Does the iPod work without a screen?

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Level 1

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Does the iPod work without a screen?

Hello all, I am asking for your help.
I have an 80 gig 5.5 gen iPod video and the screen was recently broken. After the screen was cracked (I don't know how this happened), the iPod quit working altogether. So I decided to remove the screen and see if the ipod would work. It kind of works, but the music won't play and the click wheel doesn't click. All it does is fire up in disk mode, and the buttons click when you press them (an audible click is heard from the clicker inside). I am wondering if this is normal for the ipod to not work when the screen is missing, or should it still be functional? I would like to know this for the simple reason of whether or not to buy a new screen and put it in, or is my ipod broken for good.
I don't want to spend the money on a new screen unless it will make my ipod work again.
Thank you in advance, and any comments are welcome.

Update:
I just plugged the screen back in and the iPod is doing the same thing, and the backlight always stays on. Is this a defect of the broken screen, or is the whole ipod wrecked?

Message was edited by: Lafanda

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5), iPod with broken screen

Posted on Nov 11, 2007 9:41 AM

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Answer 1

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Nov 11, 2007 9:53 AM in response to Lafanda

It should work. Reports I have read from people with broken screens on these boards usually say they can not see anything since the screen is cracked, but the iPod will still play fine.
Perhaps you are not hitting the right menu items (on the display you can not see) in order to get it to start playing something?
You might try resetting it first...
Put the hold switch to the OFF/White position. Now toggle it ON/orange then back off again. Then press and hold both the MENU and center buttons on the iPod and hold them for a good 15 seconds or so. Your iPod should reboot starting with the Apple Logo screen, which of course you can not see. But you should find if it is rebooting that the click wheel will no longer give any sounds for a good minute or two while it reboots.
So just keep whirling the click wheel around every 30 seconds or so until you hear the clicking noise again. Once you do, then you should be able to whirl it clockwise which would put you on the last item of the main menu of your iPod. Hopefully this is the Shuffle library one on yours. Hit play and then wait while it loads up the music and see if it starts playing.
Patrick

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Answer 2

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Nov 11, 2007 9:56 AM in response to Lafanda

Follow up question. Does the iPod show up in iTunes ok? If so, can you see the songs on the iPod when you click on the little triangle next to the iPod icon to open the iPod contents (triangle then click the Library item to see if you see your library on the iPod). If you are not set to manual mode, they will be greyed out. If you set the iPod to manual mode, you can then pick and play songs directly off the iPod in iTunes.
Patrick

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Answer 3

Lafanda Author

Level 1

10 points

Nov 11, 2007 10:09 AM in response to PT

Hey, thanks for the reply, but I have tried all of the things you've listed. The iPod only shows up on my computer when I put it in disk mode. I've restored it in itunes, so the default settings should be active. And also when I'm on the main menu, can't I just hit play to start the music?
Would you advise buying a screen, or to just accept the fate of my iPod?

On another note, is there any way to put the hard drive from my ipod into an external case, so I can use it as a portable disk?

Thanks again!

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Answer 4

PT

Level 7

20,894 points

Nov 11, 2007 11:09 AM in response to Lafanda

I have never tried just hitting PLAY from the main menu so I am not sure.
If the iPod shows on your computer when you force it into disk mode, can you access the drive and use it that way? If so, wouldn't that be good enough as an external drive rather than transferring it to another case?
Patrick

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Answer 5

Lafanda Author

Level 1

10 points

Nov 11, 2007 11:31 AM in response to PT

I guess just using the ipod in disk mode is enough, the only problem is that the Hd won't stop spinning randomly, which kills the battery. I think I have decided to go with buying the screen, its only $30 on e-bay. Thanks a lot for your help.
-Lafawnda

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