Print PDF
Favorite
Email
Good Day!
I'm here today to show you how I took apart my Zen Micro, replaced the 5GB hard drive inside it with an 8gb CF card, reassembled the device, and lived to tell about it.
Why would you want to do this? Two reasons:
1. Solid-state storage means no moving parts. As cool as the 5GB microdrive was when it came out (it is in just about every 5GB MP3 player made at the time... iPod, Rio Carbon, Zen Micro, etc.), it has moving parts which means that as they get older, they're more likely to fail. Rumor has it, one good drop on a corner, and the Micro is bricked. Solid state devices aren't prone to this kind of damage.
2. Current 8GB MP3 players, cool as they are with all the pretty pictures and bells and whistles, cost a lot. I just wanted more storage, I don't need all the bells and whistles.
As for the price of this upgrade, your mileage may vary. I was able to snag a new Transcend 8GB 75x CF card on EBay for $69 shipped, which is Very Good compared with retail prices for this item.
For about $12, you can get a CF/MicroDrive to USB adapter if the Microdrive in your Zen isn't dead yet, and you'll have a nice chunk of portable storage. I bastardized a dead Rio Carbon for it's 5GB microdrive two years ago, before USB thumb drives around that size were even affordable, and it's been serving me very well as a "jump drive" since then.
Shall we get started?
Right off the bat, I should tell you several things.
1. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE if you brick your MP3 player doing this. I did not brick mine, and if google search results don't lie, several dozens more have also been successful. Several dozen have also built themselves bricks doing this. It seems largely related to the CF card you use, so purchase wisely.
2. As a matter of common sense, you will lose your device's music library doing this. Be sure to back up all of your music (and playlists, if you so desire) so that you can re-load them later. No, you can't get them off the microdrive later... the drive is formatted to a Creative-proprietary format, so the drive won't be readable by a regular computer straight out of the player.
Really. Back up your music library if the only place it exists is on your device.
3. This will invalidate your warranty. Duh.
4. Ground yourself before you touch any PC boards or sensitive electronics inside your Zen. Static can kill a device faster than any physical damage you may do.
5. This upgrade is known to work with Zen MicroPhoto (your device may have different guts, though, so some improvisation may be needed when you take it apart) and has been used to upgrade devices up to 16GB.
6. My instructions for disassembling the Zen Micro are not original. I followed HardwareZone's Deconstruction guide and improvised upon it on-the-fly (my device had slightly different build/unbuild requirements).
7. My instructions for re-assembling and upgrading the device are also not 100% original. While I didn't actually USE trikon000's Zen Micro 16GB Flash Hack, it is a VERY useful guide to read.
8. More good info on the Anything But iPod forums. Also, check out the Nomadness Forums. READ. Read all of this before you attempt this upgrade, because there's truly important info on these web pages regarding the compatibility of the Zen Micro with various CF cards. Also lots more info than I have here (though I will give you lots) about disassembling the Micro and reassembling it with care.
9. There is a terrific tutorial right here in Instructables about fixing the Zen Micro headphone jack problem. That tutorial is what made me wonder just how far I could deconstruct the device and if I could upgrade the hard drive inside. My instructable won't help you if you're having the headphone jack problem.
Onward!
I'm here today to show you how I took apart my Zen Micro, replaced the 5GB hard drive inside it with an 8gb CF card, reassembled the device, and lived to tell about it.
Why would you want to do this? Two reasons:
1. Solid-state storage means no moving parts. As cool as the 5GB microdrive was when it came out (it is in just about every 5GB MP3 player made at the time... iPod, Rio Carbon, Zen Micro, etc.), it has moving parts which means that as they get older, they're more likely to fail. Rumor has it, one good drop on a corner, and the Micro is bricked. Solid state devices aren't prone to this kind of damage.
2. Current 8GB MP3 players, cool as they are with all the pretty pictures and bells and whistles, cost a lot. I just wanted more storage, I don't need all the bells and whistles.
As for the price of this upgrade, your mileage may vary. I was able to snag a new Transcend 8GB 75x CF card on EBay for $69 shipped, which is Very Good compared with retail prices for this item.
For about $12, you can get a CF/MicroDrive to USB adapter if the Microdrive in your Zen isn't dead yet, and you'll have a nice chunk of portable storage. I bastardized a dead Rio Carbon for it's 5GB microdrive two years ago, before USB thumb drives around that size were even affordable, and it's been serving me very well as a "jump drive" since then.
Shall we get started?
Right off the bat, I should tell you several things.
1. I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE if you brick your MP3 player doing this. I did not brick mine, and if google search results don't lie, several dozens more have also been successful. Several dozen have also built themselves bricks doing this. It seems largely related to the CF card you use, so purchase wisely.
2. As a matter of common sense, you will lose your device's music library doing this. Be sure to back up all of your music (and playlists, if you so desire) so that you can re-load them later. No, you can't get them off the microdrive later... the drive is formatted to a Creative-proprietary format, so the drive won't be readable by a regular computer straight out of the player.
Really. Back up your music library if the only place it exists is on your device.
3. This will invalidate your warranty. Duh.
4. Ground yourself before you touch any PC boards or sensitive electronics inside your Zen. Static can kill a device faster than any physical damage you may do.
5. This upgrade is known to work with Zen MicroPhoto (your device may have different guts, though, so some improvisation may be needed when you take it apart) and has been used to upgrade devices up to 16GB.
6. My instructions for disassembling the Zen Micro are not original. I followed HardwareZone's Deconstruction guide and improvised upon it on-the-fly (my device had slightly different build/unbuild requirements).
7. My instructions for re-assembling and upgrading the device are also not 100% original. While I didn't actually USE trikon000's Zen Micro 16GB Flash Hack, it is a VERY useful guide to read.
8. More good info on the Anything But iPod forums. Also, check out the Nomadness Forums. READ. Read all of this before you attempt this upgrade, because there's truly important info on these web pages regarding the compatibility of the Zen Micro with various CF cards. Also lots more info than I have here (though I will give you lots) about disassembling the Micro and reassembling it with care.
9. There is a terrific tutorial right here in Instructables about fixing the Zen Micro headphone jack problem. That tutorial is what made me wonder just how far I could deconstruct the device and if I could upgrade the hard drive inside. My instructable won't help you if you're having the headphone jack problem.
Onward!
Remove these ads by
Signing UpStep 1What You Need
What you need before you proceed:
1. A Zen Micro player (alternatively, a Zen MicroPhoto, subject to caveats in the intro).
2. A precision phillips head screwdriver, and a precision flat-head screwdriver.
3. Maybe a precision tweezer for picking up tiny parts when they fall. Not if -- when.
4. A piece of paper to work on, or other light-colored, smooth surface. Easier to find and pick up dropped parts.
5. A CF card to replace the old microdrive (alternatively, a new microdrive if you're so inclined, however at the expense one would incur, you're better off buying a new player, honestly).
1. A Zen Micro player (alternatively, a Zen MicroPhoto, subject to caveats in the intro).
2. A precision phillips head screwdriver, and a precision flat-head screwdriver.
3. Maybe a precision tweezer for picking up tiny parts when they fall. Not if -- when.
4. A piece of paper to work on, or other light-colored, smooth surface. Easier to find and pick up dropped parts.
5. A CF card to replace the old microdrive (alternatively, a new microdrive if you're so inclined, however at the expense one would incur, you're better off buying a new player, honestly).
| « Previous Step | Download PDFView All Steps | Next Step » |
I'll try another card. I will keep you informed.
Anything But Ipod Forum
Read that post, then read the one before it (Post 16) and then perhaps the whole thread. There's a risk of either cosmetic external damage or device-bricking internal damage, but with careful process, you should be successful in avoiding both. But it looks like with some fine-pointed tweezers and perhaps dental floss you ought to be able to loop the floss into the clips at the bottom of the player, and with gentle pressure pull the clips from the hooks and extract the internals from the device. Carefully so nothing breaks.
I also watched this video and it seems like good advice.... It displays the clips that broke when the guy opened his device up, which happens to be the SAME clips that broke for the guy in forum post #17 linked to above (see the pattern, be very careful...). The video didn't address the clips inside the player like the forum thread does, though. My guess is the force needed to open the device when not done carefully enough is what's breaking those connectors inside the device for these DIYers.
So, be careful, and good luck!!!
Click here for some more information on rolling back WMP11 to WMP10 to support upgrading the firmware on the Zen Micro for version 1.xx firmware.
I don't use Windows Media Player at all, so thank you for the info and I hope others benefit from it. Upgrading an electronic device is no small undertaking. As I stated, many people have int he past bricked their devices and this was not something to approach lightly and uninformed.
PS. you should still be able to boot the player into recovery mode and reload the default firmware from the device's ROM. Take out the battery, hold the power switch all the way on, and reinsert the battery. I hope it works for you. I've used recovery mode myself with this device. The last time I did a firmware upgrade I bricked the player and recovery mode brought it back to life. Good luck.
@ technosapien--i fixed the link---but if u still want to know how to make a homemade big mac here ya go. hahaha
http://www.coolgear.com/images/SATA-IDE-U2.jpg
Maybe a "watered down" version of it. Then put the whole rig in a book or something. If it works I might make an instructable.
K.