[cadillake]

hum, try clean itunes, like install itunes from start (clean instal of itunes)

 

[caseyfriday]

I got it to work!  I ordered the previously mentioned 60GB HDD from Amazon and had to follow the following steps:

• Put the new HDD into the iPod
• Reset the iPod by holding menu + Play, then once it resets, hold Prev + Next + Select to get into Diagnostic mode.
• I got into USB Disk mode (while in diagnostic mode) and on my MacBook Pro, I formatted the iPod to FAT32 (while plugged into USB).
• I then plugged the iPod into a Windows laptop with a USB cable and reset the iPod with menu + play.
• It recognized it in iTunes, restored the iPod, then said I needed to plug into an external charger to complete the restore process.  I only have an iPad mini charger, and that didn't do the trick, so I plugged into my FW800 to 30-pin cable on my MacBook Pro.  It still didn't reset, but I could see it was charging (icon in top right).
• I then reset the iPod manually (don't need to do this if you have a FW400 wall charger) and it showed the "loading" progress bar.  It finalized the restore, and I was set to load songs over USB, whether on Mac or Windows (although it's formatted for Windows).
• I can't sync over FW any more, but I'm fine with that, as I'll just build a custom FW800 + USB to 30-pin cable, or find a cheap one on ebay.

 
And that's all there is to it!  I'm going to try this with a new 128GB CF card I buy to see if it will work with these steps.  If that does, I'll buy the KingSpec 128GB IDE SSD again, and see if I can get that to work, as I like its form factor.
 
I hope this helps someone else out trying to revive an old iPod 3G.  If you want to just buy one, I'm diyModding them and putting brand new cases on them at RetroSonicFidelity.  Enjoy!

 

[caseyfriday]

I also got a 64GB Patriot LX SDXC card to work in a Compact Flash Adapter, in an IDE - CF 50-pin adapter in another of my iPod 3G's.  This workaround seems to be able to work with any drive!  I'll be ordering another 128GB CF card an a 128GB SDXC card to see if they all work in this iPod.
 
On a side note, this thing sounds INCREDIBLE with the DIYmod and a highpass filter.  The lows are ridiculously rich, and the highs are crystal clear.  I can't wait to listen to this even more!
 
Here are some photos of the iPod 3G I just put together.  I'll be putting it up at RSF as soon as I've gotten all the photos prepped and burned it in for 100 hours.  Thanks for all the info from this thread!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cadillake]

i want a tutorial for da card mod!! PLZ?

 

[caseyfriday]

As far as I've tested, just format the card FAT32 in an external reader, then follow all the steps I mentioned above.  Once you do that, you've got yourself a CF or SD modded iPod 3G!  You do have to be sure to get the right CF to SD adapter, if you choose to use SD.  Visit Tarkan's site (tarkan.info) and see his post on the adapter to make sure you get the right one.
 
I'll be posting all the tutorials I can come up with at RetroSonicFidelity as soon as I finish editing the videos and typing out the script.

 

[conman]

I just bought a Kingspec 128gb ssd from Hot Deals 4 less and installed it in a ipod 4G greyscale yesterday.  So far it is working great and there is already a noticeable improvement in battery life.  Hopefully, you can get one to work in a 3g.

 

[ambchang]

I recently had CaseyFriday do a diyMod for me on my already CF modded 4G iPod, and it's back today.  I haven't compared it to my normal CF modded only 4G iPod, but did have the chance to compare it to my Stoner Acoustics UD100.  The sound is different, but are on the similar field.  Both have good resolution, with the diyMod besting the UD100 in the highs, and the UD100 besting the diyMod in the lows.
 
Given the price I paid for the diyMod, I consider it to be a great value.
 
I used the RSA SR-71a as the amp, and a modded Fostex T50-RP and Westone 3 as phones.

 

[caseyfriday]

Here are a couple of photos from the retroMod I performed on Albert's iPod 4G.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Danthuyer]

@ CaseyFriday - Hi mate. I too have recently jumped on the ipod (imod) train and I am currently in the middle of doing my own 3rd gen and 5th gen modifications. I have alot of information and wiring diagrams for the 5th gen however I am not so lucky with descriptive information and high definition pictures of the details around the 3rd gen.
 
Last night on my 3rd gen I had a win with my CF upgrade and I am just needing some information around the wiring to bypass the intermal amp and go directly from the Wolfsen DAC using Black Gate capacitors and using the line out to an external portable amp.
 
If you have any info or help in this area it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Thanks
Dan

 

[caseyfriday]

Hi Danthuyer,
 
I used the guide from the "Collected diyMods" site to guide me through the mod.  For the high-pass filter, I chose a 100k ohm and a 100 ohm, to give me a high-pass right at about 20Hz.  If you have any desire to send frequencies below 20Hz to your source, you can change the resistor values to your liking.  Just remember f = 1 / (2*pi*R*C).

 

[Danthuyer]

  Hi Danthuyer,
 
I used the guide from the "Collected diyMods" site to guide me through the mod.  For the high-pass filter, I chose a 100k ohm and a 100 ohm, to give me a high-pass right at about 20Hz.  If you have any desire to send frequencies below 20Hz to your source, you can change the resistor values to your liking.  Just remember f = 1 / (2*pi*R*C).

Casey - thanks I will investigate the 'collected diymods' a bit further
 
Sorry to say but your comments about 100kohm high pass etc are a bit over my electronics knowledge... are you saying that there are more things to solder inline with the capacitors ?
 
also which capacitors did you use in the pictures above ?

 

[Danthuyer]

  I got it to work!  I ordered the previously mentioned 60GB HDD from Amazon and had to follow the following steps:

• Put the new HDD into the iPod
• Reset the iPod by holding menu + Play, then once it resets, hold Prev + Next + Select to get into Diagnostic mode.
• I got into USB Disk mode (while in diagnostic mode) and on my MacBook Pro, I formatted the iPod to FAT32 (while plugged into USB).
• I then plugged the iPod into a Windows laptop with a USB cable and reset the iPod with menu + play.
• It recognized it in iTunes, restored the iPod, then said I needed to plug into an external charger to complete the restore process.  I only have an iPad mini charger, and that didn't do the trick, so I plugged into my FW800 to 30-pin cable on my MacBook Pro.  It still didn't reset, but I could see it was charging (icon in top right).
• I then reset the iPod manually (don't need to do this if you have a FW400 wall charger) and it showed the "loading" progress bar.  It finalized the restore, and I was set to load songs over USB, whether on Mac or Windows (although it's formatted for Windows).
• I can't sync over FW any more, but I'm fine with that, as I'll just build a custom FW800 + USB to 30-pin cable, or find a cheap one on ebay.

 
And that's all there is to it!  I'm going to try this with a new 128GB CF card I buy to see if it will work with these steps.  If that does, I'll buy the KingSpec 128GB IDE SSD again, and see if I can get that to work, as I like its form factor.
 
I hope this helps someone else out trying to revive an old iPod 3G.  If you want to just buy one, I'm diyModding them and putting brand new cases on them at RetroSonicFidelity.  Enjoy!

 
FYI this is exactly the same steps that I had to use to get my gen3 20G working with my CF
 
go into disk mode on a Win32/64 machine + format to FAT32 (rockbox req.)
restore with itunes on win32/64 machine then reboot ipod
connect back on mac book pro with FW400 cable and allow system to boot correctly
have to charge via FW
have to sync via USB

 

[Danthuyer]

Just an update around the hardware i used in my gen3
 
adapter:
http://dx.com/p/cf-to-toshiba-1-8-inch-ide-hard-drive-converter-10886
 
card:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Speed-32GB-CF-Compact-Flash-Memory-Card-32GB-Cameras-Cellphones-/400493903917
 
no issues what so ever with it so far

 

[CanisLupus]

I originally created my CF 3g on an old PC about 3 years ago . It developed a bug that involves the point (X seconds into the song) at which the back button would , from there forward , restart the song instead of going to the previous song . Sometimes , not all , when reaching this point it would skip forward to the next song . I wanted to restore it's firmware but in the meantime , the old PC had died an ugly death . The hard drives were corrupt beyond use . Our house only has MBP's now . I tried a MAC restore but got the same result as I initially got with the original creation . I tried alot of things but what finally worked was similar to previous posts . I put the iPod in disk mode and with the MBP , I formatted the iPod 'FAT32' . Then I was able to use a Windows machine that is available to me , to do a Windows restore . While loading songs , I thought the battery was going to die but even though it showed zero at about half way through the sync , it made to the end and stayed alive long enough for me to get the firewire charger hooked up . With an old Airclick remote and the line-out hardwired into my car stereo aux-in , this modded 32Gb CF iPod works fine for me . I'm very happy with it .

 

[CanisLupus]

Oh , what I forgot to mention is that I'm curious as to why I didn't need to overwrite a specific bit using an editor , like I did the first time I created the CF iPod . Has the load been changed ?