# Solved: iPod Updater Killed My iPod!!!



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Hello everyone! I plugged in my iPod to my new iMac G5. OSX said there was an update - I ran the update, but an "error" window popped up. It closed itself before I could get a good look. When the updater quit, it launched again and updated without the error message. The iPod stayed frozen with the black background/silver apple logo for quite some time, then shut off. Now it won't turn on, and nothing happens when I plug it into the computer! Help please! I've tried a reset, as well as plugging it into different computers.

Any ideas welcome!

Thanks in Advance

iPod 5G Video / Mac OS X 10.4.7


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

*Hi there AlexTs* 

When you say reset, do you mean a reset on the iPod? Any way, have you tried taking out the batteries to the iPod, leaving them out for abit and then putting them back in? And also what is this update to speak of? And i aslo presume that you have plugged it into you Windows XP System?


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

What the [????]? The battery in the iPod is not removable (at least not by anyone looking to keep their warranty intact). Also, I said in my first post that "I plugged in my iPod to my new iMac G5. OSX said there was an update..." (No, it's not plugged into Windows XP). Anyways, it turns out many people are having problems with this most recent update. The only thing left to try is to let the battery drain (which can take days), and then try to reset it again (by holding down a special button combination). Then I'll have to give Apple a call. Thanks for the response.


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

*Hi again!* 

Ok. Sorry, i didnt realise that the battery is not removable. What i asked is did you try to plug into XP? And how can you let the battery drain if it doesnt even turn on?


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Just leaving it sitting there (according to apple) supposedly drains the battery when it's in this frozen state. I've tried plugging into all kinds of USB ports - a ton of other 5G Black 30GB iPod owners are having this same problem when they update. On OSX and WinXP.


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

Ahh ok. Silly apple.


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

Leaving it sitting there? That will take AGES...  :down: Apple.


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

I'm calling AppleCare tomorrow at 6 (when they open). I'd rather deal with this little problem with my iPod than have to daily clean out a peecee's malware. Still, if I have to ship this thing into them... grrrrrrr...


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

mmm... You have malware?


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Nope, I have iMac G5. Norton found 6,731 viruses on my neighbor's HP last week. Very nice (and also unusable).


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

"Norton found 6,731 viruses on my neighbor's HP last week. Very nice (and also unusable)."

HOLY . Did he clean them? 

Stupid viruses


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

Would you like anymore asstance on this topic? Or has Apple solved your problem?


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

AlexTs said:


> I'm calling AppleCare tomorrow at 6 (when they open).


I haven't called them yet. They're still not open. I'll leave the topic open and post updates instead of making a new thread.


----------



## Blink182 (Jul 9, 2006)

Ok then.


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Just got of the phone with Apple... "Go to a genius bar." Very nice... and what are THEY going to do? They certainly aren't going to exchange my iPod on the spot! Why must I drive THREE hours to the Apple store just so a "Genius" (of which I am highly skeptical, having worked in IT many a year)?

I won't be able to head to the big city until Tuesday; hopefully it will fix itself by then. Oh, you also can't make reservations any further in advance than 24 hours... so I have to remember to make the reservation on Monday. Yay.


----------



## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

AlexTs said:


> Just got of the phone with Apple... "Go to a genius bar." Very nice... and what are THEY going to do? They certainly aren't going to exchange my iPod on the spot! Why must I drive THREE hours to the Apple store just so a "Genius" (of which I am highly skeptical, having worked in IT many a year)?


Whoa, whoa, whoa... "Go to a genius bar"? This was the advice AppleCare gave you? You _sure_ you didn't call an Apple Store directly? I've never heard of such a thing, especially when the nearest Apple Store is three hours away.

Call them back, jump through whatever hoops you have to but be assertive and tell them you're not going to waste three hours' of gas to go to your nearest Apple Store just to reset an iPod. If they give you any flack ask to speak to a manager. If that doesn't help ask to speak to whatever's higher on the food chain than a manager (a supervisor?). Be adamant that you want help and you're going to become the worst thing any manufacturer could ever want: a _very disgruntled_ and _vocal_ *former* customer.

I've never heard of such a "suggestion", even living in the vicinity of an Apple Store! I hope you can get this sorted out before you have to make such a drive!

Just out of curiosity, have you gone to the Apple Discussions forum to see what others are doing about this, and what fixes they might have found?

Sorry you're having this trouble. I guess I'm glad I've just got an old 4G 40 GB iPod!


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Hi Vegas! That is indeed what Apple themselves told me. They're trying to save me a 2-week wait for a new iPod (I'd have to mail in my broken one). I called the Apple store itself, and the Genius there ASSURED me he would swap out the iPod on the spot if they couldn't get it working (phew!). Also, I've been on the Apple Discussion board since this started... all of the things they recommended have not worked. It's starting to sound like a hardware problem, because even severely corrupted software responds to forced disk mode and resets. 

I see no need to call Apple again, there's nothing they can do but wait for me to mail in the iPod... It's easier for me just to drive down to Victoria Gardens (I'll be in the area in Tuesday anyways), and have the Genii see what they can do.


----------



## VegasACF (May 27, 2005)

Given your above reply (to my post), I agree that calling Apple again would be an exercise in futility (and probably wouldn't do your blood pressure any good, either).

It's good news (and typical Apple, in my 20+ years of experience in dealing with them [I won't mention my owning a couple of Mac clones back in the 90s if _you_ won't--I _did_ have Apple-branded Macs at the same time, though) that they will replace it on the spot. I hope you have everything on your computer that you had on your iPod, just in case it comes down to that.

I'd be _lost_ without my iPod. It's got everything from the BBC Hitchhiker's Guide radio programs to music my son loves (if you have kids I _highly_ recommend anything by the Laurie Berkner Band... it's kid's music, but it's better than anything else I've run into as far as that specific genre goes [though, I must admit, thanks to the Little Einsteins my son doesn't object to me putting on some Mozart, Beethoven, Brahams, Vivaldi, etc. from time to time--I just can't get him to wrap his two-year-old head around Yes or Rush yet--give me time]. All I have to do is start singing to him "We are the dinosaurs, marching, marching, and he instantly stops whatever he's doing [good or bad] and marches to the rhythm of my cadence--I bet that doesn't happen when he's 13!!!). On road trips between Vegas and L.A. or San Diego or plane trips back east it's proved most valuable!.

But I digress...

Again, I'm sorry you're having this difficulty, and I _wish_ I had some panacea to make it all better. Sounds like you're in pretty good hands, even if it _does_ require some time on the road and some gas money. Better than replacing the iPod (or going with something new, different and, let's face it, inferior, despite your current situation!).

Best of luck, and Godspeed.


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Thanks for the encouraging words! I'll actually be down in that area, so it's not that big a deal. It's probably good I have to wait 'til Tuesday, it will give me time to chill out so I don't do something foolish. I wonder if they'll let me upgrade to a 60GB for the $100 difference. Hmmmm...

Thanks again


----------



## AlexTs (Mar 2, 2006)

Alrighty, folks! I walked up to the Genius bar, handed the dude the iPod, he played around with it, checked the info and would have handed me a replacement right then and there.

But then he sees that my serial number is registered to a name I've never heard of, "Al Sundin." My name is "Alex Tsubota;" so perhaps it was a typo... I don't know - I bought my iPod DIRECTLY from Apple.com

I pulled up the invoice for that order which showed that the serial number was indeed mine, and the Genius said that was enough proof for him. I walked out with a new 30GB Black iPod Video and have NOT run the updater yet. I've copied my library and videos back over.

Why fix what isn't broken? I'm just so glad that I'll have my tunes and casts for the drive up to twin lakes this weekend! Thank you everyone for your help; problem solved.


----------

