serendipitously, i bought the wrong adapter for something i needed years and years ago, and it so happened to be the one necessary to install CF cards in this model of iPod
and, from another project, i had a 64gb CF card that didn't work as a hard drive replacement for a Q1 Ultra
so, by sheer luck, the same day the hard drive in my iPod died, i had all the parts to replace it
@mavica_again I keep thinking I should start collecting scrap metal, like, old snapped bolts and screws, and start hot-gluing them into the vast hollow shells of my modern electronics just to make them feel heavier. So many mice and game controllers that might actually feel like they were worth their sticker prices.
@mavica_again Everything’s coming up Milhouse!!
and somehow, the drive actually gasped back to life while i had it open (iPod trepanation?), long enough for me to back up all 1536 songs in it onto the new card!