Bought iPod 4th Gen - Nothing going.

[LaPorta]

So, interestingly enough, the iPod that was kaput suddenly started to work: It gave the low battery indicator when a button was pressed. So, I plugged in the charger, and it started working. It's a good thing that I purchased the other iPod: this one is I think the first gen iPod Photo, which I did not want...I wanted the purely B&W model. Maybe this will go well for one of my kids

 

[davidg5678]

I believe Brasso can have good results on the front panels. But yeah, a bit hard to justify polishing old parts up when you can get new ones in any color you want.

I foolishly tried this in August without shaking the can of Brasso first, and it ended poorly. Very thin oil poured out of the can and immediately seeped inside the LCD panel and click wheel of my iPod. The moral of the story: mix the Brasso and pour it onto a rag first, not directly onto the iPod!

I was able to disassemble the LCD panel and mop up the oil from within its layers, but that headache could have been easily avoided...

 

[Plasticoat]

Coincidently, this arrived this week in the mail, less than a few beers in the pub, I was chuffed it works.

 

[Plasticoat]

In fact, here is my collection, it becomes as bad as the Macs in my life

 

[thesteakguy120]

if you're still working on your Ipod to work, I'd suggest going to Elite Obsolete website for parts like batteries and hard drive replacements

 

[thesteakguy120]

In fact, here is my collection, it becomes as bad as the Macs in my life

Three 3rd Gens, that's got me jealous, sitting here with my single 5th gen video with a failing screen (and two other parts pods)

 

[LaPorta]

I'll say that's a real cool collection...IMHO, the 3rd gen was a one-off design failure. Nothing was ever going to be as convenient as the buttons directionally around the wheel. No idea why they tried to put them at the top.

 

[Daniël]

What do people recommend as far as batteries? Any higher-than-original spec ones out there that anyone has used? As far as the HD...use it till its dead? Put in a higher capacity? Are there any higher capacity ones that people have used? How about changing out for SD?

Swapping out the hard drive these days is pretty much the way to go. Unless you're diehard to keep the iPod original (which I would argue is only worth it for mint condition units, with the original packaging still around, where leaving it untouched is better for its resell value), there's no reason to keep it around: It's slower, louder, eats more battery power and will at some point fail. Solid state storage is the opposite, and in models capable of having more capacity than stock, simply gives you more music in your pocket that you can listen for longer to between charges.

 

[akator70]

I'll say that's a real cool collection...IMHO, the 3rd gen was a one-off design failure. Nothing was ever going to be as convenient as the buttons directionally around the wheel. No idea why they tried to put them at the top.

I think it was a design goof in that it was less elegant than having all the controls on the wheel, but in real world use I haven't found it to be a problem. The 3rd gen controls are still far superior than most non-iPod music devices.

 

[3lectr1cPPC]

Plus they light up. I think the 3rd gens look really cool.

 

[LaPorta]

By far better than any other controls, I agree. In fact, scrolling through an iPhone or iPod music list is painful compared to the wheel.

 

[LaPorta]

Thank you for the above!

Even better news: Took a chance on a "non-working" 40 GB 4th gen for about $25 on eBay. The best part is that it appears it lived its life in some sort of sleeve: there are barely any scratches at all! That was the part I really wanted, as I keep my new electronics spiffy and new. Then, the part that was not working was that the HD clicked and it would not start. I surmised it simply had not moved in years and the head was stuck in the parked position. A nice little "tap" while the HD was trying to spin up, and away it went!

The other two I will fix, and I may use them elsewhere.