Macworld: What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod? ...

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5 Replies Last post: May 25, 2006 6:45 AM by Nobody

biblicalfury

29 posts since
Nov 9, 2005

May 23, 2006 8:24 AM

What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

My 3rd generation 15GB iPod bit the dust just after the new year. I think the hard drive went bad, as all I get is the folder with the !. I picked up a used 4GB iPod mini to replace it. I'm happy with it, but I still have the old one sitting around. Is it just useless or can something still be done with it? Sell it for parts on ebay? Put in a new hard drive? Paper weight? It seems like a waste to just have it taking up space.

Nobody

58,347 posts since
Oct 18, 2007

1. May 23, 2006 9:40 AM

in response to: biblicalfury

Re: What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

If you have determined that the drive is certainly damaged, replacing the drive would restore life to it. What you haev to decide is if the the restoration makes practical sense for you. My geuss is that if you are inclined to do it yourself, it may be worthwhile but if you can only get it done by paying Apple, it may be financially less than sound move.

macretiree

60 posts since
May 20, 2006

2. May 24, 2006 1:29 AM

in response to: biblicalfury

Re: What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

Here's something specific.

Choosing a replacement hard disk is a tricky business. Apple uses modified Toshiba drives in its iPods and so using a generic replacement will not work in a FireWire iPod. The simple answer is to buy a replacement taken from an old iPod, with prices starting at around 90 for a 20GB model. Try www.pdasmart.com for a drive.

Or you could send it to me. As a retired handyman, I would love to tinker with its innards.

They can be turned into USB devices.

Nobody

58,347 posts since
Oct 18, 2007

3. May 24, 2006 10:49 AM

in response to: macretiree

Re: What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

In reply to:<hr />
....using a generic replacement will not work in a FireWire iPod.

<hr />

Not according to a local Apple repair guy...

ladyuser101

362 posts since
Feb 12, 2006

4. May 25, 2006 2:06 AM

in response to: macretiree

Re: What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

Since you are being contradicted by a very reliable source, I checked Toshiba hard drives used in iPods. Note the differences in the Toshiba hard drives from this replacement company. It will help you and others have the correct information to choose a hard drive with the proper characteristics for your iPod.

The problem reported by 800-WE-FIX-MACS is that, while the computer sees the generic drive as an external drive, the logic board ROM prevents iTunes from recognizing it.

Nobody

58,347 posts since
Oct 18, 2007

5. May 25, 2006 6:45 AM

in response to: ladyuser101

Re: What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

In reply to:<hr />
This is reminiscent of the old days when Apple SCSI hard drives had Apple ROM on them so 3rd party drives could not be substituted.

<hr />

Another stellar example of reliable information from the same source!

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May 23, 2006 8:24 AM

What to do with old 3rd Gen iPod?

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