unknown error [-50]

I figured it out, but im still getting the error

I am also having a problem like this, but it is a little different. I am having no trouble at all with syncing, but, I did purchase an Audiobook this morning, the amount of the item was taken away from my total, and it started to download. After about 3 seconds, I got an error, a window popped up, and it said an Unknown Error had been performed... error (-50). I closed iTunes, reopened it, and tried to begin the download again from going to Store > Check for Purchases. It started downloading again, but only for a few seconds. I got the message about the unknown error (-50) again. And again. And again. And I'm not quite sure what to do... I've called the support number, and they were of no help. If you can help, it would be greatly appreciated.

I've also had this problem. I called the Apple Phone Support line and talked to some sassy employee who ended up hanging up on me after instructing me to restart my computer.

Regardless,

When I plug in my 5gen 30g, it opens iTunes normally, the iPod displays the red warning thing instructing you not to disconnect it, and eventually is recognized on the computer and ready to do stuff.

For the record, I just started noticing this after updating to iTunes 7 and 1.2 firmware for my 5gen.

However, when I try and do stuff, EG: enable disk use, or add songs or whatever, it starts to update to no avail. It says up top " Updating iPod " or whatever, and the iPod displays briefly ' Updating, do not disconnect ' but then goes back to the menu and shows that it is charging.

iTunes still says that it is updating, and eventually freezes for a couple minutes before displaying:

" The iPod cannot be updated. An unknown error has occured (-50). "

Rediculous. I cannot update my iPod or do anything to sync it. This topic claims to be answered, but clearly is not. I am highly displeased with the service I have recieved, and I hope this gets solved soon.

And I don't reccomend calling Apple.

I called Apple again, and they suggested that I download my purchases onto another computer, because I keep getting the -50 error when I try to download anything. So I downloaded my Audiobook onto another computer with iTunes, and the guy I talked to said that if I did download anything onto a nother computer, I could put those files onto my iPod from that computer. When I tried to put the audiobook onto my iPod, it said that I can only sync with one Library at a time... Is there a way to only put the audiobook onto my iPod from that computer w/o also copying every other file?

this means u lost part of your files delete all ur songs and install the folder again

Who was that directed towards?

I've updated my iTunes and I've been getting this error recently as well (-50), although, sometimes iTunes would almost complete the sync and then stop with the message of "hardware might be corrupted". I haven't deleted any songs yet, as I own an iPod photo 60gb and have used only 45gb so far with music and pictures, but with last couple of sync half of music files has been deleted from my iPod by iTunes and they are present in the library. And then it showed the (-50), hate it.
I've had it since March 2005 and I got it in UK, but now I live in China. I found an Apple Store (you should have seen it!) in Qingdao and all they did was resetting and restoring (like I didn't tried it myself). I've tried to enable disk use, nothing changed. Any more suggestions? Help!

I've had my Ipod Shuffle for nearly a year now and i've used it fine for all this time with NO problems. Downloaded itunes 7 a while ago and still had no problems, had updates aswell and still had no problems.

until about 5 minutes ago, when i either try to auto fill from a play list or enable disk use. it doesnt show in my computer atal ase it has enable disk disabled so i cant interact with it. I try to restore it using itunes but the error pops up aswell!

Also when i connect my Ipod, windows autoplay pops up and asks what id like to do with the ipod, while itunes is recognizing it, which i found strange. It actually sits in itunes source list aswell, iv tried reseting Ipod, reinstalling itunes, restrtin Pc and redoing my library.

Another thing is that before i connected my Ipod for the first time after reinstalling itunes, i ran ipod updater and it worked, BUT i ran it after its connected and as soon as it starts loading it says it has encounted a problem and needs to close... ***!!

My PC is brand new so it isnt a hardware problem or software or virus as i run regular scans and i built the pc myself. either Apple re release an update either for itunes or ipod updater or about 164726428 people are going to have useless Ipods!

NOT HAPPY

Wow, there seems to be so many people out there having problems with the new version.

This has been doing my head in now for over a month. I used to ignore those 'please update to version....' requests on itunes. I have the 20GB click wheel which I bought April 2004. I upgraded earlier this year with no problems. I upgraded to version 7 when it came out. Nightmare!

All is fine when running itunes and listening to music over the pc. When I plug in the ipod the whole thing freezes. It won't recognise my ipod, won't update or anything. Once it's plugged in I can't eject it. The 'do not disconnect' screen just stays.

The worst thing is it makes my whole pc freeze when I plug it in. The only way I can do anything else with the pc like use email is to unplug the ipod manually. I think I have done this a few times now and its seems to have damaged the ipod. When I play music it skips through songs without playing them. Sometimes it wont play anything at all. It also makes this horrible clicking sound from inside. I get that error 50 message when I turn it on.

I have reinstalled the software and restored the ipod with no luck. Haven't been able to use it since October now. I recently bought my boyfriend a new Nano. I had only updated the ipod once. The second time was after upgrading to version 7, and the same thing happened. I don't want to try again for fear of damaging the Nano too! Help!

Windows XP

I just restarted my computer and the problem went away.

When you first insert your Shuffle into the USB port you need to click really quickly on the Settings tab and scroll down to tick the Enable Disk Use option. Then click on Apply. This all has to be done really quickly while iTunes says that your Shuffle is updating otherwise the connection is dropped and the device is no longer recognised by Windows - really frustrating. It took me two days of persevering with this and I finally managed to apply the new setting while my Shuffle was still connected. I tried all the other suggestions on this forum but this is the only option which has been successful. I don't know why Apple don't have this solution posted on their help pages as it's such a simple solution. I hope this works for you.

i have found a solution! kid tested mother approved, no more crashing, smooth syncs, smooth conversions, an ipod working like an ipod should. i haven't mastered the new sync process (as opposed to updating in itunes 6.0, this shold fix any -50 sync problems at least it has for me thus far this is also a solution for those whos ipods dont show up in the computer or itunes once plugged in your Window XP, itunes, and ipod working in togather at last i'm keeping my fingers crossed but if anything strange happens i'll post it but things are running better than everall te latest updates and no problems...yeah...i got my ipod back
just make sure to follow the directions closley and you should be up and runnin in no time...good luck

Windows XP users who have unreadable, unwriteable, ipods mine was associated with an error -50 ...wow i didn't realize how many people were goig through this Love ya ipod! please keep working well beyond your warrenty, and stay sexy xx000

~PROBLEM~
You attach a USB-based device to a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP. Then, you try to scan for hardware devices. However, the computer may not detect the attached device, and you may not see the device in the My Computer folder.

You may experience this problem when you are using one or more of the following devices:• USB thumb drive
• Apple iPod
• External hard disk drive
Additionally, you may not see the iPod in the iTunes application.

~CAUSE~
This problem may occur if there are corrupted or incorrect keys in the registry.


!!!!!~SOLUTION~!!!!!
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.( i know it sounds scary, but don't worry it's not a big deal, as long as you do it correctly )

To resolve this problem, delete the UpperFilters registry value and the LowerFilters registry value. These values may cause access problems. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit , and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the UpperFilters registry value. This value is located in the following registry subkey:
HKEY LOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E980-E325 11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
4. Locate and then click the LowerFilters registry value. This value is located in the following registry subkey:
HKEY LOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10 318}
5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
6. Exit Registry Editor.
7. Restart the computer.

Note If you lose functionality in a particular program such as CD recording software after you remove both registry values, you may have to reinstall that software. If the problem occurs again, contact the software vendor for help.

i personally uninstalled everything (itunes&quicktime)...00 first and then reinstalled itunes version 6 (the disc that came with my ipod) after completing the registry editor, and now after months of messed up sync,comp. crashes and, an ipod full of only pictures, my little black beauty is full to the brim with my favorite songs, stories, and podcasts so try it it just may work for you .....or anyone running widows xp and having weird sync problems...good luck! let me know if you try and your results! also i should mention i have not noticed any negitive effect on my computer after the removal of those two folders the only thin that happened is my computer finally recognized my ipod and even located a 2.0 usb port i didn't even know i had, it seems my ipod is not the enomus waste of money i was beggining to think it was i strongly recommend anyone with at least novice computer skill using Windows XP give this a try and soon incidents of "mysterious error-50", ipod sync problems ,and ipods crashing computers will, decline drasticly. It worked perfectly for me and its actually very simple all those things are just folders to open just like program files and once you see them it's explains itself i've been looking for this solution for along time and i'm glad it's finally resolved.

i have found a solution! kid tested mother approved, no more crashing, smooth syncs, smooth conversions, an ipod working like an ipod should. i haven't mastered the new sync process (as opposed to updating in itunes 6.0, this shold fix any -50 sync problems at least it has for me thus far this is also a solution for those whos ipods dont show up in the computer or itunes once plugged in your Window XP, itunes, and ipod working in togather at last i'm keeping my fingers crossed but if anything strange happens i'll post it but things are running better than everall te latest updates and no problems...yeah...i got my ipod back
just make sure to follow the directions closley and you should be up and runnin in no time...good luck

Windows XP users who have unreadable, unwriteable, ipods mine was associated with an error -50 ...wow i didn't realize how many people were goig through this Love ya ipod! please keep working well beyond your warrenty, and stay sexy xx000

~PROBLEM~
You attach a USB-based device to a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP. Then, you try to scan for hardware devices. However, the computer may not detect the attached device, and you may not see the device in the My Computer folder.

You may experience this problem when you are using one or more of the following devices:• USB thumb drive
• Apple iPod
• External hard disk drive
Additionally, you may not see the iPod in the iTunes application.

~CAUSE~
This problem may occur if there are corrupted or incorrect keys in the registry.


!!!!!~SOLUTION~!!!!!
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.( i know it sounds scary, but don't worry it's not a big deal, as long as you do it correctly )

To resolve this problem, delete the UpperFilters registry value and the LowerFilters registry value. These values may cause access problems. To do this, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit , and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the UpperFilters registry value. This value is located in the following registry subkey:
HKEY LOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E980-E325 11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
3. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
4. Locate and then click the LowerFilters registry value. This value is located in the following registry subkey:
HKEY LOCALMACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10 318}
5. On the Edit menu, click Delete, and then click OK.
6. Exit Registry Editor.
7. Restart the computer.

Note If you lose functionality in a particular program such as CD recording software after you remove both registry values, you may have to reinstall that software. If the problem occurs again, contact the software vendor for help.

i personally uninstalled everything (itunes&quicktime)...00 first and then reinstalled itunes version 6 (the disc that came with my ipod) after completing the registry editor, and now after months of messed up sync,comp. crashes and, an ipod full of only pictures, my little black beauty is full to the brim with my favorite songs, stories, and podcasts so try it it just may work for you .....or anyone running widows xp and having weird sync problems...good luck! let me know if you try and your results! also i should mention i have not noticed any negitive effect on my computer after the removal of those two folders the only thin that happened is my computer finally recognized my ipod and even located a 2.0 usb port i didn't even know i had, it seems my ipod is not the enomus waste of money i was beggining to think it was i strongly recommend anyone with at least novice computer skill using Windows XP give this a try and soon incidents of "mysterious error-50", ipod sync problems ,and ipods crashing computers will, decline drasticly. It worked perfectly for me and its actually very simple all those things are just folders to open just like program files and once you see them it's explains itself i've been looking for this solution for along time and i'm glad it's finally resolved.

anybody try this yet?