Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

iPod Classic reads "connected", but it is not showing up on the Mac's desktop or in iTunes.

I accidentally disconnected my iPod Classic before it ejected from my Mac (OS 10.6.8 and iTunes 10.6.3). The iPod plays fine, but when I connect it to the Mac, although the iPod screen reads "connected, eject before disconnecting", it does not show up either on the desktop (I keep it in disk mode) or in iTunes. I reset it three times. I also tried a different USB port. Neither resolved the problem. I cannot restore it to factory setting since it does not show up in iTunes. I have no idea what to do to try to fix the problem.

Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Aug 1, 2012 3:43 AM

Reply
18 replies

Aug 1, 2012 8:08 AM in response to planb77

Thank you for the suggestions. By reset I do mean that I pressed Select and Menu simultaneously and waited for the Apple logo. I also did try a different cable. That did not work either. I also checked to make sure the software was up-to-date and went through the suggestions found in the link you referred to, but the problem remains.


Our iPod Touch and iPhone have no problems (same cable, same computer, same USB, etc.). The issues are just with the iPod Classic so I assume I messed it up somehow when I disconnected it without ejecting it first.

Aug 1, 2012 9:21 AM in response to bhadash

Check the iPod's dock connector port for any signs of damaged/bent/corroded pins. If there is any debris lodged in there, take a can of compressed air to it to try and blow it out.


Can you try and connect the iPod to another PC or Mac to see if it's recognized properly on that machine? This will help determine if it's an iPod issue or Mac issue.


B-rock

Aug 1, 2012 11:24 AM in response to planb77

I greatly appreciate all of your suggestions.


I connected the iPod to our laptop, but the same thing happened: the iPod screen showed the message "connected, eject it before disconnecting", but the device did not show up on the laptop's desktop and nothing happened when I opened iTunes. (Since the iPod is not showing up on the Mac, the only way I seem to be able to safely disconnect it is to shut down the computer. Then the iPod screen notes that it is safe to disconnect.)


The iPod's dock connector seems okay as far as I can tell from looking at it. Also, I am currently using it with some speakers that use the dock connector port and it is working fine. So that seems to confirm that all the pins are okay and there is no debris getting in the way.

Aug 2, 2012 12:18 PM in response to planb77

I have tried a different USB cable, but it did not solve the problem.


I keep the iPod in disk mode so I can add and edit notes that I keep on it, but I did follow the directions in the link you provided. It went into disk mode okay. When I connected it to the computer, I again got a "do not disconnect" message, but the iPod again did not show up either in iTunes or on the desktop.


I do not know what Device Manager is and I could not find it on the Mac. Your question, however, prompted a memory of disk utility. When I pluged the iPod into the computer and opened disk utililty, the following showed up on the left side in black "79.82 GB Apple iPod Media" and under it is the greyed out name of the iPod. If I click on the name of the iPod, the following information shows up:


Mount Point: not mounted

Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)

Owners Enabled: -

Number of Folders: -

Capacity: 79.82 GB (79, ... Bytes)

Available: -

Used: -

Number of Files: -


If I click on the "79.82 GB Apple iPod Media" (as noted above, this is in black above the greyed out name of the iPod) I get the following information:


Disk Description: Apple iPod Media

Connection Bus: USB

Connection Type: External

USB Serial Number: 000A...

Total Capacity: 79.82 GB (79, ... Bytes)

Write Status: Read/Write

S.M.A.R.T. Status: Not Supported

Partition Map Scheme: Apple Partition Map

Aug 2, 2012 4:10 PM in response to planb77

I will need to think about it a lot before I use Disk Utility. The directions in the link are for erasing the iPod. Although I am currently unable to update the iPod, sync it, or change any of its content, it does play perfectly using both earbuds and an external speaker. Therefore, I can still access and use all of its content. My concern is that if I erase it using Disk Utility and then it continues to not show up in iTunes, it will be left with nothing but a dead device. So this is a decision that will require some delibration.

Aug 3, 2012 6:05 AM in response to bhadash

It sounds like you don't have iPods set up to show mounted on your Mac's desktop. To enable this head to Finder -> Preferences and make sure there is a tick mark next to CDs, DVDs, and iPods under Show these items on the desktop.


If it does show as mounted after that, see this article before deciding to go for the low level reformat.

iPod does not appear in iTunes or iPod updater in Mac OS X


B-rock

Aug 3, 2012 6:52 AM in response to planb77

The Finder preferences have been set appropriatelly for years and the iPod has always mounted on the desktop fine until a week ago. I did check to make sure no one had changed the preferences, but they are still set appropriately. Thank you for the suggestion, however, because I would not have checked otherwise.

Aug 3, 2012 5:46 PM in response to planb77

I did see the article. The article itself seemed to be for when an iPod appears in the Finder in Mac OS X, but does not appear in the iTunes Source list, which is not the case for me. Mine is not showing up anywhere. Unfortunately, when I went to the articles link for "If iPod is not showing up anywhere, then try these steps first", it ultimately brought be back to steps I have already tried.


I also clicked on the grey name of the iPod in Disk Utilities and then clicked on Mount, but I got a message stating that the iPod could not be mounted. The message suggested running First Aid, but when I checked on-line I found the following information (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1782):


You may experience some issues if you try to verify or repair any unmountable, non-startup disk.

Issues may occur if you try to verify or repair unmountable disks

Disk Utility may stop responding without displaying an error message, or stall your computer for several seconds, when trying to verify or repair some non-startup volumes that can't be unmounted.

If you try to verify a volume that is not your startup disk but for some reason Disk Utility can't unmount the volume (for example, the disk may have open files), the verification will appear to start but then stop without displaying any alert message. If you look in the Console (/Applications/Utilities/), you will see an entry like this:

Verifying volume “Storage”
The disk “Storage” could not be unmounted
Could not unmount disk for verification, attempting live verify

If you try to repair a disk that cannot be unmounted, the repair will appear to start, but then stop as Disk Utility displays this message: "Repairing disk failed with error. Could not unmount disk."

It also stated, Once you start a Live Verification, you may not be able to cancel it, depending on how far along it has progressed --- and that concerned me.

If I am reading the above correctly, it does not seem as if Disk Utilities will work if the device is unmountable. Also, I am concerned about doing something that might damage the iPod further.

Aug 4, 2012 1:26 PM in response to planb77

I decided to run Disk Utililty and got the following:


Verifying volume

Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.

Checking extents overflow file.

Checking catalog file.

Invalid node structure

The volume could not be verified completely.

Error: This disk needs to be repaired. Click Repair Disk.

Verify and Repair volume

Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.

Checking extents overflow file.

Checking catalog file.

Invalid node structure

The volume could not be verified completely.

Volume repair complete.Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required. Error: Disk Utility can’t repair this disk. Back up as many of your files as possible, reformat the disk, and restore your backed-up files.

Perhaps the only solution is the erase it completely using Disk Utility, but I am not ready to do that yet. I once tried to reinstall the system software on one of our previous Macs and ended up getting the chimes of death, so I am hesitant about doing anything major to the iPod.

iPod Classic reads "connected", but it is not showing up on the Mac's desktop or in iTunes.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.