iPod Let's see if we can get this iPod working.. =)

[calebjohnston]

So here's the situation.. it's my mom's g4 iPod. It's making constant hard-drive access sounds and it won't get past the point of the apple logo + sad ipod face. I want to reformat it with the disk utility, but it won't recognize the iPod (nor will any part of the computer). What's next?

 

[stoid]

Sounds like the hard drive may be shot. Are the disk noises louder than normal? That's a sure sign of a failed bearing in the drive, and those can't be fixed.

 

[calebjohnston]

Yeah, I'm almost positive that the harddrive is gone on it, yet I got my iBook to recognize it for a bit the other day.

 

[Kingsly]

1) Put the iPod into disk mode:
Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Set it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons for at least 6 seconds until the Apple logo appears.
When the Apple logo appears, release the Menu and Select buttons and immediately press and hold the Select and the Play/Pause buttons until the Disk Mode screen appears.
Disconnect iPod from the power adapter and connect it to your computer; the screen on the iPod will change and say "Do not disconnect"

2) If it mounts use iPod update and restore the iPod.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60983

If it doesn't mount send it to Apple.
http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/

 

[calebjohnston]

Eh, I can't even get it into disk mode anymore. The hard drive is totally shot. Oh well, thanks anyway guys. I've got a dead mini too.

Won the mini in a contest and gave it to my mom. It went straight into the ocean about two days later and hasn't worked since. Maybe I'll take it apart and see what makes these suckers tick.

 

[bluebomberman]

Your mom and iPods don't seem to mix.

 

[calebjohnston]

No, they really don't. She breaks one... I win one. I give it to her.. she breaks it. She's on her third now. We'll see what happens.

 

[1rottenapple]

No, they really don't. She breaks one... I win one. I give it to her.. she breaks it. She's on her third now. We'll see what happens.

You can always replace the hd. Its pretty easy to do actually.

 

[mustard]

Sounds like the hard drive may be shot. Are the disk noises louder than normal? That's a sure sign of a failed bearing in the drive, and those can't be fixed.

If the bearing is gone and there is data on the drive that you need - you can stick the HDD in the freezer for a couple hours and then connect it to a 1.8" HDD adapter and transfer the data ASAP (make sure to put the drive in a static bag inside a Ziplock or tupperware.