transcend 4GB CF in my mini 1st Generation and I cannot find my original iPod install CD. I am able to successfully format the Trascend CF prior to inserting into my mini. After using the latest iPod Updater (this is with WinXP) or using the latest iTunes to do the restore, it asks for me to disconnect and plug it into the power supply to flash the firmware. Before I can do that, the ipod immediately resets itself and after the initial Apple icon, it displays the folder with exclamation point error. Whenever I do a reset, it always displays !folder. I can go to disk mode or diagnostics. Running the DISK SCAN diagnostic displays “FAILED, NG-LBA, 8125440”. Now if I try to format the CF again while it is inside the ipod, it fails. If I remove the CF and format it through a CF reader, it formats successfully.
I think I read somewhere that you must install first with the original install CD. Does anyone know the details about this?
I don’t think this hack works very well (if at all) with the 1st gen units. I’ve had no problems with the 2nd gen but have had similar issues as yourself with the older models :(
Thinking of replacing the micro drive of my mini by a flash card I browsed the net and found this site: thanks for providing this great description Mark! So I knew it should work. Got an 4GB Extreme Memory CF. Simply formatting the card and trying to restore the SW via the restore tool did not work. windows explorer as well as iTunes did recognize the iPod but booting the iPod, it always displayed the ‘filesystem corrupted’ (folder & ! symbol). Finally I refitted the microdrive and copied all files on the microdrive (control folder) to the flash card -> bingo! Now I could start the iPod with CF card installed. Did a restore to clean up the iTunes playlist files. Connected to iTunes and synchronized the pod…
Maybe with the 2gen minis you need to copy the content of the control folder of the microdrive to the flash card in order to make the pod accepting the CF as valid drive..
—> 4GB Extreme Memory (120x) works!!
Just talked to Kingston level 2 support. He said that they do not advertise their drives as having ATA support because many do not, and it is random which do and which do not. Even in the Elite Pro line he said you can’t rely on having the ATA controller on these cards. So for Kingston it is completely a crapshoot.
Memory corp 4GB Pro 133, bought on ebay did work on a gray 2gen, but didn’t on a green one ;-) Odd but true. I’m still trying to understand the differences between these 2.
Hi. I tried a sandisk 1 gb compact flash and it didn’t work. I am going to try a 4 gb compact flash. Is it because I used a 1 gb card that it didn’t work? I think I have a 1st gen ipod mini so I think it should work. Thanks. Patrick
brezeme: That’s something I’m interested in! I’m in the process of repairing a friend’s 1st Gen, when I decided to experiment. I have a Memory Corp 8GB Pro133X and it works! But then switching it to the 2nd Gen “eBay special” doesn’t work. I get the !folder. At least I know the card seems to work. My next course of action is figuring out how borked the 2nd gen mini is, and whether it’s worth trying to find a cheap board replacement or whatever. So far I’m still under what a new 8GB nano costs ;-)
I think I lost a comment trying to post last time.. test test test ..
_;I had the same issue as miguelito — ipod would boot, itunes would find it and detect that it needed a restore, however the restore would never ‘complete’ after the ipod rebooted. Fortunately my microdrive was also still good enough to do a restore with. I copied the contents of the fat32 partition, and i also ghosted the empty (first) partition for good measure. After that, everything ‘just worked’. This was with an Adata 8GB 120X btw
DrunkenDonut,
Your experience is very interesting. I am wondering whether the ipod “marks” the drive with a special code the very first time it is formatted. After that, when you go to restore, the ipod first checks for that familiar code and if it does not match, it rejects the drive the same way a body would reject a transplant (without special drugs).
I have read an experience similar to yours from another hacker. He decided to go ahead and do a mirror copy of his microdrive after his flash card failed to work and magically his compact flash card worked!
This may explain why we have problems transferring microdrives from gen 1 to gen 2. Maybe we have to “clean” a microdrive or flash card 100% before transplanting it. I also have a hunch that this special code to which I have referred is written in a specially protected place on a drive that the restore function cannot touch.
We think the restore function is doing a complete format and wiping out everthing. Maybe not. We may have to take out the drive and attach it to our PC and reformat it to FAT32 outside of the ipod to get it clean.
just did this to my girlfriends. and it has eliminated loading time and works and charges beautifully. will this work with a g2 6gb ipod mini?
Peter,
Unfortunately I don’t have enough spare parts laying around to test with. As far as I can tell, the 2G mini that I have truly isn’t working.
All I’ve been able to do is get a sad iPod icon, and the !folder. I haven’t been able to get iTunes (OS X or Windows) to recognize it. Neither blank media (no partitions, FAT32, and HFS+) nor the 1G microdrive made things work. It wouldn’t see the 2G mini after transplanting the CF from a restored 1G mini.
I may have to find another 2G mini to try this on. Hopefully with better results. I’ve already returned my friend’s 1G mini, so I don’t even have that to test with now.
DrunkenDonut,
Check out previous posts #89 & #94. I had issues where this mod should have clearly worked. The broken iPod mini I bought for the purpose of doing the mod just would not work. Swapping parts with a working mini revealed the problem was a bad drive connector. After buying a $5 replacement Molex IDE connector, the original 6GB drive worked and so did a 512MB Sandisk and 2GB Transcend.
Stupid question time:Is it possible to
“piggyback” multiple cards to increase capacity ?
Unkl Ian,
Since the CF cards are ATA-based like regular hard drives, and no one’s really ever done that to regular drives… I’d think it wouldn’t work. Daisy chaining drives usually like a drive cable still shows seperate devices and capacities. It would have to be like a RAID “spanning” configuration and thats extra software/firmware.
I bought a cheepo 4 gig generic CF card off of ebay for this hack and it doesn’t seem to work.
After poking around I found that anything written to the partition table goes away on an ipod reboot (i.e. when I unplug it from the machine and plug it back in, the data I wrote didn’t stay on the card).
I’ll try writing to the CF card when I get an adaptor and I don’t have to deal with the ipod in the mix.
Is there any possibility that the iPod Mini writes to the partition table?
Just a quick update,
After replacing my 2G mini mainboard, everything is working great with the 8GB Memory Corp Pro 133X CF card, so you add this card to the confirmed working list.
These are supposedly rebadged Samsung OEM CF cards, so if you can get your hands on those for cheap, it might be worth a try.
I’m selling my flash mini on ebay if anyone is tired of trying :)
Just search for flash ipod mini
well ive tried this with 2 4gb cards, a non branded one and a sandisk ultra 2, same result with both NO JOY i occasionaly get a corrupt ipod message and am asked to update but the it just gets stuck in an endless updating cycle, anyhoo any help or advice on cards or what to do would be HUGELY appreciated, also CHECK OUT MY COOL IPOD PAINT JOB =o) THANKS ALL
I’m really interested in trying this since I just got a Mini from my sister with a dead hard drive. But I’m concerned about buying a CF Card that doesn’t work. Has anyone tried the PQI card? Hopefully people will continue to post a list here of cards that work so we won’t get stuck with ones we can’t use.
Thanks again Mark for this great project. I very excited to try it.
Today, I come to this web and happy to know a way to save my broken Mini, which dropped heavily on floor last week. I try Kingston Elite Pro 1GB first, but fail. Can’t refresh firmware with iTune. After many trial, i change it to SanDisk Ultra II 2GB. Great!!!
Thank you Mark for you great work.
i just tried a 4gb DISK2GO compact flash card. this one doesn’t seem to work though. the ipod gets detected and i can restore it (at least it seems that way) but after the restore is done it’s says again that my ipod is corrupt. after i restore it again the same message appears. this happens over and over again. i’m thinking of buying a pqi card now, anyone tried that one yet?
Thank you Mark!
Just installed a 16gb Peak flash card in my Mini. Followed all your instructions and it worked to the letter!
Card was about £100 but still cheaper than buying a new, and not as stylish pod.
Give Bates a pat too, very cool cat.
Luke
I experienced something interesting. I got an A-Data CF 4Go, basic one. I got the !Folder mark with one of my iPod.
I exchanged HD and CF with my 2nd iPod and the same CF worked in the second one! The HD worked in the 1st iPod.
Both are 2nd generation.
From this experience, it seems that some ipod mini G2 are unable to work with CF, independently of the CF quality (this does not mean this is not an important factor)
Anybody know if Dane-Elec cards work?
I found one for cheap and I’d like to know if they are
compatible with the iPod. Thanks
ADATA card shows up after restore as 8GB but the centre button doesn’t work! Click wheel does. What have I broken?
ScanDisk Ultra II worked on my broken gen 1 ( I can play all the songs on my computer when connected with firewire but when using earphones, no sound and the time indicator does not move) and all I keep getting the sad ipod on my gen 2. My gen 1 had the same problem with the old HD, and I have replaced the phone jack also and still had the same problem. Anybody have any ideas on either problem.
My ipod battery died so i thought this would be a great way to expand the like of my lovely ipod. Have do everything you have said and I can’t get the thing to work. Gone to Podzilla site and tried all that stuff and it still don’t work. All I get is the file icon what a waste of £100, any one want a 16Gb Peak CF??????
@Zeframe:
Did you replace the battery as well? Especially with a 16GB Peak this should work, what gen iPod mini is that?
Hi all
Just a quick update on my ipod: i had loads of trouble trying to get it to work, got stuck in the endless loop of doing restore and nothing happening. Out of desperation i put back the old microdrive and i updated the firmware via itunes. Put back the CF card and it now works perfectly. I am now the PROUD owner of a 16GB Mini, thanks Mark
Hi, all
Those who are successful in installing 16gb CF, please mention the brand you have used. Compatibility is the main issue.
Thank you
Sharath
HI all,
Will SanDisk Extreme III 16GB CF work on 1st generation mini?
Thanks
Sharath
Many thanks, Mark, et al. for all the instructions here. I dropped my 6GB mini from a ladder on to bricks, and even with a proctective case, the hard disk died. So, I read your stuff, bought a SanDisk Ultra II 8GB CF card and a new battery from Sonnet, did the conversion, and it works beautifully. On first connection to MacOSX/USB, iTunes said the mini was a “Windows” one, and woudn’t “Restore”. So, with the iPod mounted as a disk drive, I reformatted it/the new card as “MS-DOS” in Apple Disk Utility, and did a “Restore” with iTunes, and I was off and running.
FYI- “CompactFlash defines a physical interface which is smaller than, but electrically identical to, the ATA interface. That is, it appears to the host device as if it were a hard disk of some defined size and has a tiny IDE controller onboard the CF device itself. The connector is about 43 mm wide, and the case is 36 mm deep and comes in two standard thicknesses, CF I (3.3 mm), and CF II (5 mm). Both types are otherwise identical. CF I cards can be used in CF II slots, but CF II cards are too thick to fit in CF I slots. Flash memory cards are usually CF I.”
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CompactFlash)
The original microdrive is actually the 5mm thick, type2 form-factor, while the CF card is the 3.3mm thick, type1. The CF card easily and securely fits into the rubber and tape “frame” the drive vacates, and accepts the same connector.
I haven’t noticed any difference in performance, which is just fine with me, except that after six hours of working on the house, the battery showed only “one bar down”. According to the same article, the micro drive takes five times the power of a CF card, so one would expect somewhat longer battery life, even though the disk doesn’t spin continuously. Mainly, it should now be able to survive that fifteen foot drop. And, of course, I suddenly have about 2GB more storage space. As well, when bigger capacity CF cards become inexpensive, I can upgrade again. 16GBs are becoming available.
Interesting to note that flash memory fails after about a million writes. In some applications, that could be a problem. But, I suspect it won’t show-up in this case.
Thanks again to everyone.
Thanks a lot for this to everyone. My nephews 2G was being idle in the drawer for two years – now works like a charm with Sandisk 1GB II, thanks a lot guys again!!
Just put a Transcend 4GB card in my 1G Mini. After a few problems getting it to be recognized (didn’t have the pins on the connector lined up just right) it restored and I was up and running.
It seems to load songs from iTunes much faster now and I’m looking forward to better battery life also.
I am very excited since the Mini was DOA when my sister gave it to me. My only regret now is that I didn’t just go ahead and spring for the 8GB card!
Could someone plz put a ready to use firmware only image of his disk online? dd’ing onto the CF disk would be a great helper during debugging.
tia!
Has anyone experienced slower transfer speeds since upgrading to a new flash card? I upgraded mine with the A-Data 8GB 120x card from Newegg along with a 750mah battery and they transfer speed seems to be noticeably slower.
Has anyone experienced slower transfer speeds since upgrading to a new flash card? I upgraded mine with the A-Data 8GB 120x card from Newegg along with a 750mah I purchased elsewhere battery and they transfer speed seems to be noticeably slower.
Mark,
This is a great idea. One comment
suggested it would not work in generation 2 ipod mini, is this correct? Which model would you recommend? Also would you suggest any particular flash card from the list of those that work posted on your web site?
I am sorry apple seems to be headed in the wrong direction with the flash based player. No user replaceable batteries, no built in FM, no card slot for picture upload? When
will they learn.
I applaud you for your undertaking, how
many of these ipods will go to landfills,
when they can be repaired and work for
years.
Thank you for any advice you may
offer.
Rick
Hey,
did someone test a hama compact flash card like this:
http://www.amazon.de/...
hallo mark ik heb bijna elke dag ideeen maar is moeilijk om iemand te vinden om het uit te voeren kun je me hiermee helpen
hey,
i tried it with a sandisc 256mb card. but it dont work.
Theres always failure like unknown error: -20
what can i do?
Although all CF cards have a basic ATA interface, not all have complete IDE compliance. I use the high capacity drives with my Canon EOS digital cameras and most work fine. However, I have tried two of the 8GB CF cards that do not work in the iPod Mini and they don’t work in different ways: The pq1 100x card is not even recognized properly in Disk Mode and cannot be properly formatted on the Mac in ‘Disk Utility’. On the other hand, the A Data 120X card (from NewEgg) will format correctly, and can accept the Restore software from iTunes, but will not allow proper writing / synching of music and fails.
However, my 2GB Transcend card (120x) works perfectly. I have tried these cards in both a 1st and 2nd gen Mini and essentially the same thing happens with both the 8gb cards.
If you check the info for the Transcend card , you wil see that it fully meets the IDE interface standards : Supports IDE PIO mode 6, Multi-word DMA mode 4 Compliant with CF3.0 specification Built-in hardware ECC technology Built-in ATA interface for easy Plug and Play Low power consumption.
The A Data card (120x): Conforms to Compact Flash Card specification standard Fully compatible with PC Card ATA specification Support PIO mode 6 Support Error Correcting Code (ECC) function to detect and correct errors.
Perhaps the DMA mode and CF3.0 issues are the important ones, but there does appear to be a difference in these cards.
I also checked the info on the Transcend 2GB CF card (120x) that KNOW works and it seems to have the same info as the 8GB card. My guess is the Transcend 8GB card would work but I have yet to test it.
You define whether you have a Windows based or Mac based iPod when you Format it in Disk Utility or on the PC with the Format function. On the Mac, you can format it either as Fat32 for PC or as OS X extended. If you format it as FAT32, when you restore via Itunes, it will restore it as a PC iPod, whereas if you format it as OS X, it will restore it as a Mac iPod. If you plan on upgrading the software in your iPod on a Mac, you MUST have it functioning as a Mac iPod. If it is formated as a Windows iPod, it will still Sync with iTunes on the Mac, but you will not be able (on the Mac) to upgrade the software via iTunes. Have fun.
I can confirm that a cheapo £25 DataWrite 8GB CF works fine. However I was also getting the ‘unknown error -20’ failure on restore until I replaced the Molex IDE connector cable (also from dmdepot.ca) for like another £8 or something.
Thanks so much for inspiring me to rescue my poor Mini from oblivion!
I can confirm that a Sandisk Ultra II works in an iPod Mini 2gen.
Thank you so much :D
To those who are trying this and getting stuck in the “iTunes has detected a corrupt iPod” loop. I had this problem and after trying a handful of compact flash cards, realized that my problem was an intermittent connection between the main board and the ribbon that goes to the CF or Microdrive. When this connection was pushed on, the thing would work fine and when I let up, it would go all to hell. I wound up placing three pieces of tape on the battery at the end that sits on top of this connection. This provided a snugger fit into the housing and now all is well. Obviously your mileage may vary.
First, many thanks for the inspiration, Mark. I dropped my mini and was sad to see it go, even sadder at the prospect of having to shell out the $ for a new one.
I tried 2 cards: a sandisk ultraII that was living in my digital camera. Works like a charm, but is only 1GB. I bought a RiData 8GB 80x ProII card from newegg…no dice. I will leave it to brighter minds than mine (that would be all of you) to know the reasons, although I suspect I just bought a card that was too slow. For those looking to buy a card…get a decent one.
My mini lives a new 1GB life, but I’ll be buying a bigger card when I get the chance.
And again, to Mark, well done.
MAN! thank you so much!
i resurected one ipod my girlfriend gave me last year…. it works SO GOOD!!!
BTW, im using a SHIKA FLASH OR SHIKATRONICS 2GB CF, working and proven.
Im gonna try higher capacity.
thanks mark!
I still haven’t got an ipod. But the latest edition of MacWorld (July 2007) describes how to use an ipod as a portable and emergency startup drive by installing your system software on the ipod. (http://playlistmag.com/secrets/2007/06/july07playlist/index.php) This idea will have me getting an ipod.
Now my question: If I install OS X onto the CF card that’s been put in an ipod mini, will it still work as if it’s a hard drive, and start my mac up normally? Will somebody try it and let me know? Thanks.
I have an extra Rio Karma lying around that is broken. Is there anyway to use the 20GB Hitachi 1.8” HDD in the Ipod Mini?
Many thanks. 10 minutes work and I’m up from 6Gb to 8Gb flash. Great stuff and thanks again.
John
I have a database problem with my flash mini. replaced the 4gb drive in my ipod mini w/ the 45x kingston 4gb elite pro card. It works whenever I use anapod or ephpod to load songs on, but when i open the ipod with itunes 7 it sets the size of all the songs to “0 kb” and so then the ipod skips through all the songs thinking they’re all 0kb in size. I have to rebuild the db with ephopod before it works. Does anyone else have this problem?
I did the hack with noname 8Go ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270131911442)
120x. As many i’ve got the folder Exclamation error, i did a winimage copy from the original 4Go hitachi 1“hdd. nonetheless when restoring with itunes 7.3 always the same 1418 error. Did someone experimented the same? Time is now short for holidays… and i canoot imagine go b
HEy Paco. I got the same problem too. I got the cf-Card from ipod repair. The Card DOESN`T work. This ist so fucking. I can copy via Itunes music on my ipod and i can play the music over i tunes from my ipod. I can restore it. But i got the same problem over and over again. The ipod does not show me the typical ipod menue. Like i said. Itunes and my computer reconize the ipod, i can copy music on it but no menue.
Can anyone help me with that?!
Is it the (fucking) card from ipodrepair or is it my fault…
Mitruel
you mentioned that you need a charger to finish to restoring the ipod.I haven’t got that.
I found that the USB port of the Playstation 2 is just perfect for that!
THANKS! I just did this upgrade using a 16 GB card from A-data. $40 for a broken iPod off eBay + $130 for the CF card = $170 for a 16GB solid-state iPod. Rock on. Should you find yourself in Boston, I owe you a beer.
Here’s an updated list I made:
A-Data – Yes*
DataWrite – Yes
Extreme Memory – Yes
Kingston 45X Elite Pro – Yes
Memory Corp Pro – Yes*
Peak Xtreme – Yes*
Platinum – Yes
Scandisk Extreme III – Yes*
Scandisk Ultra II – Yes*
Scandisk I (multiple cases where < 1GB cards had trouble) – Yes*
Seagate – Yes
Shikatronics – Yes
_____________________________
Disk2Go – No
Emetec – No
Kingston Elite Pro – No*
Qmemory – No
RiData 80x ProII – No
_____________________________
Transcend – Some has worked*
_____________________________
* = multiple confirmations
Confirming that SanDisk ultra II 512MB does NOT work in 1st generation mini.
Just got my 2nd generation mini today, gonna go out and grab some CF cards tonight and post results later. I think I might need a new battery as well :S
Bestbuy didn’t have a huge selection, so I chose the 8GB Sandisk Ultra II.
At first, I couldn’t get anything working. Then I plugged in the Microdrive into my computer, and suddenly it picked up the CF (had formated to FAT32) in the ipod.
Then I restored, added some songs, charged for an hour or so, and everything seems to be working now. I’m still eager to try out other brands of CFs.
*Maybe its my mini or maybe its because I didn’t close it up, the click-wheel ribbon (at the bottom) seems unresponsive for me and I needed to hold it in place in order for the click-wheel to function. Anyone else have this problem?
Sorry, but I have another question. How does one take out the click-wheel piece without scratching it (I’ve tried and it was scraping a layer from the select button)?
How can I get musin in my 2nd generation ipod?
has anyone compiled a list of what cf will work in 2nd gens?
Just upgraded my iPod Mini Silver to a 16GB CF card from A-data. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211170
Worked like a champ. Thanks for the tips!
Thanks to the precise instructions you give, mark, I fix the 2nd generation ipod mini of my daughter:
I replace the broken-down Seagate hard disk with a Scan Disk Ultra II of 4 GB.
Now it goes as before while being less fragile and with a better autonomy!
Thank you Marc (and the others contributors.)
Lexar 2GB CF Platium II 80x works fine. Also it doesn’t seem to eat power when turned off and on hold anymore?
Transcend de 2GB works fine. (ipod mini 2g)
Awesome! Just installed 4GB flash into mini. Works fantastic. Not one problem. Thanks for all your hard work. Very much appreciated.
why is my ipod not playing songs
I replaced the Seagate 4GB on my Ipod mini 2g with Scandisk Ultra II 8GB. It works perfectly. I tried before with a ordinary Sandisk 128MB, a Verbatim 256M and a Lexar 512M without success. Its a little bit slower to transfer the music from the computer but its faster to load the music from the Ipod.
Works fine with a 4GB Transcend I bought at Frys for $30. My problem is running Rockbox on the 1G Mini with a CF Card….It won’t work. There is a patch that someone at Rockbox created to fix it, but implelenting the patch is WAY beyond my computer skills. Has anyone been able to get a 1G Mini with a CF to run with Rockbox?
I’ve replaced the 4Go of my mini 1st gen with a Sandisk extrem III 8Go and it WORKS fine!. I put the compactflash without prior format or file copy. I just reinitialize it with itunes 7.
For the records i’ve also tried an 8Go samsung 8Go, blue noname 150x, with no luck.
Thanks Mark for that great hack
hi, great site. at first i think it doesn´t work, i have work with a Kingston 50speed and an Emtec 80x and no way, itunes found it and tell me that a ipod was found and restored, and than…he tell this again, ipod found and restored and so on, bad. than i try a PNY 4MB Card and great it works fine! Thank you and greetings from Germany
This worked great, but when I tried to put the ipod back in the case, it wasn’t fitting and I tried a little too forcefully, and two capacitors broke off. Does anyone know what values c77 anc c78 are?
Wow what a great site, thanks for the heads up, will give this a try, maybe there is some live left in my old Ipod after all.
Thanks. I changed to flash memory 4gb.
No problem , all works
I just disassembled my mini in order to change the battery (I ordered one at ipodrepair.nl) and I’d like to improve his memory by the way.
I have some CF card from a Nikon Coolpix 4500 (Lexar 128Mb 8x, Lexar Pro 256Mb 40x and i-Compact 256Mb 40x), but none of them seems to work. I am not sure if they don’t work because of the size, the speed or because they don’t have the Ata Support (I really don’t know this, but I could guess).
In was wondering if a Datawrite 8gb would work, since it’s is the cheapest I can get here in Barcelona, Spain (in fact in Andorra, but it’s still cheaper than here, 59,50€+delivering). I read here than it worked with an extra wire, but I’m not sure to be able to find this wire (the Molex IDE connector) for a reasonable cost.
My other options are to buy a Sandisk Ultra II 8gb (almost 100€ delivering included) or try to find an international dealer of Peak, since the one in Spain is only selling SD cards.
Could anybody guide me in this process? I am quite confused…:S
Thank you for this fantastic post and for all this helpful comments.
It’s very intresting. I admire you because it’s briliant artice
Confirming that a Transcend 8GB 120x CF works fine in a second generation 6GB Mini.
Anyone got their hands on a 32GB CF card from A-Data yet? If so, does it work?
Will this work with an SD card – to -compactflash II (microdrive) adapter?
Has anyone tried it?
Hi, just wanted to say that as far as I can tell I could replace the microdrive with a 8GB Ultra II Sandisk CF without any problem. I’m running the backup of all the files in the card right now as I write, using the iCloner. iTunes gave me some problems trying to restore the iPod, and kept telling me that there was a problem of permission and that I did not have the rights to perform the operation, I don’t know why. Anyway, at the third try everything went okay and now I am the proud owner of a second generation mini blue with 8 GB capacity! Anyone knows why iTunes gave that strange message?
Thanks for the tutorial, I’ll keep you posted on the progress as soon as I put my hands on a 16GB CF!
I’ve done this upgrade, starting with a 2nd gen mini (board 1804) & a 16GB CF card. Initially worked fine, but within 10 days developed a problem in that instead of going to sleep, when not in play mode, it displays a (fully) charged icon on the screen.
This means that it is fully discharged every 10 – 12 hours unless I leave it constantly charging in a dock.
I’ve reset it to factory defaults twice – still the same. I suppose next step is to dismantle the device again, reformat the card & see what happens.
Just wondered if any visitors to this site have experienced a similar issues. I’ve googled the problem & found other users with similar experience, but no fixes posted.
All in all, a cool mod, but maybe let down by ipod’s fundamental flakiness.
A
I installed a Lexar 80× 2 gig in a first gen sliver mini and it worked perfectly.
The A DATA 120× 8GB worked like a charm on my 1st gen IPOD Mini. No Problems whatsoever. The transfer from iTunes to the Ipod was about four times slower though….however, once the songs were on the iPod it was better than new!
Hi. Anyone can help me with this?
1. Can I use ANY type of microdrive or compact flash card for my ipod mini?
2. Which speed of microdrive or CF card can I use? Will it affect my songs playing speed?
Hi everyone!
I can confirm that upgrading my 2nd generation 4GB iPod was as easy as pie.
The card I used was Kingston 45X Elite Pro 8 GB
So, as far as I can see from Post 155, there are now also multiple confirmations for this card.
Aloha! Just wanted to confirm that the following cards do work in 2nd Gen minis…
Sandisk Ultra II 4GB $63.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820171104
A-Data 4GB $33.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211191
Transcend 4GB $37.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208331
A few notes…
The Transcend I linked is now out of stock at Newegg. It went out of stock a day after I purchased mine. Maybe I bought the last one! There is a faster Transcend 4GB available, but I have no experience with that card. Use at your own risk! ($41.99)
Also, the A-Data has it’s label on the opposite side of the card. This means I had to flip the card over before putting the flex connector on. The way I found out is that it only fit in my card reader when the label was on the Bottom. Just wanted to note that so no one will install the CF card into their mini BACKWARDS!
All three mini upgrades went without a single hitch! Ipod updater and Itunes recognized, initialized, formated and loaded all my songs with no problems at all. All minis are playing tunes like a bat out of hell! ;-)
Battery life was tested on the Sandisk and has exceeded 18hrs thus far. It has not died on it’s own yet, so I’m guessing 18+ is a good number. I didn’t do battery tests on the other CF cards yet because I just got them today and installed them.
Good luck to all with your upgrades!
For the record, the plain, non-extreme, SanDisk 4gb card with the blue and red label works just fine in my 1st gen mini. Thanks for the write-up.
hey everybody. looks like a great mod!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/16GB-CF-COMPACT-FLASH-MEMORY-CARD...
this looks like a ridiculous price for a card that supposedly works!
would you recomend buying it?
2g mini.
following tried:
1gb Extreme Performance Memory High Speed CF 120X
4gb A-DATA CF Turbo 120X
itunes detects both cards and asks to restore. after its restart, it asks the same question. thus a update/restore loop. =/
has anyone gotten around this?
Confirming 1GB SanDisk Ultra II + iPod mini 2nd Gen (Silver) works. Had the loop problem, put 3 pieces of electrical tape on the battery above the connection for the HD/CF card, problem resolved, the mini regrettably has a dead clickwheel but I have an RF control for it. Yay for a car iPod!
Awesome Work dude! =D
My ipod mini’s hard drive was definitively dead…and I just didn’t want to put my ipod mini in the trash bin. You gave it a second chance for my greatest pleasure ;) Thanks and greetings from France !
Confirmed 8GB Transcend CompactFlash (TS8GCF75) worked first time. Restored the firmware and charging the new battery now with USB.
thanks for creatinig new idea for this project!!!!!!
Just put a 16 gig A-Data from Newtons Egg and a 750 mAh battery from Ipod in my Ipod. Works great! Lasts two weeks before recharging. Thanks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820211170
http://www.ipodjuice.com/ipod-mini-battery-replacement-products.htm
Hi, Thank for great instructions and idea, my two kids have 1st gen minis and I’d like to know if this will work on 1st or 2nd gen…not sure what yours is…Reply to my email if you can…Rick rickalleva@gmail.com
Ooops…this is a blog entry…fine..but I was referrring to using compact flash drive in ipod mini…will it work in 1st or 2nd gen models…sometimes hard drives say they only work in one or the other some say either..just a bit confused, but like to go to the flash drive idea…thanks again, rick
Hi I was replacing my battery in my mini when I think I stripped the molex trasistor that control the wheel and and enter button….is there a way of repairing this or it this a dead unit? Thanks for any help you can offer – Robert
r1sky,
To avoid the annoying loop i disabled the sync in iTunes and just downloaded the iPod updater app from Apple.
Robert,
I seem to be in a similar predicament. When unplugging the connector, i made a little cut in the ribbon cable. In addition i noticed one of the pins in the connector is now detached from the cable – so i think i am screwed.
Now maybe i could fix the pin by very very very carefully soldering it back on, but i don’t see how i can fix the cut in the ribbon cable.
Of course i could just buy a replacement wheel from iFixit, but shipping is costly so i might as well just cut my losses and buy a new iPod. :(
I can confirm that the Transcend 16GB CF card (TS16GCF133) works fine (at least for me).
I must be crazy because i bought a new ipod mini of ebay for doing this mod
but a 16GB flash based ipod mini just really rocks.
Unfortunately the transfer speed is about 1MB slower than with the microdrive.
It’s a little disappointing because Transcend state a transfer speed of about 18MB read/write.
I only got about 5MB with my ipod mini. With the microdrive i got about 6 MB though.
Maybe the ipod itself can’t handle fast CF cards.
Can somebody confirm this?