Corrupt iPod file

Hi Anne,

Worry not, we'll try to help you out as best we can.

1) Okay, the first and easiest way of getting rid of this error message is to try and do a soft reset on your iPod. Press and hold Menu and the middle Select button down until the Apple logo appears. Then wait, and the iPod reboots. When you connect up to your computer now, the error message should no longer appear.

2) However, as you have noticed, once iPod enters deep sleep (after 36 hrs of inactivity), the error message will most likely reoccur, so restoring to a previous version (3.0.1) of the iPod firmware (the software than runs iPod) is the way to permanently fix your error. If you check your iPod go to Settings, About - and see what version of software you have in there. If it is 3.0.2 then it is likely your error is being cause by this buggy firmware we've been discussing.

3) If you have a new iPod, then it's likely you had this 3.0.2 firmware installed and shipped with your iPod. So you'll have to get in touch with David Robertson on this board to get him to email you the older updater. It's no longer available for download from Apple's Download site - so David is currently the sole hope for those who need the older version of updater.

4) If you get hold of this updater, you'll need to install it on your computer, connect your iPod, and select Restore - which will wipe your iPod, and put the 3.0.1 firmware on it. Be aware that all the music and data on your iPod will be lost - but fear not, if you have it all in iTunes, you can resynchronise your iPod and everything gets transferred back on again.

5) If you'd rather not bother with doing this - and would prefer to wait for Apple to solve the problem, you can do the soft reset thing I've suggested in 1) every time you see the error message. Or alternatively, use iPod frequently, so it doesn't have the opportunity to lose its settings after 36 hrs of inactivity.

I hope this helps you out. Don't be afraid if you need further help - post back if you need clarification or want more assistance. There are plenty of experts out here who can give you a hand...

Kind regards,

Da Gopha.

Hi again Gopha,

Thanks so much for your help (and of course to David for sending me the 3.0.1 updater -- Anne, if you email me your email address, I'll send it to you; you'll find my address in my previous post). All is now clear. As I manually manage the songs on my iPod, I think that the restore and resync will be more work than occasionally having to redo my settings (I don't use play counts or on-the-go playlists yet), especially if I can remember to just use the iPod for a few minutes each day. Let's hope Apple addresses this problem soon, though!

Thanks again for your fabulous and patient explanations, Gopha. You've won a convert to these boards, so you'll be seeing me around.

Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks very much for your kind comments! We're here to help, and in my experience I find it very comforting to know there are thousands of experienced Apple users who can often provide a more coherent solution to problems than waiting on hold with an Apple call centre. Sharing collective information is the best way to diagnose and solve an issue.

I'm glad we've managed to help you out here. I've posted a general update below if people are interested. It's related Apple Support article that applies to Shuffles, but I thought it'd be interesting...

Look forward to seeing you around!

Kind regards,

Da Gopha.

UPDATE:

Apple have posted the following on their website (noticed by J.F.):

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300554
iPod shuffle: What to do if Windows displays an "itunes.exe - Corrupt File" message

It's not the exact same error message - but I'm theorising that it might potentially be related (based on various people's posts).

However, the advice given on the website would do nothing to help us out - since the Updater 2005-01-10 reinstates the same 3.0.2 firmware that we have deduced causes the problem in the first place.

Whilst restoring would appear to help, the problem would reoccur when iPod entered deep sleep. Methinks that restoring to 3.0.1 firmware remains the only reliable permanent fix at the moment.

Just my opinions and observations...!

Kind regards,

Da Gopha.

Hello Anne

If you require the 3.0.1 updater then let me have your e-mail address.

Good luck

David

David,

Hey. I am having the corrupt file problem. I get a service error when I try to restore to version 3.0.1 on the ipod. And nothing else has worked so far. Somehow I managed to erase the music from my iPod completely and when I open iTunes it get the message, "the software required to communicate withe the ipod is not installed correctly. please reinstall itunes to install the ipods software". I didnt want to reinstall itunes. so i was wondering if you could email me the 3.0.1 updater or if you have another solution i would be happy to try it. My email is klneal@udel.edu Thanks! Krista

Hi there Da Gopha & David
You are top men! You have saved me hours (or even days) of angst.
I've had real problems with folder icons with exclamation points and Itunes.EXE - corrupt file messages. At least I know how to restore now! When I try to import from itunes to my ipod I get the song titles but when I try to play them I only get a 2 second blast from each track. Frustrating or what?
David could e-mail the 3.0.1 firmware please. Check out my profile for the address.
Thanks you guys. I hope that Apple have taken note of this problem and will resolve to fix it "free".

Hi Gopha,

Stumbled across this in another post, thought you might be interested: to run a scan of the iPod drive, reset, then once you see the Apple logo, hold down the <<previous and middle select button until you see "iram pass, press play to continue". Hit play to continue, then hit next>> to scroll down until you've highlighted 'hdd scan.' Hit select once and wait for it to give you a pass or fail.

Use at your own risk, of course! I'm just trying it now for the first time. Anyone else know what any of the other functions in this menu are?

C

You'd tried another iPod CD if I remember correctly...?

Does this mean that it had a go at installing a previous version of iTunes over the top/replacing your existing version?

This could be causing the service error... but try uninstalling all the iPod updaters (so there's no chance of conflict) - and then install the 3.0.1 updater - so it's the only one on the system. Maybe installing an older Updater on the system with a newer one already on it is causing issues.

Good luck, and sorry you're having so much trouble! Let us know how you get on...

Kind regards,

Da Gopha.

Helloo,

Thank you for your kind comments!

What you're reporting about the importing/playing problem is a little peculiar - I've not heard of that before. Are you importing from CD or file?

There's no intro play set is there? (I dunno if there's a feature for this in iTunes).

Da Gopha.

Hi there,

Yep - I'd noticed this too - apparently there's an onboard chkdsk function.

However, I'm not exactly sure if this works on the Gen4 Pods - the key combination you quoted applied to Gen3 Pods if I remember correctly...

Did it work for you? I tried it a while ago, and didn't get anywhere. Maybe my fluffy Gopha-paws were too cumbersome to do it right...?!

Da Gopha

Krista,

Gopha is feeling a bit guilty that what we'd suggested isn't working out right for you.

Unfortunately, many of the people I've been discussing with still have 3.0.1 firmware on their computers, because they'd not uninstalled the older updaters from their systems - so what we're doing is just to do a simple restore on iPod, without needing to install anything.

I'll be honest and say that I don't know if the particular order in which you do the iTunes/Updater installation is making a difference. For example, if you install from an iPod CD with iTunes 4.6 and firmware 3.0.1 then upgrade to 4.7/4.7.1, it is the case that 3.0.1 still works with 4.7.1. However, if you were shipped 3.0.2 (which needs 4.7 apparently), and then try to install 3.0.1 in addition, maybe it doesn't like it.

I think (unfortunately) - the only clear-cut way of doing things is to completely uninstall all iTunes, all updaters and anything related to iPod (including Quicktime) - and manually delete any remaining directories. Then resort to the original CD providing 3.0.1 and 4.6 - or alternatively just 4.6 and use David's 3.0.1.

When using an iPod CD I think it tries to install everything (iTunes and Updater) - so perhaps the best way is to try to install iTunes 4.6 independent of the Updater (perhaps browse the CD and run the setup file for iTunes only?) - and then apply the Updater afterwards.

Sorry I can't be of more use on this. Keep us posted - let's get you up and running, then Gopha can alleviate the guilt.

All the best!

hi.

wonder if any of you most informed people could help with a little problem i have with itunes/ipod.
when i connect the pod to my laptop, itunes does not automatically appear so i turn on itunes manually and a message appears saying (roughly!!) the software for ipod communicating with itunes is not properly installed, please reinstall itunes.
this i have done many times with no effect.
I have also reinstalled the pod updater numerous times but again no effect.
I am thinking of removing itunes instead of reinstalling but then i have 23mb of music(downloads, purchased music etc) on itunes....and with only 5mb of space left on my laptop i can`t back it up.
help please!!!!!

Yep, I got it to work. Hold Menu and Select until you see the apple logo, then immdiately switch to holding Previous and Select, until the apple log reverses, then release. Press Play to advance to the menu, and then Previous and Next to navigate the menu, and Select to activate the various diagnostic tests.

A few notes though: if you run a HDD scan, it can take about 15-20+ minutes (on my 40 gig it felt like more than half an hour), and that's continuous disk spinning, so make sure your pod is on AC power at the time if you try this. This test seems to only return a pass or fail message; I don't think it fixes problems like chkdsk. And lastly, when the test is done, press Play to return to the menu, and then either select 'Reset' from the menu, or perform a reset (hold Menu and Select again) to exit diagnostic mode.

If you do a search for 'ipod diagnostic' on Google you'll find many lists explaining all the tests on the diagnostic menu for 3G and minis, but I couldn't find one for the 4G pods (although many are common between them all). Let me know if you do.

Thanks,
C

Hi there,

You should be able to completely uninstall everything to do with iPod/iTunes without losing your music. The music is stored independent of iTunes, so when you change or uninstall iTunes, your music should not be affected (but this is just from what I've heard)...

Good luck!

Da Gopha.

PS. 5Mb HDD left is pretty severe!! How does your system run!?