How To Get A 4GB Microdrive For $299?

[Janak Parekh]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1023&message=7308713' target='_blank'>http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/r...message=7308713</a><br /><br /></div>"As late as two days ago, the Muvo2 4gb coming out of Creative Labs own online shopping are not soldered. This rumor has been floating around. As of now, it is unsubstantiated by any individual, even anecdotally. Here's how to downgrade it to 1gb and end up with a 4gb MD and a very nice 1gb MP3 player for the price of the Muvo2 (Currently $299) and whatever you paid for your 1gb MD. Please be aware that there are reports that it will not work with a solid state CF. I have not independently confirmed this."<br /><br />8O A way to get a 4GB CF Microdrive for only $299!? Mind you, this is totally at your own risk, but it's interesting to see that one can do this. I'm also curious as to how long this "workaround" will be possible...

[that_kid]

Time to go shopping :D

[powder2000]

It says to format in your camera. Would the same apply to a pocket pc with format utilities? Pretty cool hack.

[Falstaff]

bradolson in the Just Chattin' forum posted this link at Amazon. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0001BXCFS/ref%3Dnosim/101081219792-20/102-2159583-1647315) I think it's the same device, but it is listed as $199, though it isn't in stock.

[opus]

$299 hell, Buy.com has it for $198.82 (http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90130892&loc=111&sp=1)! 8O

-- Opus

[tregnier]

Why go for 4gb when you can get 40gb with the following for $60 more?

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90127419

[klinux]

Why get a 40Gb when you can buy 2 x 200GB IDE HD for the same price?

You are comparing apples and oranges.

People like this deal becuse getting a 4G microdrive would otherwise cost a lot more.

[Icebaron]

Why go for 4gb when you can get 40gb with the following for $60 more?

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90127419

Show me a slot on my PPC I can plug an IDE drive into and your argument might have some value.

[tregnier]

I thought I was comparing a 4gb mp3 player to a 40gb mp3 player.

[mjaffe]

The new Apple mini Ipod has a 4 gig drive also...It is $250. They are being purchased to get the cards out also.
M

[Icebaron]

I thought I was comparing a 4gb mp3 player to a 40gb mp3 player.

And what exactly does that have to do with a topic that's about extracting a low-cost 4gb microdrive for use in our PDAs? Did you even bother to READ the post?

[Steven Cedrone]

All right...

Let's get back on topic please...

Steven Cedrone
Community Moderator

[wigglesworth]

Icebaron Wrote:
And what exactly does that have to do with a topic that's about extracting a low-cost 4gb microdrive for use in our PDAs? Did you even bother to READ the post?

Not to be rude Icebaron, but it sounds like he made a simple mistakeand admited it.

tregnier wrote:
I thought I was comparing a 4gb mp3 player to a 40gb mp3 player.

[Steven Cedrone]

Not to be rude Icebaron, but it sounds like he made a simple mistakeand admited it.

Yes, now let's get back on topic...

Steven Cedrone
Community Moderator

[DrtyBlvd]

:lol: Did someone mention getting back on topic?

I'm astonished. And a bit puzzled too - What sort of price are the manufacturers obtaining 4GB drives at to sell at this price point, given that all that is probably missing is the shrink wrap logo on the case of the card??

Or is there more to it than that?

Given that the 1GB IBM is selling for more than the mp3 player, a Hitachi version slighlty cheaper, is it being made by someone else do we think? Some compromise in quality given it's intended usage?

*sigh* Makes my head, and wallet, hurt. If people stopped messing about with these things, I'd be richer. Now I have to go buy an mp3 player expressly to try not to break it whilst taking it to bits... I tell you, it's enough to drive a man to drink. :lol:

[bucho]

What sort of price are the manufacturers obtaining 4GB drives at to sell at this price point...
Good question... obviously the price drops when you deal with large quantities. My question is why can't HP or the other PocketPC manufacturers do the same thing?... Either integrate it or bundle an external card with the product... If HP can get such low price as a manufacturer, then they can pass it on to the customer and benefit from increased sales... Granted not everybody that buys PocketPC wants this much storage, but I would guess HP would be able to sell this bundle in similar quantities as the MuVo 4GB player.

[sstrunks84]

Has anybody actually tried this yet? If so, how does this affect the pocket pc's battery life? Does it consume as much energy as the previous microdrives or more?

[kagayaki1]

Until I see pictures and a detailed process from someone with deeper wallets than myself, there's no reason to jump to conclusions and assume this will work.

Logic tells me yes, but experience tells me no.

Pictures anyone?

[mjnh]

Please find the pictures here:

http://www.andymack.com/mylog/

Scroll down on the page a bit, it was 08.01.04 post.

[JustinGTP]

Thanks to mjnh,

I know understand this process. Will this fit in a CF slot and work with a CF enabled ppc? Do you need to format this card in a CF slot in a camera? Can I format it on my 2215? Does the iPod come apart and have the same type of drive?

thanks!

-Justin.

[jaja_75]

Why go for 4gb when you can get 40gb with the following for $60 more?

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=90127419

Show me a slot on my PPC I can plug an IDE drive into and your argument might have some value.

It's out of subject :( , but FYI a USB Host port of the Mitac Mio 558

http://www.mobile01.com/iopiop/mio558/bottom.JPG

Another USB Host port of the Toshiba e850 (e750, ...)
http://www.anypakusa.com/PPC/powerPc.htm

[maikii]

I'd hate to receive a nice new portable music player and then break it apart, due to something someone posted in an Internet discussion group.

I would guess that the price of the microdrives will soon be going down substantially, and that you will be able to buy one for less than $199, without having to break open a new music player.

Looks like a nice music player though. I'm tempted to get one. Better to wait a while though, as they are so new, so the bugs can be ironed out, more similar models will be available from different companies, etc.

As someone mentioned in another thread, these micro HDs can have more problems than CF. Slower speed, more things can go wrong, etc. CF prices have dropped much lower recently. I just looked at pricewatch.com, and you can buy a 2.2G CF card for $182, free shipping.

[juice_03]

does anyone kno of any other mp3 players that use microdrives for the storage?what kind of storage do the big like 40gb mp3 players use?

[ctmagnus]

what kind of storage do the big like 40gb mp3 players use?

Generally 2.5" harddrives, afaik. Newer iPods use slightly smaller harddrives (again, afaik), but they are still nowhere near as small as these cards.

[juice_03]

this is pretty dopey fresh but i'd have to sell my ambicom CF wi-fi and buy a sandisk :roll: SD wi-fi card is there anyone else that make SD wi-fi other than sandisk :roll: ?

p.s. can you tell that ive had bad experences with sandisk

[ADBrown]

I just looked at pricewatch.com, and you can buy a 2.2G CF card for $182, free shipping.

That's a microdrive too. A 2.0 GB solid-state CF card costs $415.

[aroma]

Does anyone know where you can actually buy this yet? Everywhere I checked says it's not in stock yet, but obviously people have purchased one somewhere...

- Aaron

[tsb_hcy]

I just checked my area of Taiwan, looks like they are in stock so hopefully I'll have it before the weekend.

EDIT- It's the 1.5GB version. :( Gonna have to order from the US and wait like the rest of you. :?

[tsb_hcy]

Just ordered mine. :mrgreen:

This should be good for VGA movies on my e805. 0X

[soda97]

so is this confirm for pda??
can i format the card on the pda or laptop??
and i heard the new ones that are coming out
will be soldered
so can we tell the difference?

[tsb_hcy]

There has been no confirmation that the new units will have soldered MD's, and the only mention of this said a protective box had been soldered around the MD, not the MD itself. It would still be easy to extract the MD if this is the case. Either way I have USB host support so I'll still make good use of it has a portable HD and MP3 player if all else fails. Reportedly, the original units had "Hard Drive by Hitachi" on the back and the newer ones have "Powered by Hitachi" on the back. You can format the MD in any comaptible device from what I've read, but I'm still waiting for mine to arrive. Either way, you can't be far froma camera store.

[soda97]

thanks for your answer
gonna be lotz of gigz on my pda
:D :D

[DrtyBlvd]

...and a shed-load of Pics on my Sony:)

[DrtyBlvd]

MuVo 2 arrived at 1528hrs
4Gb MD removed and installed into Sony F828 at 1540hrs.

Operation involved removal of 8 screws, and is simple! I can't see them 'soldering' the MD to the board, as it must be simpler and cheaper to install a ribbon connection for all sorts of reasons...

Camera 'reformatted' it in seconds, and it's working like a charm.

Capacity? 1041 8M pictures 8O 3hrs 7m movie or 52mins at the max 8O

One caveat I would offer though - comparing the 4 to the 1, the hole on the back that has a warning not to be covered, is in a different place; my 1G's hole is at the other end to the pins - the 4G is at the same end...

Also, it takes what seems to be a few more seconds for the camera to start up, and also to write an image - still quicker than the DSC85, but slower than with the 1G - to be expected I guess? Certainly not a problem for me anyways:)
*Edit* It only takes longer to start up the first time after the MD is placed in the camera - susequent starts are as fast as normal

The use in the PPC is fine too, didn't notice any difference although I'm guessing there must be. Im astonished at the potential now that I have it...camera or PPC...camera or PPC...camera or PPC...

I'm off to buy shares in Creative Labs before the rush hits... :D

:beer:

[DrtyBlvd]

I'd hate to receive a nice new portable music player and then break it apart, due to something someone posted in an Internet discussion group.

I would guess that the price of the microdrives will soon be going down substantially, and that you will be able to buy one for less than $199, without having to break open a new music player.

Looks like a nice music player though. I'm tempted to get one. Better to wait a while though, as they are so new, so the bugs can be ironed out, more similar models will be available from different companies, etc.

As someone mentioned in another thread, these micro HDs can have more problems than CF. Slower speed, more things can go wrong, etc. CF prices have dropped much lower recently. I just looked at pricewatch.com, and you can buy a 2.2G CF card for $182, free shipping.

I can see prices dropping, sure - but for a 4G? Would still be expensive; it actually IS a nice player - I was surprised at how small it is compared to my iPod - it's a bit plasticky in construction though, not that that's a problem.

I've been using MD's for years now with no problems at all - touch wood;)

[tsb_hcy]

Some good pics

http://www.yoursphotographer.com/microdrive/microdrive.html

ATTENTION:

Ghost the original MD and don't update the firmware. You can put the ghosted image on the replacment card and ANY CF card will work then. If you update the firmware and don't ghost the original MD you can only use MD's or certain solid state cards such as the SanDisk 12X 512 MB card as a replacement.

[aroma]

So back to my original question, were are these being purchased from? I'm apparently not checking the right channels, because I haven't been able to find these in stock anywhere, with many locations saying they aren't released yet...

[DrtyBlvd]

In the UK, they are at most online 'regular' places - dabs.com, Amazon - www.kelkoo.co.uk / .com(?) may assist further.

[tsb_hcy]

From some forum:

"Oh boy. I received my Muvo2 today, and wanted to take a look if the drive was still removable. There has been discussion that at some point the drives will become non-removable or unusable in another device. Well, our worst fears have come true, and worse. I opened up the outer case with no trouble. I then carefully removed the 4 screws from the plate. Suddenly, a small trail of smoke started drifting up from underneath the plate. I moved in close to see what was happening. I then realized the smoke was due to a small vial of acid that was released on top of the microdrive. It had already begun melting it's way through the drive, rendering it useless. Before I could back away from the Muvo2, a large steel bolt sprang out from under the plate as well, lodging in my forehead! I don't know about you guys, but I don't think this is worth all this."



















It had you for awhile. ;)

[DrtyBlvd]

I hope yours' arrives soon for all our sakes :lol:

[tsb_hcy]

Either way I'll still be happy. I got the presentation pack for my e805 as well so I can still use it as a MP3 player and a portable HD if all else fails. I'll just have to stick with 2 GB on the PPC then. I could always get one locally for $120US more too. I should buy a bunch even if they are modified and sell them locally. I could undercut $50 and still make a nice profit on each unit. If I would have seen this deal earlier I would have bought three atleast so I could get my unit and MD for free by selling the cards.

I hope I can use my PQI 512 MB CF card in the MuVo2 though since it isn't getting any use now and 4 GB is better than 2. :D

[juice_03]

oh yea oh yea oh yea oh yea oh yea oh yea oh yea oh yea :lol: im gettin mine
in a week I paid 260 on ebay cuz every other place in the US is either sold out or it isnt there yet

[tsb_hcy]

Man, whoever let one go for $260 is an idiot. They could get $400 just for the MD. Lucky you! :D

[soda97]

so what about the ipod mini
is it confirm yet??

[tsb_hcy]

I think the iPOD drive is not in a jacket, so it would be worthless outside the player. BUT, I haven't seen pics yet.

[Pat Logsdon]

I'm 99.9% sure that the memory in the mini is the new 1" Hitachi hdd, which would render it useless for salvage.

[soda97]

what about the pre-order one
or the one that coming out on feb. 14
is it still gonna be removable??

[tsb_hcy]

I'm 99.9% sure that the memory in the mini is the new 1" Hitachi hdd, which would render it useless for salvage.

It's the same drive as the MuVo2, but the iPOD mini doesn't keep the traditional jacket. The drive is bare from what I've heard. The MuVo2 MD is still in the jacket just like the retail version.

soda97 - As the Magic 8 Ball would say, "All signs point to yes."

Someone just received some from Creative today that were still removable.

[soda97]

if someone selling me for 270$
is it worth it
or i should wait??

[tsb_hcy]

if someone selling me for 270$
is it worth it
or i should wait??

Why not, you can take out the MD and sell it on Yahoo or Ebay for over $300 and buy a cheaper one for yourself if you need to. Where I live I could get $400 for the MD so I'd take it for sure. All the local places have my number here, so I hope to get a handful when they arrive. I hope to work it out so I get 2 or 3 for free.

[soda97]

i don't intend to sell it
it's for my own use
4GB is a lot of space
and the cheapest can get for now
for my pda without any extra thingiez

[juice_03]

:?:ok 1 is it possible to format this with a CF card reader?
:?: and 2 is there a way to make the micro drive your primary memory?

[juice_03]

yea oh yea got mine today and canibalized it and got my micro drive formated it on my pc using my usb card reader put it in my PPC and behold I have 4gbs of memory yay yay :lol: again 4gigs :jawdrop:

[JustinGTP]

yea oh yea got mine today and canibalized it and got my micro drive formated it on my pc using my usb card reader put it in my PPC and behold I have 4gbs of memory yay yay :lol: again 4gigs :jawdrop:

So what program did you use to reformat it? And you're telling me this works! This is amazing!

-Justin.

[The PocketTV Team]

Actually the muvo2 4GB can be found for about $200 + shipping on many web retailers.

Looks like many people are taking advantage of this incredible deal to get their 4GB Microdrive: it's backordered everywhere.

If you look for "Hitachi 4GB Microdrive" on ebay, you'll find many and they all come from canibalized muvo2 and most of them sell for $300+. People make a few bucks while selling at less than the official price (about $489).

And ou can sell the disk-less muvo2 on ebay for $50, so the total price for the 4GB Microdrive is about $150.

[Copy]

Actually the muvo2 4GB can be found for about $200 + shipping on many web retailers.

Looks like many people are taking advantage of this incredible deal to get their 4GB Microdrive: it's backordered everywhere.

If you look for "Hitachi 4GB Microdrive" on ebay, you'll find many and they all come from canibalized muvo2 and most of them sell for $300+. People make a few bucks while selling at less than the official price (about $489).

And ou can sell the disk-less muvo2 on ebay for $50, so the total price for the 4GB Microdrive is about $150.

Do you have any example of websites who sell the muvo² for about 200$ ?

I live in Europe (France) and i'm in interested in buying this product ;)

PS : Does ALL microdrive inside muvo² can be used with a PDA ? (ie E800)

[The PocketTV Team]

Do you have any example of websites who sell the muvo² for about 200$ ?

I live in Europe (France) and i'm in interested in buying this product ;)

PS : Does ALL microdrive inside muvo² can be used with a PDA ? (ie E800)

http://search.shopping.yahoo.com/search?p=muvo2+4GB&&fr=ush-shopping&cop=mss&__yltc=s:2766679,d:14489115,sec:srchtab,slk:products,k:muvo2+4GB

http://shop.bizrate.com/buy/superfind__cat_id--1,keyword--muvo2+4GB,search_box--1.html

I think yes, all will work.

You need to reformat the Microdrives. There are several software tools to do that.

Once re-formatted (I think, with FAT16 filesystem) they should work with any PDA and digital camera.

[esko]

The PocketTV Team, what kind of software would you use to format the card? How about Flash Format?

And are you sure it's supposed to be formatted with the FAT16 and not the FAT32 filesystem?

[The PocketTV Team]

Windows XP is capable of formatting Microdrives in FAT and FAT32 format when the Microdrive is in a card reader.

FAT32 works with Pocket PC's and Digital cameras.

There are other tools to format CF cards and Microdrives on a Pocket PC. Try StorageTools, Pocket Mechanics, Flash Format, and there are certainely more.

[kao123]

I can confirm that it works a treat, I opened mine up and removed the 4gb drive and replaced it with my 1Gb, the whole procedure took about 10 minutes. The 1Gb drive works in the muvo once you reload the firmware.
My iPAQ 2210 sees the drive as 3.86Gb, I formatted it on my laptop via pcmcia adapter using fat32. The only issue I have is the fact that the 4gb drive doesn't have the "lip" that the 1gb microdrive has to enable me to easily remove it from the iPAQ .... but I can live with this, after all I now have 4gb free space or there abouts :D
oh and the 4gb card works in my Canon S50 as well :D

[The PocketTV Team]

> The only issue I have is the fact that the 4gb drive doesn't have the "lip" that the 1gb microdrive has to enable me to easily remove it from the iPAQ ....

Just stick a piece of tape on the back of the microdrive, and pull the tape to extract the Microdrive from the device :)

[kao123]

> The only issue I have is the fact that the 4gb drive doesn't have the "lip" that the 1gb microdrive has to enable me to easily remove it from the iPAQ ....

Just stick a piece of tape on the back of the microdrive, and pull the tape to extract the Microdrive from the device :)

Now why didn't I think of that, cheers now I have no complaints at all with it :D

[Falstaff]

I was looking around for it today, and I only found it in stock at two stores (hp: 225 and some other place for over 300). So I went to check the price on Creative's shopping site, but they don't have it on there. I thought that was kind of odd. Anyone have an idea why that is? Thanks

[the-mang]

Just called them....they took it off b/c it's out of stock.....will be back in by the end of March.

[pootp]

I can confirm that it works a treat, I opened mine up and removed the 4gb drive and replaced it with my 1Gb, the whole procedure took about 10 minutes. The 1Gb drive works in the muvo once you reload the firmware.
My iPAQ 2210 sees the drive as 3.86Gb, I formatted it on my laptop via pcmcia adapter using fat32. The only issue I have is the fact that the 4gb drive doesn't have the "lip" that the 1gb microdrive has to enable me to easily remove it from the iPAQ .... but I can live with this, after all I now have 4gb free space or there abouts :D
oh and the 4gb card works in my Canon S50 as well :D

Hmm, I've heard stories that the IPaq 2210 can only handle microdrives up to 2GB and that ppl could not get the hitachi drive to work in it. Can anyone else confirm that this drive does work in the Ipaq 2210/2215?

Thanks..

[kao123]

Hmm, I've heard stories that the IPaq 2210 can only handle microdrives up to 2GB and that ppl could not get the hitachi drive to work in it. Can anyone else confirm that this drive does work in the Ipaq 2210/2215?

Thanks..

A few of my work mates have iPAQ's as well, so I've managed to test it in both the 2210 and the 2215 and both see the 4Gb drive fine.

Hope this helps

[The PocketTV Team]

Hmm, I've heard stories that the IPaq 2210 can only handle microdrives up to 2GB and that ppl could not get the hitachi drive to work in it. Can anyone else confirm that this drive does work in the Ipaq 2210/2215?
Maybe they just forgot to format their 4GB Microdrive ?

[maikii]

Is there any disadvantage to using a Microdrive such as this rather than flash memory? Does it make the IPAQ run slower? Are there more crashes and problems?

Have people found it to work just as good as using a standard CF flash memory card, while giving more space?

[maikii]

I'd still like to find out how this has worked for people, whether they have had any problems with so using the 4 GB microdrive with the 2210, etc.

I will be getting one of these players soon, and am considering whether or not to swap drives with the 512 CF card in my IPAQ, or just keep it as a 4 GB music player. Before I take the thing apart and void the warranty, I'd like to hear more about how this has worked for people.

I would appreciate that very much, to hear how this has worked, whether you have encountered any problems from using this drive in the IPAQ, etc.