[Krazedkid1221]

iPod Loader:

iPod Loader is the dual boot thingy. I downloaded and installed it using the file you can download here

iPL.rar - FileFront.com

To install it, you will need to open it using WinRAR or any other archiving software supporting .rar files.

1. In the file view in WinRAR find a folder called iPodLoader and another file, loader.cfg with it.
2. Drag both files onto the desktop (or anywhere else).
3. Copy the iPodLoader folder (not the loader.cfg file yet) to the ipod root folder (Click your ipod in My Computer and you will be in the root folder).
4. Go into the iPodLoader folder on your desktop and run ipodpatcher.exe. press lowercase “i” (without the quotes). Once it is done press enter and it will close.
5. Now put the loader.cfg file in the root iPod folder. This will tell the ipod what to run when it starts up.

Now don’t do anything, it’s time to install Rockbox.

1. Go to Rockbox - Open Source Jukebox Firmware and click “current builds” on the left side. Find you’re iPod model (in this case iPod video 30GB) and click on the image to download it. Save it somewhere you’ll remember.
2. Extract the .zip file. You should have a folder called “.rockbox” (wtq).
3. Drag the “.rockbox” folder into the root folder of your iPod.
4. Now, in the iPod root folder, go into the .rockbox folder and find a file called “rockbox.ipod” (wtq). Copy the file, and paste it in your root folder.

Now disconnect your iPod and restart it (hold Menu+Select until screen goes black). A Red screen should come up with options for the OS you want to run. Scroll and choose Rockbox to try it out .

This tutorial was made partially based on a YouTube video.


It is a very helpful video but runs through a bit slowly so I thought I would write a tutorial. The original also explains how to install iPodLinux. Since I failed to get this working, even when I downloaded the 5.5gpil Installer, I decided not to include it in this tutorial. In any case, I have installed iPodLinux before, when the ipodlinux.org site wasn’t down, and now I compare them, Rockbox is like a better looking version of iPodLinux with more & better plugins, and the ability to play music built in. Pretty much all the plugins come with the original build, and overall it is better and more convenient.

Tested on 30GB 5.5g iPod.


I didnt write this and just copied it to help improve our new sections.

original article

How to Install Rockbox with Apple OS on iPod « The Monday Onion