Old iPod Hard Drive Issues

My friend recently gave me an old 20gb iPod. I don't know the exact generation, but it is a black and white screen, a white iPod, and has a click wheel vs the original wheel. It is something like 4th generation of the original iPods.

First things first of course. When I plug it into my computer initially, the computer doesn't recognize its existence, but I figure that because it is an old iPod that a battery that is too low on power may cause an issue. The battery is obviously empty, or at least very very close. The screen displays the image below on attempt to turn it on.



I thought, low battery, no big deal, it just needs a charge. The bigger issue is that even with a 20 minute charge on a computer and my iPod clock/dock it does finally turn on, but shows a less than satisfactory image. From what I've read, it is the failing hard drive image (below). The hard drive also emits an audible whirring noise when it tries to turn on, another sign that the hard drive is either gone, or very close to it.



The above is the exact iPod I have too. I can provide other info about my specific iPod if needed.

I've read up several ways on how to fix this, but many of them require a format that my computer won't recognize the device as to do so. My computer acted the way it did when I tried to make it read (unknown to me at the time) a dead MicroSD card. I'm also having lots of issues attempting to even open the iPod, as no easy was was made to do so since Apple would prefer sucking people dry for cash instead of giving them an easy and cheaper way to do it themselves.

Note: I've upgraded to Windows 7 since I last tried on Vista. Windows 7 doesn't even recognize the devices existence, while Vista nearly crashed until I unplugged the device while trying to read it before.

Basically, do any of you know of a simple way to fix this that doesn't require opening the iPod to replace the hard drive? If not, can I get a site or something where I can pick up a hard drive (some simple googling should reveal what model of hard drive to look for), preferably on the cheap (under $20 if possible)? If so, I'll also need an easy way to open it that preferably wouldn't require an extra purchase of a tool to do so.

Any and all help would be appreciated. I'll give updates as I figure out more about the issue. This thing beats my old 1gb 1st gen Nano if I can get it working though.

Thanks in advance to any help given.

 

The whirring noise tells me you have a dead HDD. I had this problem on my old 40 GB iPod, similar generation to yours. It's old as hell. I also got the same stupid problem on my recently dead WD 320 GB MyPassport.

There's nothing you can do to fix it. Once the HDD is gone, it's gone.

It would be nice if they made these damn HDDs last (or make it so the arm doesn't stick...)

 

After a solid hit to the back, it is at least working for now. The noise persists.

 

If you get loud clicks, that's inevitable doom for the HDD.
The hit to the back dislodged the arm so it moves, but it will stick again.

 

I'll just keep hitting it until it stops working for good? At the moment, I'm going to try to hook it up to my computer again since I was able to fully charge it last night. I noticed that certain selections on it appeared to be corrupted, as no matter how hard the HDD tried, it ended up finally just skipping songs, while others worked flawlessly. Although I'm on the hunt for a hard drive, I'm going to try a couple different methods given to help stop the whirring. If none of those work though, gonna have to drop some cash and pick up a hard drive.

 

The temporary fix didn't help with the fact that my computer refuses to recognize or open it when it does actually appear. Basically, a new hard drive is my only choice right now. Time to start looking I suppose.

 

You need to get i repaired by Apple though. This is the HDD they use, maybe they can service it if you can find it:
http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=StorageSolutions/1.8-inchHardDiskDrives
They don't offer 20GB HDD anymore. Not sure if it supports PATA or SATA, pretty sure it's PATA.

 

I'm on to the last ditch effort with this thing. I took it over to my friend's house and hooked it into his Mac. After disconnecting and reconnecting it a couple times, in and out of disk mode, it finally showed up in the basically "My Computer" of Macs. It's been set to a Zero Format/Erase, so it is basically going to wipe everything on it. I don't know if it is because it was basically full, or if it is just because of the multitude of corrupted files, but it is going to take around 24 hours to format at this point. It may pick up, but it's doubtful.

If this doesn't work, than I don't even know if I'll bother getting an HDD for it. I may just get a new battery for the iPhone my friend gave me and just get that up and running (as that is all it needs). It has no service right now, but that is something that can be fixed. An iPhone battery is just much easier to find, since I had an awful time just trying to open this older iPod (which I never did get open), this also seems like the easier solution. Although, this iPhone does not have the readily accessible screws present in recent models, so opening it is still a chore.

I suppose I'll know what I'm doing for sure come the next day or so. The HDD didn't make any noise once the format started, so hopefully the format will solve the issue.
Also, this looks exactly like the drives I've seen elsewhere in videos and such on iPod repair. This is what I would need if I needed to replace, correct?

 

Looks like the HDD is completely stuck...

Nothing to do.

Buy a new iPod, but then I recommended a Shuffle (they are cheap, and if this occures again you have a new one for € 32,-).

 

But if he wants an player..

 

I can pick up a new hard drive for less than a new shuffle. I also despise shuffles for their lack of screen. If repairing this iPod goes completely down hill for some reason, I'll just pick up a new iPhone battery and put that in the broken iPhone I have (a new battery is all it needs).

 

I despise Shuffles also. I also hate my iPod Touch 8GB, since my dad was too cheap to buy the 32GB one... Flash capacity does suck, can only get up to maybe only 64GB, around 1/2 of all my (and my family's) music, videos, apps, etc.. They are better at playing music faster though, and don't make as much noise.

Hey, if you can get your iPhone to have service, that would be cool. How do you even open an ipod/iphone? Looks impossible...

 

Well, recent iPod touches and iPhones come with small screws to allow for easy opening. Earlier models, such as the iPhone I have, does not. I'll either need a special tool or a trick to get it open. That format is taking ages though, it is going to be formatting for the next couple of days. I have no clue why it's taking so long, but it's getting done.

 

More than likely. This is the last thing I can do towards attempting to keep the current hard drive intact. If this doesn't fix the drive's issues in their entirety, than I guess that's that. It will be done formatting no later than Monday. Once I get it up and running again after that, I'll give the heads up on its condition.

Edit: Well, I went to my friend's house earlier, and apparently the iPod is so messed up, the format pretty much quit. He dropped it and it hit the carpet though, right as I was wondering how I would open it, and miraculously, it popped up the top half on one side. It is now open, and I'm on the hunt for a hard drive.