iPod sysinfo file

Somehow your iPod has lost it's SysInfo file that tells it about things like what version it is. It should like in the iPod_Control/Device folder on your iPod (it's hidden on the finder, but you can see it in the Terminal). Mine looks like this:

Jay:/Volumes/Serendipity/iPod_Control/Device robbie$ more SysInfo
BoardHwName: iPod Q14
pszSerialNumber: U23192YDNLY
ModelNumStr: M8948
FirewireGuid: 0x000D3EB4
HddFirmwareRev: JB002B
RegionCode: B(0x000C)
PolicyFlags: 0x00000001
buildID: 0x02208000 (2.2)
visibleBuildID: 0x02208000 (2.2)
boardHwRev: 0x00000000 (0.0 0)
boardHwSwInterfaceRev: 0x00030001 (0.0.3 1)
bootLoaderImageRev: 0x00010000 (0.0.1 0)
diskModeImageRev: 0x00000000 (0.0 0)
diagImageRev: 0x00000000 (0.0 0)
osImageRev: 0x00000000 (0.0 0)
iPodFamily: 0x00000000
updaterFamily: 0x00000000

Probably the easiest way to get it back would be to do a factory restore.

 

It means your iPod filesystem is corrupt and needs to be restored. First (if you've enabled disk use on your iPod) copy all data off the iPod (you don't need to copy the music; you can simply re-synchronize it afterward), then open the iPod updater and click Restore instead of Upgrade (it's in your iPod Software Update folder, in your Utilities folder, in your Applications folder, in the root of your computer's main hard drive. Once the iPod is restored, re-synchronize your music, and copy all the data back (if you copied data off of the iPod's hard drive).