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No partition table file (MBR) for iPod classic 6th/7th generation

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phinken:
I have been trying to put Rockbox on my iPod classic. Since the iPod has been used with a Mac before, it is formatted with the HFS+ file system and I need to change that to FAT32 in order to install Rockbox. For this I want to follow the step-by-step for Linux: https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodManualRestore#How_to_restore_an_iPod

However, there are no partition table files that match the 6th/7th generation iPod classics (mine is a 6th gen 80 GB):
https://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodConversionToFAT32
Without an MBR matching my iPod model, I can't follow the instructions. Is there a way around this, or is it simply not possible to reformat to FAT32 manually for iPod 6/7? If so, I wish the guide would explain that.

Any tips?
Btw., I don't have access to a computer with Windows, so it is not possible for me to fix this "The Easy Way" by connecting the iPod to iTunes in Windows.

(This issue has been raised by other users before, without anyone replying: https://forums.rockbox.org/index.php/topic,53363.0.html. Since the post was old, a new thread was recommended instead of replying to the old thread.)

bluebrother:

--- Quote from: phinken on January 01, 2023, 02:13:41 PM ---However, there are no partition table files that match the 6th/7th generation iPod classics (mine is a 6th gen 80 GB):
--- End quote ---

That's because those Ipod work differently: while the "old"  non-classic ones have their firmware in a special partition on disk where we can simply put our bootloader the "classic" ones store things (all? Not sure) in flash memory. Thus the installation process differs, and the way of manually converting is likely to be different. Though I don't have experience with the Classic ones, so I don't know any further details.

Do you still have the HFS+ partition table on the Ipod? If so giving it a close look might help -- finding the data partition and simply changing it to FAT (and reformatting of course) might work.


--- Quote ---Btw., I don't have access to a computer with Windows, so it is not possible for me to fix this "The Easy Way" by connecting the iPod to iTunes in Windows.
--- End quote ---

You can use a Virtual Machine, or try to find a friend with a Windows machine.

phinken:

--- Quote from: bluebrother on January 01, 2023, 03:11:55 PM ---That's because those Ipod work differently: while the "old"  non-classic ones have their firmware in a special partition on disk where we can simply put our bootloader the "classic" ones store things (all? Not sure) in flash memory. Thus the installation process differs, and the way of manually converting is likely to be different. Though I don't have experience with the Classic ones, so I don't know any further details.

--- End quote ---

Thanks for the explanation, it makes better sense now  :D


--- Quote from: bluebrother on January 01, 2023, 03:11:55 PM ---Do you still have the HFS+ partition table on the Ipod? If so giving it a close look might help -- finding the data partition and simply changing it to FAT (and reformatting of course) might work.

--- End quote ---
I did thy this, and it does actually make it possible to begin the installation process. But after a few steps, the installation fails with an error about not being able to load DFU mode in the iPod (sorry if I don't remember the exact message - I am away for work at the moment and can't double check). Basically my theory is that I deleted some important firmware when formatting the storage disk to FAT 32. Afterwards, the iPod was completely dead and I thought I had bricked it, but I plugged it in to a Mac which was able to recognise it as "a severely damaged iPod" (lol) and restore it by downloading new software. But then I'm back to the HFS+ setup again. I repeated this procedure a couple of times with the same result, so I think getting access to a Windows computer will just save me a lot of hassle here.
Thanks for the reply!

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