My 30GB iPod 3G is dead, sadness

My 30GB Ipod, third generation with the buttons on top finally bit the dust. Getting the folder with exclamation sign warning, after listening to the hard drive spool up for a while.

Still divided on whether or not to buy a new ipod classic 80GB for $250 or just replace the hard drive with a used one for approx $75 off of ebay. I figure even if the first drive I get off of e-bay is bad, i'm still ahead of the game if I have to buy a second one.

Shrug, but if I get the new $250 ipod classic, I get a warranty and double the original capacity of my 3G.

We'll see how I feel after this weekend, when I go on a flight without an ipod. Oh the suffering! This is the one piece of electronics it always feels like I "cant live without!"

Update: it may have just been the connector coming lose where the hard drive attaches to the motherboard. The oversized battery i'm using may have caused the hard drive to sit unevenly in the ipod, and caused it to rock the connector slowly loose. I used a paper shim (a cut up portion of a Kubuntu Linux CD sleeve to balance out the hard drive's placement with the upgraded battery. I placed it between the hard drive connector extension and the hard drive itself.

The hard drive immediately became easier to seat with respect to the motherboard and the connector snapped right in. The ipod powered right up without errors following.