iPod 120GB upgrade for 5G iPod Video

[mdwsta4]

I was simply looking at the link you provided from apricorn.
But the ebay link provided showing one for $76 is a much better deal. I could care less about battery life as it lives in my car. I just want the storage space. Think i'll jump on this one. Thanks!

I'm seeing the 120GB drive on ebay for CAN$90, free shipping. And then the battery's available from CanadaRAM for $26. $116 is not too bad, and a solid $160 cheaper than a new Classic ($279 in Canada).

 

[njaremka]

Cool thanks for posting. Was it at all a struggle to get the drive to fit in there? I wonder if there's a chance there's a difference in thickness between the two generations of 30GB iPods. i'm just trying to figure out why this guy, who I'm sure would like to sell me a hard drive, is pretty convinced it won't fit. Can you take a ruler to your iPod and measure it for me? Mine is 11mm thick.

I'm pretty sure I got mine when there was a choice of either 30GB or 80GB models, since i got it in mid 2007.

when i got my ipod, the only models available were 30gb and 60gb - single platter and dual platter hard drives. mine is a single platter. the drive i bought from that dude was a signle platter 120gb drive and it was a direct replacement for the one that was in my ipod - EXACTLY the same physical size, just larger capacity.

 

[wkw]

go for the hard drive swap. always fun to take them apart and make them work again

 

[mdwsta4]

FWIW, i picked up the 120gb drive off ebay for $75 to replace the 60gb drive in my 5g ipod. Reloading my library now. No need to upgrade to the 6th gen anymore. Love that I can keep all my music on my ipod again! it was such a PITA having to manage playlists and stuff to fit songs on it.

 

[jeffy.dee-lux]

great to hear! is it working well? Quick question: did you notice if the 120GB drive was thinner than the 60GB drive you pulled out? I'm guessing it would have to be if I'm hoping to fit the same drive into the 30GB model. Did the drive have any kind of a pad on it to hold it in place?

 

[mdwsta4]

so far so good.
I didn't measure it, but both the 60 and 120 seemed extremely similar in size. No problems fitting it into the original housing.
I removed the padding/bumpers from the original hard drive and put them on the new one.

great to hear! is it working well? Quick question: did you notice if the 120GB drive was thinner than the 60GB drive you pulled out? I'm guessing it would have to be if I'm hoping to fit the same drive into the 30GB model. Did the drive have any kind of a pad on it to hold it in place?

 

[sktn77a]

i recently upgraded my 30gb black video to a 120gb hard drive. bought a 120gb drive from a newer ipod classic off ebay, and it dropped right in. now, my video works just as good as new, plus it has a LOT more storage capacity.

Are you sure it was from an Ipod Classic? Pretty much all of the posts on the internet say the classic drive is not compatible with the 5g video. maybe it was a different drive? I'm trying to upgrade my 30gb but when I write to the sellers on e-bay, they all say I need a certain drive which requires a larger case cack and a new headphone jack (?)

Any updates on the standard 30Gb 5g video HDD upgrade?

Keith

 

[njaremka]

Are you sure it was from an Ipod Classic? Pretty much all of the posts on the internet say the classic drive is not compatible with the 5g video. maybe it was a different drive? I'm trying to upgrade my 30gb but when I write to the sellers on e-bay, they all say I need a certain drive which requires a larger case cack and a new headphone jack (?)

Any updates on the standard 30Gb 5g video HDD upgrade?

Keith

i'm about 95% sure the drive i bought was for a classic. i started by searching the type of drive that was used in my 5g 30gb ipod, then searching for compatible drives, and found one on ebay. from what i remember, pretty much any post 5g ipod drive with a single platter will fit into the 5g 30gb ipod case without replacing the back-plate cover.

 

[jeffy.dee-lux]

njaremka - do you remember anything about the connector? Did your new drive come with any kind of wire harness type thing, or was there a connector in your ipod that plugged directly into the new hard drive? I've received a new battery, so now before i put that in, i have to decide whether or not I'm gonna do the hard drive upgrade too. I've found specs that say the MK1231GAL 120GB (originally in the first iPod Classic) was indeed only 5mm thick, so I've regained confidence in this swap.

 

[njaremka]

njaremka - do you remember anything about the connector? Did your new drive come with any kind of wire harness type thing, or was there a connector in your ipod that plugged directly into the new hard drive? I've received a new battery, so now before i put that in, i have to decide whether or not I'm gonna do the hard drive upgrade too. I've found specs that say the MK1231GAL 120GB (originally in the first iPod Classic) was indeed only 5mm thick, so I've regained confidence in this swap.

the drive dropped right in. i used the guide on ifixit.com for the model ipod i have, and i only needed the drive.

 

[aoresteen]

My guess is the drive is the Samsung HS12YHA. It's a 120GB 5mm ZIP PATA drive that will drop right in a 30GB 5G or 5.5G iPod.