iPod doesn't appear in iTunes or on desktop

I have the same problem, 15 gig doesn't show up anywhere but still charges via firewire. In the system profiler it says nothing is connected thru firewire..so I don't really know what to do...

I have a 20GB clickwheel IPod and a G4 1.25 Powerbook(running 10.3.9). After downloading the latest security update back in March my Ipod quit showing up in ITunes or on my Desktop. I tried EVERYTHING that has been recommended in the various discussions in this furum, except reformatting the HD on my powerbook. Here's what I did in no particular order (that had no effect),

reset PMU on PB, fixed other non-Ipod problem I had,
down loaded 10.3.9 Combo and installed - Nada,
used disk utility to check PB HD - Found bad sectors, but did not fix Ipod,
connected Ipod to another Mac w/older sofwtare updates, worked fine, showed up on Desktop and in ITunes.
did Firewire reset - Nada,
moved music files, wiped Itunes, downloaded fresh copy, tested, moved music back - Nada,
tested FW port with ISight - FW tested Okay,
bought new FW-Dock cable anyway - did not fix Ipod problem,

**bought new USB2.0-Dock cable - immediately fixed problem, Ipod showed up on Desktop and in Itunes and update began and proceeded w/o interuption.

I'm glad I stuck with this troubleshooting, I learned a lot. Downside is it took MANY hours.

USB2.0 downloading did not appear to me to be slower than FW.

Oh Jon I hear ya. I don't think the heirarchy is the only problem. I just think its a contributing one. My iPOd does not show up anywhere and the firewire is all jiggly. Thing doesn't want to charge or do much of anything anymore.
My new iPod mini just decides to dissconnect whenever it wants.

There are issues with Firewire. Both an external drive and a video camera cannot be attached to the same Firewire controller. I had to get an internal Firewire card in order for the video camera to work WHILE the Firewire drive was also connected. I imagine that an iPod will act the same.

I used the Firewire instead of the USB and it now works fine in iTunes.

Very helpful forum, thanks!

I was able to resolve my issue like this:

Hold down the Menu and Select button until an Apple logo appears on the iPod screen. This will reset the iPod' settings (it will not wipe the songs).

And this fixed it for me. Hope it helps anyone.

Here is how I fixed my iPod. I originally bought it at Target. I noticed that I had only bought the thing perhaps a month ago, so I went up to the customer service desk, told them my problem and they gave me a new one. I have to put all my music on it again, but at least it is not a paperweight.

This problem bothered me for days. I worked for hours following the advice in all the other posts. The only way I found to fix it was by erasing the drives in the ipod and updating the software after it was erased. After that ipod syc'd with itunes. Now I don't have anymore problems. Icons show on desktop and in itunes and library is completely contained without any problems in ipod. Took a long time, but it was the only solution that worked for me.

Michael,

How did you keep from erasing all your library? How did you erase the drives on the iPod; was this just a reset/reformat?

Thanks...I think all of us here have similar but slightly different problems, which makes this a really tough problem to solve. I appreciate your help...

I have the same problem but my iPod will charge only if the firewire plug is only partially inserted into the female socket. If it's pushed all the way, the iPod freezes. In both situations iTunes (version 4.8 and the previous version, with Mac OS 10.3.9) doesn't recognise the connection. Resetting the iPod or trying the disk mode doesn't work. I suspect an Apple patch is required.

Just after posting the above message I decided to connect using the USB 2.0 cable (never used it before) and, lo and behold, it's worked beautifully - just like the way the Firewire cable used to work. Any explanations gratefully received.

I see several people's advice on restoring the iPod - wiping it and starting anew, but how on earth does one do that if the iPod isn't recognized by the computer in the first place? Its not being detected by the updater so I can't even hit "restore." I've gotten myself used to the idea that I have to wipe it and reinstall all my music, but now i just can't physically do it.
I'm afraid I'm a frustrated moron. 🙂
THANKS!
By the way I have a 1st generation iPod - one of the oldies. If that matters.

my ipod seems to be stuck in the "do not disconnect" mode. doesn't show up on desktop or in itunes. running Mac OS 10.4.1 on a G4 .the ipod is a 20gig. bought it a year ago. no problems at all until now.
would rather not reload music if there is a way to avoid this.

i've already tried restarting the computer. also tried completely shutting down. ipod is currently in doc connected to hard drive through firewire.

I put ipod into disc mode. Depending on which generatoin ipod you have, there are different ways to do this. I held the select and menu buttons on mine (there are instructions on the ipod support site). After that I connected the ipod to the computer, and the computer recognized it as a separate drive. I then used disc utility and erased the disc on the ipod. After that, I reinstalled the ipod software and I changed ipod from disc mode to ipod mode. Yes it did erase the library in my ipod, but not on the computer. So I just recopied the library to the ipod. In a way, I wiped it "clean" and reloaded what needed to be there in order to make it work.

Frustrated iPod users: iPod won’t mount or show up in iPod Updater? Erase it in Disk Utility. Restore in Updater.

I wanted to add my voice to yours. This week I’ve been struggling with the same frustrating issues many of you have.

For the past week about once every ten times I tried to access my 4G 40gig iPod in iTunes, iTunes would crash and I would reboot and everything ran with no problems. Some time after I updated to OSX 10.3.9 and rebooted the iBook, the iPod would not mount nor would it show up in iTunes, desktop or finder on my G4 ibook 12”. I searched the discussions and found as many variations to the problem as solutions. I figured I had corrupted the iPod's when I ran iLink (an iPod exporter program that makes visible the MP3 folders on the iPod). Now I’m not so sure as so many others have had similar problems.

I tried all these solutions with no success.

1. reset iPod.
2. attempted to restore with iPod Updater (various versions) but couln’t b/c it couldn’t see the iPod.
3. trashed iTunes (App) and reinstalled iTunes Ver 4.6 from disk that shipped w/iPod.
4. exchanged firewire for usb2.0 cable
5. reset iPod to Disk Mode
6. attempted to restart from OSX install disk
7. repaired permissions on iBook HD in Disk Utility.
8. attempted to repair iPod HD in Disk Utility, task could not be completed.

Finally I ran onto a couple of threads that recommended using Disk Utility to erase the iPod HD ( http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/erase/index.shtml). I did and was surprised at how quickly it erased. It reset and then mounted on the desktop. I loaded the iPod updater and was crestfallen to not that it was not seeing the iPod. After the iPod reset itself the Restore and Update flashed like they would be active then ghosted again with the message “connect and iPod to update or restore.” I was mad. For some reason I thought I would give the firewire connection anotehr try so I ejected the mounted, blank iPod from the desktop, swapped the cables and magically the Updater saw the iPod and I clicked “restore” ASAP. 48 hours later everything’s good as new. I’m keeping iTunes 4.6 just to be safe. I have a suspicion that part of the problem was catalyzed by the iTunes and 10.3.9 updates.

Fortunately I had backed up my mp3 library on my PC HD via iLink and my home network.

Hope this helps.

Matt-
I'm going to try your steps from the site you gave, but was wondering if all the songs from itunes would be deleted as well as those on the ipod. All my songs on the pod have allready deleted, that is my problem, and now the comp doesnt recognise it. Do you suggest following your steps above- do i need to back up itunes music? Cheers