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Error 1416, can't initialize

Hi,

My friend iPod lost all its data.
So i connected it on her PC to initialize the iPod, which was succeful, but since then everytime i try to connect the iPod to the PC, Vista crashes !!!
After having tried maybe 5 times, i try to connect it to my mac, and then i get an error 1416 when i want to initialize it...
Several trials, every time the same result. And impossible to format the hard drive with Disk Utility, i also get an input/output error.
And can't add songs anyway, i don't even have the tab...

Does anyone know what might solve the problem ?
It's an 3rd generation 20 Go U2 iPod, no so old !
I already had several iPods, and even my first generation was still working great after 5 years, so i'm surprised this one is having problems so early...
Would it be very expensive to bring to an apple center ?

Thanks for your answers !

Macbook, Mac OS X (10.5.2)

Posted on Mar 1, 2008 6:41 AM

Reply
19 replies

Mar 5, 2008 10:56 PM in response to Kzimir

Hi, i feel your pain! my 60 GB color screen ipod was working fine until
I tried to connect it for first time to brand new Mac running OS 10.5.2
iTunes dispalyed message that ipod was corrupted and that I should restore. Tried that an got error 1416 over and over. Tried connecting to my old Mac, got same message. HELP! Anyone?

Mar 10, 2008 10:07 AM in response to kris n

I'm in the same boat. Switched to a Mac from a PC last summer and only recently realized that I could format my iPod for a Mac system, which I assumed would make it work better. After a seemingly successful restore, my iPod totally failed the next time I tried to update it with some new music. I'm getting the same error 1416 and iTunes is unable to restore it.

Mar 11, 2008 9:24 PM in response to kris n

so i sent a scathing e-mail to one of the steve jobs e-mail addresses and got a call back from apple support. they routed me to am ipod specialist who ran me through every step of repair (basically all i had already tried) who concluded i should send it in. i guess i was angry enough in my e-mail that they said they will fix it for free if it's a hardware malfunction. so looks like there is no great fix, but i would try apple technical support and have them run you through all possible steps, maybe something will work because i'm sure our errors aren't identical.

Jun 28, 2008 11:47 PM in response to Kzimir

Okay, so after much to do with searching forums and getting nowhere, I decided to experiment on my own and have come up with a solution to this dreaded -1416 error...it requires some finagling in Terminal, but should not be too hard.

First, connect the iPod to your computer and open Terminal. Type:

diskutil list

You will get a list something to the effect of:

/dev/disk0
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: GUID partitionscheme *931.5 Gi disk0
1: EFI 200.0 Mi disk0s1
2: Apple_HFS Macintosh HD 931.2 Gi disk0s2
/dev/disk1
#: TYPE NAME SIZE IDENTIFIER
0: Apple partitionscheme *27.9 Gi disk2
1: Apple partitionmap 31.0 Ki disk2s1
2: Apple_MDFW 64.0 Mi disk2s2
3: Apple_HFS Hobbsit’s iPod 27.9 Gi disk2s3

So, basically, disk 0 above is my computer's internal HD and disk 1 is my iPod in this case. Remember the number of your iPod disk.

Open Disk Utility. Basically, you have to unmount the drive to make it formatable without the "Resource in Use" error....at least in my case. So, eject the disk in Disk Utility (the application).

Once ejected, go back to Terminal and type this command:

sudo diskutil eraseDisk HFS+ iPod disk1

Where the "1" in disk1 is replaced by whatever number your iPod appeared as in the list from the diskutil list command. You may be prompted for your admin password, so type it in if prompted.

Once the iPod is formatted, pop open iTunes (if it does not auto-pop) and restore it.

And explode into dance.

Cheers,

Hobbsit

Sep 15, 2008 9:22 PM in response to hobbsit_atx

Hobbsit,
Thanks for your work trying to get this stupid problem figured out. I followed your steps and am still having issues. I have the same type drive setup as you, with the iPod as disk1, so I am able to follow your directions step by step. I run into a problem though with the sudo diskutil... part. If I eject the disk using disk utility application I get a message saying can not find disk1. If I do not eject the disk I get the problem 16 resource busy message. Do you have any ideas how to get past this? Thanks again for all your help.
-dapottster

Apr 12, 2009 10:09 PM in response to Kzimir

This is for people in the future who encounter this error! First, attempt to repair ipod through disk utility, if that fails hold down the menu and the center button until the apple sign appears, then as soon as quickly as you can hold the center button and the play button down. When the disk symbol shows up in the middle of the ipod, hook it up to your computer and enjoy!

Jul 2, 2009 6:03 AM in response to hobbsit_atx

Thanks so much, it worked!

My iPod is a late 5G 120GB. It got messed up when I did the update thing to it, that my itunes was not updated and updated and crashed. I have to mention that I use to connect it to my pc.


I follow the instructions in my Mac but instead to eject the iPod from the disk Utility I just left it there, then it made the formatted and partition and voilá. I could restoer it from the itunes and now my iPod came back to normality.

I am dancing

Error 1416, can't initialize

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