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Handhelds Hardware

Zen And The Art of Nomad Hacking 76

Posted by timothy from the does-this-have-the-buddha-nature dept.
securitas writes "ExtremeTech just published a step-by-step how-to guide on hacking the Nomad Zen and Nomad Jukebox to upgrade the hard drive in each type of MP3 player. So if a 60 GB hard disk isn't big enough for you (20 GB on the older models) here's how to mod your Nomad."
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Zen And The Art of Nomad Hacking More

Zen And The Art of Nomad Hacking

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  • Tools you'll need: (Score:5, Funny)

    by 1s44c ( 552956 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @08:36AM (#6423384)
    Tools you'll need:

    Small Phillips-head screwdriver
    Flat-head jeweler's screwdriver
    A small finger bowl (a place to put the tiny screws while you're working)
    A clean table with good illumination so you can see what you're doing.
    A new 2.5" slim laptop hard-drive (9.5mm high).


    Enough cash to buy a new one once you f**k up the LCD screen.
    • Feh. The LCD screen is not particularly impressive. Ancient Palms had better screens. I disliked the Zen enough to return mine to the store. Not enough codec support, not enough metadata support, crappy ass program to put music onboard, and a lousy UI.

      Maybe the iPod is better, but having done my own work on mp3 players (canceled before production, the bastards) I have very high expectations.
    • that's why you gotta be carefull.
  • Think there's any way to hook my ten disk RAID array up to one of these suckers? ;)
  • Now I don't have to open my own NJ3 just to see what's inside. I for some strange reason got a compulsion to take apart and put back together everything electronic I have, but now urge is at least partially quenched. Goot thing too, as the damn thing is expensive...

  • What would (Score:5, Interesting)

    by frodo from middle ea ( 602941 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @08:47AM (#6423404) Homepage
    be really cool, is if some one hacks Nomad Zen/ iPod so that they can use 3rd party rechargable batteries once the inbuild ones expire.
    As I understand the current models can't be replaced once the battery expires in 2-3 years.
    And when I spend > 400$ for anything I expect them to last for quite some time.

    • Re:What would (Score:3, Informative)

      by sklender ( 576288 )
      There are do-it-yourself replacement batteries for the iPod. For example, the iPod 1500mAh Replacement Internal Battery Kit [pdasmart.com] costs around $60 online.

      And according to the site, they'll replace your battery via a mail-in for an additional $9 fee if you are uncomfortable cracking open your case.

      I've not had to replace mine yet, but knowing this made the original decision to purchase an iPod easier. BTW, I do not work for or know anyone at PDASmart.com -- just passing along something I ran across in researc

    • Re:What would (Score:4, Informative)

      by 2nd Post! ( 213333 ) <gundbear@p[ ]ell.net ['acb' in gap]> on Saturday July 12, 2003 @10:00AM (#6423627) Homepage
      Um, why can't they be replaced?

      If an iPod can be disassembled, then the iPod's battery can be replaced...? Yes?
      • I assume that the battery is a proprietary size and shape, manufactured specifically for the model (yeah, it *is* a dumb approach - but it stops you buying the bastard batteries from anyone else). So when the manufacturer stops supporting it a couple of years down the line, you can't get a new battery, no matter how l33t your dismantling skills are. Going right off-topic, has anyone seen or used the XClef [xclef.com] players? There's only one place in the UK selling them, but the price is excellent and they seem to
    • I'm not familiar with what batteries it uses, but aren't there similar batteries that could be bought? I think Digikey sticks a boggling array of batteries, there has to be one that's close enough.

      The market for these things isn't big enough to justify a new custom proprietary battery type, is it?

  • Gimme that screwdriver (Score:5, Funny)

    by Faust7 ( 314817 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @08:51AM (#6423414) Homepage
    We were careful. We took our time. And we still damaged the unit.

    Ah, but damaging is part of the fun. It's all about taking an electronic device and turning it into something totally unrecognizable that does something totally different. For example, I modded my Xbox to play Commodore 64 games, my digital clock to be a sundial, my microwave to be an anti-salesman irradiation device, and my toaster to be a sexual aid.

  • The answer: (Score:4, Funny)

    by bj8rn ( 583532 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @08:57AM (#6423433)
    from the does-this-have-the-buddha-nature dept

    Mu.

  • If you don't feel comfortable opening up a small device like an MP3 player, or don't have a burning need for more space on your Nomad, do NOT attempt these procedures.

    WTF? He must be a /. newbie to post somthing that has that kind of disclaimer.

    • Its interesting however, that... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by gotr00t ( 563828 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @09:57AM (#6423618) Journal
      With the Nomad Zen and all its empty spaces and much larger volume and mass, it seems to be much easier to damage than the Apple iPod, which is twice as light, much smaller, and has a lot less empty space.

      I've seen people take apart their iPods with nothing more than a thin, stiff, flat piece of plastic, and putting it back together totally unscathed. Heck, I've even heard of people accidently putting their iPods in the washing machine and then the drier and still turning out fine after leaving it out to dry for a few hours.

      So, this should say something about the quality of the devices. Sure, the iPod is more expensive and holds a lot less (10 gb for about $300 compared to 20gb for the same price), but in my opinion, its built a lot better than Creative's player, Nomad Zen, as can be compared from the article above, and this one [ipodding.com]

      • I was waiting for an iPod post, hehe.

        When I bought my Zen, it was $250 after rebate. This was in November. The 20 GB iPod was at cheapest $450. That made the decision for me right there, as I'm a poor college grad student. There's no doubt the iPod is a better device, but when you look at the price difference, it becomes a much tougher decision.

        All that said, I'm suprised modding the Zen has shown up as a /. article. It's a really simple procedure, although I imagine it might be scary to people who haven'
        • Ipod is the sexy devide but my creative nomad jb 3 has awesome sound quality, 4 channel output, line/mic/fm/optical recording and all that

          the crapitative software sucks but try Notmad explorer...much easier and I think you will be pleased with your machine


  • FYI, the title is referencing a classic book:
    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
    • probably...
      but it also could be referencing any of the myriad of self-help books with similar titles:
      amazon search: zen art
      zen and the art of making a living
      zen and the art of writing
      zen and the art of managing up
      zen and the art of archery
      zen and the art of falling in love
      zen and the art of cooking
      zen and the art of stand up comedy ...

      I kinda like the titles better than "... for dummies"

  • So they changed the drive? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by codework ( 252361 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @09:05AM (#6423452) Homepage
    Hardly a hack is it?

    Open device.
    Change drive.
    Close device.
    Reload software.

    Wow! And they still bust the screen..
    • This gives me motivation to create and post my "hack" of installing Slackware on my CDROM-less and floppy-less ThinkPad.

      Remove drive.
      Connect to desktop via IDE converter kit ($5 on eBay)
      Install OS.
      Replace drive in laptop.
      Screw it back up.

      I was a hardware hacker without even realizing it!

  • Hacking nomads? (Score:3, Funny)

    by koi88 ( 640490 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @09:19AM (#6423492)
    Why do we have to hack nomads? By hand?
    Doesn't Pentagon have bombs and missiles that do this job much better?
  • Is there still a performance hit? I have one of the older ones and the problem with them is the way files are accessed. There's no file system per se. So if you add a bigger drive and load it up with files, it will take forever to start up each time as it "prepares the library", i.e., builds a list of files from scratch.
    • I have had an NJB1 and now I've got a NJB3... the first one was a royal pain in the ass... the new one is a friggin' dream. Maybe that's the business strategy... release something totally new but with a shitty UI and file system... upgrade that and charge more! Worked on me... but seriously... the NJB3 is amazing. I've got 20/40 gigs taken up and I can queue every single song, HTTP stream, record in (even optical line-in!). And it has a snappy UI...

  • Surgical Procedures (Score:3, Funny)

    by Ateryx ( 682778 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @10:08AM (#6423645)
    Brain surgery looks easy when broken down into little steps. That still doesn't mean everyone can do it... well.

    "...it's a good idea to remove the battery so that the patient doesn't inadvertently "wake up" in the middle of the operation."

    -Brad

  • Woo, that looks hard. (Score:4, Funny)

    by mrseigen ( 518390 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @10:10AM (#6423657) Homepage Journal
    So they overtightened a couple of screws and bolloxed the LCD screen. Big deal. I'm more intrigued by the paragraph on how to disconnect the IDE data cable from the back of the disk. ExtremeTech, indeed.
  • Anyone know if this would work for the Jukebox 2? I've got the 10gb, and wouldn't mind more space. I don't think there are any major differences between the Jukebox 2 and 3.

    • Re:Nomad Jukebox 2 ? (Score:3, Informative)

      by u38cg ( 607297 )
      Yep, similar approach. The forums at Creative's site (at least the European ones) are (or were, it's a while since I frequented them) quite helpful, and Creative turn a blind eye to this kind of discussion, beyond pointing out what nasty things it does to your warranty (pah). See also Nomadness.net [nomadness.net] for more.

  • And for those of us with an Archos... (Score:4, Informative)

    by Cyno01 ( 573917 ) <Cyno01@hotmail.com> on Saturday July 12, 2003 @11:18AM (#6423931) Homepage
    Here's a mod [mctubster.com] for the Archos Jukebox [archos.com]. It seems to be the same basic idea, and is probably doable with any HD based MP3 player. Also for archos owners who may not have it yet, Rockbox [rockbox.haxx.se] is a great replacement for the crappy firmware that came with the thing.

  • Track Limits (Score:4, Informative)

    by Madeleine Williams ( 445015 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @11:31AM (#6423976)
    A warning to wannabe upgraders: all of Creative's players have a limit on the number of tracks you can load onto the player. (The limit isn't actually a fixed number, but a problem arising out of the space allowable for file tag data. If you have a lot of tag data in your files, you'll hit the limit a lot sooner than someone who has barely any tag data.) The Nomad Jukebox 3 and the original Zens both topped out at around 9,000 - 10,000 tracks. The new 60GB Zens have upped the limit to around 16,000 tracks. A future firmware upgrade is rumored to give the older players the same limit as the new Zen, but there is no ETA yet for that upgrade.

  • Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @11:34AM (#6423989)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Has anybody had any success using the USB transfer on NetMD mini disc players?

    I've got a Sony one, and have been trying on and off to find something that allows me to use it under Linux, instead of having to either use a line, or a Windows box, but can't find anything but early development libraries.

  • don't throw away your PC... (Score:4, Informative)

    by joebeone ( 620917 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @01:00PM (#6424336) Homepage

    There's no Mac support for the higher-capacity Nomad products due to a tiff between Creative Labs and Apple people... and it all started going sour right around the date of release for the iPod. Anyway, if you are a OS X nerd that buys one of these things myself [berkeley.edu] and a few others are trying to get either Gnomad2 [sf.net] or GnomeDAP [demon.co.uk] up and running under Gnome 2.0 [gnome.org] using libnjb [sourceforge.net] (current cvs [sourceforge.net]). Wish us luck...
  • You can buy a pre-modded one on ebay [ebay.com] that still has a 90-day warranty (from the shop that sells them) and 1 year warranty (from Creative).

    • This is very suspicious. Unless there is an RMA agreement between Creative and Avant-Tech, opening the case by anyone will void the warranty. Period. The site says: Items are also warranted ... for 1 year by Creative ... items outside our 90-day guarantee should be sent to Creative for service.
      Creative Zens only have a 3-month warranty [creative.com]. Creative's own customers don't even get a one-year warranty!
  • How about a hack to change the proprietary file system on these things. You need third party software to access your files. There are some open tools you can use, but not without a time investment. Classic case of me not doing my research before buying; I'd gladly pay the extra $200 for an ipod now. And I'll never buy anything at CompUSA again...15% restocking fee!?

    On the other hand, if you're only using windows, the nomad zen rocks. I highly recommend red chair software's notmad explorer over the in
  • if someone could show how to install Ogg Vorbis support in the Nomad. Or better, support for MP3 and ogg.
  • Changing the size of the hard drive? Isn't 20 GB or 40GB enough?

    Aren't you ever getting home again, to change some musics? Are you gonna listen them all? Admit it, with a 20 GB hard drive, will put every mp3 you have there, to show your friends. And even the ones you don't like.

    20 GB is far more than you'll need. You don't like music that much do you... Come on, admit it!

    • Actually, I have quite a bit more than 20GB of music (currently just over 30GB, all ripped from my own CD collection). And if I'm given the choice, I'd much rather carry it all with me just to avoid the hassle of having to decide what I'm likely to want to listen to or not listen to on any given trip. The extra disk space is insurance against the hassle of ever having to shuttle items in and out.
  • that's why it is called the Nomad, and not the NoMOD hehe...

  • You do know that (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Colin Smith ( 2679 ) on Saturday July 12, 2003 @03:49PM (#6424969)
    Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance had absolutely nothing to do with motorcycles?

    Sometimes you can almost hear the whoosh as it passes overs someone's head...

    • ZatAoMM actually does talk about motorcycle maintenance, if only elliptically. In this reader's estimation it also contains a lot of mystical hot air. I made myself read it after many years of wondering why so many people find it a life-changing book. I'm still wondering.
  • The Total Drive Space figure should be close to the actual capacity of the drive, but will be slightly less. For example, on the Nomad Zen where we went from a 20GB to a 30GB drive, the Nomad sees it as having 28,595GB.

    The 2 sentences and no explanation why it's that way, is enough indication what level of reader this article is aiming at.
  • That's what I wanna know... I wanna pick up one of the cheapy 5 giggers on the used market, and then pop in an 80gig monster drive and put my whole CD collection on it. No muss, no fuss, no expensive mess. (There's no way on this little green planet of clocks that I'm going to spend $400 on an MP3 player...) RS

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