Steps To Replace an HD or Battery For The IPOD

**smeakim** · 03-28-2006, 06:45 AM

Well I got my new 20gb HD from ewiz. It was about 100 bucks which included 2 day shipping. The HD alone was about 90 bucks. My HD had died and decided to take things into my own hands after having three IPODS fail.

Replaced HD on IPOD:

I popped open the IPOD with a miniature pocket knife. I was not too concerned if it got a little scratched. Make sure you put your IPOD to sleep and use the lock button to make sure it stays that way. I wedged the knife between the connector on the top and the play hold button. I turned the pocket knife to get it to separate from the back. Then ran the knife around all the edges to get it open. I then unplugged the ribbon cable from the HD. I removed the rubber bumpers and used the same knife to remove the small piece of blue padding. I grabbed the new HD and put on the bumpers, used a tiny bit of glue to get the rubber padding to stay put. I put everything back in place and turned it over so I could see the screen. I unlocked it and turned it on. The apple icon appeared and then went to a folder icon. I plugged in the USB cable and then you know when everything starts to work as a little circle with arrows will go round and round in the top left corner. I ran the updater and choose to restore the IPOD. I then snapped everything back into place and plugged it into the computer and launched iTunes. It comes up in disk mode. I closed the windows folder and iTunes picked it right up. I loaded my music and it all works perfect.

Note: The HD is made by Toshiba. My model was MK2004GAL. I used the MK2006GAL. Its just the newer model. 2006 being the year it was made. You can also get a 30 model for 112 or so which should also fit right in. I am not sure of the model of that one.

Replace Battery;
Use the same steps above to get it open. Once open you can disconnect the front and back by removing the little orange cable. You have to use a little force but it does come undone. Once you have the two pieces separated you can disconnect the HD as it makes it easier to work with. Then you will see the battery. The battery is glued to the bottom. You will have to use a mini screw driver to pry it from the bottom. Once you have it away from the bottom you can again remove the connector that connects the battery to the board. The little cable runs just under the corner. You can then just remove the battery and put in the new one. You have to run the battery cable under the corner where it plugs in. Just pay attention when you take it off the first time. Plug the battery in, hook everything back up and snap it all back together.

Its really simple and way cheaper than buying a new IPOD or having to pay someone else to do it. I am happy as I will pass it along to the wife and I will be getting the new Sandisk player in a month or so. I need a flash player to run with.

Note: I would not run with your player as I was told by support that it can only handle so much of a shock before the HD will begin to fail.

In the end I am pretty happy.

These are just quick steps and more can be found by googling the topic. Please be careful if you decide to try this own your own. I would only recommend trying this if you are out of warranty and can't get anything else to work. In the end it may not work, so try at your own risk.