Ipod 5th gen 128gb ssd problem

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Ipod 5th gen 128gb ssd problem

I recently put a 128gb kingspec ssd in my 5th gen ipod classic. I used itunes to restore. After restoring, the ipod goes to the loading bar scree, conpletes the loading process then flashes the apple logo. After flashing the apple logo it goes back to the loading bar screen. This process repeats endlessly unless you unplug it. I have pulled the ssd from the ipod and reformated it in exfat32 in a usb adapter and tried again multiple times with the same results. Anyone have any ideas?

iPod classic

Posted on Jul 16, 2012 8:12 PM

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Answer 1

Jul 18, 2012 6:46 PM in response to Joey Gerth

I think the Kingspec 128GB SSD is new in the market, so you might be the first one to use it for iPod 5th Gen, the first Kingspec 128GB SSD was not compatible for iPod as it requires 5V power.

I read of success story for 128GB SSD from Sandisk and Super Talent.

Good Luck 🙂

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Answer 2

Jul 17, 2012 1:46 AM in response to Joey Gerth

Unfortunately, you got to format it in FAT32 as the iPod software would not recognise the exFAT filesystem.

if you are using Windows

Try under DOS

format /FS:FAT32 X:

Where X:

is SSD drive letter.

If you using Mac, format it

under Disk Utility ->Erase using HFS+ or FAT32

It will take more than 1 hour to complete.

Have a nice day!

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Answer 3

Joey Gerth Author

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Jul 17, 2012 3:28 PM in response to Bilbo_cheshire

Im using command prompt to format it now, (It's taking it's time). But I was under the impression that itunes did all the necessary formatting?

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Answer 4

Jul 17, 2012 7:01 PM in response to Joey Gerth

You might be right, but the iTunes have its limitation, if the iPod software can't recognise the filesystem type, as either FAT32 or HFS+.

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Answer 5

Joey Gerth Author

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Jul 18, 2012 4:22 AM in response to Bilbo_cheshire

Formatting in FAT32 did not seem to help. Itunes still does not recognize the capacity which should be 117Gb. And on further inspection after itunes tries to format it, it breaks up the drive into three partitions. one is 24MB the other is 29.46GB and the remaining space is unallocated. Is there any way i can format it myself and manually coppy the firmware files and create the necessary folders?

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Answer 6

Jul 18, 2012 5:32 AM in response to Joey Gerth

Although this forum, is not meant for Mods, I was just trying to help

Sorry, if DOS format doesn't work, it seems that Microsoft, limit max 32GB for the FAT32 formatting,

If you can get EaseUs Partition Master Software

try the following setting for the SSD

File System: FAT32

Type: Primary

Cluster Size: 64KB

This is assuming that your Kingspec 128gb SSD is compatible with the iPod power voltage and your iPod firmware can support 128GB.

Or you can google and post in the Mods forums like storage reviews.

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Answer 7

Joey Gerth Author

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Jul 18, 2012 8:28 AM in response to Bilbo_cheshire

Thank you for your help. The voltage is the same at 3.3v and i had an actual 120GB Ipod hard drive in it when it worked last. I will try the cluster size of 64KB. I set it on default last time. If that doesn't help I will try the an Ipod mod forum.

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Answer 8

Joey Gerth Author

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Jul 19, 2012 8:08 AM in response to Bilbo_cheshire

I found out what my problem is. And i don't believe it is fixable. I was able to recreate what Itunes was doing by using a hard drive tool to copy the boot sector off the original 30GB HDD and install the firmware manually with another tool. and the ipod responded the same way as well as had the same partitions that the Itunes restore gave it. I then tried a boot sector someone coppied from a 4gb nano. the same thing happed except instead of the usual 29.46 GB partition it was replaced with a roughly 4GB one. My final attempt i borrowed a 120GB classic. Same problem again but with a 111GB partition. So my theory is that since Itunes does not recognize the drive, when it restores to factory settings it also writes a factory boot sector. So im just going to get another 120GB HDD from an ipod since ive made that work before. I have no idea what the legality is on what i have done, so please don't report me to the apple police.

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Answer 9

Joey Gerth Author

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Jul 19, 2012 8:13 AM in response to Joey Gerth

If i get my hands on a 6th or 7th gen i will run tests on that, but for the time being i don't believe it will work in a 5th gen.

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Answer 10

Jul 20, 2012 6:33 AM in response to Joey Gerth

Good Luck!,No worries, I modifies my iPod Classic too, but much simpler, using bigger HD😟, just waiting for the price of compatible 120 GB SSD to drop to less US$80😁😁😁

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Answer 11

Sep 26, 2012 7:09 AM in response to Joey Gerth

Well I did the same thing as Joey and tried the kingspec 128gb KSD-ZF18.6-XXXMS or KSD-ZF18.6-128MS in a 5th gen not 5.5 and it did not work. I could get it to restore and show 117gb in iTunes but when I tried to copy music to the IPod I was getting could not read or write errors so I purchased a 6th gen IPod from eBay with a bad hard drive and I worked perfectly. Know I ordered a CF to Zif adapter and going to try that on the 5th gen to see if that will work. I have been trying a Transcend CF 64gb and 32gb on a 2nd gen IPod mini and that is not working so I ordered a 1st gen mini and waiting for that also. I have read that the Dolgix 64gb Compact Flash is working with the IPod’s and it is $59 at Amazon. So if I can get either IPod to work with a cf I will be returning the Transcend because they are twice the price of Dolgix 64gb cf. I will post any updates when I receive the shipments

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Answer 12

Sep 27, 2012 7:03 AM in response to ProSeriesRacing

Pro, thanks for sharing the good info on SSD and CF, in the SSD forum, they did warn about kingspec incompatibility, but glad to hear it work with 6G.

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