Replacement storage path for iPod Mini 2nd Generation. Use it for failed hard-drive behavior, restore trouble, or storage upgrades after the battery is stable and the drive cable or adapter seating has been checked.
Product Overview
This hard drive listing covers Replacement Microdrive (4GB) and its own connector path on the iPod Mini 2nd Generation.
Use Part Details for the confirmed part-number reference. Use the Compatible Variants table below to confirm capacity, color, or order-number fitment.
Choose this part when your iPod shows Folder Icon, Sad iPod Icon, Clicking Noise, or Corrupted Data; the checks below help confirm the right part before you order.
Storage failure symptoms such as a sad iPod, folder icon, restore loop, or the audible click of death should still be checked against the drive cable and connector seating before replacing the drive.
- iTunes error 1429 is typically caused by USB communication problems
- The iPod Mini may require the Apple iPod Reset Utility when standard iTunes restore fails with error 1429
Choose Your Option
This part comes in multiple variants. Confirm your iPod's capacity and order number before ordering.
Match the Mini 2nd Generation 4GB model/variant when replacing with an original-capacity microdrive.
You're viewing this optionUse this linked storage option only for 6GB iPods and the order numbers shown here.
View this option →What Is Included
Quick Diagnosis: Is It The Replacement Microdrive (4GB)?
Start here before ordering. Work through the checks in order; a symptom alone does not prove this drive is bad until nearby parts, cables, fitment, or install issues are separated.
Before you order this drive
- Try a force restart first. Toggle Hold on and off, then hold Menu + Select/Center for 6 to 10 seconds.
- Check the next listed clue. Listen for repeat clicking or repeated spin-up attempts before replacing storage parts.
- Try Disk Mode or restore isolation. Check whether the iPod enters disk mode, restores cleanly, and is recognized by the computer.
- Reseat and inspect the connector path. If a drive or flash adapter was just installed, recheck cable seating, adapter orientation, and formatting before buying another part.
- Use this listing only after the checks still point here. If the symptom still points here after those checks, compare Compatible Variants before ordering this drive.
Other Symptoms That May Involve This Part
| Commonly described as | What to check before ordering |
|---|---|
| red x | These warnings mean the iPod cannot reach a usable storage path; check the cable first, then the drive. |
| sad ipod, red x, clicking drive, restore loop, or disk-mode trouble | Mechanical clicking or grinding points toward the drive after the hard-drive cable has been reseated and checked. |
Specifications & Fitment
Part Details
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Model Number | A1051 |
| EMC | EMC 2044 |
| Condition | Used — factory original Apple part. Normal cosmetic wear expected. |
| Interface | CompactFlash Type II |
| Form Factor | 1-inch microdrive |
| Capacity (4GB models) | 4GB |
| RPM | 3600 |
| Manufacturer | Hitachi / Seagate |
| OEM Part |
HMS360604D5CF00, HMS360606D5CF00, ST640211CF, ST660211CF
|
Compatible Variants
| Order Number | Capacity | Color | Case | Compatible | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M9802LL/A | 4GB | Blue | — | Yes | — |
| M9806LL/A | 4GB | Green | — | Yes | — |
| M9804LL/A | 4GB | Pink | — | Yes | — |
| M9800LL/A | 4GB | Silver | — | Yes | — |
| M9803LL/A | 6GB | Blue | — | Check fitment | Fits physically, but a 4GB drive downgrades a 6GB iPod to 4GB — choose the 6GB Microdrive to keep the original capacity. |
| M9807LL/A | 6GB | Green | — | Check fitment | Fits physically, but a 4GB drive downgrades a 6GB iPod to 4GB — choose the 6GB Microdrive to keep the original capacity. |
| M9805LL/A | 6GB | Pink | — | Check fitment | Fits physically, but a 4GB drive downgrades a 6GB iPod to 4GB — choose the 6GB Microdrive to keep the original capacity. |
| M9801LL/A | 6GB | Silver | — | Check fitment | Fits physically, but a 4GB drive downgrades a 6GB iPod to 4GB — choose the 6GB Microdrive to keep the original capacity. |
is not compatible with
- Not this 4GB option - choose the Mini 2nd Generation 6GB Microdrive if matching original 6GB capacity is required
- Full-size iPod storage drives
Failure Signs
Use these checks to decide whether this drive is the right part, whether a nearby part should be checked first, or whether the symptom needs more diagnosis.
What you may see: People describe clicking, sad iPod or folder screens, restore loops, disk-mode trouble, or storage that will not behave after replacement.
- Sad iPod, clicking drive, restore loop, or disk-mode trouble.
Check first: Listen for repeat clicking or repeated spin-up attempts before replacing storage parts.
- Check whether the iPod enters disk mode, restores cleanly, and is recognized by the computer.
- If a drive or flash adapter was just installed, recheck cable seating, adapter orientation, and formatting before buying another part.
- Use clicking sounds, disk mode, restore behavior, connector seating, and power stability to isolate the storage device.
Most likely cause: The Mini 2nd Generation uses a 1-inch Microdrive in a CompactFlash Type II slot. That tiny mechanical drive is one of the recurring failure points on this model.
- The storage drive can be involved, but the drive cable, adapter formatting, power stability, or logic-board storage path may also be responsible.
- Check storage / restore route, connector seating, and board-side damage before ordering.
- Choose this storage drive only when clicking, restore failure, or disk errors follow this part or its connection path.
- Choose this drive when the symptom remains isolated to this assembly, its ribbon, or its connector path after first checks.
- Full-size hard-drive iPods use a different storage path; confirm Mini microdrive or CompactFlash fitment here.
- Replace the failed Microdrive with a CompactFlash card for a solid-state upgrade. No adapter is needed because the CF card drops directly into the same slot. Cards up to 64GB work with FAT32 formatting.
- Replace the storage drive only when the storage or restore symptom is tied to this part's role in the startup path.
- Use cable, adapter, or board diagnosis first when restore behavior changes with seating, formatting, or another known-good storage device.
Look elsewhere when: Check the storage cable, adapter setup, battery power stability, and board connector when the symptom changes after reseating or swapping storage.
What you may see: A symptom starts after opening the iPod or disturbing an internal flex cable.
Check first: Inspect for liquid, corrosion, residue, torn flex material, or connector damage.
Most likely cause: Connector seating, ribbon damage, or ground-path issues can involve this part, a nearby connector, or a board path.
Look elsewhere when: Check the Hard Drive Ribbon Cable (Mini 2nd Generation Only) when storage-cable symptoms after drive replacement, reseating, or adapter work are the main problem.
- Check the Replacement Battery when power, charging, runtime, or swollen-battery behavior is the main problem.
What you may see: People describe a new problem appearing immediately after battery, storage, display, audio, or control work.
- A new symptom appeared after battery, storage, audio, display, or control work.
Check first: Reopen only as far as needed to inspect the areas touched during the repair.
- Compare the new symptom with what worked before the repair.
- Check cable seating, latch position, and part variant before replacing a second part.
Most likely cause: A post-repair symptom can involve the storage drive, but disturbed ribbons, latches, grounding, connector seating, or the wrong variant part are common checks before ordering again.
- Check post-repair regression, connector seating, and board-side damage before ordering.
- Choose this storage drive only when the part itself was torn, creased, or damaged during service.
- Correct seating, latch, or variant problems first.
- Replace the storage drive when the repair damaged that assembly or its flex path.
Look elsewhere when: Check the exact connector or assembly disturbed during the repair before treating the new part as failed.
Symptom remains after basic checks
What you may see: The iPod still points back to Replacement Microdrive (4GB) after cable seating, battery stability, and nearby connector checks.
Check first: Retest with known-good cables or adjacent parts where practical before ordering.
Check next: A nearby cable, connector, battery, storage device, display path, audio path, or board path can mimic a bad drive.
Symptom changes when touched or reseated
What you may see: The symptom changes after moving the part, reseating a cable, or applying light pressure near the connector path.
Check first: Inspect the connector, latch, flex, solder joints, and nearby board area for damage or corrosion.
Check next: This can still be a connection issue rather than a failed drive alone.
Problem began after another repair
What you may see: The issue started immediately after opening the iPod, replacing another part, or disturbing an internal cable.
Check first: Reopen only as far as needed and inspect the exact area touched during the previous repair.
Check next: Post-repair symptoms often trace to seating, latch, screw, or cable issues before Replacement Microdrive (4GB) itself is confirmed bad.
Sad iPod, clicking, restore, or storage trouble
What you may see: People describe clicking, sad iPod or folder screens, restore loops, disk-mode trouble, or storage that will not behave after replacement
Check first: Listen for repeat clicking or repeated spin-up attempts before replacing storage parts
- Check whether the iPod enters disk mode, restores cleanly, and is recognized by the computer
- If a drive or flash adapter was just installed, recheck cable seating, adapter orientation, and formatting before buying another part
Symptoms changed after repair or reassembly
What you may see: People describe a new problem appearing immediately after battery, storage, display, audio, or control work
Check first: Reopen only as far as needed to inspect the areas touched during the repair
- Compare the new symptom with what worked before the repair
- Check cable seating, latch position, and part variant before replacing a second part
Repair considerations
Repair specialists who work on this model consistently flag these checks before replacing the drive — they help confirm the drive is the right fix and not a nearby fault:
- Restore/format steps can erase data or indicate storage failure
- Treat ribbons, tabs, and connectors as fragile
- Use reset, Disk Mode, restore, or iTunes/Finder behavior as a software/storage check
- Reseat or inspect ribbon cable and connector seating
- Inspect connector latch, socket, or clamp condition
- Replace storage or convert to flash storage
Do Not Buy This Drive Yet If...
| Situation | Start here instead |
|---|---|
| Variant or capacity does not match this listing | Use the correct capacity or model-specific listing instead. |
| You see a folder icon, clicking noise, or restore failure | Start with the storage drive, drive cable, or flash-storage check for your model before buying this part. |
| Charging, swelling, runtime, or power is the primary problem | Start with battery health, charger behavior, and spin-up load before buying storage. |
| Recent service or connector disturbance is the main clue | Inspect and reseat the storage cable, storage connector latch, and board connector before replacing storage. |
| A symptom points to a different part | Start with battery for power/runtime symptoms; hard-drive cable for folder, clicking, or restore symptoms; dock-port bracket for dock, sync, or charge-port symptoms; click wheel for click-wheel or control symptoms; logic board for board-side damage or multi-system symptoms before buying this part. |
Install Overview
Before You Start
For pre-open diagnosis, unlock Hold and use this generation's reset sequence if needed. Before opening, lock the Hold switch so the orange bar is visible, then confirm the model and variant.
Treat case opening as the highest handling risk. Work around the seams gently and stop if the shell, clips, or internal stack resist.
Do not pull the halves apart or side-load board sockets. Reseat nearby ribbons and connectors before blaming a replacement drive.
Check drive-ribbon seating and bumper placement while the iPod is open.
Repair steps
Documented repair-procedure steps for replacing the drive on this model (from teardown guides; confirm against your unit before starting):
- Carefully insert a small flathead screwdriver or Jimmy in the seam between the metal casing and white plastic bottom. Use the screwdriver to pry up the white plastic bottom bezel. Be careful not to damage the soft plastic with your screwdriver.
- Peel back the black tape securing the two blue bumpers to the hard drive near the orange ribbon cable.
- Slide the two blue bumpers off the corners of the hard drive. There is no need to remove these bumpers entirely.
Repair Guide
Repair guide summary: iPod Mini Hard Drive Replacement.
Show all 13 installation steps
Confirm that the hold switch is locked before you open the iPod.
Carefully slide a small flathead screwdriver or Jimmy into the seam between the metal casing and white plastic top. Lever up the white top bezel, taking care not to damage the soft plastic. The top bezel is adhesive-backed, so you may need to lever it up from several spots before it releases. Heat up the adhesive for a few seconds with a hair dryer on low heat to make the job easier.
Raise the top bezel off the iPod.
Carefully slide a small flathead screwdriver or Jimmy into the seam between the metal casing and white plastic bottom. Lever up the white bottom bezel, taking care not to damage the soft plastic.
A small pair of snap-ring pliers is the best tool to take out the metal retaining bracket. You can also lever out the metal retaining bracket beneath the bottom bezel with a flathead screwdriver. Release the bracket by pressing in the corner metal arms first.
Lift the released bracket away and set it aside.
With a spudger or fingertip, carefully detach the orange click wheel ribbon from the logic board.
Take out the 2 #00 Phillips screws securing the headphone jack to the casing.
Carefully move the iPod out of its casing by pressing on the logic board near the click wheel's bottom edge. Do not tug on the headphone jack board at the iPod top; its logic board connector is fragile.
After the logic board has been pushed out far enough, gently grip it on either side of the display and keep sliding the iPod from its casing.
Raise the battery off the logic board and set it to the side of the iPod.
With a spudger or fingertip, carefully disconnect the orange hard drive ribbon from the logic board.
Raise the hard drive out of the iPod.
After This Repair
| Check | What to do |
|---|---|
| Restore and sync | Confirm the iPod restores cleanly and mounts with the computer and cable you plan to use. |
| Check under load | Listen for repeated spin-up, adapter resets, or restore loops that can point back to cable seating, formatting, or battery stability. |
| Still not working? | Reseat the storage cable and verify formatting or adapter setup before blaming the logic board. |
Frequently Asked Questions
Use these questions to narrow the part path before ordering. They keep each answer focused on a different diagnostic or fitment decision.
How do I choose the right hard drive capacity?
Match capacity 4GB and color Silver, Blue, Pink, Green, connector/interface, and order number before ordering.
Can I use flash storage instead of this hard drive?
Usually yes on models with a supported flash-mod route, but adapter, formatting, and case-clearance checks still matter. Use the flash-mod page when you want solid-state storage instead of another mechanical drive.
When is this drive the right fix for sad iPod, clicking, or restore trouble?
Listen for repeated drive clicking and note whether the iPod reaches disk mode. Reseat the hard-drive ribbon and inspect the storage connector or retaining latch before buying another storage part. Try restore only after cable seating and power behavior are stable enough to complete the process. Compare with a known-good drive, cable, or flash adapter when available. Listen for repeat clicking or repeated spin-up attempts before replacing storage parts. Check whether the iPod enters disk mode, restores cleanly, and is recognized by the computer. If a drive or flash adapter was just installed, recheck cable seating, adapter orientation, and formatting before buying another part. Choose this drive only when clicking, sad iPod, restore, or disk-mode symptoms follow the storage path. Choose this storage drive only when clicking, restore failure, or disk errors follow this part or its connection path. Check battery stability, connector seating, and the hard-drive cable before treating the storage device alone as confirmed. Check the storage cable, adapter setup, battery power stability, and board connector when the symptom changes after reseating or swapping storage.
What should I check before replacing this drive?
Reseat the storage ribbon squarely and confirm the latch is closed before replacing the storage device again. Check adapter orientation, case clearance, and capacity/format expectations when using a flash path. Reopen only as far as needed to inspect the areas touched during the repair. Compare the new symptom with what worked before the repair. Check cable seating, latch position, and part variant before replacing a second part. Choose this drive only when the storage path remains isolated after ribbon and fitment details. Choose this storage drive only when the part itself was torn, creased, or damaged during service. Check the cable and storage connector path first when the symptom started immediately after a storage swap. Check the exact connector or assembly disturbed during the repair before treating the new part as failed.
Why people land on this part
Use the checks above to separate this hard drive from nearby parts before ordering.
Some buyers search for "corroded", "engraved", "loose", "people describe short runtime, charging trouble, sudden shutoff, or an ipod that will not reliably power on", "power, charging, or runtime symptoms", or "short runtime, charging trouble, sudden shutoff, or a device that will not reliably power on"; confirm the checks above point to this same part before ordering.
Also searched as: iPod mini 2nd generation microdrive replacement, Stuck in Recovery Mode, Flash Mod Problems, Hard Drive Failure, hard drive dead, making clicking sound, shows a folder, flash drive, restore error, iTunes library, 1-inch drive, compact flash, drive already corrupted, folder + exclamation, solid state drive, drive was corrupted, click noise, click sound, imods.com/products/ipod-mini-2nd-generation-hard-drive-replacement, hard drive 4GB replacement, Folder Icon, Sad iPod Icon, Clicking Noise, Corrupted Data, drive cable.
Worth Knowing
- iPod Mini 2nd Generation 4GB microdrive option.
- OEM 4GB drive references include Hitachi HMS360604D5CF00 and Seagate ST640211CF.
- The Mini's CF slot accepts CompactFlash cards directly; SD or microSD builds still need a compatible CF-to-SD adapter.
- Restoring erases songs and data. Back up before restoring or testing a replacement drive.
- Clicking sounds or abnormal hard drive whirring alongside these icons confirms the drive is failing
- Clicking sounds accompanied by failure to boot indicate a failed Microdrive in the iPod Mini
You May Also Want
Users replacing the hard drive often upgrade the battery at the same time.
Related: Flash Storage Mod (CF-to-SDXC Adapter)Flash storage avoids the original mechanical Microdrive; check adapter and card compatibility.
Related: Hard Drive Ribbon CableMini 2nd Generation hard-drive cable should be inspected during drive replacement.
