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blinking orange/green

First generation Shuffle owners experiencing blinking orange/green lights and inability of iPod to play ever since upgrading to iTunes 7.7...

There's a discussion on the second generation "Using" board with a lot of folks who are having the same problem. For some reason, it hasn't shown up here yet, but being a first-generation user, I can testify that it applies here, too.

Dell Inspiron 1100, Windows XP Pro, Upgraded to 1GB RAM, 160 GB HDD, iPod Shuffle 1st gen

Posted on Jul 23, 2008 8:41 AM

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30 replies

Jul 24, 2008 7:00 AM in response to Geoff Luebbert

Perhaps it does, but it's not universal. I have two 1G Shuffles, the oldest dating from April '05, and haven't experienced that.

Blinking amber/green is a general caution signal, with the most common meaning being that no playable content is contained on the iPS, i.e., you can get that from trying to play a Shuffle that's empty but has nothing wrong with it.

For persistent errors, the solution is to locate, download, and run the iPod Shuffle Reset Utility. Make sure you follow the instructions exactly as you do so.

Jul 25, 2008 8:59 PM in response to Geoff Luebbert

Judging by how many people are reading this thread, this is a commen problem. It's also the reason I came here. What worked for me was to delete the new "podcasts" directory that appeared after 7.7.0.43 iTunes for Windows update. This of course also removes any podcasts, but a simple drag and drop to restore them puts them back on the shuffle, only this time without the extra podcasts directory.

Not sure which way Apple will go on this. It's either an iTunes fix to remove the podcasts directory, or a shuffle firmware update to enable it to read from the root dir as well as the subdir. I hope they do that since while I was loading up in iTunes, it was quite handy to have the podcasts separated from the music.

Jul 31, 2008 12:35 PM in response to Geoff Luebbert

I upgraded iTunes to 7.7. I plugged my 1st Generation iPod Shuffle into my Mac. I loaded some new songs onto the iPod. I ejected the iPod and turned it on. When I pressed any button on the front I got the blinking orange/green light.

I turned off the iPod and plugged it into my Mac. In iTunes I could see a new PodCasts folder on the iPod. I selected this folder and saw that it was empty. I deleted this folder. I ejected the iPod and turned it on. It now works properly.

I did not have to erase any songs or reload the iPod software. It is a very annoying bug in iTunes but really not serious as the fix is so simple.

Jul 31, 2008 2:56 PM in response to Geoff Luebbert

I discovered this morning that Apple has just issued iTunes ver. 7.7.1.

I still find no formal mention of this problem from Apple, but based on feedback I've received from other users here and elsewhere, I can add to my original post the following:

1) The problem seems limited to the iPod Shuffle.

2) It involves ver. 7.7 automatically placing a "Podcasts"
folder on the iPod when it does its first sync after the
upgrade. Since the Shuffle does not support folders, doing
this renders it inoperative.

3) Users of 2nd generation Shuffle have been able to simply
delete this folder from the iPod using the iTunes source
pane and fix the problem; at least some users of 1st
generation Shuffle found that iTunes would not allow them to
do this, and so their only solution has been to revert to
7.6.2.9.

Apple does seem to have addressed this issue in replacing version 7.7 with 7.7.1...sort of. For some reason known only to them, they did NOT do so by removing the subroutine that creates the pesky "Podcasts" folder in the first place; instead, they only got rid of whatever prevented 1st generation users from removing it.

So my updated advice is that Shuffle users CAN now safely upgrade to the newest version, which will restore your ability to purchase from the iTunes store. However, doing so will still render your iPod non-functional upon its first sync, until you use iTunes to delete the empty "Podcasts" folder, which has been automatically created on it. Do not confuse this Podcasts folder with the iTunes one higher up the source pane under the "Library" heading...it contains any podcasts you may have downloaded, and you probably DON'T want to delete them!

I'm still waiting on Apple to say word one about this, since all Shuffle owners who upgrade will still find their iPods dead until they know to perform the fix.

In addition, with 7.7.1 I've noticed the disappearance of the "Enable disk use" option under the "Settings" tab for my iPod, and the momentary appearance and then disappearance of an Explorer window displaying the iPod as a disk, whenever iTunes does a sync. What's up with that, Apple?

Aug 2, 2008 9:37 AM in response to Michael Morgan1

Keeping an old version works so long as you never want to make any purchases at the iTunes store: if you do, Big Brother admonishes you that you must have 7.7.1 before you can do that 😟

As I believe I've mentioned elsewhere, I advise against upgrading by following the link that opens when that happens. I've found it prudent instead to go through the "Download iTunes" link from opening the Apple site. That way you're given the option to save - not just run - the install file, and then you can run the saved version. As a result, you have your own copy to revert to if future screwups ever require it!

Aug 3, 2008 9:45 AM in response to Geoff Luebbert

Keeping an old version works so long as you never want to make any purchases at the iTunes store: if you do, Big Brother admonishes you that you must have 7.7.1 before you can do that 😟


Well, evidently not 🙂 — I just added two items to my cart, paid for another one (Eagles track) that had been in there for some time, succeeded in getting that track, and took the order process for one that I just added up to the "Are you sure you want to ..." display, at which point I cancelled it.

Thanks for the reminder, but I'm already aware of that and do indeed do things that way with iTunes and iPhoto. That assumes that I really want or need to upgrade to v7.7.x, which I really don't.

Aug 3, 2008 10:27 AM in response to Michael Morgan1

Well, tentative (but only half-hearted) kudos to Apple for that, I guess. I did base my statement on what I experienced almost two weeks ago when I first reverted to 7.6.2.9. I never tried again to purchase until I successfully upgraded to 7.7.1.

Even though they still (to my knowledge) haven't made a formal acknowledgment of the problem, looks like they did decide to ditch the store's upgrade requirement, at least for now.

Of course, it doesn't take much to figure out - as I posted elsewhere - that all the restriction was doing was hurting them in the pocketbook!

And then I LOVE the understatement of the "new features" description for 7.7.1: "includes support for iPod Shuffle"...the elephant in the room being, who in their right mind would issue a blanket software update for a product that DIDN'T support one major model that is still in current production???

Aug 4, 2008 4:28 PM in response to Smprfi1978

Not for certain...there was a post on the 2nd generation board on this subject, in which a user found that setting the iPod to the "shuffle" (as opposed to "loop") option resulted in eBooks not playing. Maybe the "shuffle" position can't cope with files above a certain size, which probably applies to most podcasts.

I've also just found out that magnanimous Apple has piggy-backed software for their "MobileMe" mobile device control service subscription onto all iTunes downloads, starting with ver. 7.7, without notifying users beforehand. It appears separately in "Add and Remove Programs" as "Apple Mobile Device Support." Since I'm not experiencing the problem you are, I can't poke around to see what might fix it, but if you don't have an iPhone or top-of-the-line iPod, you probably don't need that software, and you could see if uninstalling it makes any difference.

Just a thought...

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