iPod iPod recognized as Windows-formatted??

My husband's iPod has only been used on his Power Book, until recently when he plugged it into my Power Book for one transfer. Since then, each time he plugs his iPod into his PB, he gets this message:



The info on top is just general info about the iPod. The sentence on top, below, where the button is greyed out, says that only Macintosh-formatted iPods can be updated. Under that, it asks if he wants to build it up again from scratch, with the factory settings.

I can't give very specific info, unfortunately. He's not sure himself what he did when, and my questions haven't yielded any specific responses. All I know, is that his iPod has never been used with anything other than two PBs.

Anyone know what to do about this? I've told him to hold off downloading any updates until we get some ideas here. So far, he's just closed the window, then proceeded to update his iPod with the most recent content (he has the iPod set to update content manually). So the message doesnt seem to keep him from using his iPod as normal. Obviously, he doesn't want to build it up again with the factory settings.

mad jew said:

It's sad, but my 4G iPod came formatted for Windows by default.

It's nothing to worry about in most cases. However, as you know, you will need a PC to update the firmware. Alternatively, he could scrub it and use it as a Mac-formatted iPod but since his songs are managed manually, it could be annoying having to find and re-sync everything. If you could find a PC and use that for a minute or so, that'd probably be your easiest option.

In most cases, the latest firmware isn't essential but it'd be nice to be using it all the same.

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Oops, I realised that his iPod WAS Windoze-formatted, but that was only til he bought his PB a year ago. Sorry for the confusion. He reformatted when he got the PB last summer, and the iPod has behaved itself until recently. The only thing I can think of, is that the problem started after he plugged it into my PB (which recognized it as his iPod, and didn't make any problems for me in the aftermath with my own iPod).

I think the content on his iPod and in his iTunes is identical. If that's the case, maybe I should just have him rebuild the thing back to factory specs, then download the latest update for both iTunes and iPod and upgrade the iPod. Then he can set the the update prefs to automatic to reimport all his content. After he reimports all his content to his iPod, he can go back to manual import if he wants.

Make sense, at least as a solution? I don't know if we'll ever know why the computer suddenly decided the iPod was Windoze-formatted again.

mad jew said:

Maybe his iPod has been out seeing other PCs... I'd keep an eye on it if I were you, these things can get around...

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mad jew said:

I think that's probably the best solution at this stage. The great thing about iPods is that they're so simple to reformat (if you automatically sync libraries/playlists). Of course, the Windows formatted iPod should still work properly with his PowerBook so you should be able to let it be too. It's up to you.

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Yeah, I could let it be, except then it won't let him install any updates. We're leaving for a couple weeks' vacation tomorrow, and since I'm the resident Mac support person in the house, it'll have to wait til we get back. Thanks for your help MJ.