Fourth Generation iPod = Faulty Hard Drive????

I have reformatted my Fourth Generation iPod three times. It will not hold formatting. Every time I try to add only 2,000 songs on the 40 GB drive I get an error when it's done saying the iPod isn't formatted correctly and no music goes on the iPod. It seems as if the hard drive is not maintaining any type of data.
This is a brand new factory refurbished iPod. Is there a tendency for faulty hard drives in this generation? What do I do since the iPod is out of warranty due to this iPod being refurbished from apple?
Thanks.

Didn't know that; but either way, it's past three months as I was unable to format the iPod immediately when I got it for various reasons. Regardless, I'm still not sure if this is a hard drive error... But thanks, though!

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Fourth Generation iPod not responding

My friend has a fourth Generation iPod... it does not respond in any way. When plugged into computer, nothing shows up on computer. The battery is fully charged and yet all that appears on the front screen is the Apple symbol. What could possibly be the problem? What can we try? Any help will be appreciated!

If a sad iPod icon or an exclamation point and folder icon appears on your iPod’s screen, or with sounds of clicking or HD whirring, it is usually the sign of a hard drive problem and you have the power to do something about it now. Your silver bullet of resolving your iPod issue – is to restore your iPod to factory settings.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60983
If you're having trouble, try these steps at different levels one at a time until the issue is resolved. These steps will often whip your iPod back into shape.
Make sure you do all the following “TRYs”
A. Try to wait 30 minutes while iPod is charging.
B. Try another FireWire or USB through Dock Connector cable.
C. Try another FireWire or USB port on your computer .
D. Try to disconnect all devices from your computer's FireWire and USB ports.
E. Try to download and install the latest version of iPod software and iTunes
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
For old and other versions of iPod updater for window you can get here
http://www.ipodwizard.net/showthread.php?t=7369
F. Try these five steps (known as the five Rs) and it would conquer most iPod issues.
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/five_rs/
G. Try to put the iPod into Disk Mode if it fails to appear on the desktop
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
If none of these steps address the issue, you may need to go to Intermediate level listed below in logical order. Check from the top of the lists to see if that is what keeping iPod from appearing on your computer in order for doing the Restore.
Intermediate Level
A. Try to connect your iPod with another computer with the iPod updater pre-installed.
B. Still can’t see your iPod, put it in Disk Mode and connect with a computer, instead of doing a Restore on iPod Updater. Go and format the iPod instead.
For Mac computer
1. Open the disk utility, hope your iPod appears there (left hand side), highlight it
2. Go to Tab “Partition”, click either “Delete” or “Partition”, if fails, skip this step and go to 3
3. Go to Tab “Erase” , choose Volume Format as “MAC OS Extended (Journaled), and click Erase, again if fails, skip it and go to 4
4. Same as step 3, but open the “Security Options....” and choose “Zero Out Data” before click Erase. It will take 1 to 2 hours to complete.
5. Eject your iPod and do a Reset
6. Open the iTunes 7 and click “Restore”
For Window computer
Go to folder “My Computer”
Hope you can see your iPod there and right click on the iPod
Choose “Format”. Ensure the settings are at “Default” and that “Quick Format” is not checked
Now select “Format”
Eject your iPod and do a Reset
Open the iTunes 7 and click “Restore”
In case you do not manage to do a “Format” on a window computer, try to use some 3rd party disk utility software, e.g.“HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool”.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=501330&tstart=0
C. Windows users having trouble with their iPods should locate a Mac user. In many cases when an iPod won't show up on a PC that it will show up on the Mac. Then it can be restored. When the PC user returns to his computer the iPod will be recognized by the PC, reformatted for the PC, and usable again. By the way, it works in reverse too. A Mac user often can get his iPod back by connecting it to a PC and restoring it.
Tips
a. It does not matter whether the format is completed or not, the key is to erase (or partly) the corrupted firmware files on the Hard Drive of the iPod. After that, when the iPod re-connected with a computer, it will be recognized as an fresh external hard drive, it will show up on the iTunes 7.
b. It is not a difficult issue for a Mac user to find a window base computer, for a PC user, if they can’t find any Mac user, they can go to a nearest Apple Shop for a favor.
c. You may need to switch around the PC and Mac, try to do several attempts between “Format” and “Restore”
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2364921&#2364921
Advance Level
A. Diagnostic mode solution
If you have tried trouble shooting your iPod to no avail after all the steps above, chances are your iPod has a hardware problem. The iPod's built-in Diagnostic Mode is a quick and easy way to determine if you have a "bad" iPod.
You need to restart your iPod before putting it into Diagnostic Mode. Check that your hold switch is off by sliding the switch away from the headphone jack. Toggle it on and off to be safe.
Press and hold the following combination of buttons simultaneously for approximately 10 seconds to reset the iPod.
iPod 1G to 3G: "Menu" and "Play/Pause"
iPod 4G+ (includes Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini): "Menu" and "Select"
The Apple logo will appear and you should feel the hard drive spinning up. Press and hold the following sequence of buttons:
iPod 1G to 3G: "REW", "FFW" and "Select"
iPod 4G+ (includes Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini): "Back" and "Select"
You will hear an audible chirp sound (3G models and higher) and the Apple logo should appear backwards. You are now in Diagnostic Mode. Navigate the list of tests using "REW" and "FFW". The scroll wheel will not function while in diagnostic mode. For further details on Diagnostic mode can be found at http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/diagnosticmode/
Try to do the 5in1, HDD R/W and HDD scan tests. Some successful cases have been reported after the running the few tests under the Diagnostic mode. In case it does not work in your case, and the scan tests reports show some errors then it proves your iPod has a hardware problem and it needs a repairing service.
B. Format your iPod with a start disk
I have not tried this solution myself, I heard that there were few successful cases that the users managed to get their iPod (you must put your iPod in disk mode before connecting with a computer) mounted by the computer, which was booted by a system startup disk. For Mac, you can use the Disk Utility (on the Tiger OS system disk), for PC user, you can use the window OS system disk. Try to find a way to reformat your iPod, again it does not matter which format (FAT32, NTFS or HFS+) you choose, the key is to erase the corrupted system files on the iPod. Then eject your iPod and do a Reset to switch out from Disk Mode. Reboot your computer at the normal way, connect your iPod back with it, open the iPod updater, and hopefully your iPod will appear there for the Restore.
If none of these steps address the issue, your iPod may need to be repaired.
Consider setting up a mail-in repair for your iPod http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/
Or visit your local Apple Retail Store http://www.apple.com/retail/
In case your iPod is no longer covered by the warranty and you want to find a second repairing company, you can try iPodResQ or ifixit at your own risk
http://www.ipodresq.com/index.php
http://www.ifixit.com/
http://www.rapidrepair.com/shop/g4-ipod-parts.html
Just in case that you are at the following situation
Your iPod warranty is expired
You don’t want to pay any service charges
You are prepared to buy a new one
You can’t accept the re-sell value of your broken iPod
Rather than leave your iPod as paper-weight or throw it away.
You can try the following, but again, only do it as your last resort and at your own risk.
Warning !!!! – It may or may not manage to solve your problem, and with a risk that you may further damage your iPod, which end up as an expensive paper weight or you need to pay more higher repairing cost. Therefore, please re-consider again whether you want to try the next level
Last Resort Level
1. . Disconnecting the Hard Drive and battery inside the iPod – Warning !! Your iPod warranty will be waived once you open the iPod.
In Hong Kong there are some electronic shops offering an iPod service for Sad iPod, the first thing they do is to open up the iPod’s case and disconnecting the battery and the Hard Drive from the main board of the iPod. Wait for 5-10 minutes and reconnecting them back. The reason behind which I can think of is to do a fully reset of a processor of the iPod. In case you want do it itself and you believe that you are good on fixing the electronics devices and have experience to deal with small bits of electronic parts, then you can read the following of how to open the iPod case for battery and HDD replacement (with Quicktimes)
http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/index.cfm?page=Video/directory.html
2.Press the reset button on the Hard Drive inside the iPod – Suggestion from Kill8joy
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2438774#2438774
Have I tried these myself? No, I am afraid to do it myself as I am squeamish about tinkering inside electronic devices, I have few experiences that either I broke the parts (which are normally tiny or fragile) or failed to put the parts back to the main case. Therefore, I agree with suggestion to have it fixed by a Pro.
2. Do a search on Google and some topics on this discussion forum about “Sad iPod”
Exclamation point and folder and nothing else
Spank your iPod
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ljPhrFUaOY
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3597173#3597173
Exclamation point and folder and nothing else
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2831962#2831962
What should I do with my iPod? Send it or keep it?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=469080&tstart=0
Strange error on iPod (probably death)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435160&start=0&tstart=0
Sad Face on iPod for no apparent reason
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=336342&start=0&tstart=0
Meeting the Sad iPod icon
http://askpang.typepad.com/relevanthistory/2004/11/meeting_thesad.html#comment-10519524
Sad faced iPod, but my computer won’t recognize it?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2236095#2236095
iPod Photo: unhappy icon + warranty question
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2233746#2233746
4th Gen iPod Users - are we all having the same problem?
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2235623#2235623
Low Battery, and clicking sounds
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2237714#2237714
Sad faced iPod, but my computer won’t recognize it
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2242018#2242018
Sad iPod solution
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=412033&tstart=0
Re: try to restore ipod and it says "can't mount ipod"
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=443659&tstart=30
iPod making clicking noise and is frozen
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2420150#2420150
Cant put it into disk mode
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3786084#3786084
I think my iPod just died its final death
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3813051
Apple logo & monochrome battery stay
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3827167#3827167
My iPod ism’t resetting and isn’t being read by my computer
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4489387#4489387
I am not suggesting that you should follow as well, but just read them as your reference. You are the person to make the call.
Finally, I read a fair comments from dwb, regarding of slapping the back of the iPod multiple times
Quote “This has been discussed numerous times as a 'fix'. It does work, at least for a while. In fact I remember using the same basic trick to revive Seagate and Quantam drives back in the mid to late 1980's. Why these tiny hard drives go bad I don't know - could be the actuator gets stuck in place or misaligned. Could be the platter gets stuck or the motor gets stuck. 'Stiction' was a problem for drives back in the 80's. Unfortunately the fix can cause damage to the platter so we temporarily fix one problem by creating another. But I know of two instances where a little slap onto the table revived the iPods and they are still worked a year or more later.”UnQuote

How do I restore my itunes library after replacing a faulty hard drive?

How do I restore my itunes library after replacing a faulty hard drive?

did you make a backup of your library before replacing the HD ?
if so, how and what did you back up ?
if not, you can redownload previous purchases ☞ Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
if you have your media files on an iPod, check out this post by Zevoneer.

Does the dock from a fourth generation ipod shuffle work with a second generation ipod shuffle?

Does the dock from a fourth generation ipod shuffle work with a second generation ipod shuffle?

No, they are different. If you look at the replacement part for the 4th gen shuffle's USB cable
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC003ZM/A
it says it's only for the 3rd and 4th gen shuffle.

Using ipod as hard drive error..

hello i have tried about 5 times now to use my ipod as hard drive..it keeps giving me an error for a song saying "the parameter is incorrect". I don't know what to do, when it happened to one of the songs i deleted it..bc i don't listent it but i need a way to do this process without deleting the songs i like.

No, you didn't screw up your iPod. It sounds like you may have to restore it, which will wipe out all data on it so make sure you have it backed up somewhere. Restoring is an easy process and it should fix your problem. The link below tells you how to do that. Good luck.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60983

I have replaced my faulty hard drive on my macbook air 1.1 and need to reinstall the original software where can in find this on the apple web site?

I have replaced my faulty hard drive on my macbook air 1.1 with a new ssd, I need to reinstall the original software,where can I find this on the apple site?

There is no download for the software. The factory software that you are looking for is called ilife. It is all of the software that would have came preinstalled with your mac on your original hard drive when you first bought it. You will have to get new software on your computer. This might actually be a great opurtunity to upgrade to Lions. Search the Lions software in the mac store and it will come up. Click add to cart and check out. The price for it is $20. I defientely recomend Lions, it has alot of new great features. Then wate for the install disk to come in the mail. when it come just pop it in and follow the step by step instructions. If you dont want to upgrade to lions however you can download the ilife package from apple.com for a small price. Hope this helps.

I have had to replace a faulty hard-drive on my imac. Some applications (incl iphoto) are telling me that my OSX (10.82?) isnt recent enough to use the application. I need 10.9. I have upgraded to Maverick but this remains the case. Any help?

I have had to replace a faulty hard-drive on my imac. Some applications (incl iphoto) are telling me that my OSX (10.82?) isnt recent enough to use the application. I need 10.9. I have upgraded to Maverick but this remains the case. Any help?

If your Mac is from the age of Mac OS X 10.8.2:
How to find your Mac's model and age?
Contact AppleCare to request the prebundled iPhoto be uploaded to the Mac App Store, or the Mac App Store support.
This is just a user to user forum. This link goes direct to the Apple Store support:
http://www.apple.com/support/mac/app-store/contact.html?form=account&topic=MacAp pStoreAccountandBilling

IPod classic hard drive needle sometimes skips (Red X). When it doesn't and seems to power on normally, I start to restore it in Itunes and then it starts to skip again with the Red X on the screen.

iPod classic hard drive needle sometimes skips (Red X). When it doesn't and seems to power on normally, I start to restore it in Itunes and then it starts to skip again with the Red X on the screen. One time I was able to run the disk utility in time and reformat the hard drive, but the red x ended up appearing again and the hard drive started skipping again.
Is there anything I can do besides get a new hard drive?
P.S. I have also tried the banging on palm/floor trick and it hasn't worked yet for me.

There nothing we can suggest to save a bad iPod hardisk, except to try some 3rd Party software to try repair the Hardisk.
The Super Fix for Most iPod Problems
See this earlier post on partition repair using 3rd Party EaseUS Partitipon Master software.

Ipod classic hard drive coming back saying error after a diagnostics test

i recently done my disk check on my ipod classic hard drive and it flashed up error instead of the numbers people normally get when doing this. does this mean the hard drive is finished. it was letting me sync 200 songs out of 9000 i have but no more.

Look at the following support article and work your way through the steps
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1369

Importing Songs from iPod after hard drive failed

My hard drive failed. Fortunately all of my songs were backed up on my iPod. Got a new computer and can't figure out how to get the songs from my iPod back to my computer. Some songs were purchased from iTunes, some from CDs. I tried the import function and all it does is bring the titles into my library but cannot find them when I try to play them on my computer. The songs are still on my iPod.
iPod 40g and Nano Windows XP

The transfer of music is designed to be one way by default - from iTunes to iPod, however there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the files from your iPod. This is just a selection.
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
PodPlus Windows Only
Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these and pick one you are happy with, they are generally quite straightforward.
There is also a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
You may already be using the iPod in manual update mode in which case you can ignore the rest of this post. In manual mode, your iPod is safe from being accidentally erased. However if you are getting a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, click *No*. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list. Change the update setting in Preferences>iPod to "manually manage songs and playlists" Managing Your Songs Manually
You can also use a keyboard command to prevent your iPod auto-syncing with iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer on a Mac hold down the Option and Command (⌥ and ⌘) keys, on Windows, hold down Shift + Ctrl. This will stop the iPod from auto-syncing with iTunes and the iPod will appear in the source list. Wait until you are sure the iPod has mounted, and that it will not auto sync and then you can let the keys go. This may take between 3 and 30 seconds depending on your computer. Then go to Preferences>iPod and check the "Manually manage songs and playlists" box.
Keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again.

Syncing ipod after hard drive repair

I recently had a major problem with my computer and had to have a new hard drive installed, losing itunes in the process. I have downloaded the itunes software but when I insert my ipod, hoping to transfer the files on it to my itunes library, I get the message "This ipod is synced with another itunes library". Is there a way around this or another way to import the files on my ipod into my itunes library?

Connect your iPod to your computer. When you get the message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual and use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Also when using a lot of the utilities your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button: Managing content manually on iPod
Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. If you have any iTMS purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. A paragraph on it has been added to this article: Transfer iTunes Store purchases using iPod
The transfer of non iTMS content such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there is a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs back to iTunes on Windows. The procedure is a bit involved and was written long before iTunes 7 so it requires a little adaptation, also it won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. This is just a selection, you'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, they are generally quite straightforward. You can also read reviews of some of them here: Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
iGadget Windows Only
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
TuneJack Windows Only
CopyPod Windows Only
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync. I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up in case you have problems again. External drives are comparatively inexpensive these days and you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay.

Need instructions on restoring files from iPod to Hard Drive

My ExHD went kaputz again so I need to restore all of my tunes and playlists from my iPod to the HD. I've seen instructions on here on how to do that but can't find them anywhere. Can someone give me the link to do this?

There is a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs but not playlists back to iTunes on Windows posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward.
iGadget Windows Only
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only

Faulty hard drives and recovery sets

Regarding having a faulty hard drive (no recovery partition), if you and a friend have the same computer model you could buy a new hard drive (maybe 120GB) and clone the good one from one computer to use in the one that had a bad hard drive then make a recovery set from the clone as well as the original, I did this and it's worked.
I have two HP HDX9000 laptops of which one is slightly cosmetically damaged and its original hard drive died so Windows Vista was put on an unpartitioned 500GB hard drive which will go with the unit. I took the OS drive from the 'new' laptop and cloned it so the old one would once again have a recovery partition and created recovery discs from both.

Regarding having a faulty hard drive (no recovery partition), if you and a friend have the same computer model you could buy a new hard drive (maybe 120GB) and clone the good one from one computer to use in the one that had a bad hard drive then make a recovery set from the clone as well as the original, I did this and it's worked.
I have two HP HDX9000 laptops of which one is slightly cosmetically damaged and its original hard drive died so Windows Vista was put on an unpartitioned 500GB hard drive which will go with the unit. I took the OS drive from the 'new' laptop and cloned it so the old one would once again have a recovery partition and created recovery discs from both.

My fourth generation ipod touch is currently disabled. How do I reset it?

My fourth generation ipod touch is disabled from too many failed password attempts. How can I get back into the itouch, or reset it? Also, when I connect the itouch to itunes, I am not able to sync anything.

Place the iPod in Recovery mode and then connect to your computer and restore via iTunes.
iOS: Wrong passcode results in red disabled screen

How do you exports songs from ipod to hard drive?

I just got a new computer and need to take the songs from my ipod and store them on my new computer....Also, is there an easy way to transfer my songs from my old computer to my new one???
Thanks

"I just got a new computer and need to take the songs from my ipod and store them on my new computer"
Connect your iPod to your computer. If it is set to update automatically you'll get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual and use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button: Managing content manually on iPod
Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. If you have any iTMS purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. A paragraph on it has been added to this article: Transfer iTunes Store purchases using iPod
The transfer of non iTMS content such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there is a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs back to iTunes on Windows. The procedure is a bit involved and was written long before iTunes 7 so it requires a little adaptation, also it won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. This is just a selection, you'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, they are generally quite straightforward. You can also read reviews of some of them here: Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
iGadget Windows Only
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
TuneJack Windows Only
iPod2PC Windows Only
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync.

Fourth Generation iPod = Faulty Hard Drive????

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