Convert your 4th Gen iPod to use Flash Memory

Step 4 Prep and Install the Flash Card

Once the drive is out, use it as a template to cut out a small piece or cardboard. This will take the place of the hard drive and prevent the adapter and connector assembly from bouncing around inside your iPod.

Next, plug in your flash card into the card adapter and plug the adapter into the HD connector as shown.

Use some hot melt glue or foam tape to secure the adapter to the cardboard and the cardboard to the logic board.

Plug the battery back in and get ready to test it!

Comments

[mattvernon]

I finally got around to doing this mod - my adapter also had 6 pins open but worked great.  Thank you for putting this online, and for those who have left it online.  My 5 year old has an ipod now, which is saving my ipod touch's life.

[arkor]

I would only suggest using cardboard if you have a 40GB 4G.  Otherwise in my 20G the cardboard (even when it is compressed/flattened) would jam the menu button rendering it inoperable.

[DarkArchon]

I'm working on doing this to my ipod 40GB photo I got an SanDisk Ultra II 2GB as suggested above because it's the only one I've heard of working on the photo, but I'd like a bigger one, at least 16 Has anyone had any luck with using any bigger cards, maybe a bigger SanDisk Ultra II? I'd like to know before I spend the money on one. Thanks

[jfpk24g]

I've installed a Kingston 16GB elite pro 133X (CF/16GB - S2KR) compact flash card in my iPod 4th gen. It installed, and I can see that it does have three partitions, and they are at the right locations and named right. It will go into disk mode, write the firmware, and I've even been able to sync once from disk mode, but it never boots. :( I've also tried getting the firmware partition from the old hard drive with dd and writing it to the card, but that didn't do anything either... (ripped from the HD when it was in the iPod, wrote to the CF when it was in the iPod) I've also tried setting the jumper to slave, and I've been sure that there are no connections bridging in my iPod. I'm really thinking that my card may be to blame, but I'd like to use this card if at all possible...

[mcharles]

Thank you. Great step by step. I bought the adapter on Ebay as you suggested. I have tried to install a 16gb transcend card on an Ipod 20GB Photo. The install goes through recovery install (the computer detects the Ipod) and then states to plug into the power. I can see the red light on the adapter (before closing the Ipod of course) flash as it seemingly writes to the card. The Ipod then just stops and the screen displays the file with an exclamation point or see the apple web site. I tried this both under WinXP as well as Apple with the same result. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[justmakeme!]

The 1GB card I wrote about did the same thing, so I thought it was working. But, when I swapped in the other (512MB) card the adapter LED shone MUCH brighter and longer while it was restoring, syncing, etc. It was so much brighter I was sort of shocked. Not sure why the difference. I did try swapping the 1GB card back into the adapter with the firewire cable and got the results you posted above. Tommy

[mcharles]

The card is a Transcend 133X 16GB which should work. However, I have ordered two new adapters to see if the problem is the adapter. What is strange is that in Windows the Ipod shows up as an extra drive, which seemingly means that the adapter is working at least enough to show the drive. I have not tried a firewire update, but will to see what happens. Thanks for the tips.

[matthewschwimmer]

Have you gotten it to work yet? I am interested in doing this to my ipod photo, but after reading your comments, I am somewhat hesitant. Maybe you should format the flash card as ntfs or fat32 or something.

[mcharles]

I have never gotten it to work, and I tried both under OSX10 as well as WinXP Pro SP2. I got the endless loop referred to below. What was interesting was that on the Ipod 5th Gen, a 32GB card worked the first time, without any problems. I know the 4th Gen ipod works since the 20GB HDD works fine. I have tried formatting options (both in Windows disk manager as well as the disk utilities under OSX10), and still no results. I wish I could figure out why it did not work, I even tried different ribbons (no avail), and it did not do anything better than the first time when both Windows and OSX10 saw the drive. Now, only apple sees the Ipod drive. I do note however that on the instructables here, FstEdde states there are four pins not used when the adapter is mounted, and when I do it there are six with the adapter starting with the very first pins next to the black plastic HDD pin (fits the oval hole in the HDD). Anyone else count the holes when the adapter is installed? I have ordered a 1.8 USB adapter enclosure, and I am going to test the card to see if there is a card defect or somehow it got shorted out. I don't think so since I regularly handled by flash card in my camera without any problem.

[mcharles]

I tested the 16gb flash memory in an USB enclosure, and at first it did not work, but then changed the slave setting, and it now works perfectly. Although the 20 GB ultimately did not work, I did get a flash usb drive out of it, and after fixing it, sold the Ipod back on Ebay. The instructions in the companion article for converting the 5th generation to flash memory are good, and a 32 gb flash memory worked the first time (you will need the Tarkan adapter). The lighter weight and smaller size of the 30gb 5th generation I think make it a more desirable conversion. If you run into problems in the install, Blake at Ifixipodsfast.com will repair (at a very low cost).

[adktk]

in fact, I want to know too!

[matthewschwimmer]

aargh. All the research I have found led me to believe that the pinout is different for the ipod photo. The ebay adapter wont work. We will need a different adapter.

[adktk]

Hi Matthew, Hi everybody,

OK, let me tell everybody the entire story of my iPod 4Gen (Color/Photo).

In fact, I had success to use SanDisk Ultra II 2Gb CF card in my iPod 4Gen (Photo), which was absolutely no problem swapping the original HDD by this CF card. But it seems no way to use any other higher capacity CF card in this machine. I had try the following brands of CF cards in my iPod 4Gen (Photo) with no luck:

Adata 8Gb 45x
PQI 8Gb 120x
Apacer 8Gb 133x
Apacer 16Gb 133x
Transcend 16Gb 133x
Adata 8Gb 266x

There is a common symptom by using these cards that itunes would keep asking you to restore the firmware over and over again (endless)........until you unplug the iPod! After you unplug the iPod, the screen would show you the Apple logo, and a folder with exclamation would be followed. Then that's it.

I don't think that is the problem of the adapter. Because, I had success to use SanDisk Ultra II 2Gb CF card by using the same adapter. I did not switch to use any other CF to 1.8" adapter by this painful try.

Now, I want someone can donate me the original firmware of iPod 4Gen (color/photo) and iPod 1Gen , If someone are willing to do so, please PM your e-mail to me.

Because, I have another painful story on dubbing the original iPod firmware in the pass few days. I had tried to use iPodLinux-installer 2.31 (r2349) to dub the original iPod firmware in five different PCs (four WinXP and one Vista) but none of them can be used by iPodwizard v1.3. In fact, a great guy la0011 donated me his iPod 3Gen firmware so that my iPod 3Gen can work with CF card now (thx la0011 again). But I have still no idea what's going on to my PCs, they just can't provide me a usable firmware that can be used by Ipodwizard. In fact, I followed the method showing in this page . I would up date you once I got that firmware donation.

Finally, I want to say "I have a dream! :P I want everyone can save his/her lovely iPod."

Sorry for my poor English!

Good day!

Tim :P

[KiyoshiAphelion]

I also got the "folder icon" error when I tried to convert my 4G iPod Color to flash memory using a cheapo Ebay connector. The error where the iPod Color gets stuck in the restore plug-in to the wall loop. The card I was using was a "Lexar Compact Flash 2GB Platinum II 80x" card and it worked in the normal, non-Color 4G iPod but not my Color iPod. I went to Best Buy today to try out the SanDisk Ultra II card that Tim above me wrote about and it instantly worked with the color after restoring it and plugging it into the wall socket. Now that I know the SanDisk Ultra II's work, I'll be returning it to Best Buy and trying to find a larger, cheaper one somewhere. Wish me luck!

[nagutron]

On step 4, you note that four pins are left open when the adapter is plugged into the iPod. I actually found that mine had six open. Figured I'd add a comment, in case anyone comes across the same discrepancy.

[mcharles]

Yes, see my comment above (april 7, 2008). Did yours work with six open?

[nagutron]

Yeah, it did. Sorry to hear that yours is having other issues...