how do I get my computer to "see" my ipd again?
April 3, 2010 6:40 PM Subscribe
I have a regular ipod, 5th gen. It used to work just fine with my xp pc. A while back, my pc completely stopped recognizing the ipod. it does not show up in the device manager. it is a usb connection, that has always worked before and works fine for other devices, ie. thumbnail drives, etc.
the ipod *charges* fine from my computer, plays fine, but I can no longer sync or anything else through itunes or whatever.
i went to the ipod site and did everything they recommended = the five "r"s to no avail. any ideas?
Response by poster: yes, I have hooked it to three or four different computers - same result (or lack thereof). I am going to try the second part of your suggestion now though. thanks!
posted by Mr. Yuck at 6:59 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Mr. Yuck at 6:59 PM on April 3, 2010
When mine did the same thing, I took it to the apple store, where they replaced it under warranty. Good luck.
posted by toastedbeagle at 7:11 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by toastedbeagle at 7:11 PM on April 3, 2010
Response by poster: mine is apparently too old - I purchased it on ebay.
when I asked for support from apple, they told me this model was "unsupported". ick.
I guess that means they think I should buy a "newer" one, but I am still trying to find a fix.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:18 PM on April 3, 2010
when I asked for support from apple, they told me this model was "unsupported". ick.
I guess that means they think I should buy a "newer" one, but I am still trying to find a fix.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:18 PM on April 3, 2010
Response by poster: clorox - I have tried your suggestions now, a few different ways. still, no resolution. thanks for trying, though.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:19 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:19 PM on April 3, 2010
See if your computer will recognize it in disk mode. That should help diagnose if it's a hardware or software problem.
Also try a different USB cable and/or Firewire.
I think there's a way to reset to factory settings from the diagnostics menu (hold down left + center when you see the Apple logo on restart), but that is a last resort that will probably nuke your music.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:30 PM on April 3, 2010
Also try a different USB cable and/or Firewire.
I think there's a way to reset to factory settings from the diagnostics menu (hold down left + center when you see the Apple logo on restart), but that is a last resort that will probably nuke your music.
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 7:30 PM on April 3, 2010
Response by poster: gxn - I have tried 'disk mode' - it seemed to work fine, but my computer still did not recognize that anything was plugged in, so it's hard to say. I have also tried all five USB posts, which, as I mentioned before, seem to work just fine for other hardware (thumbnail drives, at least.)
It won't matter if I nuke the music on the ipod itself, since I actually have it all backed up on the computer on Itunes. I have "reset to factory settings" repeatedly.
no change. grrr. I am starting to think that the problem must lie within the device itself. There are a few screens at apple that talk about downloading a program to "re-set" your ipod manually, but I don't see how I'd be able to use them if my computer won't even recognize that the device is plugged in. grrr.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:45 PM on April 3, 2010
It won't matter if I nuke the music on the ipod itself, since I actually have it all backed up on the computer on Itunes. I have "reset to factory settings" repeatedly.
no change. grrr. I am starting to think that the problem must lie within the device itself. There are a few screens at apple that talk about downloading a program to "re-set" your ipod manually, but I don't see how I'd be able to use them if my computer won't even recognize that the device is plugged in. grrr.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 7:45 PM on April 3, 2010
Certainly sounds like it might be the iPod itself - but have you tried a new/different cable as per qxntpqbbbqxl's scond suggestion, or tried your cable on a different iPod? Might be that one of the data wires is o/c; if that's the case it'll still charge (IIRC, iPods don't need to negotiate before charging) but not be seen as a device.
posted by Pinback at 7:54 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Pinback at 7:54 PM on April 3, 2010
Response by poster: I have tried more than one cable, but I have not tried a different cable on a different computer or device. guess that'll be the next step, thank you, Pinback.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:00 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Mr. Yuck at 8:00 PM on April 3, 2010
If everything iTunes related fails, you might still be able to use it with Rockbox, perhaps. But for this to work you really need correct access to the iPod as if it were an external USB drive, and I'm not sure it does from what you say (that is, can you open the drive with Explorer or whatever file manager you use? Can you see and access the files within?).
posted by Iosephus at 8:16 PM on April 3, 2010
posted by Iosephus at 8:16 PM on April 3, 2010
Response by poster: Iosephus - no I am not able to access the device through any of my (5) USB ports currently - that is the basic problem here. The ports seem to work fine with all other devices, though I have, in fact, tried to check and reconfigure them a couple of times - it seems that they work correctly with everything but the ipod.
that is why I am tending to think that the problem probably lies within the device. If I could only figure out how to reprogram/repair the ipod as a stand alone, at least until I could get it to "talk" to a computer again, I'd be set. haha.
Apple's solution, of course, is to get a newer ipod, but I am not terribly inclined to go that route after what's happened with this one.
So, as a secondary question, which MP3 player is easiest to integrate with my existing Itunes library? With minimal headache with moving all my music and podcasts?
thanks, all, for trying to help.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:06 PM on April 3, 2010
that is why I am tending to think that the problem probably lies within the device. If I could only figure out how to reprogram/repair the ipod as a stand alone, at least until I could get it to "talk" to a computer again, I'd be set. haha.
Apple's solution, of course, is to get a newer ipod, but I am not terribly inclined to go that route after what's happened with this one.
So, as a secondary question, which MP3 player is easiest to integrate with my existing Itunes library? With minimal headache with moving all my music and podcasts?
thanks, all, for trying to help.
posted by Mr. Yuck at 9:06 PM on April 3, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Try this, maybe: Without your iPod hooked up, go into Task Manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del), choose the "Processes" tab, select "ituneshelper.exe" and click the "End Process" button. Do the same for "ipodservice.exe", then see what happens if you hook up the iPod.
posted by clorox at 6:51 PM on April 3, 2010