Q: Corrupt iPod classic

Stats like that suggest it crashed in some fashion that caused it to write incorrect values into the CMOS RAM. Getting too hot at some point could cause this. Good to hear it is otherwise holding out.

tt2

I have an IPod Classic from 2007 that has this same problem, and I am hoping it can be fixed.

My last computer was Windows Vista, and I moved to Windows 8. The previous computer had a motherboard fail and I moved to a new computer.

I managed to move all of my library over the old iPod into a new iTunes on my new computer, and then the trouble began.

The iPod says it has 0KB free yet there is nothing on it whatsoever. When it's plugged into the computer, it just freezes up my windows (can't access it through the 'My Computer') and it freezes iTunes, or iTunes absolutely won't open at all. Then when it's unplugged, the computer goes back to normal.

I did the instructions on the opening thread, and here's what I got out of my results.

Retracts:   31

Reallocs:  0

Pending Sectors: 2

PowerOn Hours: 192

Start/Stops: 294

Temp: Current 32c

Temp: Min 20c

Temp: Max 46c

After this, I went into iTunes and checked the box to not sychronize with an iPod plugged up, then plugged it in and as it did before, iTunes froze up, however when I unplugged the iPod this time, it seemed to have read it and said the unit was corrupted and needed to be restored, however I can't restore it at all since iTunes freezes up.

I pray this thing has not been broken and is possible to fix. It's a Classic 80 gig and I know they aren't made brand new today.

It is likely those two pending sectors hold some crucial data like the root folder of the drive which is why everything seizes up. The rest of the numbers look fine. Try the DFU restore method, or reformat. If you can't get that to work ask a Mac owning friend to try restoring it if you have Windows, or vice versa.

tt2

Relived to hear that it's not 100% broken.

Tried a DFU restore this morning. Plugged it up, held in the buttons, then opened iTunes. iTunes froze as it always does, but when I unplugged the iPod, iTunes came back to normal with a screen reading that the iPod was corrupted and needed to be restored. So hopefully I'm doing something right.

I don't know anyone else with a Mac, and I don't think reformating it is possible since as soon as you plug it up, iTunes won't run and if you right click it in 'My Computer', it just freezes up that window.

You may be able to format from a command prompt (Start Menu > Accessories > Command Prompt) rather than Windows Explorer. Assuming the drive letter is E: for example you would use  Format E: /Q  to reformat the drive.

tt2

Didn't know this was possible. Just typed in Format E: /Q  and it says "insert New Disk Drive for E: and press Enter when ready"

I unplugged it and put it back in, and still the same thing.

I gave E: as an example. Is that the drive letter assigned to the iPod when connected? If not you need to use the correct letter in its place. In some cases you would need to put the device into disk mode before connecting it to the computer.

tt2

It's at Drive E:

I put it in disk mode and tried again, again it didn't work. Computer still freezes up in it's window if I try to right click it from there.

I guess I'm out of ideas then.

tt2

hi turingtest2

The stats on my iPod are

retracts: 20

reallocs: 0

pending sectors: 1

everything else is quite low compared to every one else's posts

My main problem is that I am traveling for work and don't have iTunes on my work computer, so I can't connect to iTunes at the moment. I had plugged my iPod into the tv in my hotel, however it didn't work (said something in German which I didn't understand), so I unplugged it without ejecting. Now I have nothing on my iPod. Guessing I'm stuffed until I get home and can get onto iTunes...

Thanks for for any suggestions you might have.

Yes, if the library file on the device gets corrupted then there is generally no other way to "see" the media on it. The first section of my Corrupt iPod classic post deals with extracting media from an iPod with a corrupt library. This would normally be into an iTunes library, but Windows Media Player or MediaMonkey could also potentially read the recovered files. It depends on how locked down the computer is and how much free space there is to play with.

tt2

Hi tt2,

Plugging the iPod into my work laptop hasn't done anything other than ask me if i want to re-format it... i think not. Windows Media Player doesn't seem to have anything useful in it, and we cannot run any downloaded software without admin rights. I guess I will just have to wait until I get home in a couple of weeks and try itunes. Luckily i can get some of my music from the cloud onto my phone or ipad in an emergency ... just not 5000+ tracks...

I had previously posted this in another thread, but it seems like my corruption problem is actually fairly similar to those mentioned here.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Recently (one week ago), I installed the latest itunes update on my computer, a Dell Inspiron (OS: Windows 7).  Since then, anytime my ipod is connected, the contents of my ipod are deleted and I am prompted to restore the ipod. 

Prior to the update, there were no issues with my ipod. 

My ipod is a classic 120 gb.

I ran the ipod in diagnostics mode and the following are the results of the scan:

Retracts: 19

Reallocs: 72

Pending Sectors: 0

PowerOn Hours: 1225

Start/Stops: 21163

Temp: Current 31c

Temp: Min 57c

Temp: Max 245c

After posting this, I hooked up my ipod to my computer, and after finding my ipod as a drive, right clicked the drive, selected properties, then tools, and then, under error checking, selected scan and attempt recovery of bad sectors.  No problems were found.

This problem has been very frustrating for a number of reasons.

Does anyone have any solutions to this problem or am I simply out of luck because the drive is failing?

I have an appointment at an apple store tomorrow, but am not optimistic.

iPod classic, Windows 7

The temperatures are out of whack, but that could be due to a crash that corrupted the CMOS data. The realloc and pending counts are OK. Have you tried the DFU restore and break up large transfers methods? You may also want to disable your anti-virus program while trying to update the device in case that is having an impact.

tt2

I've got an iPod classic from 2007 or 2008 (can't really remember), 80gb, and it's randomly just stopped working.

Did all the things listed in the first post, and this is what I got:

Retracts: 11

Reallocs: 1648

Pending Sectors: 312

PowerOn Hours: 4359

Start/Stops: 10253

Temp: Current 35c

Temp: Min 64c

Temp: Max 239c

I know the numbers are so out of whack, but honestly, I just wanna know if it'll ever work again or if I should just let go of it.

Thanks in advance