hdd replacement

[kayakityakyak]

My zune 80gb's hard drive just broke. can I replace the hdd with a hdd that I got out of an old 40gb 3rd gen ipod? They are both 1.8 drives but i dont know about the thickness or the connection or power source. Anybody know anything that would help me? Thanks

[roebeet]

Originally Posted by kayakityakyak

My zune 80gb's hard drive just broke. can I replace the hdd with a hdd that I got out of an old 40gb 3rd gen ipod? They are both 1.8 drives but i dont know about the thickness or the connection or power source. Anybody know anything that would help me? Thanks

It won't work, unfortunately. The 30GB iPods use a 1.8" drive with a 50 pin connector, whereas the Zune uses a ZIF connector. The drive might also be 8mm thick, as opposed to 5mm.

EDIT: I meant 3G iPod, not 30GB.

[kayakityakyak]

Are you sure the ipod 3rd gen 40gb uses the same connector as the ipod 30gb? and also is there any way to get around this issue, like switching the connection types?

[roebeet]

Originally Posted by kayakityakyak

Are you sure the ipod 3rd gen 40gb uses the same connector as the ipod 30gb? and also is there any way to get around this issue, like switching the connection types?

I've owned (and taken apart) Ipod 3G's, 4G's, and 5G's. The 3G / 4G share the same 50 pin HDD connector - but some were 5mm thick and some 8mm thick, depending on the model. The 30/60/80 5G's are all ZIF connectors - the 30 is 5mm thick, and the 60/80 are 8mm thick. I don't know the thickness of any of the Zune's, other than the Zune 30 (it's 5mm). But they are all ZIF connectors, I believe.

As for getting around it -- there are 50 pin to ZIF converters in existence. But there's no guarantee that this would work. Plus, the converter would probably be too big to fit in the device, anyway. EDIT: I'm actually not so sure there is a converter like this, as I think about this more. At least I've never found one. There are ZIF to 50 pin converters, as I've used them.