Computers & Electronics

iPod Classic MicroSd upgrade

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Mar 20, 2009
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iPod Classic MicroSd upgrade

Has anyone here attempted upgrading their iPod Classic?
Basically opening it up, removing HD, and installing a board that would allow for more modern storage?
I'm planning on installing a quad microsd board sometime in the near future.

Side topic - any decent deals for microsd's (now, or in the near future)?
Looks like I just missed the April Bestbuy sale for Samsung Evo.
Would need to get some reliable 256gb cards for the upgrade.
I have not been tracking microsd pricing for a few years - what would be considered a reasonable deal?
"When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .” ― Lemony Snicket
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Feb 10, 2007
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why bother ?

buy a cheap phone that allows for microsd
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Dec 22, 2007
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shikotee wrote: Has anyone here attempted upgrading their iPod Classic?
Basically opening it up, removing HD, and installing a board that would allow for more modern storage?
I'm planning on installing a quad microsd board sometime in the near future.

Side topic - any decent deals for microsd's (now, or in the near future)?
Looks like I just missed the April Bestbuy sale for Samsung Evo.
Would need to get some reliable 256gb cards for the upgrade.
I have not been tracking microsd pricing for a few years - what would be considered a reasonable deal?
I don't have an iPod anymore as have phone but if you want to i'm sure it will work fine as its just music in the end. Saw a video on YouTube and looked cool.

Looked into something similar as people were upgrading the HDD that came with the car info system to SSDs but in the end the bottleneck is still the info system.
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Nov 25, 2004
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look on youtube i'm sure there is a bunch of videos on people doing it. i know i've seen at least one
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aaron158 wrote: look on youtube i'm sure there is a bunch of videos on people doing it. i know i've seen at least one
There are loads of videos - and I have been reading up and watching.
I've always known about this going on, but never paid too much attention, as I did not own an iPod Classic.
I recently got one for a very decent price (dead battery), which is what has started this trip down the rabbit hole.
It really is a hobbyist/enthusiast niche, as it is complicated to open these things up without the right tools.

I've been using iTunes since it was first developed, and use it to curate my tremendously large 2tb music library. Basically, getting close to 2 decades worth of music (rated), playlists (smart and dumb). It's funny because iTunes is most definitely looked down upon by many hard core music collectors (mostly due to the lack of Flac support), but I have never been able to find any substitute that offers the full functionality iTunes offered (in conjunction with their IPods).

All in all, I'm a big fan of using dumb non cloud music devices, and I'm looking forward to doing this retro tweak.
Much like someone who gets an old car or whatnot, and takes on the passion project of refurbishing.
As an early adopter of various portable MP3 technologies, I have a clear memory of how the game completely changed when the iPods revolutionised the market.
"When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .” ― Lemony Snicket
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May 11, 2009
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Looks cool, I'd definitely want to try this! I'd assume you'd get more battery life from not having to keep a mechanical disk spinning. Haven't had much luck in finding older ipods for reasonable prices in my area, either it's abused, has issues, or is overpriced.

Being locked to iTunes was what made me get rid of my iPod. Went from a happy owner of a first gen nano to royally pissed off after apple gave me a free 8GB 6th gen nano due to the exploding battery recall. Absolutely hated when they removed the scroll wheel and blocked third party media player access.
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M1K3Z0R wrote: Looks cool, I'd definitely want to try this! I'd assume you'd get more battery life from not having to keep a mechanical disk spinning. Haven't had much luck in finding older ipods for reasonable prices in my area, either it's abused, has issues, or is overpriced.

Being locked to iTunes was what made me get rid of my iPod. Went from a happy owner of a first gen nano to royally pissed off after apple gave me a free 8GB 6th gen nano due to the exploding battery recall. Absolutely hated when they removed the scroll wheel and blocked third party media player access.
Yeah - I totally miss the days when Apple was David. It was in fact the iPod that morphed them into Goliath.
They went from being an awesome cult underdog, to a ruthless predatory monster.
Their innovation was no longer about improving things, but entirely about dominating market share,

One of the massive draws for me is the click wheel. I so much prefer using this for navigation over touch screen.
The 4th and 5th generation Nano's are in fact my personal favourites (perfect fit in hand/pocket, clickwheel)
The ultimate dream would be to upgrade storage for a Nano, but this is pretty much impossible as flash memory is directly on the logicboard.

It is pretty tricky to find a good deal for an iPod Classic. In fact, there are boatloads of people trying to cash in on this.
On alliexpress. you can basically buy a new shell:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3286337 ... hweb201603_

In all likelihood, this guy basically bought what he needed, and is trying to sell it as a legit U2 edition:

https://www.kijiji.ca/v-ipod-mp3-player ... 1563905066

On the inside, it might be board with the WOLFSON DAC (very high quality DAC), or one of the many boards that did not have it.
Point being - there is a vast market of people selling "near mint without box" that are likely old devices refurbished with a new front and back.

If anyone is genuinely interested, I recommend watching this:



Fairly detailed info on what to do, and what not to do, done in a fairly entertaining way.
"When someone is burning a book, they are showing utter contempt for all of the thinking that produced its ideas, all of the labor that went into its words and sentences, and all of the trouble that befell the author . . .” ― Lemony Snicket
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Mar 6, 2003
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^^ well done video.

I have a dead battery 5th 60GB.

The click wheel was the ultimate control I agree. So satisfying to select and song and click down, and use it for scrubbing through a song.
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