Now I can't reconnect. The iPod isn't recognized either by Finder or iTunes. I've tried resetting the iPod and I've tried restarting the computer, without success. Any suggestions?
iMac (Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.4 GHz), iBook G4, iPod Nano (2nd Generation),
Mac OS X (10.5.6)
Have you tried forcing the iPod into Disk Mode as described in this Apple support document?
_[Putting iPod into Disk Mode|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1363]_
Otherwise, I would work through the potential troubleshooting solutions provided in this Apple support document as well.
_[iPod not recognized in iTunes and Mac desktop|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1410]_
Thanks for these replies. The thing is: when the iPod isn't connected to the computer via USB, it's completely unresponsive -- just a dark screen. When I do connect it via USB, the screen on the iPod cycles at 1 second intervals from a darkened Apple logo, to a screen saying "Use iTunes to restore" (which I can't do since iTunes doesn't detect the iPod), to a screen showing the charged battery symbol and a message saying "Do not disconnect", then back to the Apple logo, and so on. And it does this over and over (I've left it connected for as long as 3 hours, and it just endlessly cycles through those 3 screens for about half a second each). I have tried going through the reset routine -- this darkens the screen -- then if I hold down the select and play/pause buttons, it switches to flashing back and forth between a dimmed Apple logo and a large check mark, which I guess would be disk mode, but it just stays there for half a second, and anyway neither the Finder nor iTunes detects the iPod. So nothing I've seen on the Apple iPod Troubleshooting documentation seems to help. So I'm completely at a loss...
I have been through the "iPod not recognized" document, and none of the things seemed to be the solution. (I've tried connecting to a different computer, I've tried restarting the computer, the USB cable appears to be fine, from the glimpses I get of the battery logo, it appears to be fully charged, and so on.)
