iPod 3rd Gen Frankenstein iPod

[nza]

Hey guys,

I'll start off by saying that I've already done a pretty broad search myself, as I've been buying iPods, parts, and pieces to build this for a few weeks now, and couldn't find anything.

I've recently fallen in love with the design of the 3rd gen Ipods (see picture below, it's gorgeous). My question is -

I have three of these which I have disassembled and reassembled using the best pieces of each (I got a new battery from Amazon for like $7, I used an unscratched face with the brightest/highest contrast screen from another, a 40gb hard drive and back from another, etc.)

My question is - will these iPods support 120GB or 160GB hard drives? They're easy enough to replace, I just don't want to spend the money and get it in only to find out that it's not going to be recognized by the hardware.

Any help would be appreciated, 40GB just doesn't cut it anymore. Thanks!!

~nZa

 

[newbynate]

I don't see any issues with that, other than the OS on that model ipod is very outdated, so if there is any issue it would likely be a software limitation... Never know till you try!

PS the market for 1.8" drives is dying (flash is becoming cheap enough to be a competitor), the last two vendors making ~250GB drives are having a hard time selling them, might mean you can find one cheap!

 

[nza]

I can get a 160GB on ebay for about $70+shipping, I just don't want to go through the hassle of reselling it if it doesn't work

I wonder if they make 1.8" enclosures for hard drives so I could use it as an external if it doesn't work.. hmmmmm...

edit: it's actually pretty fun to take old iPods that don't work for various reasons and to make a near-new living, breathing iPod again. My total so far for everything (including the iPods) is less than $30, +shipping

and yes, the software is a bit dated -

 

[newbynate]

wow ya I had assumed you can get a better price than that... Im assuming you can atleast take find an adaptor to put it in a 2.5 enclosure, would be sweet to have a nice little tiny enclosure though.

You might actually be able to find a broken 160 or 120 gb ipod for about the same price. Find one with a cracked screen or non responsive touchwheel or something you know isn't the drive. Then at the very least, you can take that ipod and just turn it into an external hard drive, I did that with a friend of mines 80GB.

 

[Koodauw]

I always thought the 3rd gen was the worst iPod design. Perhaps it was the touch sensitive buttons, which suck in cold weather. I always thought the 2nd gen (non moving wheel) and the iPod video were the best designs.