A look into iPods

A look into iPods
Posted :: Oct 27, 2004 by Impact

This will be the first of a three part review on iPods. The three reviews will focus on iPods, and their interaction with Linux. In today's article we will take you through the inside and outside of iPods, showing whats inside, and how to take an iPod apart.

All three articles will be using 2nd Generation iPods, but other generations vary very little.

The first step to opening an iPod is to pop the back of the case off. This can be done easily by getting a small flat-head screwdriver and wedging it between the metal and plastic piece of the case along the edge. There are multiple plastic clips on each side that need to be popped out of place. Just use your screwdriver and slowly move it around the edge prying it apart (be gentle). When you get both long sides undone, the metal casing should just pop off, leaving you with an exposed iPod.

With the open iPod in front of you, there should be an easy to distinguish piece, the Battery. It is sitting right on top, connected to the iPod by only one plug (the power). Just pop the connector out of it's housing and remove the battery.

With the battery removed you should see a hard drive (a very small one, 1.8") with a blue rubbery strip around the edge. The hard drive can be removed easily. Pick it up a slight bit and gently pull out the IDE ribbon attached to it.

Under the hard drive there should be another blue rubbery thing. This can be removed easily, just pull it up and over the IDE cable. Underneath you should see the motherboard of the iPod. This is what does pretty much everything. It connects all the pieces together.

If you are going to continue to remove the motherboard, it might be worth it to remove the IDE cable, just so theres one less object sticking out. On either side of the IDE cable (where it connects to the motherboard) there are two small latches. These can be pulled out to dissconnect the IDE ribbon. To put it back later, just slide it back in, and close the two latches.

By this point, you should be easily able to replace the battery or hard drive if yours went bad (much easier than buying a new iPod, or getting it professionally fixed). And considering these pieces are the most commonly replaced, most users should not need to continue dismantling their iPod.

If you do wish to continue however, you are going to need a T-6 screwdriver. A T screw driver looks like a 6-pointed star. You should be able to find one at a hardware store. These screwdrivers are also used for taking apart 3.5" hard drives.

When you have your screw driver, you should see 8 screws on the motherboard (two under the IDE ribbon), these screws attach the motherboard to the plastic housing.

Once the motherboard is out of its housing, the touchpad can be removed in the same way as the IDE ribbon (two clips). The LCD is most likely the most sensitive, and hardest piece to remove safely. If you don't need to remove it, don't. You will likely end up costing yourself a working LCD. The ribbon cable for the LCD is soldered to a small chip that snaps into a housing. However, pulling on the ribbon will break the solder connections (very weak). The best way I have found to remove the LCD connection is to get a small screw driver, and _very_ lightly pry at both sides of the chip until it unsets itself.

All of the pieces of an iPod can be easily interchanged, they are all modular. This means if the LCD breaks on your iPod, you can buy a replacement, and swap it out. If the battery dies, replace it. Hopefully this guide will help someone when they open their iPod and need a little help.