Recently my beloved 4th gen. 40 GB iPod crashed beyond repair. It was making repetitive clicking sounds and showing my the "sad iPod" icon. So, I took it to the "Genius Bar" at the Apple Store at U. Village for a diagnosis. They told me (without even opening it up) that the hard drive was fried and that for $250, I could get a replacement refurbished model. (which by the way, is the same price as a new 4 GB Nano iPod). I despaired over it and went back and forth about getting a Nano for the $250, but 4 GB seemed to be woefully inadequate for my music collection. So, I went online to see if there were any non-Apple repair options. That's when I found TechRestore.com. For the same price that Apple was going to charge me for a re-furbished 40 GB drive, TechRestore could upgrade my hard drive to 60 GB as well as upgrade my battery, including next day shipping!! So, I shipped my iPod there. They promptly gave me a call and told me that it wasn't even the hard drive that was bad, it was the hard drive cable (connects the hard drive to the board), which could be fixed for $69! I decided not to upgrade the hard drive and just get the cable fixed and battery upgraded, which ended up being around $100. I'm thrilled to have my iPod back, but completely irritated that Apple doesn't even have an option to check to see if it's the cable. Yay techrestore.com!!
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