My Ipod just froze, i was going going through songs and it just froze into 4 seconds into a song and wont do anything. I tried holding the play button down to flip it off, tried plugging it in to charge didnt do anything. Anyone know whats wrong?
there is a reset function, involves turning the lock button back and forth and something else....sorry, dont have my manual with me, but its in there
Troubleshooting Your iPod By Christopher Breen. Date: Aug 19, 2002. Troubleshooting Your iPod This content is from Secrets of the iPod by Christopher Breen (Peachpit Press 2002) I regret to report that—except for you, dear reader, and me—nothing is perfect. No, not even the iPod. Whereas it may tick happily along one day, the next day, its menu structure is a mess; it refuses to start up when you're sure it has a full battery; or when it does start up, it displays an icon indicating that it is feeling far from well. In this chapter, I'll look at the common maladies that afflict the iPod and what, if anything, you can do about them. I'll also examine the iPod's hidden diagnostic screen. Problems and Solutions Unlike a computer that can fail in seemingly countless and creative ways, the iPod exhibits only a few behaviors when it's feeling poorly. Following are the most common problems and (when available) their solutions. The confused iPod Clues that your iPod is confused are the absence of playlists, artists, and songs that used to be there; a capacity that appears to be 5 GB on a 10 GB iPod; the failure of the iPod to boot beyond the Apple logo; or the appearance of a folder icon with an exclamation point. I'll look at each scenario. Absence of items While I was working on Chapter 5 of this book (the chapter that deals with using the iPod with a Windows PC), my PC crashed, and when I unplugged the iPod, its playlists were missing. I could still play music from the iPod through the Songs screen, but things were not right. In an attempt to restore a sense of sanity to my iPod, I tried these remedies: Reset the iPod (press and hold Play and Menu for 10 seconds). Resetting the iPod is similar to pushing the Reset switch on your Mac. It forces the iPod to restart and (ideally) get its little house in order. In this case, the iPod remained confused. Restore the iPod (run the latest iPod Software Updater). If reset doesn't work, there's nothing else for it than to restore the iPod to its original factory state—meaning that all the data on it is removed. To restore the iPod, launch the most recent copy of iPod Software Updater, and click the Restore button in the resulting window (Figure 7.1). Confirm that you want to restore by clicking Restore in the warning sheet (Mac OS X) or dialog box (Mac OS 9) that appears (Figure 7.2). After the updater does its job, you must unplug and replug the iPod for the restore process to complete. After you replug the iPod, it will appear to restart several times. When the process is complete, the FireWire symbol will appear in the iPod's display screen, and the Updater window will return to its initial state, offering you the option to restore your iPod (Figure 7.3). When you double-click your iPod's icon on the Desktop, you'll see that the device contains only the Contacts folder with the sample contacts supplied by Apple. To put your songs back on the iPod, just launch iTunes 2 and synch the iPod with iTunes. Incorrect capacity This problem can occur when you've restored the 10 GB iPod with a software updater that's not intended for that device. The 10 GB iPod should be restored only with iPod Software 1.1 Updater or later. If you restore with the version 1.0.4 update, for example, your 10 GB iPod will be confused. Apple no longer offers this update online, so if the 10 GB iPod is your first iPod, you're highly unlikely to have this problem. Failure to boot There are a few possible reasons why an iPod might not boot beyond the Apple logo—some benign and others not so. The Hold switch is on. Go ahead and smack yourself in the head (and then breathe a sigh of relief) if your iPod won't start up because the Hold switch is engaged. Drained battery. Among the most benign problems is an iPod battery that's drained. Plug your iPod into the power adapter or your computer, and let it charge. If everything's hunky-dory after that, pat yourself on the back for a job well done. In some rare cases, the battery may not be drained enough for the iPod to be reset. If you've tried other solutions and failed, unplug the iPod from a power supply for 24 hours; then plug it into a power source and attempt to reset it by holding down the Play and Menu buttons for 10 seconds. Confused iPod. If the iPod still refuses to boot, attempt to reset it by pressing and holding the Play and Menu buttons for 10 seconds. Incorrect formatting. At some point, you might have thought it would be a nifty idea to reformat your iPod's hard drive—partitioned it to install Mac OS 9 on one partition and Mac OS X on the other, for example. Bad idea. If you've formatted the drive in any format other than Mac OS Extended (HFS Plus), the iPod won't play music files. To put things right, you must restore your iPod . The really confused iPod Your iPod may be so confused that it won't mount on your Mac's Desktop and can't be restored. Follow these steps to mount the iPod: Connect the iPod to a built-in FireWire port on your computer (rather than an unpowered FireWire port on a PC Card, for example). Reset the iPod by pressing the Play and Menu buttons for 10 seconds. When you see the Apple logo, press and hold the Previous and Next buttons for 10 seconds. The FireWire icon should appear in your iPod's display. The ultra-really confused iPod If your iPod won't start up no matter what you've tried, you might be able to make it work again by disassembling the unit, unplugging the battery and hard drive, plugging the battery and hard drive in again, and reassembling the iPod. If your iPod is still under warranty, take advantage of that warranty and have your iPod looked at rather than pulling it apart. If Apple learns that you've opened an iPod, there's a possibility that Apple won't honor your warranty. The broken iPod It's a machine, and regrettably, machines break. If none of these solutions brings your iPod back from the dead, it may need to be repaired. Contact Apple at http://depot.info.apple.com/ ipod/index.html for instructions on how to have your iPod serviced. The frozen iPod Just like a computer, the iPod can freeze from time to time. To thaw it, attach your iPod to a power source—either the power adapter or a powered FireWire port—and press and hold the Play and Menu buttons for 10 seconds. Failure to charge There are several reasons why an iPod might not charge. They include: Your Mac's asleep. The iPod won't charge when it's attached to a sleeping Mac. Wake up your Mac if you want the iPod to charge. More than one FireWire device is on the chain. Although you can chain multiple FireWire devices together, doing so with an iPod isn't such a hot idea. To begin with, a FireWire device on the chain before the iPod (a hard drive, for example) may be hogging all the power. Second, there have been reports of iPods that have been corrupted when left on a chain with other FireWire devices. To be safe rather than sorry, don't put the iPod on a chain. If you must use multiple FireWire devices, purchase a powered FireWire hub (which costs around $80). A frozen iPod. An iPod that's frozen won't charge. While the iPod is attached to a power supply, press and hold the Play and Menu buttons. A faulty FireWire cable. Cables break. Try a different FireWire cable, just in case yours has gone the way of the dodo. A faulty computer FireWire port. It's possible that the FireWire port on your computer has given up the ghost. Try charging the iPod from the Apple iPod Power Adapter. A funky power adapter. The Apple iPod Power Adapter could also be bad. Attempt to charge your iPod from your computer. A faulty FireWire port on the iPod. This is not good. As you plug and unplug the FireWire cable from the iPod's FireWire port, it's possible to put too much stress on the internal connectors that deliver power to your iPod's FireWire port, breaking the bond between those connectors and your iPod's motherboard. If your iPod is out of warranty, and you're handy with a soldering iron, you could open your iPod (see "It's what's inside that counts: disassembling the iPod" later in this chapter), check for broken connections, and resolder those connections. This kind of repair is one that only the truly skilled should attempt, however. Broken iPod. I've mentioned this before: iPods occasionally break. If none of these solutions brings your iPod back from the dead, it may need to be repaired. Contact Apple at http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/index.html for instructions on how to have your iPod serviced.
