iPod 5.5: doesnt boot though new HDD

[HankJW]

Hey there nice people!
I really could use some advice right now, I have absolutely no idea what to do anymore.
Here's the thing: I have an iPod 5.5 for quite a while now (I have it since 2006 or 2007 if I recall correctly) and of course I had to change some parts. And it worked out fine so far. Until now.
The following issue appeared: Rockbox stuck multiple times, or it took quite a while to load a song. And sometimes it didnt even boot (the "connect to itunes to restore" screen or dead ipod screen). I figured it must have been the HDD and replaced it. Bought a new one, connected and it worked again. But only for a short time, only after a week or so the same issue appeared: Connect the iPod to Itunes to restore. I'm really puzzled as it is a brand-new hard drive...

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance,
HankJW

[wodz]

I'd check hdd flex cable connector.

[SukkoPera]

Enter diagnostic mode by keeping Select + PrevTrack pressed at boot (when the apple appears, get there by keeping Select + Menu pressed for 5 seconds), then go to Manual Tests -> IO -> SMART Data and post here what you see.

[HankJW]

I'd check hdd flex cable connector.

The cable seemed fine. I say seemed because after opening the iPod and checking the cable whether it has physical damage I lifted the HDD a bit, thus bending the cable a bit outwards. I closed it again, started the ipod and it strangely worked again. However, only for a short time. Today it started again to take longer and sometimes doesnt load songs or doesnt boot at all...
Am I wrong to assume that it might be the cable?

Enter diagnostic mode by keeping Select + PrevTrack pressed at boot (when the apple appears, get there by keeping Select + Menu pressed for 5 seconds), then go to Manual Tests -> IO -> SMART Data and post here what you see.

Here is what I got:
Retracts: 30
Reallocs: 0
Pending Sectors: 0
PowerOn Hours: 1
Start/Stops: 129

[SukkoPera]

Based on what you posted, your disk seems perfectly fine (Reallocs and Pending Sectors being 0).

So I would agree that the fault is probably in the flex cable. Damage to that kind of cables usually cannot be seen with the naked eye. A few days ago I was repairing a 6G and I was having a similar problem, which disappeared after replacing the cable. You can easily get a new one from eBay at a small price. If you were from Italy I guess I could even send you one.

Note that you might want to put the old disk back into the iPod and check those diag values, it could still be fine if the cable was already faulty! But maybe you damaged it during while replacing the disk.

Please also note that you could have replaced the disk with a CF/SD adapter, which is a more durable solution, and very affordable nowadays.

[HankJW]

Thanks, I havent thought about that. I feel a little stupid.
I didnt think about it because I also replaced the hdd cable too some time ago (maybe 1,5-2 years ago).

I have a spare, somewhat broken iPod 6 here, just took the hdd cable from the 6 and put it into mine. I'll see in the next few days if it has any issues...

[HankJW]

Alright, seems like it really was the hdd cable. Since I installed the cable from my spare gen6 it works flawlessly and boots as it should without delays.

Thanks a lot guys and keep up the great work!