Swore my old iPod classic was dead until a guy at a flea market in Austin fixed it for $10
I had this 5th gen iPod sitting in a drawer for like 4 years. Battery was totally shot, screen wouldn't even flicker. This dude at a flea market in Austin just popped it open, swapped the battery and put in a new hard drive for $10. Works perfect now. How do these old iPods just keep going? Has anyone else had luck reviving old MP3 players?
That guy probably just threw a known good drive in there without testing it. Most flea market dudes I've met in Austin run on the "screw it, let's see what happens" philosophy. I once had a guy fix my Game Boy by literally jamming a paperclip into the battery slot, and it still works.