Effects of cold on iPod HDD

[5|*42]

I got into the bad habit of leaving my 4th gen iPod in my car overnight/when i was parked at school this winter, and although the temperature never dropped below 10-15F (or probably 35F+ in the car, and that only a few times), the hard drive is now dying. It works about 2/3rds the time when I plug it into the computer, the rest of the time I can hear it whirr for a second, a quiet click and then it slowing down, then it repeats (the whole process lasts only a few seconds). So am I correct in assuming the cold (or maybe the change in temperature) killed the hard drive? Also there isn't any way to fix it is there? And if anyone has any information on the durability of 5G/other hard drive players, let me know as I may be in the market again :bang head (trying to decide if it's worth finding a replacement HDD on eBay or not).

[Titeuf]

If it is still under warranty you can replace it for free with Apple. Look for it on their apple store site. I got mine replaced like that because it turned off at random moments even with full battery

[speed bump]

remember cold also is bad for the batteries in your MP3 player/laptop since it works when plugged in part of the time I would say that it probably isn't the HD totally. Also most HDs I have seen work very well even after sitting in the cold for extended periods of time. My 6gb HD that was my main HD for about 1 year a while ago worked great despite sitting in our garage a year through the montana winter.

[5|*42]

If it is still under warranty you can replace it for free with Apple. Look for it on their apple store site. I got mine replaced like that because it turned off at random moments even with full battery
Done that already, after a year mine would randomly freeze (probably had something to do with the dent on the back :p), I just beat the warrenty expiration. The one I have now (that I got as a replacement) is about 7 months old. So you think it isn't just the hard drive? The battery life has always seemed fine, but I really don't know a whole lot about these things. I thought the iPod hard drives might be different.

[blueswitch]

there is a way to reset the ipod...something about turning hold on and off then immediatly holding down menu and click button or something like that. look it up on apples website and try it. My brand new 5gen ipod got acting weird after I let the battery die while sitting on my desk for a month....I did that and it worked perfect afterward.

[5|*42]

I have to reset it when it freezes, although a few times that doesn't work. I know the hard drive is dying though, I can hear it trying and failing to engage when it freezes. What I want to know now I guess is was this caused by the cold, or did I abuse it too much? I don't think I actually dropped it (not this one at least :p), which leads me to assume either I got unlucky, or the cold killed it. I'm curious to know what it was though.

[schnikies79]

My ipod stayed in the car for over a month with two of the weeks being below freezing and a few days below zero, I didn't have any problems with at all. It did seem sluggish starting up when it was cold though, though it quickly warmed up.

[EvilCloudStrife]

wow. people didnt jack your guys ipods leaving them in the car? i just got my new ipod video last friday and i am paranoid. seriously.

[vogster]

I don’t think the cold would kill a hdd. I don’t know why but I have actually heard of people putting clicking hdd's in the freezer to revive them.

I have heard of laptops dying from being left in the car overnight in winter but I think that usually turns out to be the battery.

[shellshock]

my 3th gen went thru cold weather too, and had no problem. its broke now thou, when i wrecked my car, it broke a delicate glass platter. I opened up the case and then the hard drive, and little glass slivers came out :(

[5|*42]

wow. people didnt jack your guys ipods leaving them in the car? i just got my new ipod video last friday and i am paranoid. seriously.
For about a year and a half, I used to put mine in the little compartment between the passenger and driver's seat, after a while (and xmas when it seemed everyone had new iPods), I just go lazy and left it out. If I'm downtown or something I'll put it away, but just at school etc., I leave it out now.

People freeze dying hard drives because supossedly it will shrink everything, allowing the heads to have a better chance of reengaging (or something like that, but I know it works, I've tried it once before).
So it sounds like the hard drive died from other causes, I still probably shouldn't leave out in the cold though. Mine runs sluggish as well if it's cold, and sometimes the battery thinks it's empty until I heat it back up again.

[microfire]

lol I put an IBM click of death hard drive in the frezzer in hope that it will fix it. I can't explain the sound when switch on again but it wasn't nice.
There are lower limits to how cold a hard drive should be in non operating state, see if you can find the low temp spec for your ipod.