Having and using two volumes on an iPod 6th Gen classic

[speachy]

I've always wondered where the 127G limit comes from on the 6th generation classic. AFAIK the hardware is almost identical between 6th and 7th. I would imagine that it is a firmware limitation (which lives on disk?).

It is purely a limitation in Apple's firmware.

There are only minor changes in the hardware;  the only meaningful difference is full support for inline remote controls on the headphones.

Also, IIRC the 6th gen onwards store the ipod's firmware in _flash_, unlike the previous generations which place it on the disk.  (Disk mode and the like was always in flash for all generations)

[speachy]

Thinking about it a bit more, it occurs to me that the first volume is the dominant volume where the RB firmware has to be, so the second volume is like an auxilliary appendage - not an equal sibling - and it makes conceptual sense that the second volume is accessed through the first volume.  But these thoughts are just my musings and projectings - the real and definitive explanation can only come from the developers who implement this truly great stuff for us.

That is the reason.  Volume 0 is the "root" volume which holds the .rockbox directory, all others are "secondary".  We use a UNIX-like approach where all other volumes appear to be 'mounted' beneath the root, rather than a DOS/Windows approach which treats each volume as a separate namespace at the top-level.

[iPodVT]

That is the reason.  Volume 0 is the "root" volume which holds the .rockbox directory, all others are "secondary".  We use a UNIX-like approach where all other volumes appear to be 'mounted' beneath the root, rather than a DOS/Windows approach which treats each volume as a separate namespace at the top-level.

Thanks very much for this confirmation and clarification.

[iPodVT]

I'll join in for some musing.

Following the iPodWiki firmware page here: https://ipodwiki.com/wiki/Firmware

It shows that the iPod classic (6th generation) can take firmware up to 1.1.2.

However the iPod classic (7th generation) can take firmware up to version 2.0.5.

(Rockbox does not make a distinction between 6th and 7th generation and considers them all 6g.)

I've always wondered where the 127G limit comes from on the 6th generation classic. AFAIK the hardware is almost identical between 6th and 7th. I would imagine that it is a firmware limitation (which lives on disk?).

Has anyone restored an iPod 7th with a capacity of more than 127G and then connected that drive to a 6th gen to see if it can run higher firmware versions than iTunes will allow it to?

I tried this last night and got the same basic results as what I posted at the beginning of this topic, except that instead of having two partitions that utilize the full capacity of the 256GB of storage I now have a single partition that utilizes all of that storage.  Here are the basic stats:

I installed an iFlash-Quad with one 256GB microSD into a thin 160GB 7th Gen Classic, restored/reformatted with iTunes in Windows 10 (iPod OF v2.0.4), and installed the Rockbox current dev build.  Then I moved the iFlash-Quad into an 80GB 6th Gen iPod Classic "Original".  [Edit:  the 6th Gen had previously been restored/reformatted with iTunes in Windows 10 and Rockbox.]

I booted into the OF and got "Use iTunes to Restore" - when I connected to my Mac the OF went into Disk Mode and the Mac Finder's Get Info showed storage capacity of 137.11 GB.  Then I used Disk Mode to copy some files onto the iPod.  I subsequently found that no corruption of disk format or contents seems to have occurred.  Same with rebooting directly into Disk Mode, and also into Diagnostic Mode.  But the OF's DAP functionality is inaccessible, as it was with my prior experiment with two partitions.

I booted into Rockbox, and its System Info showed a single partition with 238GB storage capacity - when I connected to my Mac the Finder's Get Info showed 256.03 GB.

I booted into Rockbox Bootloader USB Mode and loaded my 135GB music library plus config/data/etc files from my Mac onto the iPod.  Then I had Rockbox build its database - all seems solid and fully functional, at least so far.

Obviously, having to restore/reformat the storage in one iPod and then move it into another is a PITA, but I have some thoughts about other possible ways to achieve the same end result without having to move hardware.  I hope to post more about that soon - probably under a new topic in this same Hardware section of the Forum.