Step 2: Remove the existing hard drive.

There is a thin ribbon cable connecting the hard drive to the circuit board. This cable is inserted into the ZIF connector on the hard drive and clamped down with a thin black plastic clamp. Lift up this clamp, and the cable should release easily. Now if your new hard drive does not have the foam or rubber bumpers, remove them from the old drive and attach them to the new drive.

Step 3: Insert the new hard drive.

First, you need to pop up the plastic clamp on the new hard drive. Then push the ribbon cable into the ZIF connector on the new hard drive; lightly push the clamp back down. Now the cable should be secure. Place the drive back onto the circuit board, and put the back plate back on top. To snap the back plate back onto the front plate, start at the bottom, and then both sides at the same time. The headphone jack area should be the last part to be connected.

Step 4: Initialize the new hard drive.

Press any button on your iPod, and you should see an error telling you the drive is not formatted, or you will see a sad face icon (unless the hard drive was already initialized). Now connect the iPod to your computer and run iTunes. You will see an error telling you to restore the iPod if the hard drive has never been initialized. Go to the summary tab, choose Restore and let iTunes do it stuff. Do not disconnect the Ipod until the process is complete. Now your iPod will be ready for use.

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