Is my ipod pushing up the daisies?

October 2, 2006 6:58 AM

My ancient ipod no longer responds... is it dead?

It's about 4 years old I think, it's one of those with the smooth wheel, 15gb (iirc). It worked fine, I moved house, I put it on a shelf, and when I hitched it up to my new laptop (via USB) it just won't charge, or indeed respond at all. I used to charge it from the work laptop, I think via FireWire but I'm not entirely sure (and I don't have the job anymore so I can't check). Do I give up hope on the thing, or is there something else I could try to see if it's revivable? And if it really is dead, is there anything cool I might do with it?

posted by handee to computers & internet (6 comments total)

If it's ancient, it probably uses only FireWire. Is the USB cable you're using the one that came with it?
posted by Wiggo at 7:16 AM on October 2, 2006

IIRC 3G iPods sync but don't charge via USB; if you're syncing via USB 2.0 you'll probably need to charge via the power adapter.
posted by mcwetboy at 7:31 AM on October 2, 2006

if the battery dies enough it will have to be charged from the power adapter. and if it's a 3G (4 buttons right underneath the screen) then it won't charge over USB. (and if it's the model afterwards - with the grey clickwheel and the buttons integrated into that - you might need a software update before USB charging works, though I don't think they made a 15GB 4th gen.)
posted by mrg at 7:50 AM on October 2, 2006

Did you try resetting it to see if it wakes up? Probably a good idea to do that with the power adapter plugged in if it's been unused for a while.
posted by chuma at 8:09 AM on October 2, 2006

Marvellous. Thanks. I've just walked across the lab, found a machine with firewire, and plugged the thing in, and it's charging. I lost the charger, and tried with a friend's charger, but that looked like it connected with USB to the plug anyway so that could be the problem.
posted by handee at 8:38 AM on October 2, 2006

My 15G started to lose its charging ability after awhile- it needed to be charged more frequently, only lasted for an hour or two tops before needed to be recharged again, etc. So, keep that in mind.
posted by jenfullmoon at 3:35 PM on October 3, 2006