Computer not responding to ipod

Question

hello there
i have a 2nd gen ipod, and im having some problems with it. when i put it into the dock, the light flashes orange 3 times. but thats it. it doesnt show up on my computer, doesnt show up in itunes. nothing. it does, however, charge, despite showing no sign of it, and when i remove it it flashes green to show its charged. its fully functioning when i listen to it as well. any ideas? thanks

Answer 1

OK...after having worked flawlessly for almost a year, my Shuffle just yesterday started having this issue. In addition to the symptoms described here, my USB ports appeared to be dead (to the point where just rebooting didn't help). Here's what I've learned so far: not saying I've solved the issue, but...so far, so good.
For starters, I have Windows XP Pro and a 1GB g2 Shuffle. I have the latest iTunes and Shuffle software (8.0.2.20 and 1.0.4 respectively). I leave the shuffle charger plugged into the USB port full time, and just dock or undock the shuffle as required.
In my situation, at least, the key seems to be this:
1. Dock your shuffle ONLY when iTunes is open.
2. Undock your shuffle ONLY when iTunes is open (and when it is safe to do so per the status in iTunes and the light on the Shuffle).
3. DO NOT use the "Safely Remove Hardware" feature provided by Windows.
I've started always using the "eject" feature in iTunes prior to undocking my shuffle (even when it's not required, per the Apple support pages), but I don't know if that's necessary or not.
After two days of pulling my hair out and attempting to restore my USB ports to working order, I've docked and undocked my shuffle multiple times tonight, following the three guidelines above, without any issues (whereas if I failed to follow them, I'd have to restore my USB ports).
Now, as far as the USB ports go...mine were dead. I mean, once the computer didn't recognize my iPod, it also didn't recognize my USB mouse, my CompactFlash card reader, etc. Rebooting didn't help. I found the following article, and it sort of got me back in working order, but I'm not entirely sure what's going on yet, so I can't fully vouch for its effectivity. But feel free to try it out if you're having USB issues. (Note: it's a little "techy", so if you're not comfortable editing your registry or uninstalling devices/drivers, you might want to consider some other...yet to be determined...course of action.)
http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/612232-solved-all-dead-usb-ports.html
Follow JohnWill's advice - ALL OF IT (e.g., create the restore points, etc.).
I'm not responsible if things go horribly, horribly wrong. 8^)
Anyway, hope this helps. I'll update this response or the thread if I find anything else out.
Message was edited by: scarybinary