my ipad mini says to connect to itunes, and I try to restore it, but after its done extracting a message comes up saying that device is not found, is there anyway i can fix this? I don't care if i don't get my stuff back

If everything else that you try fails, I would try using another computer. Since you don't care about saving any data, any computer that is running the latest version of iTunes might be able to restore the iPad. You could make an appointment at an Apple Store Genius Bar and they can do it for you.

If that isn't feasible for you, try using a different cable, a different USB port. reboot the computer, and reset the iPad by holding down on the sleep and home buttons at the same time for about 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Then try again.

If you're using a Windows PC to do this, ensure that the driver is being installed for the recovery mode. I've seen this issue where a PC takes too long to check online for driver updates. If iTunes is installed you can simply click the blue text to skip obtaining the driver online, from which the driver will almost immediately install.