Can this iPod be saved?

March 10, 2005 9:26 AM

Can this iPod be saved?

I was synching my 40GB iPod this morning, and my G5 (with the latest version of OS X and iTunes) went to sleep. When I woke it up, the computer was frozen, and it wouldn't recognize the iPod after I forced a restart and again after I restarted from the Apple menu. I've tried resetting the iPod and nothing happens. It's stuck on the "Do Not Disconnect" screen. (I disconnected it anyway, though.)

posted by kirkaracha to technology (13 comments total)

Open: Applications -> Utilities -> iPod Software Updater

You might be able to use this application to reformat the iPod to a "factory" state. After that you would resync the iPod to your music library, etc.
posted by AlexReynolds at 9:30 AM on March 10, 2005

I had that problem and followed the instructions on Apple's website to reformat the iPod and everything turned out fine.
posted by xo at 9:46 AM on March 10, 2005

If iPod Software Updater doesn't do it, its hard disk may be damaged. Did you have any problems such as it getting stuck playing songs and jumping to the next one?
posted by cillit bang at 9:48 AM on March 10, 2005

If you've got more than one Mac available, I've had luck reviving a malejected iPod by plugging it into a different computer. Other than that, when my iPod got fubared, I was able to save it by a bunch of fiddling around with Disk Utility and iPod Software Updater.
posted by stet at 10:07 AM on March 10, 2005

If you suspect that the iPod's hard drive is damaged, you can enter diagnostic mode and test it out.
posted by glyphlet at 10:23 AM on March 10, 2005

Part of the problem is the Mac doesn't see the iPod (it doesn't appear on the desktop), so I'm not sure Disk Utility or iPod Software Updater would work.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:47 AM on March 10, 2005

While the disk may not be mounted (because the disk is not formatted properly), the hardware device itself may still be visible to the computer, which can be verified in Disk Utility. You'll see a hardware device entry for the iPod, but its hard drive icon will be greyed out. Using iPod Software Updater will reformat the iPod to a factory fresh state. This should work, assuming the iPod hard drive and electronics are not physically damaged.
posted by AlexReynolds at 11:04 AM on March 10, 2005

Kirk: if the ipod is not recognized, hold down the select (center) and menu button until the apple logo shows up. Then try hooking it up. This is called a reset and can fix about 90% of the iPod's recognition problems.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 11:08 AM on March 10, 2005 [1 favorite]

Oh, sorry, you've done that. Try select and play to enter it into disk mode and see if this will get it to recognize.
posted by dflemingdotorg at 11:09 AM on March 10, 2005

I've been having a problem like this with my brother's pod.

Apple's System Profiler will tell if it's connected (even if it can't be seen).

ipodresq will do cheaper repairs than apple.

Apple's attitude is it's $99 for the battery and $249 for anything else (YES! the cost of a Minipod)
posted by filmgeek at 1:50 PM on March 10, 2005

Hubby had the same problem, which fixed itself after the iPod battery ran out. The iPod is frozen so it won't turn itself off, which means that eventually the battery will die. It may take 2 or 3 days, but it will die. Just don't recharge it until the iPod screen goes blank. Then charge it up and all should be well again. This is basically like turning off the power on a computer and then rebooting.
posted by Quietgal at 7:01 PM on March 10, 2005

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. Nothing's worked yet, so I've unplugged it and I'll wait until it runs out of juice.
posted by kirkaracha at 10:22 PM on March 10, 2005

Letting the battery run down worked, and everything seems normal. Thanks for the help, everyone.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:06 AM on March 11, 2005