Ipod Classic 160GB dropped dead

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Ipod Classic 160GB dropped dead

My 1,5 year old Ipod classic 160GB just dropped dead yesterday. Nothing happened to it, I was listening music just before going to theater, I left it on my desk, I came back, it didn't boot up. I've tried to reset it 500 times, nothing works.

The only way to get the screen to do anything more than just being blank is to connect it to my laptop or pc, with the connector cable. It doesn't function as a seperate harddisk anymore, it can't be reached or found, the only thing it does is showing an apple logo on the screen (like the one in reset) for less then a second, then turning of the screen again, and then showing it again, repeating this process forever.

I doubt it any of you guys know how to fix this, but has anyone had experience with anything like this before?

And does anyone know how apple deals with this? Yes I'm a couple of months over my gaurantee, but it can't be possible that a premium brand multimedia player like an Ipod (and an expensive one with that)just drops dead out of nowhere, after 1,5 year of very carefull use? I've never dropped it even once, it has always had a protection sleeve.

Windows Vista

Posted on Apr 18, 2009 2:43 AM

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Answer 1

Apr 18, 2009 3:02 AM in response to Phazonhunter

See if it is possible to put the iPod into Disk Mode.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1363

If that works, connect the iPod to the computer to see if it is now recognized in iTunes. If it is, you may need to run Restore on the iPod to erase the iPod's hard drive and initialize the iPod's software.

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Answer 2

Apr 18, 2009 4:55 AM in response to Phazonhunter

hey .. my ipod classic is failing in the same way, Phazonhunter's unit is.. it my unit is also 1.5 years old , and died on the same day .. i have not been able to reboot it, the apple logo comes up for a few seconds and then disapears ... none of the trouble shooting steps work.. the device has not been damaged in any way, hasnt been dropped and has not been water damaaged.. is there any way to fix it ?

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Answer 3

Phazonhunter Author

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Apr 18, 2009 10:04 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

Can't get it in disk-mode, already tried that before, tried it again with your link but no effect 😟.

Furthermore, it was already in disk-mode before the errors occured, I always use my Ipod as a disk.

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Answer 4

Apr 18, 2009 4:40 PM in response to Phazonhunter

My wife's 80GB Ipod just went dead yesterday too. I just noticed that several people have posted the same problem - TODAY. Is it possible that we are seeing the early evidence of built in obsolescence? I've tried everything listed on this website and included in this forum and the only display which follows the reset Apple logo is a rather ominous large red X with the subheading www.apple.com/support/ipod. Any suggestions are welcome. I've followed ALL of the steps set forth in the support area and have reached a dead end. Before accepting defeat, I decided to read this forum only to discover we're not alone...

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Answer 5

Phazonhunter Author

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Apr 19, 2009 1:59 PM in response to Phazonhunter

I've had a friend of mine take a look at it today. He runs on a Mac but connecting the Ipod doesn't do anymore then on my windows machine.

However, when we tried it with a firewire connection cable (instead of the normal type cable via usb 2.0) my Ipod was able to reset and even boot. I could listen to music, browse my stuff and the like, however as soon as I unplug, my Ipod is dead as can be. I've tried to make it charge for several hours with no effect.

So it seems my accu is dead, but the rest of my Ipod is ok. I'm gonna check what a replacement accu will cost me and if Apple will fund this or if I'm gonna have to pay for the failing hardware at my local Apple retail point.

*So trying firewire connection cable didn't do much for me apart from knowing that my accu is done for, but it might help others out here.*

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Answer 6

Apr 19, 2009 2:15 PM in response to Phazonhunter

The iPod (if it's not from the latest model lineup) can still charge (receive power) over FireWire. Since it is receiving power from the FireWire connection, it is able to operate as an iPod. When you disconnect it, the power is gone so it goes dead. Therefore, the problem may be the battery, which is no longer able to hold a charge.

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Answer 7

Apr 19, 2009 8:46 PM in response to Phazonhunter

Mine died too and I also have had it for over a year. Nothing I do is helping my iPod. I am really mad and worried that I might have to get a new iPod. Is this going to be like what happened to the Zune?

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Answer 8

D.Lapone

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Jul 4, 2009 11:48 AM in response to Dr. Smith

I am having the same problem, just after 1.5 years. The unit is an 80G classic, that was a replacement to the iPod video (30G) I had, that broke as well, and replaced under warranty with the current model. I was listening to it the other day and it just stopped playing music, reset on it's own, only to come up with the red X in a circle. Unit holds a charge fine, but I cannot force it into disk mode. It ***** that this is out of warranty, as I feel it should have lasted much longer. I always take great care of my things, and had an iPod last me 4 years before this, and it was only that the battery life diminished. It seems these last two units are just faulty. What a shame!

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