Infinite loop of reseting after factory restore?

I have an original Apple TV as well which I got the day they were originally released and I have been having issues with it ever since I upgraded to iTunes 9. Twice tonight it has has caused my Apple TV to reboot in the middle of a sync. Twice it has blown out all 9000 images I had synced to it. Now as I type this, I am syncing back 9000 images back to my Apple TV for the SECOND TIME tonight!

Also to note that after each time, it would not re-sync with iTunes until after I reset the settings on the Apple TV.

I thought for sure there would be an update for the Apple TV to make it compatible with iTunes 9, but each time I check, my Apple TV reports it is up to date.

Yet iTunes 9 has hosed my Apple TV twice within 6 hours. This is an un-hacked Apple TV.

Sigh.

iTunes will recognize that Apple TV is on the network even before you enter the pass code. When you try to sync it, I believe that is when it will ask for you the pass code. At least that is how I somewhat remember it behaving.

I've been thinking of doing a factory restore myself tonight, thinking perhaps this may solve my problem, but if you are having issues after a factory restore, perhaps it may not be a good idea for me.

Since I was not having this issue before iTunes 9, and there hasn't been any updates to Apple TV (much to my surprise). Then the problem must be how iTunes 9 is syncing with the Apple TV in my case.

As for the 'infinite loop' problem, clearly you haven't even got to the syncing process. Perhaps the issue is between Apple TV 1.0 and iTunes 9? Did you try to update the Apple TV software to the latest version before trying to link it to your MacBook?

Cheers,
Louis

I am having the same problem, the loop goes away if I unplug it from the network, but that means I cant update the AppleTV

This started ot hapen when i reset the AppleTV to factory settings

like everybody here I am using Itunes 9 and Snow Leopard on some of my machines, I try to close down all itunes but still does it 😟

This is how I was able to fix this issue

1 - unplug all other macs from your hub/switch
2 - unplug al wireless macs
3 - reboot your switch/hub
4 - reboot appletv
5 - plug appletv to switch (and nothing else)
6 - upgrade appletv
7 - plus other macs back in

by removing all macs from the network and rebooting the network I was able to stop the loop on the AppleTV and upgrade to the latest version, there the loop issue does not happen

hope this helps

I also have an original non hacked Apple TV. Yesterday I installed iTunes 9 on my MacBookPro and 3.1 on my iPhone 3GS. When I looked at my AppleTV I saw it didn't pop up in iTunes anymore, and thus did not sync.
I made a factory settings reset, then just like Louis it started up, I selected the language and the password for my wireless network.
Since then, it's in a loop, showing the silver apple logo for a second or so, then the menu for a second, and so on.

Apple, help!

Hi,

I wish I came here straight away rather than put so many hours into the problem on my own. Firstly, the problem does exist. By coincidence I decided to do a hardware reset on one of my ATV's after the iTunes 9 install on 4 computers in my house. The "infinite loop" described above occured immediately and, naturally, I figured I had a hardware problem. This was the first ATV I had purchased (40GB model), which as it turned out in the end was a significant factor. The thing that made me sure I had a hardware problem was when I did a factory reset on my most recently purchased ATV, it worked without any problem at all. Naturally my old machine was well out of warranty so I decided to put some time into it all on my own. I won't go into any detail as to how I discovered the fix but rather my conclusions. (I'm a Vista user, I don't know if Mac is the same)

1. The problem only occurs on my machines that factory reset back to firmware versions BEFORE 2.0
2. You need to close down every PC on your network that does any sharing at all. Simply closing iTunes is not enough because a number of services are still running. (The main culprits were iTunes Helper and Bonjour but there were others.)
3. You will not be able to use wireless to perform the update so the easiest thing to do is either change the SSID or simply turn wireless off (on your network)
4. Run an ethernet cable (which is live) to the problem ATV and turn the ATV on. (You will need to reset you ATV to not use DHCP and manually allocate an IP address so make sure you know what IP addresses can be used for this purpose).
5. When the "infinite loop" starts happening, simply pull the network cable out of the back of the ATV.
6. The looping will stop so go to the settings-network page on the ATV and manually set the IP address so it doesn't use DHCP on your router. (if you don't know how to do this I would suggest that you ask somebody who does.)
7. Plug the ethernet cable back in.
8. Proceed to the software update screen and proceed as normal
9. Change the ATV network screen back to DHCP (if this is your normal operating environment on your network).

I tried a number of variations of this but figured this was the fastest and easiest one. It worked for me everytime I did it so i have to assume that it will work for most of the "tearing your hair out" users out there.

The "Nullmind" solution will work for some (well done by the way) but if you connect to an ISP that can't be connected to with only a switch or you don't own a switch or you don't know how to convert your router into a switch, this solution solves those problems.

Good luck everybody. Apple, my invoice is in the mail 🙂

I dont believe its an ITunes Issue....mine went like this before the upgrade was ITunes available.....

Attempts to Perform a "Forced Restart" three times (an Apple suggestion) do nothing, the box now hangs at the Silver Apple Screen, and does nothing.

Additionally and very strangely, this weekend the box pooped up an OS X Front Row Login Box, Requiring a Password (Something it has not done since!) Since there are no moving parts, and based on previously documented lock up issues (see the Apple TV Forum) this has to be some kind of of SOFTWARE issue again.

I love my Apple TV and all that it does.....When it works...I just wish Apple would resolve the Software Issues.

Is this the loop you were seeing: http://www.twitvid.com/9215B

Yes that is the one.

dixiebrit, I don't believe you have the same problem.