My iPod is better than my phone: repair, new SSD, and managing songs with Linux
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- Опубліковано 27 тра 2024
- A new iPod has entered my life, and I'm excited to start using it with Rhythmbox. But first, I need to clean it up and install this awesome DosLab solid state drive and new Atomic Purple front panel.
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Links referenced in the video (no affiliate links):
- Free Geek Twin Cities (where I got the iPod): www.freegeektwincities.org/
- Elite Obsolete (where I got much of the supplies): eoe.works/
- Elite Obsolete's 4th gen logic board (I used this on an older iPod, not this one): eoe.works/collections/ipod-mo...
- Screen on Amazon: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
- DosLab electronics (where I got the solid state ZIF replacement drive): doslabelectronics.com/shop
- iFixit's guides on this model iPod: www.ifixit.com/Device/iPod_5t...
Chapters:
0:00 I like iPods, maybe you should too
1:27 About this iPod and its future components
5:15 Separating the old iPod front panel from the back case
7:23 Removing the hard drive and front panel from the logic board
10:20 Replacing the broken iPod screen
11:43 Replacing the click wheel
13:54 New front panel!
15:57 Front panel is reassembled, now let's install a battery
17:10 Correctly installing the battery and headphone cable, Incorrectly installing the DosLab drive
18:29 First function test- no good!
19:31 Installing Rhythmbox on Fedora, trying the iPod, failing
20:48 Veronica. Her eyes uncovered! (I fixed the drive)
21:53 Trying (and failing) to initialize the iPod with Rhythmbox on Fedora
22:31 Initializing the iPod with a Windows machine
24:37 Administering the iPod with Rhythmbox on Fedora
26:50 Testing the iPod - Наука та технологія
If you're about to say "Apple sucks", I have written a blog post addressing your critique (and a few others): vkc.sh/reacting-to-comments-ipods-are-good-actually/
Can you run Rockbox on this iPod?
@@noderunner_ yes
The error message you got earlier was due to the hard drive. That is what you get when you get a dead hard drive just backwards, but iPod thought the thought the drive was dead.
Also, the way you power power off an iPod is just to hold down the play pause button until it turns off there was no off switch because they did not want to over complicate the iPod for their users
One some of them you can run Rockbox. That's the only reason why I bought two of these devices.
They do. The charge/data port should be a standard usb port. It should be possible to simply drag and drop files and folders. Apple deliberately make their products harder to use outside their eco system. iTunes ALWAYS sucked. I have the version prior to yours, and I like the hardware. Too bad about all the obstacles Apple put on it.
People of culture instinctively understand the value of a music player that... only plays music.
But it had videos and other stuff.
And people of sense realize that modern digital audio players also exist, and prefer the benefits of lossless file format compatibility, modern DAC chips, and the power to drive serious transducers for less than what you would spend trying to repair and old iPod that can do none of these things. If you want nostalgia, by all means this is awesome. But, to claim that a resurrected iPod does anything unique, or that it does it better or cheaper than a modern DAP - nope.
@@jackalneck which do you have
@@nirgunawish Hiby R3 II, Hiby R4, and I also use an original iPhone SE as a DAP.
As a woman I love seeing other women who talk about Linux! Honestly, you are the first woman who isn't paid by a linux distro that I've seen discuss Linux on UA-cam. Thanks! I just subbed!
Pls check Andrea Borman out
same here !! 🙏
You are a cultist.
same!! instantly subbed!
As a middle-aged white male engineer, I also love it. Because (trust me on this), the last thing engineering needs is another guy who thinks just like every other guy. 🙄 The more role-models, the better! (I realize I'm preaching to the choir, but it's important to stress it.)
I had no idea there was such a thriving marketplace for iPod replacement parts! There's lots of similar parts out there for Nintendo Game Boys too.
It's a whole ecosystem, and a ton of fun! I might try my hand at a Nano someday, although I think that might be a more challenging repair.
I had no idea they had mechanical drives!
Some of them had flash storage, to be sure, but these ones had a spinning disk drive for sure! When it failed, it was spectacular, too: "the click of death" is how it's been described!
Yes Retro 2000's trends have been out for some time.
A lot of people like to tinker with their devices and upgrade them in ways that they never came from the factory. Some might use flash memory instead of a hard disk. Some might try using custom software (if the device will reliably accept it)
I still use my ipod classic 120GB, 15 years later because I can store all of my music on it and not have to worry about a streaming service and everything that goes along with that...
Knowing that I can get an SSD for it is a game changer
Some of the later models are allegedly a bit more challenging to replace, but the ZIF drives from DosLab seem to be great performers. I've done a couple of them and they seem to work well in both Mac and PC formatting- I've read some of the other aftermarket parts are a bit more finicky. I don't know if the 6th gen is as flexible as the 5th, but if it is, I think it's a fun project.
@@VeronicaExplains thank you for all the info, I'm definitely going to look into it!
@@VeronicaExplains According to iFlash, the 6th Gens are limited to 128 GB when using stock firmware due to their use of LBA28 limit:
"The 6th Gen models (80Gb/120Gb/Thick 160Gb) are limited to LBA28 addressing by Apple, so these models will only show and use up to 128Gb of the storage installed - The other iPod models have LBA48 addressing so do not have this limitation.
This LBA28 Limitation can be removed by replacing the iPod operating system with an 3rd party OS. Please note we DO NOT support these types of installations - the iFlash boards are designed and only tested to work with the original Apple iPod OS and iTunes / Apple iPod Music software."
The final 7th Gen (160 GB thin housing while the 6th Gen 160 GB was thick) isn't affected by that, also 5th gen and older, however, the 30 GB 5th/5.5th Gen, 4th and 3rd gen have less RAM that limits the database to around 20k tracks while the others can do up to around 50k; also different with Rockbox, AFAIK there you can build the database/index file externally and then transfer it.
And they're extremely difficult to open, you may need a new housing, it's almost impossible to open these up without bending/denting the body parts significantly.
I still use my 160 GB one which is working perfectly after 9 years.
@@richardbrawn1019 Make sure you only get the 128gb drive for yours, the 6th gen (120gb) can only use that much. Some weird formatting limitation in the ipod operating system.
Thanks for showing your missteps along the way. Sometimes I feel so incompetent when I watch UA-camrs seemingly glide through these kinds of upgrade and repair videos without encountering any issues, while I seem to make mistakes and have to go back and redo this or that. Your videos are more truthful and... human? Thanks Veronica!
That's why I love Veronica, and Adrian Black too. They both show the good and the bad in their repair videos.
most channels break 2 or 3 devices before they film a video and show you how to do something 🤣🤣
depends on how much they do it too man. I don't think they are all dishonest channels. I can rip apart most laptops with no guide and replace any of the parts simply because I've done it so much... it's also an experience thing
23:02 small miracle that modern itunes still supports iPod
I was a bit shocked that I didn't have to pull out a Windows XP laptop.
Same with macOS too - despite no longer having iTunes it'll still work without any fuss. Wish my Zune was the same!
Apple's new "Apple Devices" app for Windows 11 will happily also sync with an old iPod.
Yes. I got into a terrible mess trying to transfer a large (and old) collection of mp4 files to my iPhone using the new Apple Music app, which messed up all my metadata.
Yes ! it does
Woo! iPod video! And a pod from Free Geek Twin Cities, too! I'm the Apple department coordinator there, so on behalf of all of us at FGTC, thank you so much for all the shoutouts you've given us, and for helping keep this old tech alive and well. Every time I put a "project" iPod out in the store, I hope that someone's going to give it the kind of TLC you have, so it's really wonderful to see that in action.
I adore FGTC and all of the work you folks are doing for us!
dang nice! i mean if it isnt being used for this, someones probably going to use it as a little controller for their 3d printer or make a teeny cyberdeck with it XD
I got this video recommended to me randomly (super cool to see local content!!) but, seconded on the adoration of Free Geek Twin Cities!!! Writing this on a desktop I got from y'all. I also have tons of various electronics lying around from the store. Always a great visit to the Seward neighborhood, highly recommend taking a stroll on lovely Milwaukee Ave before visiting Free Geek.
I've got a nice little iPod collection. I originally bought one after coming across Dank Pods as a "this would be a fun little device to have around" but I've been using these as my actual music players. It's great having a way to play music you don't have to pay every month to use
It's good to fix old tech if you have the skills to do it. Great job Veronica.
I just saw a post on Lemmy yesterday about restoring an old iPod, with a clear case and new SSD. I was wondering where you could get parts for this and how it was done... Then Veronica posts a new video explaining everything. What a coincidence!
This is a great video. We throw away too much stuff that's still quite serviceable. I refurbish older high-end laptops for the residents of my retirement community and repurpose older chromebooks by installing Linux as you have done. It's crazy to throw all this stuff in the trash. THANKS>
Ah very cool. If it wasn't 32 bit, I'd still be using the Compaq nx9420 I bought used in like 2009 and kept going until about 2018. That thing was such a dream. Finally bit the dust and there was no point to replace it, but I think about buying one from eBay just to have a working model haha. Got my old work M4800 which is a pretty decent analog though. Some of those old business laptops are built like, well I'd say tanks but battleships might be more appropriate. Unfortunately my dad can no longer use his PC, but he's got an echo he loves hooked up to a 5 year old smartphone.
Awesome video! Hearing the name "RockBox" brings back some really great memories. I had so much fun customizing my theme/skin (I forget what they were called) and impressing my friends who couldn't believe I could play Pac-Man on my iPod 😄
I just sold an old Sansa Clip that I'd put Rockbox on. Was glad there were still people who wanted it.
You know what ? I've never even thought about replacing parts of my old ipods, think i'll do it just for fun.
Thanks for the idea.
This is specially useful for us motorcycle riders that go on the road and there's no cell phone coverage.
Not only for them, but generally for travellers from point A to B for the same reason you've mentioned.
I have about 15 ipods, 3 classics, the rest of nanos, all gens. Listen to them all, even replaced batteries and screens in some of them. Absolute gems. ❤
First!
I kinda like the new-ish trend of forgoing "convenience/comfort" for aesthetics, kinda ethics and the coolness factor. I can't wait for pagers to make a comeback half ironically.
Love your videos btw!
I have always been on the lookout for an sms only device (having worked in a call center, any more second spent on a phone is a second too many).
I have a pager for work and it is definitely an item I just enjoy being able to have 😅
How is this forgoing convenience or comfort?
Love my iPods - have a 5.5th gen upgraded to 512GB and an adorable little mini upgraded to 256GB. The minis are probably the easiest to upgrade as you can just get a compact flash to SD adapter to replace the micro drive HDD inside. Pop a new battery in too and ta-da, a lovely little device!
For other models, I'd recommend the iFlash adapters over anything else, as they are super slim, and as such you can squeeze a lot more in! With on of these I was able to put an 1800mAh battery in whilst keeping the skinny backplate. The end result was an iPod with a drastically better battery life with more storage, whilst being even thinner and lighter than the original.
Really cool video, I would love to see one about RockBox and iPod Linux
Oh yeah! Finally I am not the only one who still enjoys the old iPods! Got one just like this and a 2GB nano
I swear you’re a mind reader!!! I just came across my old iPod the other day and was amazed it was still holding a charge from over 15 years ago! I thought it’d be neat to see what kind of hackery I could do to it after all these years to make it my go to music player for when I’m out on the road (I travel A LOT) but I got sidetracked and now, less than a week later, here you are giving me no excuses... THANK YOU!!!
Those who watch Wade Nixon already know about much of this stuff _ages_ ago. He's a cool fella. Bit loopy, but that's what Australia does to people I guess.
Wait, Dank, right? Is that his last name??
@@Sean-Ax Yes, DankPods' real name is - _no_ you have the Internet, validate yourself.
omg this is awesome! I'm already happy with the retro scene for my machine fro back in the day, but this is actually a really interesting use-case these days. Love that you can actually get new parts to fix it!
This reminds me, about three months ago I bought a new battery for my iPod (exact same model as yours, it looks like) but unfortunately when I went to remove the old battery, the connector on the mainboard popped right off. I must have weakened the solder the last time I replaced the battery. For a hot minute I thought I was going to have to buy a whole new iPod, but it turns out that there are even vendors selling _mainboards_ . 😅
Totally worth it, of course. This particular gen of iPod just sounds _amazing_ . And apart from the batteries, I had also invested in a replacement headphone jack assembly and an iFlash Quad for mine. (Incidentally, I didn't have too bad of a time with my iFlash... it didn't get recognized the first try, but after maybe 15 minutes popping the iPod open again and reformatting the microSD cards, it was good to go.)
I have an antique IPAQ PDA with an 8Gb CF card that is also a spinning disk HD. It always amazes me that this thing has been spinning up/down inside there for decades.
I just returned my iPod Video to service with a new battery and a new SSD - I'd forgotten what a good user experience this thing has. It's also way smaller than I remember it, and carrying it around has been a joy.
Also. Dunlop heavy picks are clearly the superior choice :)
Love the passion you have for the pods. Awesome that you work on them.
i love this video, the fact that you included your mistakes and fails is so good. When watching linux community content i always see perfect videos with perfect procedures and no flaws and this makes me feel better about my mishaps and the ipod you created is so cool
I did this a few years ago. I ended up buying a U2 edition knockoff shell. I also put in a 128gb SSD. It will store like 120,000 songs. So don’t worry that you didn’t get the 256gb drive
I remember Rockbox! After setting that up I loved being able to just copy music to the drive like a regular mp3 player or flash drive, and a bunch of my library was (and is) in flac so having support for that was super nice too.
I also remember getting a very expensive case because the drives in these things would fail if you looked at them funny, lol.
I love my old zune that I modded, its all the music I like and OWN
I was always a huge fan of the iPod in school, it was a huge improvement over CD or minidisk players. I've been considering getting another one to play music in the car or to use while working. Since most modern phones don't even have MicroSD slots or headphone jacks a dedicated music player seems like a better choice.
Love what you are doing
Been a fan for a decent amount of time now!
babe wake up new Veronica Explains video just released
Love to see old hardware being given a new lease of life! I've been digging through my own boxes of old tech and reviving a few things, kind of fun going off-grid and rolling your own alternatives to music/video services.
Great video as always! I always long for your theme "passing time" song, but this time at 19:52 it just felt even better in my heart at 10x! This was awesome!
The textual commentary is the cherry on top of this delicious cake of a refurbishment. I had fun.
Thanks for sharing, Veronica!
"Waist of time", my mental picture went hourglass ⏳😂
I still love my netMD minidisc player. Load up a bunch of songs on a heap of disks and it works great! Like you say, no phone calls, no distractions and there is something to be said about organising playlists.
It's really awesome to see new ways to recycle/reuse older electronics. There's already so many of them in landfills that are not even recycled for parts! Your videos are great :D
I love how much your videos tinkering with stuff feel like my real experiences dealing with the software, the machines, the knowledge and the unexpected 🙌
I have a 2006 iPod that I purchased new in 2006. It's still in pristine condition and working perfectly. I only had to replace the battery a few years ago.
Rapidly approaching 100K subscribers. Great job!
Thank you! I have an iPod Gen 5, which was a coveted model for.awhile, but the battery won't hold a charge and I can't get it to power up. So glad to hear I can still get replacement parts!
Definitely going to be doing all this to my iPod classic. Thank you for the video.
I'm so glad to see this!! I just put rockbox onto an ipod classic last month and have been itching to do some more mods to my new favorite dap. Thanks for talking about elite obsolete, i'm really excited to get new parts for it! And if you make a video about Rockbox, I'll watch that too!
I have been collecting and fixing iPods and all kinds of Apple devices as a hobby for about seven years when I found my moms old iPod Photo (or classic 4th. Gen.) in a drawer when I was 13. There’s just something so damn satisfying about fixing these nuggets and listening to your favorite songs on them. I’m so glad that it feels like recently more and more people are getting into retro tech again. Great video by the way! Greetings from Germany ✌️
enjoyed watching you go through that video. Thanks.
"I'm going to have the best looking iPod on the block". 💜🎼💜
Great video Veronica! Loved the retro iPod being blinged and fixed up with modern technology - Old Skool is often the best skool plus you are great at what you do. By the way also loved the song of choice 🎶🎵🎵👍
Itś good seeing you again Veronica! I hope everything is well with you! :)
clearly hand-done subtitles, thank you!
This is my favorite video of yours. Also, that Blu-ray movie collection at 20:11 is a vibe
I love this, I've been wanting to grab an iPod again for a solid year now, this convinced me to do it. Nothing beats having an entire library that *doesn't require the internet* in your pocket. There's actually a lot of newer alternatives, but almost all of them just run Android, and it feels like I'm just buying a phone without a mobile plan.
About to make some popcorn tonight and fire this video up! Love Veronica Explains! 😁
Its so interesting to see old tech like this being worked on
:) GO Veronica! WELL DONE indeed and KUDOS for saving the iPod! I don't think I have the dexterity anymore for those refurbs or repairs anymore :( ALL The BEST andd Cheers! :)
Congratulations on reaching 100K subs, Victoria! I discovered your channel today through this video. Glad to be one of those 99.9-somethings! :) Cheers from Argentina!
Thank you!
just finished one. love it.
I try to put SSD into everything I find that can take the upgrade. People I know love how it brings their electronics back from the discard pile basically. Just don't wait until the hd is on its last leg and it wont take ages. Awesome video, thanks for showing off the touch. I had the nano and the scroll wheel button was so satisfying.
I have an old phone as an MP3 player, helps keeping my main phones battery ready while listening to music. Lovely work bringing life to this old piece of tech, keep it up!
Sometimes an old phone is a really great option since they can have Bluetooth and even external storage options!
@@VeronicaExplainsthat could be a really great option especially if you can figure out how to forward notifications. I'm a carpenter and don't want to break my phone
Thank you for this video! I just remembered I had a 7th gen iPod Nano sitting in a drawer i forgot about!
Hey Veronica, just wanted to thank you for the proper closed captions in your videos. A lot of even bigger video creators tend to forget about that detail, and the built-in CC leaves a bit to be desired usually haha.
Oh my you got a music library, I'm in love with your patch on the eye kind of vibe.
good video Veronica, classic ipods will never die!!!! 😊👍
Ooo i didn't know about the transcoding. That is very handy! I would go for ALAC for me as I am coming from FLAC. Thought I had to do it on my local machine before, but if this can be done in the transfer itself that is great! Thanks for showing this!
Not to mention, there are plenty of iPod-ready devices out there like boomboxes and alarm clocks that can charge your iPod, play your music through speakers, and leaves your iPhone alone from the usual alerts, texts and that rare call.
Wow I keep learning more from your videos.
Muchas gracias! Cheers from Spain.
Just stumbled upon your channel. I, too have been using an iPod again recently. I am a fairly new UA-cam content creator and I enjoy making videos of old tech. A lot of gameboy refurbishings. Your channel is right up my alley. You've got yourself a new subscriber.
Veronica! Impeccable music taste. First the B52s shirt, now the ABBA sweatshirt? Incredible.
Thanks for approaching your content creation in such a friendly, informative, non-elitist manner!
Really enjoyed this. I'm also not into the streaming services anymore -it was exciting at first to be able to have so much music at my fingertips but at the same time it kinda' devalued the whole experience for me. I'm also not comfortable with the how streaming services pay musicians. I switched back to server/client and being more purposeful about music discovery and managing my own collection. I like the idea of maybe trying your thing and dedicating a device to listening instead of the Jellyfin streaming thing I do now. I love Jellyfin but if I'm honest it's not completely there for music so I've been experimenting with Navidrome ...still not settled on music delivery Thank you for the video and info!!
I recently took my old 5th gen that I bought new back in the day, put in a iFlash dual, and replaced the battery. Also put Rockbox on it. This is the best way to enjoy music and it sounds amazing!
oh my, you have the best iPod !! you rock 🎸 great video
I still use my clip-on iPod Nano 6th gen when I go biking. It’s the best.
I'm kinda actually addicted to upgrading iPods. I've wound up remaking 4 in the last 4 years. Two of them run rockbox and I use rsync to copy my FLAC files over from my dedicated headless CD ripping station.
I love the little comments replying to yourself as you're speaking, that's a cute addition.
Awesome - love watching put software/hardware on to things that they clearly did not come with.
This video hit home for me. I resisted buying the iPod when it first came out, until finally getting a 5th gen as it added video playback functionality. I used if for several years and then on a work trip the screen got damaged while it was in my bag. It was similar to yours except the black lines on mine went across the entire screen. It worked fine otherwise so I left it like that. A few years ago I pulled it out again and decided to repair it. The battery connected on the 5th gen was really fragile and the ifixit guide I followed also highlighted that. Swapped the screen with no issue, however I connected the hard drive upside down like you. In the process of righting that I broke the battery connector. I was so mad but I knew that was a risk so I bought another logic board from ebay and went through swapping it. I was extra careful with the battery connector this time and it did not break. When I connected the headphone jack cable and pushed the connector closed, the entire connector broke off the board, @@#$&**!!! I gave up after that and bought a refurbished 5th gen that I still use from time-to-time. After watching this I may take another crack and repairing my original.
Im using my ipod every day! It‘s so convenient and fits in my pocket so well
I’m still using and listening music with my old iPod Video 30GB … recently I changed the battery and still working great. Long life….
Oh I would love to see you load RockBox onto there! I’m in love with retro tech and have recently started transitioning to single use electronics. The purple looks so good on the Gen 5, might have to get my own. Thank you for sharing!
Finally a tech nerd woman! WHY did it take so long to find you!? I'm so happy now!
Excellent project. I love my modded iPod.
My mom still uses an iPod Classic for her Audiobooks. I also have 2 other iPod Classics which are all operational with some replaced batteries and original hardware drives. I used to use one myself, but found a player for my phone which plays iPod formatted Audiobooks. I actually like the player as it pauses the audio when I do get the inevitable call/message and then restarts a short distance in the audio before it paused. (I have repaired the iPods over the years to keep them going, no SSD yet)
I replaced the battery and HDD in my own iPod Video 5.5th Gen over ten years ago and still use it. I went the SD card adapter route, though, and only used a 128GB card. 256 cards were really expensive back then, and it was a huge step up from the original 30GB, so I didn’t mind. Plus, the limited amount of RAM for indexing on that model is a real thing. Still, this gives me the urge to do a re-upgrade.
Very cool, and I'll definitely be trying some of this out! Also would be very interested in rockbox
i remember when I saw an ipod which belonged to my mate, video gamey looking stuff. asked my parents and they said they are expensive for no reason, so they took me to a sony showroom and i got my first and only Walkman. almost a decade later, still works like a charm. these music devices held emotions as well as mp3 files.
Amazing video, as always!
Thank you! Long live the iPod!! :)
@VeronicaExplains ALL HAIL! I really did love my ipod. I think I still have a couple laying about I need to dust off and see what is what.
Lost power for about 10 hours last Thursday. Passed a lot of the time using an 80 GB iPod classic. Didn’t want to use smartphone to save battery. So even in 2024, when the power fails, nice to have something that just does one thing.
So, thank you for this video.
This is great. I upgraded the 5th gen iPod my friend gave me years ago but it could use a refresh. That purple front plate looks pretty sweet too! I think I’ve got some parts to buy and a project to do in the near future.
Awesome video and very informative and entertaining 🎉
I love listening to my mp3 collection!
Like your video tutorials, I’ve subscribed
I switched my Samsung A53 to Samsung z flip 5. I didn't know what to do with my old phone so I decided to use it for listening to music offline and I downloaded music from some apps.
I've an upcoming trip from Guatemala to Argentina. I have a scale in Panama and a flight within Argentina too. I have to spend many hours in airplanes and airports. Mp3 songs and listening to music offline is actually really helpful.
My iPod Video has been plugged into the head unit in my car for well over decade and is still performing its role perfectly.
Awesome 😎 I actually bought a old ipod some time ago, for pretty much the same reason… plus I just always wanted one 😅
That looks awesome!!!
I bought one initially for use when I was smoking weed. Didn't take long until it just became my go to for music when not at a computer. Love not having to worry about notifications or something interrupting me, aside from people that is.
Great video Veronica. My iPod 160 is still kicking but I can see a day where I'll have to try something similar.