What's wrong with this iPod?
April 3, 2005 6:10 PM   Subscribe

iPod newbie woe: she installed iTunes and iPod software on her XP machine, imported music to iTunes, but iPod did not automatically transfer anything from the iTunes library. She updated both iTunes and iPod software, still nothing. iTunes does recognize iPod, the screen with all the songs will flash for a second, telling her it's updating, and then disappear. No song is actually loaded into the iPod. Any help? Bum iPod?
posted by of strange foe to Technology (15 answers total)
 
Is the option for the iPod to automaticially update checked? (Right click on the iPod icon in the list and select 'options')
posted by amandaudoff at 6:14 PM on April 3, 2005


Or, looking at it another way, is it set to synchronize with any/all playlists? Are there any playlists?
posted by socratic at 6:25 PM on April 3, 2005


I don't let my ipod sync by default... try dragging a few songs from the main library list to the ipod name on the left menu.
posted by ontic at 6:29 PM on April 3, 2005


On my Mac, a Firewire glitch prevents iPod updating when the iPod is not plugged into the #1 Firewire port or, when not on the #1 port and other devices are plugged into ports higher up the "chain" (excuse the lack of precise terminology). Perhaps a similar glitch exists with (assuming) USB in XP?
posted by Dick Paris at 6:37 PM on April 3, 2005


Response by poster: Thank you for the quick responses so far!

a. The option for the iPod to automaticially update is checked.

b. When dragging a few songs from the main library list to the ipod, a circle-with-a-slash icon appears, as to indicate inaccessibility.

So my friend says that when her iPod appears in iTunes, a empty playlist would display for it upon double clicking, and beneath it, a LOCKED symbol appears to the right of the memory usage. (However, the HOLD key on the iPod device itself is off.) How can she get rid of it??
posted by of strange foe at 7:37 PM on April 3, 2005


Ah, is it formatted for XP? You can use this utility from Apple.
posted by ontic at 7:42 PM on April 3, 2005


Again, are there any playlists? (I've never tried, now that I think about it... can iTunes sync without playlists?)
posted by socratic at 7:45 PM on April 3, 2005


Response by poster: Yes, she mentioned reformatting it. Will ask her later about her playlist setup...
posted by of strange foe at 9:00 PM on April 3, 2005


I work in an Apple store. It's only ever Windows users who have trouble with their iPods...

Make SURE she's using XP SP2. Download it from Microsoft.com or Windowsupdate.com. The newer iPods list SP2 as a minimum requirement. Is she connecting via USB? Make sure her PC has USB 2.0 ports (USB 1.1 are MUCH slower, and temperamental with the iPod). Ideally, fork out about £10 for a PCI FireWire card.

Use the iPod Software Updater (the most recent is 23/03/05) to restore your iPod. Make sure it's formatted for Windows.

Try it on another Windows machine, and additionally, a Mac. Bear in mind that the iPod will probably need reformating for the PC if you use the iPod Software Updater (and restore) from a Mac.
posted by armoured-ant at 11:50 PM on April 3, 2005


AFAIK, there's little need for XP SP2 - I run three different iPod's simultaneously, with no problems, on SP1.
posted by ascullion at 3:04 AM on April 4, 2005


Mine is set to auto-update as well. Sometimes, I get the exact same thing happening as you describe. I then have to right-click on the iPod icon in iTunes and select Synch Now (or whatever the command is to start the importing). Usually, that works.
posted by schnee at 5:14 AM on April 4, 2005


Response by poster: Alas, she tried all things suggested above, to no avail.
posted by of strange foe at 8:56 AM on April 4, 2005


Mine was doing the same thing then I tried plugging straight into the firewire cable...instead of the iPod dock that I had bought also....so I undocked and plugged straight into cable and it worked fine.
posted by stevyb at 1:51 PM on April 4, 2005


A coworker had this issue, and we had to manually put his iPod in "Disk Mode", then attach it to the machine. The steps to do this vary with the model, but you can find instructions on Apple's site. (if that isn't applicable to your model you might do a search)
posted by kableh at 2:44 PM on April 4, 2005


Response by poster: Solved! Her music folder (under 'My Documents'), unbeknownst to her, had the 'encrypt contents to secure data' attribute turned on.
posted by of strange foe at 7:32 AM on April 6, 2005


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