iPod iPod hard drive failing

[Unorthodox]

My 4G 20GB iPod recently started crashing very frequently.
When I restart; it takes about 2-3 min to boot up. First it displays the apple symbol then it displays a folder with an exclamation point. It will then repeat that a couple dozen times.
When it finally does boot up, all my songs are gone and the setting are back to their default.
When I plug it into my Mac I get this:

Initialize just open Disk Utility and does nothing but unsuccessfully gather "Disk Information". It never mounts.
Is my hard drive kaboot? It's not even two years old yet!

 

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

Try the 5 R's, Reset, Retry, Restart, Reinstall and Restore, and if it still misbehaves, then it's time to get service (or more likely, a new one, I'm afraid).

 

[Unorthodox]

I already tried the five R's..... None worked.
I even tied it on several different computers.
Thanks anyway.

 

[Unorthodox]

According to Apple, it's going to cost me $250 to get it repaired!
But.......
I bought it 1 year and 5 months ago. So, can I buy the iPod extended warranty for $50 and get it fixed that way?

 

[mad jew]

So, can I buy the iPod extended warranty for $50 and get it fixed that way?

Pretty sure that has to be within the first year, sorry. I could be wrong, but I know that's the case for Macs.