iPod Classic 6th Generation 120GB Hard Drive Replacement

Yes: our flash mod service fits 128GB flash storage by mail (128GB is the 6th Gen's limit on Apple's own software).

The folder icon with apple.com/support means the iPod cannot use its hard drive. Apple's steps: reset it (hold Menu + Center), charge it, then restore it; a restore erases everything on the iPod, songs included. If the folder comes back, the hard drive is the most likely fault; a folder the moment the Apple logo shows points to the drive cable first.

With the original hard drive, 120GB is this model's capacity. Our flash mod service fits 128GB, the 6th Gen's limit on Apple's own software. Third-party firmware can go past that limit, but we do not fit or support it.

A1238 covers iPod Classic models from 2007 through 2009. Match your order number and case depth because A1238 alone does not identify capacity or thickness. Every Classic says A1238 on the back, so the model number alone cannot tell you which one you have — owners who bought the wrong part once usually matched A1238 and nothing else. Capacity narrows it: 80GB and 120GB are always thin; a 160GB is either the 2007 thick model or a later thin one. Apple's serial lookup names the release (a plain "iPod classic" is a 2007 unit), but a serial describes the unit as it left the factory — the case depth settles it (10.5 mm thin, 13.5 mm thick), and Settings > About shows the model. Across the thin 80GB and 120GB, rear panels, batteries, drives, cables and headphone jacks interchange; the 2007 thick 160GB keeps its own rear panel, battery, drive, cable, bumpers and headphone jack. Faceplates and click wheels fit every 6th/7th Gen. Screens are one-way: a 6th Gen needs a 6th Gen screen (a 7th Gen screen shows white in it); a 7th Gen can use a 6th Gen screen. A1238 identifies the Classic family; for the Video model, see its own pages.

Measure case depth: 10.5 mm / 0.41 inch is thin and fits this 120GB drive. 13.5 mm / 0.53 inch is thick and uses a different drive. You can also match the order number in the fitment table. If the serial decodes ambiguously, identify the case, not the paperwork: Apple's figures are about 162 g for the thick 160GB and 140 g for the thin 80GB and 120GB; on a unit with a swapped back or new drive, trust the case depth: 10.5 mm thin, 13.5 mm thick. Refurbished units often wear swapped backplates, so trust the internals — the drive class and the code printed on the battery — over the engraving or the seller's title.

Yes. Reseat or inspect the cable before buying a drive. If the folder icon appears immediately after the Apple logo, the cable is more likely. If the iPod clicks or grinds before showing the folder, the drive is more likely.