Hi!
Well, my older brother owned a very old and broken 20 Gig iPod 4th generation with color display. He told me that it's mine if I fix it. So I researched all day that day and found out that it was a common problem--for the 4th generation models--for the hard drive cable to come loose. So I detached and reattached the cable, and voila! It's in beautiful working condition! I transferred all his photos and songs onto our external hard drive and was ready to make the iPod my own. What more could I ask for? Well, I decided to do a restore; mainly to be able to change the name of my iPod, but I wasn't expecting such a HUGE problem to derive from such a little pet peeve of having the iPod be named the way I wanted it to.
You see, I have done quite a few restores for iPods. And they have never given me any trouble or problems. But after this particular restore, iTunes gave me a VEEERRRY peculiar pop-up message. It said something to the effect of "Please connect the iPod to an external power source to complete the restoration process."
I have a 3rd-party charger that goes directly from the iPod port to the wall outlet, but it didn't seem to work. Here's its page:
http://www.pdasmart.com/products/IPO5022ipodpartscenterphoto.htm
I then tried plugging it in via USB into a Mac, an XP, and a Vista, then tried using tricks I found around the internet to help the process. Nothing worked.
I have been searching and searching for a very LONG time to find a solution that I can do without having to get a firewire cable, which I don't own. Here's a thread discussing what I believe is the same problem:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6590411
One method to fix it is to plug your USB into the computer only slightly so that the two longer prongs within the USB cable connect. These are solely power prongs and will bring power to your iPod and hopefully complete the restore process.
As for me, whenever I try that method, the screen just went blank. Then when I touch the scroll weel, the same icon of "plug into outlet" icon comes up. For all those who don't know exactly what icon I'm talking about, here's a pic that shows up on my iPod when I boot it up:
I've concluded that all I really need is a power boost from a Firewire adapter, but I don't want to drive all the way to the Apple store in order to do it. However, it may be necessary...? Is there any other known method to fix this problem?
Thanks!
EDIT:
Sometimes after rebooting while the outlet icon is on, I get this icon:
which also means the iPod needs more juice, pretty much. I've been charging it for 24 hours+...I don't know what else to do!
Please, please, please, please help!
Thanks!
--wad11656
SHORT VERSION:
My iPod used to work, but then I restored it. I got a screen that looks like a plug outlet, and plugging it into the computer or an outlet won't work. Is there any other method to get rid of this adapter/plug outlet icon, or do I need to drive all the way to the nearest Apple store and visit a Genius Bar and/or call Apple Support?
Thanks!
Well, my older brother owned a very old and broken 20 Gig iPod 4th generation with color display. He told me that it's mine if I fix it. So I researched all day that day and found out that it was a common problem--for the 4th generation models--for the hard drive cable to come loose. So I detached and reattached the cable, and voila! It's in beautiful working condition! I transferred all his photos and songs onto our external hard drive and was ready to make the iPod my own. What more could I ask for? Well, I decided to do a restore; mainly to be able to change the name of my iPod, but I wasn't expecting such a HUGE problem to derive from such a little pet peeve of having the iPod be named the way I wanted it to.
You see, I have done quite a few restores for iPods. And they have never given me any trouble or problems. But after this particular restore, iTunes gave me a VEEERRRY peculiar pop-up message. It said something to the effect of "Please connect the iPod to an external power source to complete the restoration process."
I have a 3rd-party charger that goes directly from the iPod port to the wall outlet, but it didn't seem to work. Here's its page:
http://www.pdasmart.com/products/IPO5022ipodpartscenterphoto.htm
I then tried plugging it in via USB into a Mac, an XP, and a Vista, then tried using tricks I found around the internet to help the process. Nothing worked.
I have been searching and searching for a very LONG time to find a solution that I can do without having to get a firewire cable, which I don't own. Here's a thread discussing what I believe is the same problem:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=6590411
One method to fix it is to plug your USB into the computer only slightly so that the two longer prongs within the USB cable connect. These are solely power prongs and will bring power to your iPod and hopefully complete the restore process.
As for me, whenever I try that method, the screen just went blank. Then when I touch the scroll weel, the same icon of "plug into outlet" icon comes up. For all those who don't know exactly what icon I'm talking about, here's a pic that shows up on my iPod when I boot it up:
I've concluded that all I really need is a power boost from a Firewire adapter, but I don't want to drive all the way to the Apple store in order to do it. However, it may be necessary...? Is there any other known method to fix this problem?
Thanks!
EDIT:
Sometimes after rebooting while the outlet icon is on, I get this icon:
which also means the iPod needs more juice, pretty much. I've been charging it for 24 hours+...I don't know what else to do!
Please, please, please, please help!
Thanks!
--wad11656
SHORT VERSION:
My iPod used to work, but then I restored it. I got a screen that looks like a plug outlet, and plugging it into the computer or an outlet won't work. Is there any other method to get rid of this adapter/plug outlet icon, or do I need to drive all the way to the nearest Apple store and visit a Genius Bar and/or call Apple Support?
Thanks!