3rd gen iPod woes

July 24, 2006 7:50 PM

3rd gen 20 gig iPod on the fritz. Seemingly a software problem. All you appletastic MeFites, I invite you inside.

I received a 3rd gen 20 gig iPod recently, and its only noted flaw was that its battery discharged too quickly. It was otherwise working just fine. I hooked it up to my computer, and it recognized it as an iPod, but it said it had to be reformatted (IIRC) for my computer (previous owner had a Mac, I own a PC) and to update it with the most recent software. I downloaded the software updater, and it did not give me the option to update, only to restore. So, I did indeed restore it. Afterwards, I got a message telling me that the iPod needed to be connected to an external power device to reflash. At this point, the only thing the iPod would do as a result of any stimulus (ie: pressing any button, plugging it in to the computer or to an external power device) is flash the apple logo, followed by this image of the port that goes in to the base of the iPod, accompanied by an arrow which appears to be telling me to plug it into the iPod. I replaced the battery in it today, and reset it, but nothing at all has changed. My computer also does not recognize it as an iPod now (“USB device not recognized”), and when I try to run the software updater, it asks for me to please connect an iPod to be updated, when it’s really already there. Additionally, I do have the most recent version of iTunes. I wouldn't post this if I wasn't seriously stumped. Any advice you could give me regarding what this thing needs to get moving would be appreciated.

posted by viachicago to computers & internet (7 comments total)

So did you plug it in to an external power device?

It needs to be plugged into the wall charger (or, I think, a Firewire connection to a computer) in order to reflash the firmware.

Nothing in your description seems out of the ordinary. It just needs to be plugged in to a reliable power source so that it can reflash itself.
posted by roomwithaview at 7:58 PM on July 24, 2006

Ok, scratch that. I totally missed the part about the stimuli.
posted by roomwithaview at 7:59 PM on July 24, 2006

You aren't plugging it into a powered USB port, most likely. Connect it directly to the USB port on your PC and then do a reset while it's connected.
posted by mikeh at 8:24 PM on July 24, 2006

Check the Apple community forums. There have been a lot of reported problems with the latest iPod Updater software and iTunes software. People seem to disagree as to exactly which software is the problem, but there is widespread recognition that there is some problem with the new software. The updater recently fried my iPod and I had to restore from scratch on another PC that has an older version of iTunes installed. I didn't get the same message as you (I also have a different version iPod), but the problem sounds familiar.
posted by brain_drain at 9:16 PM on July 24, 2006

mikeh, the 3rd gens only can charge via firewire, not USB.

viachicago, have you done a hard reset? Touch the play and menu buttons for 10 seconds until you see the Apple logo, then switch to the previous and next buttons until it resets. Then, try reconnecting the unit to see if it mounts.
posted by I EAT TAPAS at 11:07 PM on July 24, 2006

plug it into the wall like it says. it won't respond until you do.
posted by sophist at 2:24 AM on July 25, 2006

You need to plug it into the docking station, and plug the docking station into the wall. A firewire cable plugged into a normal ipod charger will not work, neither will plugging it into a USB port.
posted by Optamystic at 6:05 AM on July 25, 2006