My 32GB Flash IPod Mini - Page 11

Might be a question better asked over on the rockbox forum perhaps?

Thanks for the advice.^^^

Just in case anyone else is looking for the same information:

I found out that in order to change the boot priorities you need to obtain a modified bootloader. I have yet to source one yet but the developers of rockbox said it shouldn't be too difficult modifying the existing one. I'll post again on this thread if i find a source for a reversed ipod mini Bootloader.

Why change the bootloader at all?
If you hold menu + select to reboot the iPod then hold select or menu (I forget wich, try both eheh) until you see the Apple icon, it will boot into the Apple OS. If you never reboot via menu+select, it will stay there.

I'm curious, why would you have ROckbox loaded at all if you want to run the Apple OS?

I find the Apple OS just works better/easier to use and a majority of my music collection are mp3's.

Rockbox for the occasional Flac file or games.

OK the issues I was having with the batteries are solved. I bought an AC to USB adapter and both of the batteries I thought got ruined are fine.

So now I have 2 minis. MiniMod1 and MiniMod2

MiniMod1 has a 32GB CF (133x) card, and both have 850mah batteries. At least that's how they were sold to me, but there is nothing on the battery indicating it's capacity.

I'm going to try and put Rockbox on MiniMod1 tonight and see what happens. I'm going to just try the regular 2nd gen mini daily build and see what happens. I already have a version compiled with the flash memory change in case something doesn't work :P

If the recompile turns out to be necessary, I'll post my files somewhere.

How's the battery life for a 1st Gen mini with a 900mah battery & CF card? Does it improve significantly?

iPod mini compactflash mod + rockbox - iPod - iPhone - iTunes Forums at iLounge

Did a little digging around, and on that page are links to recompiled rockbox for both 1st and 2 gen minis. No idea if they've worked or not so use at your own discretion. Also if they are successful does that mean I can use any brand of compact flash aside from the adata ones (though they tend to be the cheapest only place I can get them from is hong kong on ebay, something I'm a bit cautious about in case I get a fake)?

Newegg.com - A-DATA 16GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model SPEEDY CF 16GB - Retail
57$ for a 16gb card.

Sadly it doesn't look like newegg ship to the uk, hence why I was looking on ebay for it!

that sucks. I bought an 8gb sdhc card for my D2 on there for ~$38 shipped. It's going for a few dollars less now because these types of things continue to drop in price.

Yep! That's the change I'm making. That version will be 6 months old though based on the date of the posting. There have been some significant improvements on iPod battery life in the last couple of months, so I want to compile the latest version.

I was dealing with battery issues so it got the Rockbox problem put to the side for a bit. I'll probably get a chance to compile my own and test it this weekend. It's Easter though, and we're going to Phoenix to visit relatives, so maybe not

I'm taking my laptop though so I'll hope for the best lol.

Hayduke, I'm very interested in your project because I'll be doing almost the same.

What caught my interest is, that you are using the Transcend CF card instead of the A-DATA one everyone else seems to use. The Transcend CF card is cheaper and more easily to get here, yet is said to have some compatibility issues.

So here are my questions:
What iPod mini version are you using for the 32GB Transcend card, since you got a few. 1st or 2nd gen?

What is the exact product ID of the CF card, in case Trancend produces more than one kind?




And a general question to the overall community:
I don't have too much music, even with the FLACs I have, I don't even reach 16GB. Should I still go for the 32GB mod?

My arguments for 16GB are:
+cheaper than 32GB (surprise surprise)
+easily available
+fits my whole collection

Pros for 32GB are:
+iPod can be used as a portable drive for files of other kind. (At least I hope Apple OS will allow me to do so)
+Collection won't shrink, so 32GB seems "future proof".

+not whole collection is required to be on at all times.

If cost is in any way an issue, 16gb is FINE.
I just ordered 2 16GB cards!

True.
Well, money isn't an issue, I don't tend to be overkill tho. Maybe if I can get my hands on a second iPod mini, I'll just buy two 16GB cards, but for now I'm very interested in the 32GB one Hayduke has.


Are there any recommended gadgets for portable DAPs?
I admit, so far I've only used €5-10 headphones/earbuds :x

I bought this card:
Newegg.com - Transcend 32GB Compact Flash (CF) Flash Card Model TS32GCF133 - Retail
I am using it on a 2nd Gen Mini. I've been careful to make sure I get 2nd gens as the battery life is significantly better then 1st gens.

The only issue I ran into involved Rockbox. I finally got it working this weekend. There is a small note on the MiniCF wiki page for Rockbox that says they have fixed the ATA issue in current builds, but I still had problems with the bootloader. It sounds like you're on a Mac, so maybe it is different for you. In Windows, you use ipodpatcher.exe to install the new bootloader. The one available on Rockbox's site has an older bootloader embeded into it. I had to recompile my own bootloader. Then I used ipodpatcher to install my newer bootloader. Ipodpatcher.exe let's you use arguments to do some useful functions. If anyone needs it, I can compile an ipodpatcher.exe with the working bootloader embedded in it. It turns out you don't need to recompile all of Rockbox, just the bootloader. I want to test it during this week to make sure there are no issues, but the little bit I used it over the past weekend make me confident Rockbox is running fine on the 32GB Mini

In regards to the other questions...

If 32GB is cheaper then 16GB, that's a no-brainer
fyi, 32GB will still not be future proof. When I bought my 500GB external HD to backup/sync my music collection, I thought I'd be good for awhile. I am approaching 400GB of music now so I'll need more storage soon
Here is how I would approach the decision...
How long will it be until you fill a 16GB or 32GB? If it will take a year to fill a 16GB, then don't spend extra for the 32GB. (again, if 32GB is cheaper, get that) In a year, the 32GB will be as cheap as the 16's are now.

I hope this long post helps a bit
If you have anymore questions, I'm happy to help here or via PM.