Repair guide · iPod 3rd Gen
iPod 3rd Gen hard drive replacement
This guide covers the iPod 3rd Gen sold in 2003 and 2004 (model A1040, 10GB to 40GB), and changing either its hard drive or the ribbon cable that links the drive to the logic board. No screws hold the drive: it lifts out of the front half and unplugs, and its brackets and rubber bumpers move across to the replacement. The drive has to suit your case: 5 mm drives for the thin 10GB, 15GB and 20GB case, 8 mm for the thick 30GB and 40GB case. A replacement drive has to be restored before it will play, so a drive swap ends with a restore; a cable swap keeps your songs. Set aside 35 to 50 minutes. We also fit flash storage as a service.
Which drive fits: thin or thick case?
Measure the case depth rather than trusting the capacity on the back's engraving: an earlier owner may have swapped the back. A thin case only takes a 5 mm drive; an 8 mm drive will never go in, and forcing it risks the screen. A 5 mm drive can go in a thick case if you fit thicker bumpers (our thick-drive set, sold separately); without them it rattles in the deeper bay. Drives ending in 06, and ribbon-connector drives from later iPods, don't work in this model. One drive cable fits every capacity and both cases. Not sure which you have? Identify your iPod
Before you start
- Fitting a replacement drive? Copy your music off firstA replacement drive has to be restored before it will play, and a restore erases everything on the iPod, songs included. If the old drive still shows up on a computer, copy your music off it before you open anything. Changing only the cable? No restore is needed, and your songs stay where they are.
- Very hot or smelling? Leave it shutIf the iPod is very hot or smells, unplug it from any charger and leave the case shut. If you can move it safely, set it on a non-flammable surface, at least 2 feet (60 cm) from paper or anything else that burns, with a container of dry sand within reach, and let it cool completely. Then contact us.
- Keep dry sand at handWork on a non-flammable surface, at least 2 feet from paper and anything else that burns, with 8 to 10 cups of dry sand in a wide container within reach. If the battery ever smokes, sparks, hisses, pops or suddenly puffs up, pour all the sand over it at once. Get out of the room for at least half an hour and stay out until the smoke has gone; open a window or door to air it out. Call the fire service if it keeps burning. Give it half an hour before you touch the iPod, then lift it out with safety glasses on and heat-resistant gloves.
- Ground yourselfWear an anti-static wrist strap, or at least touch bare metal before you begin, and leave the replacement drive or cable in its bag until you fit it.
- Is it the drive or the cable?Usually the drive. On this model the cable rarely fails unless the trouble began after a repair, and if the drive isn't to blame, the logic board is as likely as the cable. Try pushing the cable back in before you replace it.
Tools
- Plastic opening tools (two)Every drive and cable we sell comes with one plastic pry tool; a second keeps the seam from closing behind you.
- Plastic spudgerEases the cable off the drive's 50-pin connector.
- Anti-static wrist strap or matThe logic board and the drive's electronics are both sensitive to static.
- Soft clothA soft landing for the drive and the polished steel back.
- FireWire chargerNeeded for the test and, on this model, sometimes to finish the restore. USB syncs but never charges.
- A computer with iTunes or the FinderFor the restore that sets up a replacement drive.
Step by step
New to opening this iPod? How to open the iPod 3rd Gen (12 steps)
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Step 1: Unplug it, switch it off, lock it
Unplug any cable, then switch the iPod off: press and hold Play/Pause. Slide the Hold switch to locked, so the orange shows, and lay it face up on the cloth.
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Step 2: Free the clips
Angle a plastic opening tool toward the steel back and work it into the seam near the middle of a long side. Release the clips from the middle toward each end, then down the other long side, then the two on the bottom edge. Our opening guide covers every move.
Plastic tools only, and keep them away from the battery once the case is open.
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Step 3: Open it like a book
Holding both halves together, turn the iPod over so the screen rests on the cloth, with the dock connector pointing away from you. Lift the back half a little to see which side the orange headphone ribbon runs on, then swing it up and over like a book cover, hinged on that side, and lay it flat beside the front half, close enough that the ribbon stays slack. Leave that ribbon plugged in for this job: its connector is fragile and doesn't need to come out. Keep the back half flat and close, and steady it with one hand whenever you move the front half.
If that ribbon starts to pull tight, stop and bring the halves closer.
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Step 4: Note how the drive sits
The drive lies on top in the front half. Before you move it, note which side faces up and which end its cable leaves from, or take a photo. A drive put back the wrong way round isn't recognized.
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Step 5: Unplug the drive from the board
Set the front half down so the ribbon is slack, then raise the drive with one hand. With the other, free its cable at the logic board: lift the connector straight up off its socket at its edge with a fingernail or the spudger; light pressure lets it go. Set the drive down on the cloth, cable still attached.
Look at the battery now in view. If it smokes, sparks, hisses or pops, pour all the sand over it at once and leave the room (see above). If it is hot or smells, don't touch it: let it cool and contact us. If it is swollen, stop: don't charge it, never press, bend or pierce it, and replace it before you go on (our battery guide shows how).
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Step 6: Take the cable and its bracket off the drive
Peel back the metallic tape that joins the ribbon to the drive's bracket. Work the spudger behind the cable's connector and ease it off the drive's 50-pin connector; if it's tight, rock it gently from side to side rather than prying hard. Then lift that bracket off the drive with the cable still taped to it.
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Step 7: Cable only: move the bracket to the replacement cable
Peel the metallic and black tape that hold the old ribbon to its bracket and lift the ribbon away. Lay the replacement ribbon in the same place, press the tape back down over it (if it no longer holds the ribbon flat, contact us before you close up), and refit the bracket to your drive where it came from. Then go on to step 9.
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Step 8: Drive swap: move the brackets and bumpers
A replacement drive comes without brackets or bumpers. Lift the bracket on the other side of the old drive and the rubber bumpers off it, foam included, and fit them, with the cable's bracket, to the replacement drive in the same places. Putting a 5 mm drive into a thick case? Use the thick-drive bumper set instead, so the drive can't shift in the bay.
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Step 9: Connect the cable to the drive
Hold the cable's connector square to the drive's 50-pin connector and press it fully on. Check that the tape still holds the ribbon flat along its bracket.
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Step 10: Seat the drive and plug in its cable
Set the drive back in the front half the same way up as before. Press the cable's connector firmly onto its socket on the logic board until it is fully seated; it may click as it goes in, which is normal. A cable that isn't fully in stops the drive working.
Never press an 8 mm drive into a thin case. It won't fit, and forcing it risks damaging the screen.
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Step 11: Line up the Hold slider
The Hold slider sits in the back half, but the switch it works is a small black nub on the logic board, and the nub has to drop into the slot in the slider. Move the slider until its slot sits in line with the nub, then rest the back half in place without snapping it shut. Holding both halves together, turn the iPod face up.
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Step 12: Test before you close
Slide Hold off, so no orange shows, and connect the FireWire charger. If it doesn't start, reset it: slide Hold on and back off, then keep Menu and Play/Pause held down together for 5 to 10 seconds, until the Apple logo comes up.
Hold the iPod near your ear: a healthy drive spins up with a soft, even whirr, while clicking or grinding means trouble. Replacement drive fitted? A folder icon or the Disk Mode screen is expected until you restore it. Changed only the cable? It should start up with your music still on it. Before you reseat anything: unplug the charger and switch it off (press and hold Play/Pause). Open the case as in steps 2 and 3, lift the drive and unplug its cable at the board (step 5), then lift the white battery plug straight up off its socket. Reseat the connector, plug the battery back in, then reconnect the drive cable and lay the drive back (step 10).
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Step 13: Close it up
Look along the rim of the steel back and ease any spot that prying bent back into line with your fingers. Check that no ribbon lies across the seam and the Hold slider still meets the nub. Press the halves together and work around the edges until every clip catches.
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Step 14: Restore it (replacement drive only)
Replacement drive fitted? Connect it to your computer and choose Restore in iTunes (or in the Finder on macOS Catalina or later; iTunes on Windows). Don't format the drive yourself: the restore prepares it with the iPod's software. A restore erases everything on the iPod, songs included.
If the restore stops at a picture of a plug, connect the FireWire wall charger to let it finish. Generic chargers don't always give this iPod the right voltage; Apple's A1070 wall charger is the ideal choice. Then sync your music back.
Using Apple's combination USB and FireWire cable? Don't plug both its ends into the same computer; the FireWire end can go to the wall charger while the USB end syncs.
Changed only the cable? Skip the restore: your music is still on the drive, and a restore would erase it.
Close it up and test
- It plays your musicAfter a restore and a sync (replacement drive), or straight away (cable only), it plays without skipping.
- The drive sounds smoothA soft whirr as it spins up, with no clicking.
- Hold and the controls workThe lock icon follows the switch, and the touch wheel and buttons respond.
- The seam is evenNo gap at the corners, and the back sits flat.
- Want a drive check?Reset it, then straight away hold Previous, Next and the center button to start Diagnostic Mode (it beeps as it starts). Its drive scan tests the drive.
If it doesn't work afterwards
- Before you reseat anything, power it down
- Unplug the charger and switch it off (press and hold Play/Pause). Open the case as in steps 2 and 3, lift the drive and unplug its cable at the board (step 5), then lift the white battery plug straight up off its socket. Reseat the connector, plug the battery back in, then reconnect the drive cable and lay the drive back (step 10).
- Folder icon, or stuck in Disk Mode
- Expected on a replacement drive until it has been restored. Run the restore. To leave Disk Mode, reset it again: Menu and Play/Pause together until the Apple logo shows. After a cable-only swap, this points to the cable or its seating instead. Still there after reseating? The drive or its software may be at fault: copy off what you can, then restore it (a restore erases everything, songs included) or fit a replacement drive. Stuck in Disk Mode
- The restore stops at a plug picture
- On this model the restore has to finish on FireWire power. Connect the FireWire wall charger and leave it until it's done. iPod won't restore
- The drive isn't recognized
- Power it down as above, then check the cable is fully in at both ends, the drive sits the right way round, and nothing was knocked loose as the case closed. Not showing up in iTunes
- It clicks
- A worn or flat battery can't always spin a drive up, so it clicks and retries. Charge it on FireWire first. If it still clicks, check the cable seating (power down as above), then the drive. iPod clicking noise
- Garbled drive details in Diagnostic Mode
- Missing or scrambled characters in the drive details point to the drive cable. Reseat it (power down as above), and replace it if that doesn't help.
- It's stuck on Hold
- The headphone ribbon, which also carries Hold, may have been pulled loose while you moved the halves. Power it down as above, press it straight down onto its socket and line the slider up with the nub again. Hold switch not working
Questions
Can I upgrade the hard drive in my iPod 3rd generation?
Within its case, yes. A thin 10GB iPod can take our 15GB or 20GB drive and a 15GB can take the 20GB; a thick 30GB can take the 40GB. A thin case can't take an 8 mm drive, so 20GB is its limit with the drives we stock. For far more room, we replace the drive with flash storage as a mail-in service.
Do I need to format the replacement drive first?
No, and don't. The restore sets the drive up. Until then the iPod may show a folder icon or sit in Disk Mode, which is normal.
Will a drive from a later iPod work?
Only if it's the right kind. It needs a 1.8-inch parallel-ATA drive that plugs onto a 50-pin press-fit connector, at the right height for your case. Drives ending in 06, such as the MK2006GAL, don't work in it, and ribbon-connector drives from later iPods aren't drop-in replacements.
Can I turn a thin iPod into a thick one?
Yes, with the thick back panel and the thick-case headphone jack, plus a drive set up for the thick case: an 8 mm drive with the brackets that suit the thick case, or keep your 5 mm drive and give it the thick-drive bumper set.
Can I get my music back from the old drive?
If it still shows up on a computer, copy the music off before the swap. Once the replacement drive is restored, it holds no music until you sync.
Can you do it for me?
Yes. Choose We Fix It on the drive or cable page and mail your iPod in. We fit it and send it back, usually within 3 to 5 business days, with a 1-year limited warranty.