ipod disconnects constantly

So I have an ipod classic 80gb and when I got it I connected it to itunes and synced all my music with absolutely no problem. A few weeks after that I was able to do it again with still no bother. Ever since then however plugging the ipod into my laptop causes it to connect and then immediately disconnect over and over again until I give up and just take it out. The music on the ipod and itunes still works just fine and the laptops usb ports are fine and the ipod can connect to my other computer. It's the same wire I used initially but I've tried others to no avail. I have read novels worth of answers to the same question and tried everything from manually uninstalling and reinstalling drivers to completely factory resetting my computer and starting from scratch. Disk mode is yielding the same results too. Absolutely nothing works. I'm hoping that there's something I'm missing out on here and would appreciate any help with the matter at all.