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Your iPod's Debug Menu

Posted by pudge on from the merry-new-year dept.

quakeslut writes "Want to access your iPods hidden debug menu with 16 developer tools, including a 'HDD Scan' and various system tests? Just 'restart' your iPod (press and hold the 'menu' and 'play/pause') and when the Apple comes up, press and hold the 'back', 'select' and 'next' buttons (all 3 buttons in the center row). Cool nerd stuff."

11 of 32 comments (clear)

  1. Cool by jsse · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Thanks! Now tell me the secret keys sequence to bring up the secret character iJob, who can be used to fight beat secret character eBill. :)

    Seriously, for those who thought they stole the concept out of games industry, big corps have always used this to hide and bring up hidden admin menu. I blieve I saw a HP engineer bring a password-prompted admin menu in a HP server with some strange key sequences. (any HP engineer could tell me how? :)

    1. Re:Cool by Twirlip+of+the+Mists · · Score: 5, Informative

      On many Sony televisions, you access the maintenance menu by turning the TV off, pressing "Display" "5" "Volume +," and turning the TV back on. So yeah, there's a long tradition of hiding service and maintenance features behind obscure keystroke combinations.

      Before you try it, though, be aware that you can seriously fuck up your TV if you change a setting by mistake.

      --

      I write in my journal
    2. Re:Cool by GlassHeart · · Score: 2
      HP seems to have a penchant for hidden testing functions.

      Not just HP. If you do a bit of searching around the web, many cell phones have half-hidden debug features that are knowingly left in. In my experience, they are left in not because they are useful (written by developer for developer), but because you don't want to disturb the tested binary minutes away from deadlines, even just to remove debug code.

      Unlike game cheats, these don't tend to unleash anything useful to the end user. They're also certainly not easter eggs.

  2. remote support by Howie · · Score: 2, Interesting

    sweet. know I know that at least the firmware on my old 5Gb ipod knows about the remote.

    --
    "don't fall into the fallacy of believing that Perl can solve social problems. Maybe Perl 6 can, but that's a ways off"
  3. it will work... by nuckin+futs · · Score: 5, Informative

    if you have an older software version. check here for info.

    here's what's on that page in case it gets slashdotted:
    This mode is no longer available in Software Updater v1.0.4
    Perform diagnostic tests at your own risk or not at all.

    The following diagnostic mode discovery, test and results are courtesy of iPoding.com
    1. Reset the iPod. Press and hold "Menu" and "Play" buttons.
    2. The Apple logo will appear. Press and hold "REW", "FFW" and "Select" button. You will hear an audible chirp sound. Your now in diagnostic mode
    3. Navigate the list of tests using "REW" and "FFW". The scroll wheel will not function while in diagnostic mode.

    Please visit iPoding.com for test results with updates.
    The Diagnostic Mode Tests:
    1. 5 IN 1
    2. RESET
    3. KEY
    4. AUDIO
    5. REMOTE
    6. FIREWARE
    7. SLEEP
    8. A 2 D
    9. OTPO CNT
    10. LCM
    11. RTC
    12. SDRAM
    13. FLASH
    14. OTPO
    15. HDD SCAN
    16. RUN IN

    1. Re:it will work... by bdash · · Score: 5, Informative

      iPoding has a page on the diagnostic mode. It contains a brief description of each test along with its expected results.

      It also has the following notes at firmware versions in which it works:
      Note: It's back in version 1.1
      Note: This function has been disabled in version 1.0.4

  4. Re:Bullshit! by Pathwalker · · Score: 5, Informative

    here is a picture of the HD test running on a 20 gig iPod.

    I would provide more pics, but the test is taking a while to run...

  5. And now the obligatory ogg troll by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    As the ogg troll would say, "can you use this debug menu to {play ogg's, run linux, act as a three-button-mouse} on the ipod???

  6. and the battery by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

    its seems that holding menu+back+play/pause resets the battery..... oops

  7. Secret codes. by saintlupus · · Score: 4, Funny

    Funny, I thought that was the 30 life cheat for the breakout game.

    (20 second limit, blah blah blah)

    --saint

  8. for more advanced /.ers by SHEENmaster · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Check this out. It has info about modifying the iPod firmware.

    Personally, I'm holding out on the iPod until HFS+ works in Linux. It's kind of a disgrace to buy a PC iPod for use on a mac.

    --
    You can't judge a book by the way it wears its hair.