iPod nano not charging on Windows XP

Question

Level 1

9 points

iPod nano not charging on Windows XP

My iPod nano won't charge at all, and I have Windows XP. After I plug my nano into my computer via USB, a white screen comes up on the nano that shows a "dead" iPod and the address for the Apple support website. Then the screen goes to the depleted battery icon, with the lightning bolt at the far left side of the battery sign(which isn't blinking). I've had my iPod plugged into my computer for over 4 hours, and nothing seems to be happening. Once in a while, the white screen with the dead iPod comes back up, but the battery still won't charge. If anyone could help me with this, I'd appreciate it! Thanks very much.

Posted on Oct 4, 2005 10:14 AM

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Answer 1

amflmnt

Level 2

155 points

Oct 4, 2005 10:30 AM in response to MsMayZ

Try a different USB port. Try a different computer (PC and Mac.)

Also try this: launch iTunes with the Nano attached and then eject it from within iTunes. Press and hold the play/pause section of the clickwheel to turn off Nano. If it's working this will place it into a dedicated charging mode. Hopefully that will work for you.

You may also have a bad USB cable too.

If you can't get it working today, return it! If you got it at an Apple Store, I'd open your new exchange in-store for them to test and make sure everything is working.

Good luck.

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Answer 2

MsMayZ Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 4, 2005 10:59 AM in response to amflmnt

Thanks for your help! I tried your suggestions: switching USB ports - no change. And iTunes isn't even recognizing that I have an iPod plugged in... so I can't eject it from within iTunes. I'll be taking it to the store today to see what they can do for me. Thanks again. 🙂

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Answer 3

amflmnt

Level 2

155 points

Oct 4, 2005 11:21 AM in response to MsMayZ

It's frustrating but if the USB cord is at fault you may just end up with a whole new Nano. Here's hoping!

Let us know how your experience with the store went.

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Answer 4

Oct 4, 2005 12:06 PM in response to MsMayZ

You are using a portable system. I'm willing to bet that your USB port is not providing enough power to charge your device. I would recommend going to BestBuy or your local computer store to buy a powered usb hub. (Make sure that the usb hub has its own seperate power source.)

This is the same problem that lots of people have when trying to connect a usb hard drive to a portable system. A powered hub fixes the issue.

Otherwise, there isn't much else you can do. A new cord isn't going to do anything and a new nano is only going to do the same thing.

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Answer 5

Synsongs

Level 2

312 points

Oct 4, 2005 12:45 PM in response to MsMayZ

Hi MsMayZ,

I don´t want to sound negative, but that seems like a typical Windows XP problem.

When I received my first Shuffle, it did not work on my XP machine, making me think that there´s a problem with the device. But then, I had the chance to setup a new PC from scratch (XP Pro, SP 2 etc.) and suddenly, the Shuffle worked like a charm. The same happened with my two Nanos.

Windows XP obviously has some serious issues with USB on some machines or under some circumstances which are unfortunately nearly impossible to detect. Let me add, that all of a sudden, an USB scanner refused to work on one XP machine after updating it. With all the help I could get (hotline, Google, manufacturer support), there was no chance getting it back to work - nobody seems to know why...

I know this sounds not very encouraging, but from my experience, if the Nano does not work, it´s most likely a scrambled XP installation 😟
(I am about to remove all USB stuff from the device manager and let XP reinstall it - but I am not sure if this will work...)

kind regards
Tom

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Answer 6

Oct 4, 2005 12:47 PM in response to MsMayZ

Easy solution. Throw out your PC and get a mac. Windows blows.

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Answer 7

MsMayZ Author

Level 1

9 points

Oct 4, 2005 1:44 PM in response to Marc Altman

Hi all,

Thanks for your suggestions. I bought the iPod through the Apple site for my university, so today I went to the university's computer store, where they tried to charge the iPod on one of their in-house Macs. So it turns out it's not a problem with my computer, with its USB ports, or with the USB cord that came with the iPod. The guy at the computer store showed me this site, which is exactly what's going on with my iPod:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61771

After trying all the steps, the iPod is still not working; I plan on sending it back to Apple for repairs or for a new nano altogether.

So, Marc Altman, there's no need to be rude - my iPod didn't even work on a Mac. It's a problem with the iPod itself, NOT with my computer or with Windows XP. I'm not about to "throw out" my perfectly-funcioning laptop just because my iPod nano is malfunctioning.

Everyone else, thanks very much for your helpful suggestions!

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