How do I make my computer recognize my ipod?

Help anybody,
I've been an iPod user two years now, I own a 4G 40 gig iPod
I use my iPod as a hard drive for all my files, it was fine until two days ago when I noticed a folder icon when I turned it on, from then on I can't get my computer/itunes to mount my iPod (i.e. my PC hangs), as a result I can't access any files i recently put in and I can't load any music
I suspect that the hard drive is damaged (I really hope I'm wrong on that one), but what puzzles me is that I can still play songs on it...
Can I play songs on my iPod even if the hard drive is damaged?
Is it possible that files that I loaded were corrupted and as a result corrupted my iPod?
lastly,
How do I make my computer recognize my iPod?
  Windows XP Pro  

Unfortunately, there is no one ‘Silver Bullet’ answer for this issue. Many things can contribute to the problem. Here are various ‘generic’ solutions that you can try in an effort to correct your problem. One should work. These are listed in simplest to more involved order (usually).
First, make sure that the iPod is fully charged.
Try Resetting Your iPod while it's connected to the computer.
Hold down the Menu and Select buttons until you see the Apple logo (or Menu & Play/Pause in older models).
This will often get it recognized. It may take several attempts.
Try closing and re-starting iTunes. There have been cases where iTunes refuses to see an iPod, but after re-starting, it works again.
Also try re-booting the entire computer. Especially if the PC has been operating for a long time &/or many programs have been opened and closed, repeatedly.
Other USB connected peripherals may be the cause as well. Try removing all connected USB items and attaching the iPod. If you have a USB keyboard, it may be worth a try using the adapter to convert it to non-USB. If the iPod connects, continue plugging things back in until you have the problem return. You may have then isolated the issue. Sometimes it could be a printer, camera, Flash Card reader, or other attached device causing a conflict.
If your iPod shows up in Explorer under 'my computer' try changing the drive letter:
-- Click on Start=>Control Panel=>Admin Tools=>Computer Management=>Disk Management
-- Right-Click on the iPod and select “change drive letter”
-- Choose something further along in the alphabet that is unused (Usually, “M”, “N”, “O” or something similar)
-- Safely eject the iPod
-- Reboot the PC
If that doesn't work, Put Your iPod into Disk Mode then plug it in and you should be able to Restore the iPod
Your PC may have difficulty with the USB2 protocol and the iPod. See this Article for a possible solution: iPod not Recognized Correctly
Also try these hints (and the other suggestions above) from any other USB port you may have on the PC. Sometimes switching USB ports can make all the difference.
Also See:
Your Windows PC doesn't recognize iPod
iPod does not appear in iTunes or on the desktop
iPod appears in Windows Explorer but does not appear in iTunes“Strange iPod Behavior within Windows”
If you are getting a ‘Missing Drivers’ message, try this:
1. Go to http://www.driverguide.com and register (free)
2. Download ‘usbstor.sys’ & ‘usbstor.inf’ to your PC and place them in your i386 Folder
3. Update both drivers by selecting the two files you just downloaded
4. Reboot computer
5. Open iTunes and then connect you iPod
If all the above fails, you may have a Virus, Malware or SpyWare problem.
If you do find that your Device Manager is blank, you should probably check up on this issue first: No Items Appear in the Device Manager List When You Open It

Similar Messages

  • How can I make my computer recognize my iPod Nano?

    My computer was recognizing my nano until today when I unplugged it and plugged it back in a few hours later and now I can't get my computer to recognize my iPod. I took it to my parents house, loaded a bunch of songs to it and when I brought it back my computer did recognize it but then I unplugged it and it doesn't anymore. I uninstalled and reinstalled the iPod and iTunes software and did everything I could think of but since my computer isn't recognizing it, the software isn't either. I have read all online manuals and many, many posts and I can't find any answers but I have tried everything that I can think of.
    Thanks for any and all help you can give me.

    yeah imn having the exact same problem. mine never worked for about the first 10 times i tried it and then it worked one time all of a sudden and then the next time i plugged it back in (not changing anything) it just didnt work again. i have all the latest apple software and all that it just wont work.
      Windows XP  

  • How can I make my computer recognize my 4th Generation iPod Touch again?

    I can no longer connect my iPod Touch to my laptop and sync it. It will still recharge via the USB cable, but other than that it is unrecognized and I have tried searching for the proper drivers for it, but to no avail. It has worked perfectly for over a year now and then one day... Nothing.

    iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows

  • How can I make my computer only recognize my network and not that of one of my neighbors?

    How can I make my computer only recognize my network and not that of one of my neighbors? This is for when I am at home, and everytime the computer goes to sleep it essentially loses the connection, only to pick up my neighbors network when it is awaken.
    I am on Comcast (Xfinity) Highspeed Cable wireless modem/router
    Thanks in advance!
    Mark

    You can make your network the preferred network.
     > System Preferences... > Network > Advanced... > Drag your preferred network name to the top of the list.

  • How do I make my computer the primary for my iPhone 3G?

    How do I make my computer the primary for my iPhone 3G? I am able to load music from my iTunes library but unable to delete music or create playlists on the phone from itunes. The computer I set the phone up with (primary) was destroyed.

    There is no "main" or " primary" account.
    Iphone, ipod touch, ipad will sycn with one and only one computer at a time.  Syncing to another will indeed erase the current content from the device and replace with content from the new computer.
    Copy everything from the old computer or your backup copy of the old computer, to the new one.

  • HT201263 My iPod touch is stuck in recovery mode, but when I connect it to my computer to restore it, my computer does not recognize it. It does not appear as a device in my iTunes. What can I do to restore it/make my computer recognize it?

    My iPod touch is stuck in recovery mode, but when I connect it to my computer to restore it, my computer does not recognize it. It does not appear as a device in my iTunes. What can I do to restore it/make my computer recognize it?

    DId it successfully connect to this computer before?
    Try:
    iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
    or
    V
    Also try placing the iPod in DFU mode and then try restoring
    iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Device not recognized in iTunes for Mac OS X

  • My computer recognizes my ipod touch as a camera, but won't show up in itunes.  How do I fix this problem so i can continue to add music from itunes?

    My computer recognizes my ipod touch as a camera, but won't show up in itunes.  How do I fix this problem so my ipod shows up in itunes again and I can continue to add music to my ipod?

    Start here:
    iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows

  • I accidentally combined all of my photos on iphoto to be one event. i have it the way i want it saved on my external harddrive from time machine. how do i make my computer go back to that

    i accidentally combined all of my photos on iphoto to be one event. i have it the way i want it saved on my external harddrive from time machine. how do i make my computer go back to that

    Open Time Machine to the date that you know the iPhoto Library is in the format you want and select and Restore it.
    http://pondini.org/TM/15.html
    Ciao.

  • How can I make my Mac recognize my USB device when I plug it in?

    How can I make my Mac recognize a USB device when I plug it in? When I plug in my flashdrive drive, the device doesn't show on my desktop, so  I have to search for it...

    You can try using 'NTFS-3G', its free and you can download it at: http://mac.softpedia.com/get/System-Utilities/NTFS-3G.shtml

  • How can I make my computer restart with all the same windows that were open when a shut it down?

    How can I make my computer restart with all the same windows that were open when a shut it down?

    That is the way Mac OS X 10.8 (aka Mountain Lion) works by default. Are you actually running that system? (See About This Mac in the Apple menu.) If so, make sure the check box in the shut down alert is checked:

  • . How do I get it to recognize my ipod and regain functionality

    My home computer crashed and I lost ipod program. I have installed on my work computer. How do I get it to recognize my ipod and regain functionality?

    Are you really using Windows 2000? That could be the problem.
    Make sure the cable connections are nice and tight. Also try using a different USB port or using a well known working 6G Nano sync cable.  It might not hurt to unplug an other USB peripherals that are attached to your PC.
    More troubleshooting assistance can be found here:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1369
    B-rock

  • How do you make it so that the ipod will play all the different artists featured in an album when you click that album to play?

    How do you make it so that the ipod will play all the different artists featured in an album when you click that album to play? At the moment, each artist in the album is being separated and I can't play them together. For example, to play the Halo 2 Soundtrack, Hoobastank, Breaking Benjamin, Nile Rodgers, etc. are some of the artists featured. However, in the Albums category, they are each separate choices. I want to play them all together, but can't. Is there a way to do that?

    It sounds like the album metadata is incorrect, or differs from song to song in iTunes.  Albums with various artists will play properly assuming all the songs are tagged with the same identical album name, as well as the track number.  For the Halo 2 Soundtrack, metadata should look like this:
    Song: <Song Title>
    Artist: <Song Artist>
    Album: Halo 2, Vol. 1 (Original Soundtrack)
    Genre: Soundtrack
    I had a similar problem with my imported Cowboy Bebop albums and the mixture of artists/album names.  Once I adjusted the metadata, all of them play in the correct order just by selecting the Album from the available list or in Coverflow.

  • How can I make more room on my ipod to put more songs on it

    My ipod is running out of room to put more songs on it and I have a 4GB ipod and I only have 488 songs. How can I make more room on my ipod fore more songs?

    Delete other content from it or restore it. Note that if the songs are encoded at a bitrate higher than 128Kbps or longer than 4 minutes, the iPod won't hold as many as advertised.
    (66125)

  • My computer recognizes my iPod but it does not apea

    when I connected my iPod80GB to the computer it used to recognize it difficultly and then it could only have 300 songs, if I put more it didn't work and i had to restore it. But now, my computer recognizes my iPod but it doesn't appear on iTunes

    try these steps
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1363

  • TS1380 Computer recognizes your iPod touch as a camera but it doesn't appear in iTunes

    Has anyone had this problem? Computer recognizes your iPod touch as a camera but it doesn't appear in iTunes

    iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows

Maybe you are looking for

  • Creative Zen Micro won't turn

    Creative Zen Micro - When I plug the usb into a computer, it has the charge icon in the top right corner of the screen. If I attemp to turn it on, while plugged in, the creative sceen come on, and then dissapears. When it is not plugged into the comp

  • Netgear Genie not working in Safari

    I have recently upgraded my router to a newer Netgear version. When I try to access the router control panel the window in Safari does not display the router control panel. I can logon but the nothing is generated in the window. It is viewable in Fir

  • Logic express file name

    I accidentily erased the file nam of my Logic express program in applications. Now update-download from Apple does not find( at least not a eligble one) it and my new Ozone 3 can´t find the program either. What name should I write? And can you somewh

  • Title Default Font Question

    The default font for the "Centered" title option appears to be Gils Sans. Does anyone know how to set a different default font, perhaps either for that title option alone or for all title options? Not a big deal, but since I always use Arial for my t

  • What software is used to make interactive children's e-books and apps?

    Hey there!  I'm new to the forum and  working my way through each Adobe product.  I'm just starting with Flash and wondered if it is the software resposible for making ebooks like this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGUqe9u56Xo I am a children's