Formatting an iPod from Windows 10

Thanks for the response. It is appreciated. However one of the reasons I asked this question, but didn't clarify it, is that iTunes is NOT recognizing the iPod even though Windows 10 does. And yes I did try multiple USB attachment and multiple USB ports, including a direct-to-computer connect, because I felt I could do the proper format restore in iTunes if I got there. Unfortunately I didn't get there.

Thus since I DIDN'T get iTunes to recognize the iPod, I thought maybe the problem was with the formatting, and that was the support question I sent.

At present my next "try" will be to use a friend's computer that has iTunes to see if that computer/iTunes mix recognizes the device. Were that to work, maybe my problem is with iTunes itself, but don't know this yet.

Any other thoughts/guidance you might provide would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks again for your continued assistance and support.

Tried the DFU Restore and did get the blank screen as you suggested. However Windows 10 showed the device as a USB disk; not an iPod. Concurrently the actual iPod displayed a message on the black screen stating use ITunes to restore. With that message I then turned on iTunes where it gave me a message stating it was retrieving the recovery software to restore the iPod and that I should leave the iPod connected. But then when I looked at the actual iPod display it showed it in Disk Mode (as was also shown in Windows 10) with a message to NOT disconnect.

However iTunes did nothing after the connection (I waited about 10 minutes worth of execution), and I can assume that was the case because the device was showing as a USB Disk; not an iPod.

What part of this did I do wrong???

Tried a second, third and fourth time and can only tell you this:

The DFU process works, when completed the iPod screen states USE iTunes TO RESTORE, and when I turn iTunes back on iTunes displays it's doing the recovery and prep work (the iPod is connected via USB while this is going on). Unfortunately while this is going on the iPod in Windows 10 continues to show as a disk; not as an iPod. This is driving me nuts because a restore/erase ought to be simple.

I'm at the point where I can't seem to get the iPod out of disk mode no matter what I try (doing the system diagnostics test & reset doesn't seem to make a difference, as it always seems to come back to the apple logo followed by the disk screen stating do not disconnect), and I've found no solution anywhere for converting exfat format to fat32. Is it because I can't change the disk (iPod) to fat32 that iTunes cannot recognize the device?

By the way I've been through device manager and confirmed I have the most current APPLE USB drivers; so I don't believe that's the issue.

This particular 160gb iPod is empty; so I have NO PROBLEM to doing a restore, and with the iPod being un-cluttered with anything on it you'd think a restore would be a no-brainer!!!

Again I appreciate your help, but somehow I feel that Apple is making this a lot harder to resolve than should be necessary.

Would like to help but can't provide you the HDD stats. Whether standalone, or connected to the computer via USB cable/port, the only responses I get when turning on the iPod and/or using the click-wheel commands are the Apple logo, followed by a screen that notes Use iTunes to Restore. So this iPod appears to be in permanent disk mode and I have no idea how to get out of it.

Bottom line is that I appear unable to receive any traditional iPod menu items because the iPod device thinks it's a USB disk.

PS: Again i tried multiple times to restore via iTunes since that's what the device said to do, but again nothing happened in iTunes, and in looking at My Computer in Windows 10 the iPod device continued to appear as a USB Disk with 148gb of free space.

I may have asked before, but forgot your response, but do you think a restore would work if I just used somebody else's computer that happens to have iTunes installed?

Found something interesting I want to share with you. Found a neighbor with an Apple Mac and he was able to restore my iPod immediately. However when I plugged the restored iPod into my computer to use iTunes, I received a message stating that the device needed to be formatted (apparently the Mac formatted it as a 128kb file). So I did format in Windows 10 selecting the exfat default (since it did not offer fat32) and re-connected to iTunes.

But once again, Windows 10 identified it as a USB disk, and iTunes did NOT recognize it as an iPod.

So now I have an iPod that looks like an iPod when I open it up and see the menu, but to iTunes it still just looks like a Disk!

Latest Update:

I found a neighbor with iTunes on a Windows PC. The neighbor's PC, and iTunes, were able to recognize the device as an iPod. I had the neighbor do an iTunes restore (again on a Windows machine); it worked fine, and his machine, and iTunes, was able to read the device as an iPod.

However, when I came home and USB connected the iPod to my machine (using the same cable cord I used at the neighbor's) Windows 10 recognized it only as a USB device; not an iPod, and obviously, iTunes didn't recognize it at all. What am I doing wrong?

PS: Another odd thing: When I use the click-wheel commands to attempt to do a diagnostic test, it doesn't work. When the Apple logo appears, and I switch the one finger to the click-wheel command on the left to call up the diagnostics white screen, it hesitates for awhile and then goes back to the menu screen. So while it looks like an iPod, it doesn't behave like an iPod for this particular function. Also tried to do a DFU Restore using click-wheel commands and that didn't work either.

Also if this helps the About setting on the ipod shows it with 299MB of used space and 148gb of free space. The format (in Windows 10) shows it to be FAT32.

Even if it's possible the issue is with the version of iTunes (although I'm on the current version retrieved via the website; not the Store); that wouldn't appear to explain my click-wheel dilemma which is independent of iTunes.