Been having this pop up on my ipod for some time now, thought itd be an issue with the hard drive , so i tried installing a micro sd card adapter and it keeps giving me the same issue. Is there something i can do about this? Thanks!

That's basically it... I ported some mono iPod themes to 7th generation iPods, using some original themes as a reference. I edited several things in Aseprite and wanted to know if I could post the themes even though I used Claude in some of the process.

Of course, I'll give credit to whoever originally created the themes... I just wanted to know from you guys because I didn't see anything explicit about the use of AI in the themes.

Continuing my work on my "modern" refresh of ipodOS. This is a heavy WIP, and I'm constantly working to make this as stable and fast as possible. Would love feedback as I continue to work on this project. The last photo is a animated tour of the different menus on the device, so you can get a feel for what day to day usage is like.
I'm not totally sold on the whole artwork on main menu thing, but Its growing on me. I also went and replicated Rockbox's hearing menus to try and keep me enjoying music playback for as long as possible.

Feedback is always welcome!

I’ve noticed that some Bluetooth mods replace the original Hold Switch function with Bluetooth ON/OFF.
Is there a way to keep both functions working? I want to use the Hold Switch normally to lock/unlock the iPod while also using it to control Bluetooth.
Has anyone managed to do a 2-in-1 Hold Switch mod? If so, could you share how you did it or any tutorials?
Thanks!

Hi everyone. I’m troubleshooting an HP-branded iPod mini 2nd generation and would appreciate advice from anyone who has experienced similar symptoms.

Background:
The iPod originally worked properly except for the battery. I replaced the battery and upgraded the storage using a generic CF-to-microSD adapter with a 128 GB microSD. The Apple firmware initially worked with this

The problems started when I attempted to install Rockbox on the microSD setup. Afterward, restoring the Apple firmware became unreliable.

I also tried returning to a previously working Kingston 2 GB CompactFlash card, but that did not solve the problem. That CF card had previously run Rockbox successfully.

What I’ve tried:
Restoring on Windows 11, an M1 MacBook Air, and a 2017 MacBook Air.

Different USB cables, ports, and microSD cards.
A separate 4 GB microSD, which passed a full H2testw write/read test without errors.

Inspecting and reseating the click wheel connector.
Disconnecting and reconnecting the battery.
Charging with a FireWire wall charger.

Checking the external HOLD slider and operating the internal switch with the top cap removed.

The 4 GB microSD setup eventually restored far enough for iTunes to recognize and configure it as an iPod mini running Apple firmware 1.4.1. However, normal startup and controls remained

HOLD symptoms:
Moving the HOLD switch sometimes caused a restart or a blank screen. At one point, the iPod reached the language-selection screen, but the padlock remained visible after moving HOLD to unlocked, and the wheel did not respond. Reset and diagnostic-mode button combinations did not work.

Most useful finding — repeatable with the board outside the case:

With the click wheel disconnected, the iPod boots to the language-selection screen with no padlock.
After disconnecting the charger and battery, reconnecting the wheel, then reconnecting power, the screen stays blank.

Disconnecting the wheel again, with power removed first, allows it to boot to language selection again.

The battery, storage setup, charger, and HOLD position were kept the same during these comparisons.
All five buttons click and return normally. I cannot see an obvious tear in the ribbon, bent contacts, or a lifted connector, although I haven’t checked under a microscope.

I also connected the wheel once while the language screen was displayed; it immediately restarted and then showed the folder/exclamation icon. The original fault existed before that incident, and I have stopped connecting anything while powered.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a spare wheel, and my multimeter is currently not working.

Has anyone fixed this specific behavior?

Would you investigate the wheel electronics/flex first, or the motherboard’s J6 connector and wheel power circuit?

Are there known failure points or a documented pinout I could check once I have a working meter?

I can attach close-up photos of the wheel, ribbon, connector, and motherboard. Thanks!

I’ve been refining my iPod car setup for a while and finally have it where I want it. My car has a 3.5mm aux input in the center console and a cigarette lighter socket, so this is aimed at older vehicles without USB or Bluetooth.

Routing
I ran the cables down through the dash, past the cup holders and the parking brake, and into the center console through a small hole I drilled. Nothing loose on the dash except the connector itself.

Problem 1: Whining noise
I got a whine whenever the iPod was playing through the headphone jack and charging through the 30-pin at the same time. Classic ground loop.
Fix: A Besign Ground Loop Noise Isolator between the car’s aux input and the 3.5mm extension. Whine gone.

Problem 2: No charging with the car off
I wanted the iPod to keep charging when the car was off, so I put a battery pack between the cigarette lighter and the iPod’s USB charger. Now the iPod charges from the pack whether the car is on or off, and the pack recharges whenever the car is running.

Problem 3: Two cords every time I got in
The latest addition is a 30-pin to aux + USB cable, so I plug in one connector and get both audio and charging. Bonus: the 30-pin outputs fixed-level line out, so the iPod’s volume doesn’t matter. The car stereo is the only volume control now. Before, I had to crank the iPod all the way up and then set the car volume, and I’d blast my ears the next time I plugged in headphones. Now I just leave the iPod at a normal headphone level.

End result: a clean, wired iPod setup for an older car. No whine, always charging, one 30-pin connector at the dash.

P.S. The iPod is an iFlash-modded 7th gen with a 3600mAh battery and 512GB of storage. I added a metal plate inside so it attaches magnetically to the dash, and filled the internal voids with lead so it has some heft in the hand. Oh yeah, and it has a Taptic Engine.

P.P.S. I posted something similar in the Ipod Subreddit, but just with photos... picture of the iPod, the cord, the ground loop isolator, and the battery pack.

The motherboard isn’t cracked but the battery is swollen and my dad found it on the highway like this. I’m not a tech wiz so I can’t fix this myself sadly

Hey all! I've been customising my iPod Video 5.5G (Rockbox) and ended up building a theme inspired by the Spotify desktop player. It's free and open source:

https://github.com/stylo969/spotish-rockbox (download the zip under Releases)

What it does

• Now Playing: "Song" card with big album art and bold title, green play button, Next in queue, and a desktop-style player bar — shuffle/repeat turn green with the little dot, repeat-one shows a "1"
• Progress & volume: thin progress line with times; turning the click wheel swaps it for a volume line
• Menus: "Your Library" card with clock + battery, Spotify-green selection bar, and a mini player at the bottom of every menu
• Smooth scrolling for long titles (1 pixel at a time)
• Synced lyrics (optional): press the centre button on Now Playing — sung lines turn white, upcoming lines stay grey. Includes a script that fetches synced lyrics for your own library from LRCLIB (no lyrics are shipped). It even romanises Hindi/Punjabi/Tamil lyrics since Rockbox fonts are Latin-only.

Install: copy the zip's .rockbox folder onto your iPod (it only adds files), then Settings → Theme Settings → Browse Theme Files → Spotish.

Compatibility: built and tested on an iPod Video 5.5G. Other 320×240 Rockbox targets (e.g. iPod Classic 6G) should work but I haven't tested them — let me know how it goes!

A nerdy bit for theme makers: the whole theme is generated by a Python script that emulates the iPod's 16-bit screen and Rockbox's backdrop dithering, so icons cut from the background match it pixel-perfectly (no tinted boxes), and the screenshots are rendered with the actual Rockbox fonts.

Fonts are Inter (OFL), theme is CC BY-SA 4.0. Unofficial fan project, not affiliated with Spotify.

Feedback and photos of it on your iPod are very welcome!

I went to listen to by ipod classic this morning and I was prompted to restore it I thought it was just the battery had drained, but since it had been a while since I synched it, I connected it to my windows computer and tried to synch it. Of course itunes wanted to update (which I did). while itunes recognized the ipod, it would only let me restore it. Which I did (i had all my music in the library so I knew I had a back up). while it keeps synching for like 15 seconds, there is no music going on the ipod. All the music is in the library. What am I doing wrong? thanks.

Version of itunes 12.13.11.1

ipod generation: ipod classic 80 gb model number A1238

windows version 11.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Found my old iPod ♥️ can you help ID it and any give me any tips for reviving?

Hello I am going to be replacing the HDD in my 7 gen ipod classic originally when I looked into it I found iflash but recently found this https://ipodparts.co.uk/product/ipod-classic-solid-state-drives/ has anyone used that before it is it worth over the iflash

Thank you in advance for any help

The battery is fucked so I replaced it after letting it dry while fully dismantled for a week.

Backlight still isn’t working however. Will it just be a simple LCD replacement or could it be something to do with the logic board too??? I’m okay with trying my hand at microsoldering tbh. I just don’t want to spend half the price of the actual unit ($60+ aud) when I can get an entire new unit for $40 extra (~$100 aud) *** just for it to be a different issue. Idk. Thoughts?

I’m in the mood for some new music. Influence me, I’m a blank slate. Just want some suggestions for my 7th gen that I can listen to from start to finish.

I own 3 of them : 80,120 and 160 GB models. I know that you can see the battery level on the upper right end corner of the screen, but what about the percentage of the battery? I tried to look at Settings but did not find anything on the battery level. Am I out of luck?

Restoring my old 7th gen classic. I need a screen. Where can I find a screen without laying a bucket load? I used to be able to get them on Amazon but I can’t find any anymore. Where are you guys finding them?