Zune Compact Flash Adapter (2)

haux · 04-28-2012, 11:25 PM

Since the previous thread was closed due to inactivity, I will post an update here.

I believe I have found out that for a CF card to be compatible with the Zune, it must support "True IDE Mode." This allows the flash card to be seen as a fixed disk, rather than removable. Transcend has a line of "Industrial" CF cards that support this (models 150 and 160x are ideal).

I have a 32GB Transcend Industrial 160x on the way to me now, and I will post another update when I try it out.

boohbah11 · 04-29-2012, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haux

Since the previous thread was closed due to inactivity, I will post an update here.

I believe I have found out that for a CF card to be compatible with the Zune, it must support "True IDE Mode." This allows the flash card to be seen as a fixed disk, rather than removable. Transcend has a line of "Industrial" CF cards that support this (models 150 and 160x are ideal).

I have a 32GB Transcend Industrial 160x on the way to me now, and I will post another update when I try it out.

Well I am excited to hear more of this. While we're waiting how about a description of everything you hope to accomplish with this.

haux · 05-01-2012, 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boohbah11

Well I am excited to hear more of this. While we're waiting how about a description of everything you hope to accomplish with this.

There really isn't very much to say. My hard drive failed a couple of years ago. I had the hard drive replaced with a used one from eBay. Usually, I just used my roommates Zune, so I didn't use mine for a period of time. Turns out, that used drive was faulty.

A time has come where I want to put my own personal music on my Zune. Rather than buying a straight up replacement hard drive, I thought it would be fun to put a CF card in there. This isn't really about cost savings, because NEW replacement drives are available on eBay now for about $20.

I did a bit of research and came across this Tarkan Compact Flash Adapter for iPod. The Zune 30 uses the same hardware as the generation of iPod that was being sold when it came out. So although it is advertised as compatible for iPod, it also work with these Zune 30's. I also came across a couple of photos of a Zune 30 with a CF adapter and an ADATA CF card, so this gave me confidence that it was indeed possible. Unfortunately, that specific model of card was not longer being made by ADATA, and very expensive otherwise.

The technical specifications of this ADATA card were different from those of other cards. But there were so many, that I couldn't pinpoint what specifically I needed to look for.

My first attempt at this was with a

Transcend 400x 32GB

card. I received some sort of error which I do not recall right this moment. I was stumped as to why it wasn't working. Shortly after, I purchased a SATA Compact Flash adapter for my computer, to use a CF card as an internal drive. The drive was being detected as removable in both Linux and Windows. Then it clicked... that's why it wasn't working in the Zune. It has to be detected as a Fixed Disk.

This is the card I am waiting on now. It cost about $55 shipped (from a different website). If you look at the specs, you will see that it supports True IDE mode, which means it will work as a fixed disk when connected via "IDE". This also applies to SATA, or in this case, ZIF. It will only show up as removable when used through PCMCIA.

Sorry for the novel, I guess there was much to say afterall.

boohbah11 · 05-01-2012, 03:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haux

There really isn't very much to say. My hard drive failed a couple of years ago. I had the hard drive replaced with a used one from eBay. Usually, I just used my roommates Zune, so I didn't use mine for a period of time. Turns out, that used drive was faulty.

A time has come where I want to put my own personal music on my Zune. Rather than buying a straight up replacement hard drive, I thought it would be fun to put a CF card in there. This isn't really about cost savings, because NEW replacement drives are available on eBay now for about $20.

I did a bit of research and came across this Tarkan Compact Flash Adapter for iPod. The Zune 30 uses the same hardware as the generation of iPod that was being sold when it came out. So although it is advertised as compatible for iPod, it also work with these Zune 30's. I also came across a couple of photos of a Zune 30 with a CF adapter and an ADATA CF card, so this gave me confidence that it was indeed possible. Unfortunately, that specific model of card was not longer being made by ADATA, and very expensive otherwise.

The technical specifications of this ADATA card were different from those of other cards. But there were so many, that I couldn't pinpoint what specifically I needed to look for.

My first attempt at this was with a Transcend 400x 32GB card. I received some sort of error which I do not recall right this moment. I was stumped as to why it wasn't working. Shortly after, I purchased a SATA Compact Flash adapter for my computer, to use a CF card as an internal drive. The drive was being detected as removable in both Linux and Windows. Then it clicked... that's why it wasn't working in the Zune. It has to be detected as a Fixed Disk.

This is the card I am waiting on now. It cost about $55 shipped (from a different website). If you look at the specs, you will see that it supports True IDE mode, which means it will work as a fixed disk when connected via "IDE". This also applies to SATA, or in this case, ZIF. It will only show up as removable when used through PCMCIA.

Sorry for the novel, I guess there was much to say afterall.

Well that sounds like a worthy endeavor, I wish you the best of luck. Make sure you let us know if it works.

haux · 05-02-2012, 02:16 PM

Well, I have made some progress, but still no go.

First off, it turns out I've been doing the "hard reset" thing the wrong way. I've always read that you hold BACK-CENTER-RIGHT on bootup to reset the firmware. Turns out it's BACK-CENTER-LEFT. The one with RIGHT simply attempts to erase the contents, not reset the entire device.

Anyway, the Industrial CF card arrived today. It "worked"...
I performed a hard reset. It instructed me to plug in the zune device. I launched the zune software and it automatically ran the firmware update. The firmware download, "copied" to the device, and then here is where the problem comes in. During the phase where it attempts to update the device, the Zune restarts itself. Then it just errors with a (5).

So I've hit another dead end... I have no idea why the update isn't working.

The fixed disk thing is definitely key, however. I tried doing this with a regular 8GB SanDisk CF card, and while it DOES perform the initial reset, the device is not recognized when you plug it in via USB.

Unsure how to proceed from here.