This discussion is locked
Kay Browne

Q: Exclamation point and folder and nothing else

Hi... I have an older 20 g iPod. I dropped it (only 3 feet but hard surface) last week and after that it malfunctioned and then stopped functioning. I have tried the reset several times without success. My Mac does not recognize it either in the information about this Mac or the disk utility or the iPod updater. I would love to be able to revive it but had assuimed it dead. I can get an apple on the screen when I do a reset and the battery icon shows that it is charging ... and then the exclamation point with the folder comes up.

Any thoughts would be more than appreciated. Kay

iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.6), also use with Harmon Kardon drive and play

Posted on May 14, 2006 2:54 PM

Close

Q: Exclamation point and folder and nothing else

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

first Previous Page 4 of 5 last Next
  • by Kiwi Graham,

    Kiwi Graham Kiwi Graham Feb 22, 2007 5:16 AM in response to expostdelirium
    Level 4 (1,864 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 22, 2007 5:16 AM in response to expostdelirium
    Well I'll add my name to the list for a 6Gb mini which was showing apple logo followed by sad face followed by brief flash of batter icon with exclamation mark and then back to apple logo etc.

    Several hard bangs on the desk and it flashed into life.

    As per a previous post this would seem most likely due to part of the hard drive having gotten "stuck". This may have happened when the iPod was previously hit rather hard by accident (eg. dropped) or it may be environmental (eg. heat).

    So this fix is unlikely to be relevant to a nano!

    Graham
  • by rjkisses,

    rjkisses rjkisses Feb 22, 2007 6:55 PM in response to Wazman21
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 22, 2007 6:55 PM in response to Wazman21
    I really didn't think the whole bang on the desk thing would work, until I read like 30 people's responses saying they tried it and now their ipod is running! I checked it out and now it's working perfectly!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH! You should be hired as the guy that works behind the GENIUS bar at the apple store because those dudes suck, they told me my ipod was now a paper weight...NOW IT WORKS!!! YOU ARE A GENIUS
  • by soxfan52,

    soxfan52 soxfan52 Feb 24, 2007 2:55 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Feb 24, 2007 2:55 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Hola,

    Uhh do you think this will work for a 15G 3G ipod w/ dock connector? Or is it totally out of whack because I've already tried dropping it, whacking it, and a couple of technological things that all didn't work?

    thanks,
    michael
  • by soxfan52,

    soxfan52 soxfan52 Feb 24, 2007 3:17 PM in response to soxfan52
    Level 1 (20 points)
    Feb 24, 2007 3:17 PM in response to soxfan52
    I have tried this method, and it didn't work.
  • by Rauch,

    Rauch Rauch Mar 3, 2007 7:35 PM in response to unreliable ipod
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 3, 2007 7:35 PM in response to unreliable ipod
    wow I was worried at first that hitting it on my desk would work but it did.......wow thanks a bunch! My ipod is still kicking
  • by ggggreg,

    ggggreg ggggreg Mar 10, 2007 12:07 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 10, 2007 12:07 PM in response to Kay Browne
    you are a god

    pc   Windows XP  
  • by theatombomb,

    theatombomb theatombomb Mar 31, 2007 4:38 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2007 4:38 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Well I would love to try any of these steps, but my iPod isn't even recognized by my computer anymore. It won't charge, so I need help on how to get it recognized before I can try to restore it, or do anything else for that matter.
  • by theatombomb,

    theatombomb theatombomb Apr 4, 2007 9:04 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 4, 2007 9:04 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Holy Monkeys! I just hit it and it started working again. Praise the genius who found this out.
  • by onewhiterhino,

    onewhiterhino onewhiterhino Apr 11, 2007 8:34 PM in response to theatombomb
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 11, 2007 8:34 PM in response to theatombomb
    three bangs on the desk (right-side down) and the ipod is back in action. wow.
  • by Gwendolyn Orel,

    Gwendolyn Orel Gwendolyn Orel Apr 12, 2007 11:39 PM in response to onewhiterhino
    Level 1 (145 points)
    Apr 12, 2007 11:39 PM in response to onewhiterhino
    genius! genius! I ran the diagnostics etc, but disk utility wasn't seeing the ipod and itunes would start to restore and then get an error.

    banged three times-- and hey presto! disk utility sees it, and itunes says, we need to restore it-- and then does!!!!

    it's busy resynching my library now. Genius! Genius!

    Thanks soooo much!
  • by jennikun,

    jennikun jennikun Apr 22, 2007 8:34 PM in response to Kay Browne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 22, 2007 8:34 PM in response to Kay Browne
    I as well have tried the "hit on the desk" method, but rather, I did it with a wall. Computer recognises it now, and everything seems to work, however, I still hear a whirling noise that I'm not sure whether or not was there before. Is this normal, and does anyone else have it? I'd like to fall asleep knowing it's fine if this is happening to others ipods, too.

  • by fotogenik,

    fotogenik fotogenik Apr 23, 2007 6:27 PM in response to Wazman21
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 23, 2007 6:27 PM in response to Wazman21
    Are you kidding me!!! I spent ages stressing and searching, did god knows how many resets, diagnostic checks, disk mode stuff etc etc and all it took to fix it was a quick little tap on the top right corner....

    ... I thought you might be full of **** but i had tried everything else and IT FREAKING WORKED!!!!!

    Saved my assignment that was on the HD, thanks heaps!

    If anyone has the folder with the exclamation on it try this!

    I could get into my iPod sometimes after resetting but couldn't get it to mount. Was coming up corrupt drive or telling me to restore it.
  • by DanielStarr,

    DanielStarr DanielStarr Apr 23, 2007 8:55 PM in response to jennikun
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 23, 2007 8:55 PM in response to jennikun
    wow.... blew my mind u are legit probably my f'in hero!
  • by DiaPia,

    DiaPia DiaPia Apr 28, 2007 2:34 AM in response to Kay Browne
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 28, 2007 2:34 AM in response to Kay Browne
    Oh my god.............it work have a iPod colour and was ready to throw it in the bin had tried EVERYTHING and nothing worked except whacking it on my desk a couple of times. Its offical you are in my top 5 of all time favorite people
  • by willhooper,

    willhooper willhooper May 6, 2007 5:07 PM in response to DiaPia
    Level 1 (0 points)
    May 6, 2007 5:07 PM in response to DiaPia
    The banging saved my 20 gig ipod! All it took was a few times on a table and a few on the wall. Was a lil hesitant, but tried it anyways.
first Previous Page 4 of 5 last Next