A1288 iPod stuck in recovery mode; all troubleshooters fail

I have an A1288 iPod touch (2nd generation, largely unused I am told) stuck in recovery mode. It spontaneously entered recovery mode while I was attempting to remove all songs from it. To my knowledge (it is a borrowed device -- this is why recovery is of paramount importance), it has not been modified from factory settings.

Windows 7 Home/Premium does not acknowledge the device's existence; there is not even a message that the device cannot be recognised. The computer does produce a sound to acknowledge that something has been connected/disconnected to a USB port; however, the device does not become visible anywhere.

Other devices, including other iPods (without iOS), are recognisable. The problem persists regardless of the Windows 7 computer to which the device is connected. iTunes and Windows 7 are fully updated. The Apple Mobile Device driver is completely up to date.

I have completed the troubleshooters for failure to recognise ( http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538 ) and for iOS restoration ( http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808 ; I do not receive the recovery mode alert from iTunes) multiple times. (I have deactivated AVG and Firewall.)