A quick update:
The ipod is yet again taken apart and is with a friend of mine in Germany. If he can repair it - great! My sister then have an ipod video. If he can't repair it - no major loss. I'm picking up a "new" of the same capacity when I return home from my german trip. I am currently running my entertainment on an old ipod mini that I resurrected by changing the battery. Blooming spare part cost a fortune but well worth it. My mom is inheriting it on my return.
On a diffrent note: I was given a Lacie mobile HDD of 250GB. We've done a wee-bit of surgery down here. Basically swapped the 120gb internal drive in the macbook pro with the 250GB WD Scorpio that was in the Lacie drive. Bliss!!! It will be a while before I need to travel with spare drives.