Q: iPod Classic

It doesn't look too bad, though it has got too hot at some point. Have you tried running a full disk surface check on it? Perhaps there is a small section of unreliable sectors that still need to be identified and mapped out. It may also help to make sure that any AV software you have is configured to ignore your media folders and the iPod. With large audiobook files AV may interfere with the transfer process.

tt2

"It may also help to make sure that any AV software you have is configured to ignore your media folders and the iPod."

I'm really not tech savy so could you exsplain what you mean? 

As for letting it get too hot I left my iPod in the car one day when I was going swiming.

I finally figured out the problem with it (at least for now) I was so fed up I made a copy of my iTunes library and put it on an HD so I could open on my PC (laptop) and tried to sync, it didn't work, even after restoring it to work with PC (it said the songs couldn't be synced becasue the computer need to be authorized, even though it was authroized.)  So I went back to my Mac so I would at least have my music and I didn't have a $380 (what I paid years ago for my iPod) paperweight. It synced everything.  I have all my audiobooks, my music, the few music vids I hadn't been able to have on it since I first started having issues.

Aha, I you take a Mac formatted iPod to a PC it generally won't make any sense of it.

As for configuring anti-virus software most have some kind of advanced settings page where you can tell it not to scan a particular folder, drive or certain file types.

tt2

I have about 600 or so Relocs, but I've tried formatting and restoring my Classic so many times, and it always gets about 200-300 songs on it and then the sync cuts out and freezes. I've tried plugging it into different USB plugs on my computer, and still it screws up on the sync. Have you heard of this? What should I do? Is the Ipod shot?

What happens to the pending & realloc counts before and after another attempt? It may there is a single hard to access chunk of the drive that just needs to get all mapped out, or it could all be a lost cause... The only way to tell is to keep trying until you decide it is no longer worth the effort.

tt2

I restored it again and tried again and it failed again. The Reallocs went up slightly, to 704. No pending sectors. I formatted it from My Computer, I tried to download chipset drivers from the manufacturer, I have no idea what could be wrong with it. When I ran checkdisk on it it said there were no errors, so I dunno.

Chkdsk won't report errors, instead the bad blocks get silently reallocated. You can perform a few surface scans and see if the numbers settle down.

tt2

Hi! While listening to my ipod I changed to a different song, the song indicated it was playing, but never played. I reset my ipod and a circle and red X displayed. I have followed he instructions to place the ipod in disk mode to reset only to see the X again. I also followed your directions only to receive the message [Can't open device] with another message flashing at the bottom "ERROR! Diag Halt" I cant help but to think my ipod is pretty much gone, but any help at all would really be appreciated! My ipod is like a member of my family! LOL

Again, Thanks!

-Felicia

Eek! Try sticking it on charge for a few hours and then resetting again.

Otherwise if it looks hopeless, and there is nothing to lose, then this trick might be worth a try.

See also TS1463: iPod Displays a Red "X" Icon.

tt2

It was on charge all night:(

I tried following those steps last night from that very post! I cant get the ipod in disk mode and when I hook it to the PC and itunes...nothing! It never shows!

The iPod slap might be your last hope then, assuming the device is out of warranty.

tt2

Hi TT2-

You seem to be the go to for this problem.... Hoping you can help me as well.  I have got some pretty screwed up readings, and I can't figure how some of them are possible.

Retracts: 21

Reallocs: 4624

Pending Sectors: 3904

Power On Hours: 73

Start/Stops: 13677

Temp: current 33c

Temp: min 48c

Temp: 252c

You need to know that this ipod is treated like royalty.... never dropped, never left in the car.  So these readings don't make any sense to me at all. 

Please help!!!!  And thank you so much!!

How old is it? I'm assuming it is out of warranty.

Power on hours would seem too low for a drive that has such problems, min.temp shouldn't be higher than current and high temp. seems too high to be feasible. Chances are that at some point something has gone very wrong and random data has been squirted into the CMOS memory that holds the SMART stats.

The question is, what is the real state of the drive? I suspect that in spite of the apparent inconsistencies the news still isn't good. The fact that you are here says you're having trouble with it. All hard drives fail eventually, even those that aren't moved around. Unfortunately not every drive will live as long as the average and some die early.

tt2

Hey TT2-

Yeah, it isn't syncing properly.  Itunes sees it, you click to sync, and it takes forever.  It tells you that about after 1100 songs, and it freezes for a few minutes, that it is done syncing.  But when you scroll, there is no music.  And another thing, when I ran the diagnostics, I didn't hear the drive start to run, and it didn't beep at me.  I don't know if that is relevant or not, but I thought it a bit strange. 

What do you think?  My boyfriend just spanked it...lol.  I will check it again.  Any help is appreciated.  We just bought this thing last year and really don't have the money for a new one.

Thank you!!

Laura