iPod Reset 2006
Geekfishing Blog: iPod Reset. It is simply stunning how many reads this little article I did last year has gotten. Over 95 comment alone from people who have locked up iPods. Wow!
Since I just spent a day getting my iPod Photo back to work, I can sympathize. As long as the thing works well, it is fine, but if the synchronization stuff breaks, you are really toast.
So for everyone, here's an updated compendium of things to do when your iPod just freezes that is also on tongfamily
Resetting the iPod seems to help some. Remember for most modern ipods, you reset them by:
- Toggle the hold switch on and off
- Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons until the Apple logo appears. Usually 6-10 seconds. Older iPods require you hit Select and Play by the way.
- Rinse and repeat until it does it.
- The Apples diagnostics aren't particularly helpful if this doesn't work, but the basic advice I have is that if it is locked on, let the power drain down to zero, you will then get a battery icon, plug it in and let it charge, this seems to help some folks.
Basically, its the standard, uninstall itunes and ipod, reinstall, pray and repeat. Or try a different USB port, blah, blah and this never seems to work, but try it anyway, just remove all the software on your computer and try to plug it in.
By the way, for most of these, I think there is really a file corruption, so most people will have to do a full reset. Of course, this requires that you actually have enough running to get it to sync to your machine, so here are the steps:
- Do the reset noted above
- Plug the thing in and download the iPod Updater from Apple
- When you plug it in, pray that the Updater sees you and then hit the very scary Restore button. This wipes the hard drive.
Comments
hi i put a security code on my ippod but i forgot what it is can u help me reset it it is the sode for the volume thing
Posted by: Amador Diaz | August 26, 2006 7:05 AM
plz plz plz help me i cant get my ipod 2 turn on i left it uncharged for about a week an now it wont turn on i have left it uncharged b4 for an even longer time but thins time i think it might HAVE DIED i rle need some help with this as im pretty sure i wont be getting another one if its broken
-------------------------------------------------
Well, it could be that you need to let it recharge for a long time. The batteries in these things do fail after a while and they won't hold a charge. Since you have Mini, I wonder how old it is. The only fix is to plug it in for a while and see if you can start it up. Otherwise, it is to the Apple store you go. You can get new batteries for the thing but it has go directly to Apple.
Posted by: charlotte | May 8, 2006 9:23 AM
This fricken ipod mini 1st gen is driving me up the wall. I first bought a 1st gen mini on ebay with a broken clickwheel wire( i regret buying it), than i bought a 1st gen clickwheel for it. Now the select button wont work in the menu and im pretty sure its not the clickwheel because i can still reset the mini. Please help me my email is kuziwk@hotmail.com
-------------------------
Wow, a 1G mini, I never had a chance to use one. If the Select won't work, it sounds like it is a firmward issue. I'd do a complete restore with iPod updater which wipes all the firmware in the iPod and puts it into the right place. Then pray!
Posted by: Justin | April 29, 2006 10:58 PM
I filled my iPod mini the other day, its the 4 gig. I was happy with it and I played about 3 songs, and then out of nowhere it went to a dark screen where the Apple logo just comes up, turns off every 7 seconds for 1 second, then it just loops over and over and over and over. When the apple logo goes away for the 1 second, it makes a clicking noise. Its really annoying. I plugged it into my Mac Mini and pressed Select and Play at the same time and a screen that said "Do not disconnect" came up, then "OK to disconnect". Im really confused, because even after I disconnected, it stayed in the "OK to disconnect" screen.
Please help, I need my iPod to work again. Im going on vacation within a week!!!!!!
Posted by: Alex | April 26, 2006 6:23 PM
"Uh...This doesn't work with my ipod. See, I have a 20GB (not photo) Black and White Ipod. My friend gave it to me, and it had the frowning ipod :[. So right when I get it, I plug it in to my PC and it syncs fine, works fine, so I had to charge it. Later that night I took it when I went out. Most songs worked, but some I would select and it would kind of freeze up for a couple seconds and go back to the mail screen. So, I charged it that night, not thinking much of it. Then the next morning I take it off the charger and when I'm just leaving my house I select a song. I freezes up for a couple seconds and then re-starts and has the frowny face. So on my way, I try re-setting it. It kind of works, (it said "ok to disconnect ipod" and on the top it said disk mode. The entire day that was there. The battery was just wareing away, so I shut it off. When I aventually turned it back on to see if anything changed, it had the frowning face. I plug it in and in the start bar it says usb connected. Itunes wont start when its plugged in, and when I start Itunes before it won't show up. I downloaded the prior link and it just says Ipod error, or something. I dont know whats wrong, so I ventured to you for help, so I hope you can.
Thank you for your time.
-Doug "
Im having the exact same problem as him, and the same ipod as well. Can anybody please help us??
Posted by: Ahmed | April 25, 2006 5:29 AM
hi ive been given an ipod mini by my friend to go travelling. Im now all the other side of the world only to learn that the ipod has frozen! I desperately need it and asap. The play/pause and skip sond buttons work but not the select or play button. I've tried to reset but nothing happens. I can't reinstall as i have no means of updating and uploading songs onto the ipiod if the songs and files are lost (im backpacking so have minimal facilites). please please please please can you help. thank you
Posted by: livi | March 22, 2006 5:53 PM
Excelent. Thanks for the tips. My Ipod is back to it's normal self once more.
Posted by: Dan | March 20, 2006 11:20 PM
Uh...This doesn't work with my ipod. See, I have a 20GB (not photo) Black and White Ipod. My friend gave it to me, and it had the frowning ipod :[. So right when I get it, I plug it in to my PC and it syncs fine, works fine, so I had to charge it. Later that night I took it when I went out. Most songs worked, but some I would select and it would kind of freeze up for a couple seconds and go back to the mail screen. So, I charged it that night, not thinking much of it. Then the next morning I take it off the charger and when I'm just leaving my house I select a song. I freezes up for a couple seconds and then re-starts and has the frowny face. So on my way, I try re-setting it. It kind of works, (it said "ok to disconnect ipod" and on the top it said disk mode. The entire day that was there. The battery was just wareing away, so I shut it off. When I aventually turned it back on to see if anything changed, it had the frowning face. I plug it in and in the start bar it says usb connected. Itunes wont start when its plugged in, and when I start Itunes before it won't show up. I downloaded the prior link and it just says Ipod error, or something. I dont know whats wrong, so I ventured to you for help, so I hope you can.
Thank you for your time.
-Doug
Posted by: Doug | March 17, 2006 6:00 PM
FYI... I have gotten several unstuck when I couldn't restart them by hitting the LEFT key repeatedly. Somehow, without showing it on the screen, each step LEFT was backing up one song in the Playlist queue. Eventually it got to #1 then another final LEFT broke it out to the main menu - after which I was able to reset.
Posted by: The Liberal Avenger | March 9, 2006 2:18 PM
Thank you, thank you, thank you. This works perfectly.
-----------------
You are welcome Bing!
Posted by: Bing | March 4, 2006 2:31 PM
help me please someone! my minis died ( i think), can anyone help me bring it back to life. i accidently unplugged ipod mini while connected to my pc (charging). its now frozen on the time i left it and reads "do not disconnect". iv tried the above tip and help from ipod but doesnt seem to be working. argh. HELP!!!
Posted by: steph | February 22, 2006 8:07 PM
OMG I am beyond frustraited with these darn things.. there is a major glitch with the new ipod software that is downloaded... i have a 40g click wheel ipod, just over a year old. It's basically a paperweight while i spend days on end trying to figure out how to fix it. Ive done everything imaginable short of messing with partitians and reformatting my hard drive!! ive had this problem three times now, the first time i sent it in and they replaced it, the second time, they tried making me pay 50 dollars for help over the phone. i told the guy it was a rip off and he waived the fee. and now, less than a month later, it's doing the same exact thing. some people are saying its a plot to get people with older ipods to upgrade. i dont know about all this.. but i read somewhere that the problem is the new software breaks down the older ipods. i am so angry!! my ipod is sitting in my sock drawer right now just so i wont throw it across the room or smash it with a hammer!! if anyone has any info on how to fix this problem, let me know please!!! P.S. thanks for letting me vent ;)
Posted by: Sophia | February 18, 2006 10:28 AM
Can someone please help? I have a problem. Okay, so I got some Sharpie on the iPod's wheel thing. So I took some rubbing alcohol and tried to get it off. It just ended up smearing it. I put some soap on a piece of paper towel and rubbed it with that. After I was done with the soap, I found that the Menu and Play/Pause buttons didn't work correctly. It also just randomly clicks sometimes. Oddly, the Menu and Play/Pause buttons still function if the iPod needs to be reset, but if it needs to be turned off, it wont work, and if the backlight needs to be turned on, it won't work. I have an iPod Mini 4GB, if that helps at all.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!
E-mail, please!
OWsoggybiscuit@aol.com
Posted by: Alexei | February 17, 2006 4:09 PM
4G NANO - NOTHING BUT TROUBLE !!!
Please help
Will only work when connected to pc.
stuck on language option ?
Tried restore and soft reset, no help.
Ipod only 2 months old !!!
Many thanks in advance
Posted by: Phill | February 10, 2006 8:23 AM
Thanks so much for this article...my 14 yr old son came to me today with an iPod that wouldn't turn on. I am now higher on his respect-o-meter because I had the knowledge to boot the iPod up, thanks to you!
Posted by: BettyJ | February 8, 2006 3:50 PM