'Please Wait. Very Low Battery.'

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I have spent a good portion of the day trying to fix my son's 30GB iPod and this did the trick. Well, at least I think so. It is currently plugged into the computer and I am finally seeing the batter icon charging up and the "do not disconnect" message which is better than seeing the sad icon face on the screen. Thanks again for your help!!!!

I had all the above symptoms.

My Mother in laws' Ipod 30Gb 5th Generation had been run down to no battery.

Plugged into computer to recharge the batteries, and iTunes said to update the software that hadn't been done for a year or more...

This made the iPod die, and the sad face came up.

Went to Apple store, and they said buy a new one for £110, or buy a replacement drive off of them for £109. They just wanted her money!!!!

Tried all other fixes, like the business card trick, and the take the battery lead off for 5 minutes thing, and still no joy..

Then, having read the 100 or more posts above, and taking tips from all of them, I plugged the iPod into the Pc, It said very low battery..

Forced Ipod into didc mode and the battery looked fully charged (not strobing, just fully lit up) with the little mains symbol next to it.. This was conflicting advice, as it was saying charged one minute, then very low the next...

did the menu and select reset 6 times while the apple logo was still showing... never let it go any further... then UNPLUGGED the connector and sent it into disc mode.. Quickly plugged connector back in, and now the battery IS charging and the sad face has gone..

There seems to be TWO disc modes to me.. the one you get to if you are connected to a pc or charger, and the one you get if you are NOT connected to them.

The 'not connected' one is the fix for my iPod..

Hope this works for you..

After you went into disk mode and it started charging, did the display read "OK to Disconnect," or "Do not disconnect?" I've been trying to follow your instructions now for about an hour (having trouble getting into disk mode consistently). Last time after I plugged it back in, it read, "OK to disconnect," but was charging. I unplugged it an plugged it back in--1 minute later it rebooted as always.

Add another 5th Gen Ipod video 30G to the list with this problem.
This is terrible. Reminds me of Toshiba with the infamous Toshiba Satellite 6100 that ended in Federal Court with a Class Action......
Apple need to address this problem now....PERIOD!

SPANKING THE IPOD

I've "fixed' my Ipod (G5,30G) problem using this thread. I'm a neophyte at this stuff, so you can imagine I was quite surprised that I was able to do it!

I had the clicking described in this thread (thought my hard drive had bit the dust), and it was unable to charge. Funny thing, like many others here ....my extended warranty had just expired.

I read quite a bit on the web. I didn't have to "spank" my Ipod, but I might next time! There is some good info out there, including detailed pictures and a description of a guy replacing the hard drive. Glad I didn't have to do that! Thought if the restore didn't do it, I would run the diagnostics, but as it ended up, I didn't have to.

SO.....I first Reset by pressing Menu and Select at same time, then immediately pressed Play and Select to send it into Disk Mode. My computer (via USB port) was able to charge from there. I had to restore it after. So far, so good!

Thanks for all the help.

Hi there, How you doing?I am trying to help one of my friends to fix his ipod 60 gig video. I am getting the "Please Wait. Very Low Battery" Message. He didn't use it for long time. It doesn't charge with the wall charger and keeps resetting. I connected it to the USB port as you said but when i tried to put it into disk mode it showed the sad ipod icon. Is there a way to charge it so that I can restore it to factory settings.

Hi LanceYboy, I took that ribbon off twice, first time for 5 mins and then put everything back. connected it to USB but it didn't work. Second time I waited for 12 mins. didn't work. as soon as I connected it to the USB, a sad ipod icon appears. Please Help.

Same problem SOLVED !! Video/5G 60GB U2/silver/black. Battery had disconnected internally - probably from being shaken/knocked around. See bottom pic: http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPod/iPod-5th-Generation-Video-/Battery/95/1/Page-2

When i connect my 80GB ipod to my usb ports,it quickly displays the APPLE LOGO for 1 sec and then quickly displays the SAD FACE for 2 sec and then displays the 'PLEASE WAIT VERY LOW BATTERY' Please help on how to go abt this.
thanx

Ok, it just happened to mine last night. I had my ipod plugged into my laptop for hours. I paused a song in itunes came back hit play and i got the message that pops up in itunes saying it can't play the song would you like to located the file. Any way, now my ipod will not turn on at all, all i get is a message telling me to go to www.apples/support/ipod or something of the nature. Did this happen to anyone? When that message goes away i get a please wait battery low but the screen is blacked out i could barely see it. I plug it into my computer and that doesn't work either. I have an HP it runs windows vista. Please help I'm going through withdrawls, if anyone knows what i should do please let me know I'm completely freaking out, its only a year and half old. Pleeeeze help.

I'm having no luck, I've done everything, the posts have told me to do, except remove my battery. I don't want to take extreme measures, but I think I'm going to have to restore my i pod. Unless anyone else can tell me differently. Please help, I don't want to do it. Am I doing something wrong.

Okay,

I swapped out the battery previously and it didn't do anything.

The key was to leave the wires unplug for 10 minutes so it could discharge.

I plugged it into the wall for 15 minutes after that and now I am able to restore it.

Ok, me again. I took my iPod to the Apple store so that they can diagnose the problem I've been having with it. They told me that the drivers in my iPod are not spinning and therefor I'm getting that contact support message. What do I do? Does anybody know what I can do about this? Is there a solution or do I have to buy another one? I would appreciate any suggestions. I still get the Very low battery warning, but Apple told me it's because of the drivers not being recognized, something like that. I know there are a few of you that got the same message as I did, the contact support and the very low battery. How did you fix it that for some reason I can not fix mine. Please help.

The person you talked to sounds like an idiot. Maybe he meant that your hard drive won't spin up. Secondly, there are no drivers. It's called firmware in this instance.

All I know is that my way worked while I couldn't get anyone else's way to work.

Jess, do you have anyone that would be willing to open the iPod and unplug it from the inside?

I'm not sure what the rules are for this board but I'd offer my services if you are interested. No PM's I see? I can supply an email address if you are interested in more info.