Anyone updated their HDD for the NW-HD5?

[Viper]

My my my, what a fantastic forum!! I've been searching for a while for the service manual for the HD5 since mine is out of warranty and the HDD decided to stop spinning up... Then I found this place!

Well, I can't seem to download the sm for it but I was hoping someone may have heard of replacing the HDD altogether or actually done it themselves. I don't even know if it's an open platter or if it's in a second housing (which would make it a whole lot easier). I havn't managed to find a way to open the unit, so I'm still at square one. Any help would be good, even if everyone just says to forget about it.

[Ishiyoshi]

My my my, what a fantastic forum!! I've been searching for a while for the service manual for the HD5 since mine is out of warranty and the HDD decided to stop spinning up... Then I found this place!

Welcome to ATRACLife and thanks for the kind remarks!

Well, I can't seem to download the sm for it but I was hoping someone may have heard of replacing the HDD altogether or actually done it themselves. I don't even know if it's an open platter or if it's in a second housing (which would make it a whole lot easier). I havn't managed to find a way to open the unit, so I'm still at square one. Any help would be good, even if everyone just says to forget about it.

Download link for the NW-HD5 Service Manual has been resolved; download accordingly.

HDD Removal/Replacement

You can easily remove and replace the HDD unit - refer to page 7 of the Service Manual.

[Guest Stuge]

Viper,

Simon(one of the forum member) was successful in upgrading his HD5 20GB HD to 30GB HD

http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1437&hl=

[Viper]

Thanks for the help guys, it was all good. I was just told that I may be able to get it done under warranty if i do some kind of receipt-on-the-sly thing, but upgrading to 30GB is more appealing...

Also, I think I remember seeing a box of the silicone cases at my work, I think they were going to send them back to the supplier because no-one wants them. So, if anyone here wants one, let me know and I'll see if I can secure a few before they get shipped out. I think they're around AUS$20.

Sex, drugs and ATRAC3plus

[Viper]

Ok, so I tracked down an MK3008GAL to replace my HD5's HDD, it used to belong in an iPod, and to my dismay, the ZIF connector is DIFFERENT! The 'pin' array is different, and the actual flexiboard is a different width to the HD5's.

Simon, you mentioned earlier you were able to upgrade to a 30GB disk using an iPod's HDD, how did you get around that? I'd really LOVE to get the HD5 working again.

[SimonGrafftey]

The HD5 uses a MK2006GAL drive, not a MK2008GAL, which has a ZIF connector and is used in the NW A3000 (the 30GB version MK3008GAL is used in the latest 30GB ipod) You can buy a MK2006GAL (20GB) or a MK3006GAL (30GB) to fit in an HD5 - I have sent you a link to the store where I got the 30GB drive.

[superbon]

hi guys.. is there a bigger capacity HDD like 60gb or higher that would fit an HD5? and also if I replaced my HDD w/ a new one, how can I install the firmware to the new HDD?? thanks

[SimonGrafftey]

The largest you could fit into an HD5 at the moment is a Toshiba MK4007GAL which is 40gb. The larger 60gb and 80gb drives are dual platter and are therefore too thick (8mm v. 5mm) to fit into the HD5 casing.

[superbon]

SimonGrafftey: tnx man! i think 40gb is enough for my hd5. how about the formware? is it automatically loaded when you powered on the unit? i'm worried that i might not see the options like the initialize HD

[SimonGrafftey]

You do not need to worry about the firmware. The hard drive is automatically initialised after it is inserted and the battery reconnected.

[superbon]

tnx a lot for the help and info

[peterjf]

Has anyone actually managed to get hold of a higher-capacity drive than the 30GB one in the HD5H? The biggest 5mm Toshiba drive seems to be the 40GB MK4009GAL, and the only site that I have found that sells these drives is span.com. Even this site lists them as 'coming soon'.

[MDX-400]

Has anyone actually managed to get hold of a higher-capacity drive than the 30GB one in the HD5H? The biggest 5mm Toshiba drive seems to be the 40GB MK4009GAL

The MK4009GAL won't work in an HD5, as it has a ZIF connector. As Simon stated, you have to use the MK4007GAL as it is the only one that is 40GB and has the traditional connector. The MK4007GAL seems to be pretty pricey and hard to get at this point, however.

[superbon]

simon: i'm getting confused on the ZIF connector... do i need a harddisk with ZIF connector for my hd5? i was able to find a local supplier for mk2006gal and he told me that the connector is ata or ata5 something

[SimonGrafftey]

No, a ZIF connector HD drive won't work in the HD5, as it has an ATA multi pin connector. The NW A series uses HD drives with ZIF (Zero Insertion Force) connectors, which are a more recent development by Toshiba. Any of the earlier Toshiba HD 1.8" drives should work.

[superbon]

thanks... i'll be upgrading my harddisk to 30gb, mk3006gal not mk2006gal as what i've posted. hope it would be succesful.

i have a follow-up question. according to the manual of the hd5, don't format the player using windows. i'm planning to use the original HD of my hd5 as a removable drive in my pc. can i still put it back in my hd5? can the player still be able to read the hardisk if it's formatted in windows?

Edited January 4, 2007 by superbon

[RobK]

This is my first post and I hope I can help with the downloading problem. I also had trouble downloading the service manual. Finally I disabled my firewall and then it worked. I enabled my firewall again and tried to download a file and again it didn't work, so this might be the problem.

[MDX-400]

thanks... i'll be upgrading my harddisk to 30gb, mk3006gal not mk2006gal as what i've posted. hope it would be succesful.

i have a follow-up question. according to the manual of the hd5, don't format the player using windows. i'm planning to use the original HD of my hd5 as a removable drive in my pc. can i still put it back in my hd5? can the player still be able to read the hardisk if it's formatted in windows?

If you format the old drive with Windows, in a different format than the HD5 would have used then no the HD5 won't be able to use that drive again until you reformat it with the HD5. That is it will work again, but you'll have to format it in the HD5 for you to do so.

[superbon]

If you format the old drive with Windows, in a different format than the HD5 would have used then no the HD5 won't be able to use that drive again until you reformat it with the HD5. That is it will work again, but you'll have to format it in the HD5 for you to do so.

will the hd5 automatically formats the windows formatted drive once i put back the old drive?

[MDX-400]

will the hd5 automatically formats the windows formatted drive once i put back the old drive?

Not automatically. You have to go to Format and Initialise HDD in the menu (if it's the same procedure on the HD5 as it is on the HD3). If you don't do that, you will likely get the "database not found" error on the screen.

[superbon]

thanks for the info

[Fishos]

Hello, does anyone knows if there are any 60GB which can fit the HD5?

[allhands]

You do not need to worry about the firmware. The hard drive is automatically initialised after it is inserted and the battery reconnected.

I'm really interested in upgrading my hdd for my HD5 from 20gb to 40gb.

Let me get this straight, so if I buy the Toshiba MK4007GAL and hook it up to my HD5 and start it up, I don't have to worry about re-installing the firmware or formatting the drive?

I'm just concerned because if I need to format the drive before i install it in my HD5 I need to know that.

Thanks!

Edited February 11, 2007 by allhands

[allhands]

Also, would the Toshiba MK4006GAL 40 GB drive work instead of a Toshiba MK4007GAL 40 GB?

EDIT:

Nevermind, I just ordered the Toshiba MK4007GAL 40GB drive for my HD5. It was really hard to find and cost me $130.

It should be here within the week. I'll let you know if it works in my HD5. *crosses fingers*

Edited February 11, 2007 by allhands

[MDX-400]

Also, would the Toshiba MK4006GAL 40 GB drive work instead of a Toshiba MK4007GAL 40 GB?

EDIT:

Nevermind, I just ordered the Toshiba MK4007GAL 40GB drive for my HD5. It was really hard to find and cost me $130.

It should be here within the week. I'll let you know if it works in my HD5. *crosses fingers*

I don't think there is a MK4006GAL is there? I only see a MK4006GAH and that drive is 8mm high and would not fit. The MK4007GAL was the right choice.

[superbon]

Hi guys.. i was able to upgrade my hd5 to 30gb. I can't find a 40gb that's why i decided to get the 30gb for less than 50 USD.

I had difficulties pulling it out of its case & made me think of not upgrading it anymore but since I already bought the HD, I decided to continue doing it. I even broke a lock on the top plastic part where the cover of the usb resides. It looks fine but you can now pull it up by your fingers. You might encounter problems on how to remove the hardisk but I'm sure you'll find your way through it. Just be careful not to loose the tiny screws.

When I turned on the player, it already shows the main menu but still I formatted it using windows and it works! the manual says that ou should not format your player using windows but I didn't encountered any problems. Just be sure to format it in fat32.

[Guest Stuge]

Hi guys.. i was able to upgrade my hd5 to 30gb. I can't find a 40gb that's why i decided to get the 30gb for less than 50 USD.

I had difficulties pulling it out of its case & made me think of not upgrading it anymore but since I already bought the HD, I decided to continue doing it. I even broke a lock on the top plastic part where the cover of the usb resides. It looks fine but you can now pull it up by your fingers. You might encounter problems on how to remove the hardisk but I'm sure you'll find your way through it. Just be careful not to loose the tiny screws.

When I turned on the player, it already shows the main menu but still I formatted it using windows and it works! the manual says that ou should not format your player using windows but I didn't encountered any problems. Just be sure to format it in fat32.

Did you refer the service manual of HD5 before opening it ?

[superbon]

That's my mistake.. I didn't refer to it I used the one posted in the site w/ pictures on how to open it as a reference

[allhands]

Hi guys.. i was able to upgrade my hd5 to 30gb. I can't find a 40gb that's why i decided to get the 30gb for less than 50 USD.

I had difficulties pulling it out of its case & made me think of not upgrading it anymore but since I already bought the HD, I decided to continue doing it. I even broke a lock on the top plastic part where the cover of the usb resides. It looks fine but you can now pull it up by your fingers. You might encounter problems on how to remove the hardisk but I'm sure you'll find your way through it. Just be careful not to loose the tiny screws.

When I turned on the player, it already shows the main menu but still I formatted it using windows and it works! the manual says that ou should not format your player using windows but I didn't encountered any problems. Just be sure to format it in fat32.

I'm still confused on how the formatting works...

Tell me if I'm understanding this right:

Once I install the new 40gb hdd I just need to turn on the power of the mp3 player (without it being plugged into my computer) and on the main screen I can format it by using the firmware on the mp3 player?

Is that right?

OR

Do I need to format the drive BEFORE I install it into the mp3 player since the drive is brand new?

ALSO:

TO SUPERBON: you didn't by chance take any pictures while you had it apart, did you? Those could come in handy for when I'm upgrading mine.

Thanks!

Edited February 13, 2007 by allhands

[superbon]

allhands: i wasn't able to take pictures of it but here's the link that I followed http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?...pic=627&hl=

and regarding the formatting of the HD, i've already asked that before and someone told me that the player will automatically be formatted by the player. I didn't format my bnew HD in windows b/c it might not be detected by the player so when i'm done replacing the HD, i just powered on the player & the menu appeared right away w/o any formatting process by the player

Edited February 14, 2007 by superbon

[allhands]

allhands: i wasn't able to take pictures of it but here's the link that I followed http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?...pic=627&hl=

and regarding the formatting of the HD, i've already asked that before and someone told me that the player will automatically be formatted by the player. I didn't format my bnew HD in windows b/c it might not be detected by the player so when i'm done replacing the HD, i just powered on the player & the menu appeared right away w/o any formatting process by the player

Thanks! This is really helpful!

I'll keep you all updated on whether or not the 40gb upgrade works!

[allhands]

Here is an update on upgrading the HD5 to 40GB:

http://www.atraclife.com/forums/index.php?...st=0#entry20810