Hi I’m back now and need ur help once again! I got a new cable
  from the cybershop/used cpu equipment downstairs - he ordered from Singapore from a bud - for just 17 usd vat included. So now I’m rockin again sans harddrive…or ide controller, we will soon know. My plan is this:
Take apart my 30gig 2ndg ipod and hope the harddrive inside is the same as the toshiba i have in my tr3 now. So my question is this:
has anyone here done this? is it possible?  how do you crack open an ipod?  If I get the ipod hd out and still get random OS NOT FOUND messages, that will tell me if the motherboard is shot, so I think. But I guess I will have to get an OS on the ipod drive first.  Hmmm….procedure needed here. I have the image from the TR3 backed up using ATI, and I have a LAN here, and i have the recovery disks, and then of course I have all of you!  Well, I look forward to your flurry of facts soon,,,
jigs in nepal

hey i dont mind talking to myself, i do it al the time when i am not online…seriously, taking the ipod toshiba 30gig out and getting it into the tr was literally a snap. the trick i found to opening the pod is a 1.1mm guitar pick.
so now i am restoring the drive from a backup (over my lan, which is kinda scary). all seems well hardware wise but for 2 things:
1) I am sure i have a sticky cpu fan and no replacement. the computer shack across the lane just has giant ones, circa 1985. I got it started by flicking with finger, but its getting pretty hot in there without me flicking when it turns off. i think this may be the root of all my tr problems with this one, a 59 cent fan.
2) the pad does not work. all other panel lights and hardware buttons work, so i hope it’s just a driver snafu off the recovery disk, and not something serious. i’ll know in a few hours after the restore. i had to mess with that daughter board that is connected to the pad so oh no, maybe something broke - not that i ever used the pad; always have a mini-mouse.

But i am glad my now vintage TR is still chugging - for the moment. I may need to get out the floor fan again for cooling, and perhaps some dry ice for visual effects, but it’s working.

My freind here think im nuts with bits of computer parts everywhere (i just assembled a kickbutt gamer) and i am even wearing a white robe that looks like a lab coat.  They were all laughing and called me the nutty professor in Nepali.

Cheers,
jigs

hey,
well a dude i know pulled the drive from a 60gb ipod and put it in his U101 which was 30gb. Think he swapped that back into his ipod. But you know this drive will work anyway now you’ve done it.

The fan has failed on my CF-R1 and it runs about 10degrees hotter than it used to. I tried the blow air into the vents but no luck. It still seems to do OK and it’s withing range for the processor so I’ll persevere with it b4 taking the huge step of pulling it apart.

I don’t see why the drive swap would affect the touchpad unless you did something to it. I seem to think it works from the bios. You need drivers to make it work well but it should work without an OS.