Customize iPod skins and themes using iPodWizard

Posted on October 5, 2008 at 5:39 am

When some people hear the words “customize iPod”, they back off a little bit because they don’t want to mess up their favorite little gadgets by loading programs that change the default iPod software. Many people saw screwed up their iPhones by trying to jailbreak them so they could install all kinds of apps.

If you want to change the default home screen theme on your iPod, you can now do so without messing with the built-in iPod software. That always makes me happy because I’m not really good at hacking up gadgets!

iPodWizard is a free application that lets your skin your iPod safely! It’s a very simple to use program that does not alter the functionality of your iPod in any way. No new menus, no changes to how buttons work, just a different look.

Other than the semi-freaky logo they have, the program looks and works great! Note that the software does not support the iPod Shuffle, the iPod Touch, the iPod Classic 6G, and the iPod Nano 2G/3G. So if you have one of those models, you are out of luck!

If you are not sure which model you have, you can identify the model of you iPod easily. Also note that using this software will void your warranty since it’s modifying the default setup of the iPod. However, you can completely remove the program from your iPod, which you un-void your warrarty, by following this guide.

The website has a ton of tutorials on how to use the program, so I won’t go into too much detail on what to do. You can download various themes and skins for your iPod by going to their theme forum.

Basically, you have to tell iPodWizard where to find the iPod firmware so that it can patch it correctly. You can download it if you like, but it’s easier to find it on your computer by going to Start and then Run and typing in the following command:

%appdata%\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPod Software Updates

After that, just download the theme that you want for your iPod and open up the program. Choose iPodSoftwareFile from the Edit Mode drop down and then click on Open iPSW.

Click on the Pictures tab and click on the Load All button. Then choose the folder where all of the pictures of the theme are stored. Finally, click on the Write To iPod button.

Go ahead and disconnect your iPod and it should restart automatically. Note that if my instructions were not clear, make sure to read the full tutorial on how to change your iPod theme on their website. If something goes wrong and your iPod freezes, check out my post on how to unfreeze or reset an iPod. Enjoy! Source: Lifehacker

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