Help with my wonderful First Gen iPod?
April 21, 2007 9:24 AM Subscribe
My wonderful First Gen Touch Wheel iPod is being a bitch.
Ok, I am at a loss here as to what to do.
I have checked every single Apple guide, several hundred Google items pertaining to this - I wouldn't have posted if I had found something. Even MeFi is a little lacking on this problem, unless I missed it.
I'm on XPSP2, I am completely up-to-date, iTunes is new and up-to-date, I have Windows Media Player 11 (in case that is relevant), and my iPod won't be seen, it won't connect to the computer at all. Normally, when it connects I get the "Do Not Disconnect" message telling me that it synchs. I don't know what the hell to do here. With the previous updater firmware, I got an "iPod Service Error, and the little app shut down. You use iTunes now to update the iPod anyway, which is weird to me.
If I reboot it, same thing. NOTHING. If I try have it plugged in when I restart my machine, nothing. I've done all of the tests, I've fired it up in diagnostic mode (top and bottom buttons until reboot, then left and right plus middle) and nothing. When it reboots while connected via Firewire, it just goes to the regular screen, as if I were about to select a song. The thing is that it still plays, it just will not connect so I can check for updates and synch playlists. DAMNIT!
Any suggestions? I just replaced the battery in this thing after 8 glorious years of frequent full charges. The battery is not at fault, and the firewire connection is good.
Is there a complete hard drive dump hardware keystroke secret to which I'm not privvy? All of the secret keystroke stuff I founc is only for rebooting and restoring settings or diagnostics.
Help?
Ok, I am at a loss here as to what to do.
I have checked every single Apple guide, several hundred Google items pertaining to this - I wouldn't have posted if I had found something. Even MeFi is a little lacking on this problem, unless I missed it.
I'm on XPSP2, I am completely up-to-date, iTunes is new and up-to-date, I have Windows Media Player 11 (in case that is relevant), and my iPod won't be seen, it won't connect to the computer at all. Normally, when it connects I get the "Do Not Disconnect" message telling me that it synchs. I don't know what the hell to do here. With the previous updater firmware, I got an "iPod Service Error, and the little app shut down. You use iTunes now to update the iPod anyway, which is weird to me.
If I reboot it, same thing. NOTHING. If I try have it plugged in when I restart my machine, nothing. I've done all of the tests, I've fired it up in diagnostic mode (top and bottom buttons until reboot, then left and right plus middle) and nothing. When it reboots while connected via Firewire, it just goes to the regular screen, as if I were about to select a song. The thing is that it still plays, it just will not connect so I can check for updates and synch playlists. DAMNIT!
Any suggestions? I just replaced the battery in this thing after 8 glorious years of frequent full charges. The battery is not at fault, and the firewire connection is good.
Is there a complete hard drive dump hardware keystroke secret to which I'm not privvy? All of the secret keystroke stuff I founc is only for rebooting and restoring settings or diagnostics.
Help?
Response by poster: Been there, done all of that.
The Five "R" sequence did nothing.
posted by jimmyhutch at 11:54 AM on April 21, 2007
The Five "R" sequence did nothing.
posted by jimmyhutch at 11:54 AM on April 21, 2007
try it on another computer? you could head down to an apple store if you have one nearby and bug 'em - a Windows-formatted iPod will work on a Mac, but it'll take its sweet time to appear on it. does it work if you force it into disk mode? you could try restoring it with an old version of the software but that may/may not work (never tried reverting iPod software, so dunno if it'll work). I'd try it on another machine first, because it's entirely possible your firewire card went out. (I've actually got a LaCie FW800 card that only has one working port on it now. not sure how the others died, but they sure as heck don't work.) you might also try another cable - if it really is a 1st or 2nd gen iPod (you mentioned touch wheel, which came out on the 3rd gen ones) you can use any old firewire cable for it, though a 6 pin to 6 pin would be best.
posted by mrg at 12:02 PM on April 21, 2007
posted by mrg at 12:02 PM on April 21, 2007
Are you absolutely sure your firewire connection is good?
1. Try a different ipod on your computer. Not possible? Try a different firewire device on your firewire port. Camera, external HD with a firewire interface, anything.
2. Try a different computer on your ipod. See if it gets detected.
3. Try a different cable.
4. Check the ipod interface to the cable, make sure it's clean.
I realize that with the age of the device some of these tests might not be possible, but you've obviously exhausted any software options, it's time to address the hardware.
posted by disclaimer at 12:04 PM on April 21, 2007
1. Try a different ipod on your computer. Not possible? Try a different firewire device on your firewire port. Camera, external HD with a firewire interface, anything.
2. Try a different computer on your ipod. See if it gets detected.
3. Try a different cable.
4. Check the ipod interface to the cable, make sure it's clean.
I realize that with the age of the device some of these tests might not be possible, but you've obviously exhausted any software options, it's time to address the hardware.
posted by disclaimer at 12:04 PM on April 21, 2007
Yeah, what mrg said :)
posted by disclaimer at 12:04 PM on April 21, 2007
posted by disclaimer at 12:04 PM on April 21, 2007
you'd do well to make an appointment before you go. apple.com>where to buy> find your store, then "make a reservation" and go under guest.
learned this lesson the hard way :)
posted by vrdx at 8:52 PM on April 21, 2007
learned this lesson the hard way :)
posted by vrdx at 8:52 PM on April 21, 2007
i don't think the current version of itunes for windows supports a firewire connection, actually. did you just recently upgrade? i used to use firewire on my XP machine, and then one day I updated itunes and it did precisely what you're saying. the usb cable, however, works fine (and it's not an issue with the cable--i still use it to charge the thing, sometimes).
posted by wreckingball at 11:39 PM on April 21, 2007
posted by wreckingball at 11:39 PM on April 21, 2007
When you say you held the buttons to boot into Diagnostic mode, and "nothing," does that mean it won't go into Diagnostic or that you ran all of the tests in Diagnostic and nothing seemed awry?
Windows can be funky with FireWire. If anything is plugged into another FireWire port, try unplugging that and then connecting the iPod.
Your next step is definitely to try it on another computer. If it doesn't appear there, it's time for a trip to a store that's Apple-Certified for repair. (As mentioned above, if that happens to be an Apple store, you'll want to make a reservation).
posted by churl at 1:51 AM on April 22, 2007
Windows can be funky with FireWire. If anything is plugged into another FireWire port, try unplugging that and then connecting the iPod.
Your next step is definitely to try it on another computer. If it doesn't appear there, it's time for a trip to a store that's Apple-Certified for repair. (As mentioned above, if that happens to be an Apple store, you'll want to make a reservation).
posted by churl at 1:51 AM on April 22, 2007
Response by poster: First, I work in the entertainment business as a lighting designer - my iPod has been all over the world, literally. I have had it on an international Broadway tour, several hundred national gigs, and it's always at front-of-house with me while I am programming shows. We've been through a lot together!
My iPod will boot into diagnostic mode, and it successfully executes all tests as per a consortium of online documentation pertaining to the outcome of the diagnostic sets.
The Firewire thing doesn't make sense to me; I have a couple of external firewire hard drives that work just fine, and I have tried removing them and using just the ipod with no results. I do not chain the ipod with these devices eityher - it is on its own separate input.
The crap thing about not supporting a firewire connection (if this is fact) is that my iPod has a firewire connection built into the top of it. I suppose I would need to try getting a cable that would go from firewire to USB. Do these even exist? It seems just bouncing back down to an eariler version of iTunes might be easier... This would mean that I need to find an old installer for iPod as well. That software is becoming harder to find, because every web link that refers to it (well, not all of them, but most) links back to the apple page where the newest iTunes that supports iPod updating lives.
I have also tried firewire on another machine. No luck. It would not mount. The really discouraging thing is that on Apple's support forum relating to this very issue there are somewhere around a thousand posts stating that there is no cure for this. I really hope that Apple didn't just stop serving one of their pieces of gear.
This is bumming me out.
posted by jimmyhutch at 7:05 AM on April 22, 2007
My iPod will boot into diagnostic mode, and it successfully executes all tests as per a consortium of online documentation pertaining to the outcome of the diagnostic sets.
The Firewire thing doesn't make sense to me; I have a couple of external firewire hard drives that work just fine, and I have tried removing them and using just the ipod with no results. I do not chain the ipod with these devices eityher - it is on its own separate input.
The crap thing about not supporting a firewire connection (if this is fact) is that my iPod has a firewire connection built into the top of it. I suppose I would need to try getting a cable that would go from firewire to USB. Do these even exist? It seems just bouncing back down to an eariler version of iTunes might be easier... This would mean that I need to find an old installer for iPod as well. That software is becoming harder to find, because every web link that refers to it (well, not all of them, but most) links back to the apple page where the newest iTunes that supports iPod updating lives.
I have also tried firewire on another machine. No luck. It would not mount. The really discouraging thing is that on Apple's support forum relating to this very issue there are somewhere around a thousand posts stating that there is no cure for this. I really hope that Apple didn't just stop serving one of their pieces of gear.
This is bumming me out.
posted by jimmyhutch at 7:05 AM on April 22, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by plokent at 10:07 AM on April 21, 2007