I bought Jen a 4th-gen iPod for Christmas-the color version, not the video, to replace her 1st-gen model, which is broken. The battery is pretty much toast and the FireWire jack appears to be broken-a common ailment of this model. Now that she’s got a viable replacement, I’m looking into fixing the broken one.
Therefore, these links are for me than you (and I make no claims as to the quality of services provided; CAVEAT EMPTOR):
iPodresq, Ist gen firewire jack repair ($55), case opening tools ($5), new battery with opening tools ($59), iPodmods repair testing, open the case on your 1st gen iPod, Cnet’s video for opening the case, another step-by-step review.
At this point, I’m thinking that a new battery and fixed Firewire port are a no-brainer; I was toying with the idea of finding a 15-gig drive and upgrading that too, but they all appear to be $150 or more.
More info as I find it.