iPod Mini Modding
these are my notes and documentation for IPod Mini Modding and Rockbox.

Getting an iPod

Buying Guide (page work in progress)
Where to Buy 
 You can buy used iPods off eBay or Facebook marketplace. But the IPod market on eBay is now flooded with pre-modded iPods, it might be hard to find a used iPod untouched for cheap. 
 Identifying Differences between 1st and 2nd Gen IPod Mini 
 You can distinguish the differences by looking at the back of the iPod Mini and other cosmetic details 
 
 
 
 
 1st Gen 
 
 storage options
 
 4GB 
 
 
 differences in color
 
 lighter color hues 
 click wheel has grey control symbols 
 
 
  year of product release
 
 2004 
 
 
 
 
 
 2nd Gen 
 
 storage
 
 4 GB 
 6GB 
 
 
 differences in color
 
 darker hues except silver 
 click wheel control symbols matches shell color 
 
 
  year of product release
 
 2005

Getting Music, Podcasts, And Audiobook files

Getting Music
Online Store links: 
 
 https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/shop 
 https://www.hdtracks.com/ 
 
 Copying Music off CDs: 
 Software and Hardware Requirements: 
 
 You will need download and install Fre:ac from there website https://www.freac.org/ . 
 You will also need a computer with a Optical Drive or get a USB external Optical Drive. 
 
 
 How to use Fre:ac? 
 
 Launch the app 
 close "tip of the day" window 
 click the "configure general settings" button

 
 
 Under encoder settings, change encoder to "FLAC Audio Encoder".

 
 
 Close the settings window 
 Click the "Add Audio CD Contents button"
 
 
 Then when the Track info is correct press the "Start Encoding Preccess" button 
 When it's complete copy the music from your music folder on your PC to the Music folder on your IPod with Rockbox

Getting Podcasts (Work in Progress)
The Podcast App 
 To get podcasts on your IPod with Rockbox. You will need a way download and sync podcasts to your IPod. By the way, Gpodder is my recommended app to fetch podcasts. Although it has a dated User Interface and experience, it is the best app I found for this task on Linux, that is also available for Windows and macOS. 
 Install Software from link 
 Gpodder website :  https://gpodder.github.io/   
 Setup Gpodder: 
 
 Launching the app. 
 Open Preferences from the hamburger menu in the top right corner.
 
 
 Select the device preferences tab.
 
 
 Select the "Filesystem-based" option from the device type drop down.
 
 
 Enter or browse for the podcast folder path from the top level of the IPods storage into the "mountpoint" setting.
 
 
 I recommend turning off the option to "Create Playlists on Device".
 
 
 Make sure the remainder options are set like in this image.
 
 
 
 Using Gpodder: 
  

Rockbox Troubleshooting

Rebooting iPod (Work In Progress)
If your iPod loaded into Stock Firmware: 
 
 You will need to restart the iPod by holding down the Menu and Select buttons until it restarts. 
 the reason it boots into the stock firmware is if the hold switch is turned on when plugging in the device or whenever the iPod is powered on. 
 
 Sources 
 https://download.rockbox.org/daily/manual/rockbox-ipodmini1g/rockbox-build.html