How durable is iPod?

whisper

whisper

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 16, 2003
Messages
466
I just bought an iPod a little over a week ago, and I love it but I've been cursed with clumsiness or something. So far, I've dropped the thing twice, and the second time it was at least in its case but it fell from waist level flat on a hard floor. The sound of it hitting was 100x worse than nails on a chalkboard.

Anyway, it seems to still work fine but I'm just wondering if anyone had some factual knowledge about how tough these iPods are. I mean, the hd on my lappy crashed after 18 months and I treated that puppy like gold. I can only imagine how long it would have lasted if I dropped it twice in the first week.

I don't mean to write a stupid question, honestly, I'm just wondering what people think. Thanx.
 
Impact damage can present short- and long-term difficulties. I'm sure if you want details, Ice Czar will arrive soon with his hard drive handling link.

Might I suggest looking into a protective case or cover? There are many options out there, and a few that also look good while preserving the functionality of the player.
 
Definetly think of investing in a case. Not only is the surface of the iPod very scratchable, but think about it. Inside is a working had drive. Imagine what would happen if you dropped your regular PC hard drive like that?! So yes, you've paid god knows how much for it already, go buy a case.
 
get a case, the one that comes with it doesn't count ;)

I have never dropped it while it was on, and have no damage. I am pretty sure there would be if you did drop it while it was on though :eek:
 
Thankx for the replies guys. As it turns out, I now have a new iPod, or at least a different one from the one I had yesterday. I noticed earlier this evening that the backlight which is supposed to light up the display no longer worked. Now I know what you're thinking - that it was obviosuly a result of the incidents I described. Well, I guess I can't absolutely rule it out, but I know that yesterday it still worked and later today it didn't. So if dropping it can cause the light to malfunction, the effect is somewhat delayed (which seems strange to me). Maybe it was just a lemon.

Anyway, the people at the apple store were very nice and said they never saw a backlight go out before, so they replaced my iPod with a different one since I just bought it a few days ago. Not sure if it's new since it came from a brown cardboard box in the back, but it was all wrapped up as if it were new.

I feel like I've used up one of my cat's nine lives, so from now on I'm treating this thing like platinum. Also, a nice case is an excellent idea.
 
it sounds like you had your problem conviently solved, but if you were curious, or for the future if your ipod decides to take a suicide leap, you can check the internal hard drive of the ipod for integrity... basically just a scan disk but without anything fancy. to access the diagnostic menu and then the scan function, try this:

(okay, i know this works (or should) for all third gen ipods runing sys 2.x...)

1. reset the ipod (just a reboot, dosen't erase anything, so don't freak out) by pressing MENU and PLAY together untill the thing turns off.

2. quickly, before the apple logo runs away, press <<, >> and SELECT (the center button) all at the same time for about three seconds. now take your fingers off of the buttons.

3. about now is when you hear a sick-sounding chirp and a backwards applo logo. you're in buisness. use the >> button to scroll down to HDD SCAN which is on the second 'page'.

4. with HDD SCAN highlighted, press SELECT and just sit back and wait.

*** you might want to have either a full battery when you do this, or peferably you'll want to be plugged in. the hdd will get pretty damn hot, so just watch out for that. i've heard of ipod screens going all black from the heat, and they still have been allright, so i think that the heat tolerance is pretty high. you might want to stick something under the ipod to keep it from laying flat on whatever surface you have it on, just so that air has a better chance of cooling it. i don't think it matters, but after droping a few hundered bucks on your baby, i bet you'll want to do everything you can just to be sure...

this menu is pretty fun to play around in, so you might want to take a look at it just for kicks from a hardware perspective. http://www.ipoding.com is a pretty good site that you might want to check out for more tech tips. hope that helps anyone whos curious or wanted to make sure their HDD was okay after a fall.

oh yeah, i almost forogt. to get out of any menu item, press PLAY, and when you're all done and want to get back to rockin'... press MENU and PLAY at the same time to reset the ipod and everything will be right again in the world.
 
Dude, that's a lot of useful information! I had no idea the iPod had this diagnostic feature built right into it. Those apple people are smarter than they get credit for, although it's lame that they don't bother to mention any of these useful features in the manual! I laughed at the manual, because it was like "charge, plug into computer, transfer songs, listen to your music."

Thanks, and nice first post. WELCOME TO THE FORUMS!!:D
 
Yeah, I know. I was well aware of the battery issue when I decided to purchase. The situation is somewhat better now. The battery replacement now costs $105.95 including shipping, and I'm hoping that in another year it might go down even more. Also, it's guaranteed to hold at least half the original charge (or 4 hrs) at 24 months or it will be replaced free of charge. I found that out at the apple store the other day. And believe me, I have no problem whatsoever sitting at the store for 3 hrs and 59 min while the battery drains and dies. One minute under, and I'm gettin my free battery:p
 
lol, well thanks for the welcome!
i had no idea about apple's guarentee about the two-year four-hour-battery-life, but since i own one too and use it constantly... well that's something that i'll have to remember. hope that diag. works for yall. and yes, that manual was, ahh... a little simplistic : )
 
Originally posted by DatHak512
lol, well thanks for the welcome!
i had no idea about apple's guarentee about the two-year four-hour-battery-life, but since i own one too and use it constantly... well that's something that i'll have to remember. hope that diag. works for yall. and yes, that manual was, ahh... a little simplistic : )
Click to expand...

good job raising the dead :rolleyes:
 
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