Bob Shuman wrote:
Reposting since it appears the previous message did not post.

My college aged son's 16-month old 20GB IPod (2nd generation I believe) died
a few days ago. The LCD display is still working and the battery seems
fine as well. When the USB cable is plugged into to computer, it charges
the battery and displays the "do not disconnect" message, but does not ever
autostart the iTunes application. The "hold" button also displays properly
on the LCD, but no other front panel buttons do anything at all. (It will
not shut off and requires the battery be exhausted before shutting down).

Since there really is not much to the device and the battery and display are
working properly, I suspect the PCB is likely good and the fault is most
likely a crashed hard drive. Does anyone have any experience with repair of
the iPod device? Can the drive be easily replaced? How does it open (no
screws so I assume the plastic face/cover snaps off the polished metal
backing, but there are no "pry slots" and the fit is very tight. Any advice
anyone can offer?

If I'm not able to repair it, then can someone provide suggested mail/web
repair sites and approximate prices to replace the drive? Also, is this
typical of the lifespan? My son says it was used extensively over the time
period, but never dropped or physically abused. Thanks in advance.

Bob

Broken iPod, two options available.
1. Throw it away and buy a new one.
2. Call Apple for the flat rate amount for repair, give them credit
card number, ship it to them for repair.

Warning, any sign of the unit being opened up will render it not being
repaired by Apple.