iPod Nano does not appear in iTunes anymore

Riad SEDDIK wrote:
Someone had the same problem?

in a way, yes. needed to charge my nano (4th gen) last night and it wouldn't show up under devices - for about 2 minutes. then, suddenly, there it was.

you may want to try to wait a while once you connect your nano

what happens ?

Wish I was posting a solution. I'm not. I'm having the exact same issue. iPod Nano 2G - aluminum. iTunes 9.0.2. OSX 10.4.11.

iPod shows up on the desktop, but not recognized by iTunes. It is, however, recognized on my brother's computer, which is an identical computer but running Leopard.

I'm wondering now if it is an OS issue because I have tried everything conceivable... to the point of erasing my iPod with disk utility and zeroing out all the data. At this point, I am DESPERATE for a solution. Until a solution is found, my iPod has been reduced to the world's most expensive flash drive.

Please don't just tell me to get a new OS. I can't afford it and shouldn't have to spend even MORE just to get this dang iPod to be recognized by iTunes.

Also...

After scrubbing the iPod clean and zeroing out with disk utility, it was recognized by iTunes on my brother's powerbook, so I used his iTunes (9.0.2 as well) to run a restore, in the hopes that the firmware on the iPod needed an update to return functionality to my machine, OS, and iTunes. This did not solve the problem either.

Disk Utility shows nothing to repair, permissions or otherwise, on neither the iPod or my system's hard drive. Also tried re-setting the PRAM with no changes.

I'm going to run Disk Warrior on both the iPod and the computer's hard drive for a permissions repair and a system check. This is the last thing I can possibly think of to try. I will report back later tonight.

I just upgraded iTunes (from 9.0.1 to 9.0.2) and now I'm having the same problem. My iPod Nano (1st generation) shows up on the desktop, but never appears in the left column "Devices" section of iTunes. I've tried rebooting the iPod and rebooting my MacBook without success. I even tried the iPod Nano on my Mac Mini (also running iTunes 9.0.2 on OSX 10.6.2) and got the same problem. My iPhone appears and syncs fine.

I think I'm going to try downgrading to iTunes 9.0.1 if that is even possible...

If you can figure out a way to downgrade, I would love to hear it! I had the same thought, but the only other iTunes dmg I could find is on my iLife 6 disk. This is iTunes 6, and plugging the iPod into this version prompts the message that the iPod needs iTunes 7 or later to run.

I ran across a link from Apple for a version of iTunes 8. It isn't readily posted in an intuitive place, but I have it bookmarked. I'm not sure if it will work, but it's downloading at the moment. I found a supposed iTunes 8 dmg on Rapidshare last night... I know... that's bad, but whatever... its supposed to be free software upgrades on iTunes. It's not supposed to ruin your hardware's functionality. Ethical dilemma aside, after downloading this iTunes downgrade and trying to install, I was given the prompt, "This version of iTunes is old," and it would not proceed past that point. It was the most condescending prompt my computer has ever given me, which gave me a chuckle, but didn't solve my current issue.

I will post the link if this downgrade does indeed happen to work.

Success!

I Googled "Downgrade iTunes" and this was one of the first hits:

http://www.iphonefaq.org/archives/97664

I just went from 9.0.2 to 9.0.1 (glad I keep the old installers). After installing 9.0.1 I found that I did not need to import the old "iTunes Music Library.xml". My library and playlists seemed to rebuild successfully and I was able to sync my iPod Nano 1st generation again.

You can probably find 9.0.1 through Google...

I hate you. But congratulations. I can't find 9.01 anywhere. The only thing I found was a version of 8. It did load... but then there was a whole new set of problems with it saying "an iPod has been detected but cannot be verified." As soon as it said this, it would eject the iPod from the computer completely.

I probably fubared the whole thing by being to quick to erase. Disk Warrior did nothing. I'm about ready to throw it out the window and break out my old diskman.

I have the same problem but with my nano and the reg 30 gb one. I plug them in, they charge but for some reason my computer and itunes isn't recognizing them. Apple thinks it is my ipod but i tried my brothers and his isn't working either so I don't know I have also tried to uninstall and reinstall Itunes and now I can't even get itunes store to come up so any help would be great!

I'm chiming in here! I have a 3G Nano, and if iTunes is running and I connect it, iTunes doesn't see it. And yes, just like everyone else, the iPod's on the desktop. I have to quit iTunes, eject the iPod, and then reconnect the iPod. After about two minutes, iTunes will launch, and about 30 seconds after launching, my iPod will appear.

***. I'm all ears!

Message was edited by: Vegasrenie

Message was edited by: Vegasrenie

Well, I did find 9.0.1

Still no luck. I'm off to the Apple Store tomorrow. We'll see what they say.

[begin conspiracy theory] Maybe the same tactics that Apple is using to thwart Palm Pre syncing has the unwanted side effect of nuking early generation iPod Nano support... [end conspiracy theory]

It's gotta be some weird permissions thing on the OS... some hidden file somewhere being a b*tch. iPod syncs totally fine with my brother's laptop. But its not as simple as it just being a problem with Tiger, as I see that some of you are indeed running Leopard and having trouble.

I am about to give in and try an archive and install of the operating system. My brother's iPod ACTUALLY died a few weeks ago. It was like 7 years old. Now that mine only seems to work with his computer and not mine, I see him making crazy eyes at it... as if he is going to commandeer it under the pretense that it doesn't work with my machine anyway. Not a chance! I have to get it working.

Archive and install of Tiger did the trick for me. After re-installing the OS, then updating Quicktime, I updated iTunes, but only to 9.0.1, just in case. After four days of messing with this, I'm back in business.

Archive and install should only be a last resort when dealing with software issues, but in this case, it seemed to be the only option.

I hope that posting my progress on this issue will save someone some time and frustration.

Glad to hear that an archive and install of Tiger worked for you. The reason I looked in these forums was to try to narrow down my possibilities since I upgraded from iTunes 9.0.1 -> 9.0.2 and Snow Leopard from 10.6.1 -> 10.6.2 at the same time. Normally I use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone my drive before a major install, but I only noticed the iPod nano sync issue several days later.

Hopefully the original poster (and others) will find these discussions useful in troubleshooting this issue.