IPOD Classic 80gb Drive not reading

1Smf wrote:

Cover of drive is stamped thin tin where base is a stiffer metal. I doubt the cover can warp the base from torque.

Yeah that is what I thought too until I saw a video of a 'click, click, click, fail' error on a HD. The error went away once the top case was refitted with correct torque settings. Disks are marvellous but complex devices.

If you are unwilling or unable to send the disk away for professional data recovery then I think all you can do is try to clone the disk to another. That may allow you to read the data. Unfortunately the iPod firmware seems to be getting in your way at the moment, it is looking for whatever boot system (or file system catalog) that should be on the disk. It seems to be stuck in a loop that is not useful to you.

I suspect you need to get a case that is not an iPod to fit the HD & try reading via that. iPods have a connector format that is not very popular so you may have to hunt for a suitable case or connector. Otherwise research how to get the iPod to forcibly enter disk mode (I don't know if that is possible or if it will help in this state).

How to use disk mode on your iPod - Apple Support

Once the disk is usable (without iTunes & the iPod firmware in the way) there may be the potential to take a block for block copy of the disk. From there you could try repairing & recovering data from the copy. That copy can be done with tools like ddrescue, dd_rescue (both are variants of unix tool 'dd' that is designed to read data direct from devices, a.k.a 'disk destroyer' - when you use the wrong options!).

Some disk imaging info is at…

http://forensicswiki.org/wiki/Category:Disk_Imaging

I think 'GNU ddrescue' is the one to use but I can't recall why the dd_rescue was not advisable

(this may shed some light…http://www.kossboss.com/linux---dd_rescue-vs-ddrescue)

Or free tools like photorec, test disk may repair or recover the files or filesystem.

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/Main_Page

Other options are paid apps like Disk Drill https://www.cleverfiles.com/

Obviously there are many ways to go about it. The problem I think you have are…

• Don't know if the iPod is causing the fault.
• Don't know if the disk controller is at fault.
• Don't know if physical damage is occurring on the disk or to the components, potentially damaging more data or making recovery more difficult.

The last reason is why you need to clone to another disk & use that to repair or recover data. Frankly if you get one copy you can clone that & try multiple tools to look for data.

I really don't know what to suggest, your safest bet is professional help, that is why they are professionals 🙂

Hopefully that gives you something to consider. It may take many hours, days or weeks to get anything back - have you considered how long it could take to re-rip the CD's?

Usually, the combination of clicking and the "Red X of Death" is indicative of a dead (or dying) HD, so you seem to have diagnosed that pretty well. Changing the logic board might have been too much (I do realize that you were concerned about the battery not charging), since the clicking is generally related to a moving part, i.e., the hard drive and/or its components.

If there are no other options (and it appears as though you tried many), here's a less-than-scientific approach, which seems to work for more than a few iPod owners:

http://joshhighland.com/2006/03/29/fix-your-ipod-by-spanking-it/

If interested, you might want to Google "spanking iPod" to learn more. I'm not specifically suggesting you do this (as I don't want you to hold me responsible for anything else that goes wrong with your iPod; this should be undertaken at your own risk), but if all other avenues have been exhausted...

If anyone else has a take on this, it's certainly welcome, but my guess is that the HD is pretty much toast. If that's the case, a computer repair shop is a possibility if you want to extract/save anything on the iPod's HD. Once/if that's done, a new HD (and solid state seems to be the way to go these days) could put you back in business. Another option is contacting Apple, to see if you can trade-in towards a new iPod.

1Smf wrote:

My Classic 80GB fell from my shirt pocket to the floor. Worked fine after till the battery would not charge and it died. Opened unit, Replaced battery and drive would make loud clicking till 'RED' Circle of death appears on display. Tried all reseting methods and as a last resort- Went so far as to open drive in clean area to see if it was stuck. Powered up with drive cover off and the read /write stylus moves back and forth across disc till 'RED' Circle of death appears on display.

If I am reading correctly you opened the hard disk & tried to run it in the open air?

If that is the case you may have ruined the disk. Hard drives are not designed to run open - they are sensitive to dust & magnetism, the air pressure is also critical the case is a part of that (so is the tiny vent hole on the top case). The bolts that secure the top case need to be set to a specific torque value to avoid distorting the case (yes - spinning disks are that fragile). The torque on those screws can mean the difference between a disk that works & one that does not.

I doubt the 'clean area' was clean enough (unless you have an actual clean room suited for HD repair). You should investigate drive recovery companies - it is the best way to recover important data if you do not have other backups.

If you used a Mac or PC the music will still be on that device, so obtain a new iPod & copy the files from there.

Third parties do sell hard drives if you want to try replacing this one…

https://www.ifixit.com/Store/iPod

iPod disk connections are not unique, just not widely used. You can find the spec from the model number on the drive & look for an adaptor or case if you must do it yourself.

Send it off to professionals, let them know everything you tried - they need to know what has been done. Consider how much cheaper a backup will be in future or how much you could have saved by not deleting all the originals.

You have my sympathy with the failure but not backing up important files in this day and age is lax, a large USB stick would have been enough (around $50 on Amazon).

Please let us know how it turns out, good luck.