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I got an iPod, and you should too. (Update) - Entry Date:  29th October 2025

This is an update to the post that I had made on the 9th of this month. You can read that here.

The flash mod, after a few hurdles, went great. The battery somehow works completely fine, and replacement was not needed. Even after almost daily testing, it lasted a LONG while. The iPod now has 64 GB. Even with my 200+ songs, it's barely even taken up any storage. I absolutely love using the iPod to listen to music. I even got into a little bit of system font and graphic modification too, using iPodWizard.

The flash mod hardware that I had purchased was the generic IDE to Compact Flash adapter. It wasn't that rectangular one though. It has the two top corners (Closest to the IDE connector cut off diagonally. Alongside, I had also purchased a Compact Flash to Dual Micro SD adapter with a red label. Other places online recommend against using this, as it makes restoring the iPod firmware difficult. I found this out the hard way.

When I installed the flash mod, it connected up just fine. iTunes had detected it as an iPod in need of a restore. The restore went swimmingly! ...Or so I thought. After the restore "completed", the iPod would reboot. However, the strange thing was that iTunes would then suddenly report the iPod as being corrupted. Windows would also list it as an unformatted drive. The iPod itself would start up with the folder error screen instead of the connect to wall outlet screen. I had tried these things, that didn't end up working:

• Retrying the restore a few times (Same result)
• Using a partition manager to recreate the Master Boot Record (Failed)
• Cloning the original iPod hard drive to the SD Card with the computer (Failed)
• Using Slot 2 on the adapter instead of Slot 1 (Failed)
• Force formatting the iPod to FAT32 (Failed)

I had tried all of these several times without luck. I was about to give up, then I came across an obscure tutorial on YouTube. Credits go to the video poster. I will still put instructions here just in case you don't wish the watch a YouTube video.  This has been tested by me and worked for my 4th Generation iPod Monochrome.

• Step 1: Restore the iPod as normal. When Windows reports that the drive needs to be formatted, or iTunes reports the iPod is corrupted, just simply ignore and close them.
• Insert the SD Card or adapter into a reader of your choice. I am not sure if it will work with the iPod directly, or in disk mode.
• Use a hex editor program that supports drive editing (I myself had used Victoria)
• Load the iPod's flash storage into your desired editor and change the first byte from EB to 00.
• Reinsert the drive into the iPod and reboot it. Do this by holding Menu and the Middle Button until the screen shuts off.
• Your iPod should hopefully now display the plug into outlet screen instead of that dastardly folder error screen.

I hope your iPod experience goes swimmingly! Good luck!

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