A 5th Gen iPod and a 1st rate fix

My Problem

My iPod slid off of my desk and dropped onto the floor. I didn't notice and accidentally sat a chair down on it. When I sat down, the resulting crunch was heartbreaking. It wouldn't turn on, pretty much the whole screen was black and I gave it up as a lost cause. Then, digging through drawers a while ago, I found it again. I plugged it in to see if I had anything on it I wanted to save. I then decided to give it one last try before I trashed it. Lo and behold, it came on! Music played! All the buttons worked but the screen was still cracked and black. Since that seemed to be the only problem I figured it must be fixable.

My Fix

The repair went pretty smoothly. There were a couple of tiny pieces that fell out that I didn't see in the guide (like the little foam piece by the charging connector), but they were easy enough to pop right back in. And my iPod was honestly a bit dusty on the inside and I had to take a moment to clean it out. But all in all the whole thing only took about 30 to 40 minutes.

My Advice

Just be patient and confident when removing the ribbon cables. You don't have force anything, but don't be afraid to use a little gentle pressure to pop them right out. Also, when pulling the front panel from the framework, it sticks a bit, and pressing against the click wheel and gripping the front panel with one hand while pulling on the frame with the other helps to lift it off.