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'Voodoo' Troubleshooting For Dead iPods

Thursday, June 29th, 2006 at 4:50 PM - by

Sometimes the usual techniques for restoring a seemingly dead iPod don't work, but Playlist's Christopher Breen has collected a few what he calls "voodoo troubleshooting" tips that may succeed, for reasons unknown.

Mr. Breen's first suggestion involves restoring an iPod on a computer running a different operating system, noting: "I (and others) have had success taking an iPod formatted for the Macintosh that wouldn't restore on a Mac and restoring it on a Windows PC. The reverse is just as possible -- Windows iPods that refuse to cooperate on a PC will sometimes restore on a Mac."

Owners of older iPods that sync over FireWire or USB may find that their devices will sync fine over one type of port but fail over the other. He suggests trying both ports, if that applies to your iPod.

Another possibility is simply letting the iPod's battery run out. If that and the previous suggestions fail, Mr. Breen has one last resort that isn't for the squeamish: open the MP3 player, disconnect its battery and hard drive, let it sit for a few hours, and then reconnect everything.

He warns, however: "Before opening your iPod be fully prepared to never use it again."

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