musefian
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: iTunes freezing during sync (iPod Classic 160GB stops syncing)

I have about  19000 mp3 files in my iTunes that I am trying to sync to my 160GB iPod Classic (2009). I have updated to the latest iTunes and my iPod is updated to 2.0.4.

The iPod is recognized and syncing begins like normal and files begin to transfer… BUT iTunes freezes at some random file and stops syncing. Basically iTunes says it is still syncing (but stuck on one file) and the iPod is showing the “Do not Disconnect – Please eject before disconnecting” screen. It looks to me like the iPod thinks it is done but iTunes is still trying to sync.

 

I have to manually close iTunes and restart the computer to get iTunes working normal again. I can close iTunes but cannot get it to open again before restarting the computer unless I manually go into the Task Manager and end all iTunes processes.If I do this and bring iTunes back up then start to sync again, the sync is completely stuck on the first song while the iPod does not respond to the syncing at all.

If I restart my computer then start over again then I can begin syncing, but the same thing happens again.

 

By the way, I have had an iPod touch 3G on this same computer with iTunes and have never had a syncing problem like this ever.

Here are some of the things I have figured out and done to try and fix this:

• I have removed all of the songs (files) in iTunes that the program cannot find on my hard drive anymore.

• If it freezes, the songs that it said were being synced to the iPod are not actually on the iPod. Only 2-3 of the first songs sent during the sync have stayed on the iPod. Well most of the time. In manual mode they seem to “stick”.

• I have restored my iPod back to factory settings. That has not solved the problem.

• I have figured out that this has NOTHING to do with corrupt files. The file that it is freezing on seems completely random (I have done this about 10-15 times) and sometimes it freezes sooner and sometimes it freezes later. I also checked to ensure the files are not corrupt; which they are not. I even deleted them from the list at first when I first had the problem.

• I have set it to sync only checked songs then set only 30-50 songs at a time to transfer. Besides taking FOREVER to sync my iPod (shouldn’t it be easier?), it can still randomly freeze up to where iTunes is syncing, but the iPod is not. Basically it can happen on song #451 or on song #3. The odds of a freeze are much lower it seems with very few songs at a time, but it can still happen, no matter how few I do.

• I have tried manual syncing… same problem. It will freeze during the update.

• I have tried different USB cables with no effect.

• I have tried different USB slots.

• Reinstalling windows... that did not solve it.

iPod classic, Windows 7

Posted on Jan 22, 2016 1:20 AM

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musefian

Q: iTunes freezing during sync (iPod Classic 160GB stops syncing)

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,Helpful

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Jan 22, 2016 5:38 AM in response to musefian
    Level 8 (39,285 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 22, 2016 5:38 AM in response to musefian

    Sounds like you did a lot of trouble-shooting already.  Like hard drives used with computers, the mini hard drive in your iPod becomes unreliable over time.  So the cause may be the hard drive failing to write data at random times.  That may not be the cause in your case, but it is possible.

     

    As a test, if you have other USB devices connected at the same time, you can try shutting down the PC and disconnecting all USB devices.  You can leave standard USB keyboard/mouse connected, if used.  Do this to put the iPod into Disk Mode

     

    Putting iPod into Disk Mode - Apple Support

     

    Start up computer, run iTunes, and connect iPod to a direct USB port, by itself.  iTunes may prompt you to do a Restore with a message about "recovery."  Tell iTunes to proceed.  After the Restore completes, try doing a full sync again.  If that does not help, please post back.

  • by turingtest2,Helpful

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 22, 2016 5:38 AM in response to musefian
    Level 10 (87,001 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 22, 2016 5:38 AM in response to musefian

    See Corrupt iPod classic. What are the HDD stats?

     

    tt2

  • by musefian,

    musefian musefian Jan 22, 2016 5:38 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2016 5:38 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    I tried this method and ipod restored successfully.but after restore itunes still freezing during sync again.The problem is not solved.

  • by musefian,

    musefian musefian Jan 22, 2016 5:40 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2016 5:40 AM in response to turingtest2

    Here are my stats:

    Retracts:54

    Reallocs:16376

    Pending Sectors: 0

    PowerOn Hours: 148

    Start/Stops: 29198

    Temp: Current 27c

    Temp: Min 17c

    Temp: Max 56c

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Jan 22, 2016 5:55 AM in response to musefian
    Level 8 (39,285 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 22, 2016 5:55 AM in response to musefian

    One other thing I can think of for you to try is to reformat the iPod using Windows, like it's a regular USB storage device.  Quit iTunes if it's running.  With Windows 7, I think you can select FAT32 as the disk format.  If there's an option to do a quick format, select to do a full format.  When the operation completes, the iPod's hard drive is completely empty (no onboard software).  Run iTunes and do a Restore on iPod to reinstall its software.  Then, try doing the full sync again.

  • by musefian,

    musefian musefian Jan 22, 2016 6:33 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2016 6:33 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    I formated ipod using Windows(full format) and even used "HDD low level format tool software" for full format and its formating completely with no problem and then restore ipod... The problem is not solved.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 22, 2016 8:56 AM in response to musefian
    Level 10 (87,001 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 22, 2016 8:56 AM in response to musefian

    I reckon that hard drive is dead, you're maxed out on reallocations. Data cannot be written and reliably read back.

     

    tt2

  • by musefian,

    musefian musefian Jan 22, 2016 12:55 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 22, 2016 12:55 PM in response to turingtest2

    BUT why i can put my ipod in disk mode and connecting it to my home tv as a external storage and record movie on it without any problem!i say it work as a universal storage!

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 22, 2016 1:57 PM in response to musefian
    Level 10 (87,001 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 22, 2016 1:57 PM in response to musefian

    You might be able to write data to the drive, but it does it read back reliably?

     

    tt2

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Jan 22, 2016 7:34 PM in response to musefian
    Level 8 (39,285 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 22, 2016 7:34 PM in response to musefian

    When used as a regular storage device, the iPod may work fine, depending on where data is being written (or accessed).  When iTunes does a sync with a large amount of data, it is systematically writing data starting at one "end" of the storage medium and filling up the hard drive.  If a portion with damage is encountered during the sync, iTunes is not able to write data as expected, which is probably the cause of the described problem.  Hard drives can "reallocate" sectors showing errors (identified as "bad"), but only to a certain extent.