Add More GB to your iPod Mini

My sister received the new Nano for her birthday, I was left with the 2nd gen, and her old mini lie in her room collecting dust!

She received a new iPod because her Mini was acting up, not charging, and pretty much not functioning at all. I decided to take matters into my own hands to fix that sucker. At first I thought it was a battery problem, so I tried to replace the battery, but that worked to no avail.

So, I thought up the crazy plan of taking my Dell DJ (broken screen) micro drive , and replace it with the 4GB one that she had in her Mini.

So this Instructable is teaching you how to open your iPod, and replace the micro drive with a better micro drive, and in my case, it added an extra GB to the iPod Mini.

If you finish this Instructable, go to my continuation: http://www.instructables.com/id/Microdrive-Madness-15-solution-for-your-extra-mi/

So here we go!

One tip, when you take off the top of your iPod, use an adults help like I did, because they can help you pry the top off. I had my dad help me, and it worked great!

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Step 1: Materials

Here is what you need to complete this job:

iPod Mini
Flat-head Screwdriver
iTunes
Mac/PC
Any other micro drive that can fit into the pins that the old micro drive fit in to.

That is it!

nrowe46 says: Jan 9, 2011. 7:55 AM

My iPod mini will not restore so I'm very interested to do this mod. I ned to know exactly what kind of flash drive I need to get. I have a second generation iPod. I have tried to reset it many times and have rebooted dozens of times.

struckbyanarrow says: Aug 22, 2009. 7:41 PM

got a mini at a yard sale for 4 bucks now i wanna hack it!

olibelson says: May 7, 2009. 10:49 AM

Absolute genius, worked a treat. Very exciting. 1st generation 4GB mini is now a 1st generation 8GB mini. Brilliant instructable. I love my mini.

Weed151 says: Feb 1, 2009. 7:34 AM

I have a 2gb Ipod Nano 2nd Generation, and I was wondering if this would work with it, because you're using an Ipod Mini. Thanks, Please Reply

resophonic says: Nov 16, 2007. 5:16 AM

Pretty Sweet! My sister's iPod mini is doing the same stuff, so when she gets her nano, I am totally going to gigafy it!

ukcuf in reply to resophonicNov 17, 2007. 12:06 PM

Lol it sounds like taking your sister's ipod is the modern equivalent of taking your sister's dolls and attaching paper parachutes to them and throwing them out the window. (I wish I had a sister :S lol)

Austinjb555 in reply to ukcufOct 19, 2008. 4:17 PM

No, you do NOT wish you had a sister! trust me!

led235 in reply to ukcufOct 3, 2008. 6:14 PM

i bet she was happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD lol

theatre_tech_guru in reply to ukcufNov 19, 2007. 10:56 PM

I strapped my sisters barbies to model rockets and launched them

rocketman221 in reply to theatre_tech_guruAug 20, 2008. 1:11 PM

awsome!

resophonic in reply to theatre_tech_guruNov 20, 2007. 5:02 AM

Ooh! Nice one.

Brennn10 (author) in reply to theatre_tech_guruNov 20, 2007. 3:31 AM

Thats the spirit!

Doctor What in reply to ukcufNov 17, 2007. 5:20 PM

no, you don't wish you had a sister, they are demons. in fact, their true forms live deep within the impossible planet orbiting a black hole. the vases need to be destroyed.

pagangod in reply to Doctor WhatOct 7, 2009. 11:07 AM

lol

Modernbenoni in reply to Doctor WhatNov 1, 2008. 11:28 AM

I'm guessing you're a teenager... And as I am one also, I agree with you completely...

IW5 Industries in reply to ModernbenoniFeb 1, 2009. 7:59 AM

same here..

evanwehrer in reply to IW5 IndustriesMar 13, 2009. 10:20 AM

my is a demon also

sergentslaughter says: Oct 3, 2008. 7:43 PM

fLIPPIN sWEET!

alston says: Jun 30, 2008. 1:37 PM

Is there any other electronic device anyone knows of that carries that is under 30 dollars? and fits the "pins" of a Ipod nano?

Yerboogieman says: Feb 5, 2008. 6:59 PM

now how to replace an LCD screen on an MP4 Player

Derin in reply to YerboogiemanJun 30, 2008. 12:45 PM

very ironic solution: buy a new one desolder both screens solder on the new screen trash the new mp4 player

ppatidar07 says: May 19, 2008. 1:41 AM

hey this is a great mod and i have an old dell dj as well. I want to try this out but i have i believe a 2nd or 3rd gen Ipod Nano, one that is thin but rectangular with rounded off edges. Will it still work this type of Ipod?

thefunktopus says: May 11, 2008. 6:25 AM

Is your siter called Rena? Do I get a prize for picking up on that fact? No? Damn.

Brennn10 (author) in reply to thefunktopusMay 11, 2008. 4:58 PM

No, I don't have a sister. Why?

thefunktopus in reply to Brennn10May 12, 2008. 9:52 AM

My sister received the new Nano for her birthday, I was left with the 2nd gen, and her old mini lie in her room collecting dust! Are you sure?

Brennn10 (author) in reply to thefunktopusMay 12, 2008. 11:51 AM

Lol, yea I see. You saw my sister's name where it says the name of her iPod.

nicknack171 says: May 10, 2008. 8:54 PM

hey do you know how to change the color of your ipod in itunes? i found a completely working blue ipod that im painting but i don't want it to show us blue thanks

Brennn10 (author) in reply to nicknack171May 11, 2008. 5:23 AM

I am really not sure. There are a couple YouTube videos that show you how to get into the files of the ipod, and you can access different backgrounds. However, I do not know how to choose the one I want.

DELETED_dannydutton says: Apr 22, 2008. 6:59 PM

(removed by author or community request)

Gjdj3 in reply to DELETED_dannyduttonApr 28, 2008. 2:32 PM

Well, a lot of the time the sad face is just because the hard drive has come a little bit loose from the cord that connects it. Try removing the cord all the way from the back, then putting it back in.

Robeast says: Nov 25, 2007. 1:53 PM

I've got a broken 30g Zune. i'd like to put the 30 gigs to use as an external hard drive (besides the patch). Keeping the Zune software or previous data is not important to me. Any suggestions?

Yerboogieman in reply to RobeastFeb 5, 2008. 7:01 PM

whats wrong with it?

Brennn10 (author) in reply to RobeastNov 25, 2007. 2:46 PM

Try this, the first result might be of use.

http://www.google.com/search?q=make+an+external+harddrive&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

Robeast in reply to Brennn10Nov 26, 2007. 4:52 PM

Yes, i have considered this, but would I need to reformat the 30 gig hard drive to get rid of all of the Zune software? If so, how can I do this?

krishnaiyerrox says: Dec 14, 2007. 9:28 PM

my compact flash is connected to my mp3 player it isn't an i pod it is manufactured by a company called mpio {www.mpio.com} my model number is hd200 i replaced the st1 drive wid a cf card but my mp3 player firmware got destroyed in the process the mpio utility provided by the manufacturer does not detect my mp3 player {although windows and Linux do so as an external mass storage drive} this is why my mp3 player works only as a thumb drive and does not play any music as a standalone player sumone plz help me out and tell me what to do please help me out

xmychemicalromancerx in reply to krishnaiyerroxJan 15, 2008. 3:57 PM

you must have lost the files neccesary for your computer to sense it. You should be able to turn on your mp3 and go to settings. it should say something like 'restore original settings' or something similar. it should restore all the files neccesary for the computer to sense it; however you will need to replace the music that was on it before.

MumblingTuna says: Nov 11, 2007. 11:10 AM

I want to know how to make a nano into a video. heh.

Rubber Binder in reply to MumblingTunaJan 2, 2008. 4:12 PM

iPod Linux