[jvdv]

Hi,

I have a 4GB Ipod Mini which I bought in July 2005 so it's not yet two years old however I am not sure if the battery has died or if there is a problem with the hard disk - I suspect the latter.

When I turn it on the "Apple" logo appears for a short time and then an "error" icon (a picture of a "sad" Ipod with a "!" in a triangle) - the unit then shuts down.

If I hold the Ipod to my ear I can hear a "twang, twang, twang" sound repeatedly whilst these icons appear.

I have checked the Apple site and the "sad Ipod icon" usually indicates a "hardware issue"

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Jvdv

[sendai]

Yup, drive issue is most likely the culprit (especially with the twang.)

You can replace the drive with a solid-state compact-flash card and the iPod should work a treat...

[jvdv]

Thanks for the feedback - but how do you go about replacing the disk with a compact flash card?

Cheers,

jvdv

[Tiprya]

Heres one walkthrough, not the one I've read but he first one I came across:

http://homepage.mac.com/jason.parry/mini8gb.html

EDIT: Heres the original, and goes into more detail:

http://geektechnique.org/projectlab/...ash-based-ipod

I reckon its both a cheap and good way to fix the mini, considering you'll end up with more space, and cheap CF cards are plentiful these days

[Linux_insidev2]

Should be a good idea, i wouldn't sync with your computer unless you needed to, CF has a limited number of Write Cycles (around 300,000) and you need to remember that your ipod writes to it on every play (iTunes playcount etc...)

Should work fine though.