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iPod Can I 0 my iPod drive?

S

ShaggyLR

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 12, 2004
63
0
Montreal
I've had some issues with my iPod's hard drive and Apple tells me there's nothing wrong with it. Is there a way I can 0 the drive completely and then re-instal the software and songs? I find restoring doesn't 0 the drive, just erases the songs.

If I 0 the drive using disk utility, will I be able to re-install the iPod software?

Thanks!
 
ShaggyLR said:
I've had some issues with my iPod's hard drive and Apple tells me there's nothing wrong with it. Is there a way I can 0 the drive completely and then re-instal the software and songs? I find restoring doesn't 0 the drive, just erases the songs.

If I 0 the drive using disk utility, will I be able to re-install the iPod software?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

I posted the same question a few months ago and got no response. I've read on some sites that you won't be able to restore the software if you 0 all data but other sites said there was no problem. I was working on my roommates iPod so I didn't want to ruin it. Well, no one came through with an answer so I just did it and I had no problems at all restoring the iPod software and the problems he was having went away...for now anyway.
 
iPod no longer plays music after formatting or partitioning the hard disk

You should not partition, format, or change the formatting of iPod's hard disk using Disk Utility, Windows Explorer or other utility unless you are performing troubleshooting steps that require this step.

iPod, iPod mini, and iPod shuffle cannot play music if you format or partition the hard disk.

iPod only works (as a music player) when its hard disk is formatted for the appropriate platform using the Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) or FAT32 formats. Do not reformat the disk using Mac OS Standard (HFS), New Technology File System (NTFS), or UNIX File System (UFS) formats.

Whether you use a Mac or Windows, iPod shuffle only works (as a music player) when its disk partition is formatted as FAT32 format.

If iPod's hard drive was partitioned, formatted, or the format was changed, use the latest version of the iPod Updater application to restore iPod back to its factory condition.

Warning: The restore process cannot be undone. All of your songs and files will be deleted. Always make a backup of your important data.
Click to expand...
Link
 
So, according to that doc, if I 0 the drive there's no way for me to re-format it in a way that will allow me to use it as an mp3 player?

The reason this sucks is that it's still under waranty, but Apple can't seem to re-create the issue when I send it to them. So to them, there's nothing wrong with it. I'd rather not send it away and pay to have a new hard drive installed by a third party.
 
You can reformat using disk utility or my computer, but then you have to restore, its ok if you do that. just make sure you use a compatible format just as the quote said.
 
Cool, so it should work out fine as long as I reformat it to Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus) format? What it comes down to is, where I don't do this or it destroys it, I'll probably need to have a new HD installed even though I'm still under warrenty. It seems almost like Apple doesn't try very hard to find the issue when you send it off for repair.
 
Yeah, should work if you format it to that, and if you do have to send it in, just make sure you are as detailed as possible when it asks you to say the issue or else the repair people will not know what to exactly look for.
 
Oh well, it didn't end up working anyway. When it was zeroing the drive, it got tot he same point of the drive where it freezes up and starts buzzing. Looks like it's going back to apple with a re-phrased description of the issue. I really want them to just replace the hard drive.
 
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