How to prevent iTunes not recognizing iPod

After about 6 months with my iPod mini, I have had to re-install iTunes about 4 times. Symptoms: iPod shows up on the desktop but not in iTunes. Most times it has happened after updating software for iTunes or the iPod. This time it happened spontaneously. I have been successful each time by using the instructions at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61937 but this is getting really old. Anyone have suggestions to prevent this?

Well one thing I can say is that apparently I am not alone. I got this Ipod nano for christmas and it doesn't work. My wife has a regular ipod so I already have the latest software. I plugged it in and it charged but the itune never opens automatically and it makes the wrong USB noise when you connect it.
After having a regular MP3 player that you can just drag songs to, this thing is a royal pain. I read through all the help and resetting screens and then read the forums but nothing helped. I packed the thing away and chalked it up to another expensive toy that doesn't work.
Next time I will just buy a regular MP3 player at half the cost and it will actually play music!
Dell Windows XP Pro

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ITunes not recognizing iPod Classic

Ok, so this post is going to be a little long since I need to explain what is happening with my iPod Classic 160gb.
I noticed a few days ago that songs were 'disappearing' on my iPod when I would listen to it through iTunes on my computer (When I say disappearing an exclamation mark would appear between the song number and the song title in iTunes-- when I would try to start the song iTunes would automatically skip to the next song-- acting as if the song wasn't there). I disconnected the iPod after I was done listening, shut down the computer and turned off my iPod.
The next day I started up my computer and plugged in my iPod. Windows came up and said that it recommended a disk scan. I ok'd the scan. Afterwards, all of the songs had disappeared off my iPod and now iTunes doesn't recognize my iPod. Windows recognizes the iPod-- itunes does not.
**As a side note, in the iPod menu, in settings, the window on the right hand side of the screen show about 37GB of free memory. This was about how much was left with all my music on the iPod. However, if you go into any other menu, eg songs/artist/playlist it says there is no music/artist/playlists.
I've gone through all of the troubleshooting steps listed for the iPod classic and windows 7. iTunes is still not recognizing the iPod. I've also tried on another computer-- stil no luck.
I understand that the classic cannot be reset without iTunes (this is a stroke of brilliance on Apple's part). What can be done if after all of the troubleshooting steps iTunes STILL does not recognize my iPod? Has this iPod given up the ghost?
Thanks, Mike

Hello there,
I would first start with this article assuming you are running Windows. Be sure to attempt each and every possible troubleshooting procedure as needed to try and resolve the issue.
[iPod appears in Windows but not in iTunes|http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1363]
B-rock

ITunes not recognizing iPod video 30GB

I got a 30gb video iPod for christmas, and so the next day, i installed iTunes and all that jazz onto my computer. The thing is, after i plug in my iPod, it does not appear on the source list. I went through the 5 R's and did everything i could that was on the support page (There was something about a local disk, but i couldnt find it). I am pretty sure that the computer is recognizing the iPod, just the iTunes won't. I have tried it on a different computer, and it worked fine, but the computer had absolutely no music on it. If this can be more of a clue whats wrong, my sister had gotten an iPod shuffle a few months ago, and it had worked with iTunes. But then she had left for college, and when she came back for christmas, it was not recognized by iTunes either. If anyone could tell me how to get it to work, it would be greatly appreciated.

well i have gone through this discussion page ever since my mini broke back over thanksgiving break and in the other discussions we figured out that windows did one of their automatic updates which is blocking itunes from our ipods. some people have found fixes but none have worked for me. and i called the apple support MANY times and they give NO support. i was just about to buy the video ipod but now im kinda reconsidering since my mini isnt even working. but if you look at some of the other topics in this forum maybe one of these people's fixes could work for you, (they dont ALL work for EVERYBODY, but they could work for you.)

ITunes not recognizing iPod and iPod tunes vanishing

I have had this happen on three different occasions now. I plug my iPod in the USB port to update my podcasts and iTunes says it does not recognize "iPodName", please run iPod updater to restore. I then look at my iPod and find that all my music and videos are gone! Each time this has happened I have had to restore my iPod then reload all my content (a painfully long experience) and I would like to find out why this is happening and if there is anything I can do to prevent it from recurring. Also, is there any way to recover the content on my iPod so that I do not have to re-transfer all the content each time this occurs?
I have also note some quirks in iTunes where some (not all) of my podcasts are not recognized when trying to update them from the Internet. It is not always the same podcast.
I am concerned that I may have a corruption in some of the iTunes configuration files and am considering a daily backup up of these files as preventive maintenance. Are they stored in a subdirectory of the iTunes folder or the program directory?
Thanks in advance,
iPod 5G 60 Windows XP Pro

Well before you install that new Harddrive, or if your system is acting "Funky" do a backup of all your music and iTunes ASAP. go to here to follow instruction on backing up in iTunes http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302392
If all your music is in the "My Music" folder you can just back up that whole folder to CD. this will make a backup of all your music AND a backup of the iTunes Library file so you will not loose any playlist you have created, rating, playcounts and the like. to do that put a black CD in, goto "My Music" then at the top select Edit>Copy to folder. in the window that appears pick your CD drive, whatever letter it is (Usually D drive) and hit OK. your system may bog down for abit but once windows as made a CD image it will burn it to the CD and there you have it

Ipod locked says connect to itunes i have windows vista itunes not recognizing ipod

purchased used ipod 5 come to find out its locked says ipod disabled connect to i tunes..i put it recovery mode but itunes isnt recognizing it.im using laptop and windows vista..can anyone help

Hi murph4113,
If you have a disabled iPod Touch that is instructing you to connect to iTunes, but iTunes on your Windows machine isn't recognizing it, you may find the troubleshooting steps in the following articles helpful:
iOS: Forgot passcode or device disabled
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1212
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1538
Regards,
- Brenden

Itunes not recognizing ipod touch?

why my ipod touch is not being recognized by itunes?

Assuming you have a PC, start here:
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows

Help! Itunes not recognizing Ipod Nano. Have tried several things already.

Itunes does not recognize my ipod nano (6th generation). When I plug it in to the computer, nothing happens (except it charges). I have tried several of the recommendations (reinstalling itunes, resetting ipod, etc. etc.) I have Windows 7 on my computer with the latest version of Itunes. Interestingly, when I plug my Ipod into my other computer (which still has an older version of Itunes), it syncs right up and is recognized.
What can I do to get Itunes to simply recognize my Ipod? I am beyond frustrated.

iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538

3rd Generation Nano: iTunes not recognizing iPod

I've already syncd music to ipod several times, now iTunes is telling me to "restore" only option that is available. iPod will not restore, I kept getting error message 1418 (?) before this iPod was being charged on another computer, after it was charged, all songs were gone? Now this...
I've already tried all that was suggested, reseting, etc...problem though, iPod was bought as a gift in the states and we live out here in American Samoa

Well start with these articles and see if that gets you anywhere...
iPod is not recognized properly by computer when USB drivers are not installed properly or are out of date
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305136
iTunes for Windows: iTunes 7 doesn't recognize iPod
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304434
iPod missing in "My Computer" or in iTunes for Windows
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61711
Also you might try forcing the iPod into disk mode first, then connecting it to your computer and see if that makes it show up in iTunes...
Putting iPod into Disk Mode
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
Windows confuses iPod with network drive or hard drive and may keep iPod from mounting or songs may seem to disappear
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1493
Cheers,
Patrick

Very Frustrated with Itunes not recognizing iPod....

Worked after I first unpacked the unit and loaded the software, then all the sudden it stopped recognzing my iPod. Went through alll the trouble shooting steps. Reloaded the software, restored the iPod and all that crap....finally got it working again. Then I downloaded some music and a couple of TV shows. Hooked up my iPod and iTunes is not recognizing it AGAIN!!! Even though the iPod is showing the "do not disconnect" message for a short while.
This is TOTALLY FRUSTRATING!
HELP before I drive to the iPod store cause a scene.
Thanks!
iPod Windows XP Pro

The "Do Not Disconnect" meassage is normal when connected to the computer if the IPOD has been set to run in "Disk Mode". Read this first:
Do Not Disconnect - http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61135
Are you "Dismounting" the IPOD from the Windows operating system before unplugging it? Simply "Ejecting" the IPOD from ITunes is not correct since the IPOD is set to disk mode.

Ox upgrade / itunes not recognizing ipod/iphone

Just updated to ox 10.6.7 and neither my 4th gen ipod or 3g iphone are being picked by itunes. Can someone give me some pointers to resolve this? They are charging but not recognized by itunes. Thanks.

see Mac OS X v10.6 or later: iOS device not recognized in iTunes after restart.
also here: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Device not recognized in iTunes for Mac OS X .

ITunes not recognizing iPod Classic 6th Gen

Hi, here's hoping somebody can help with this problem.
My iPod has 105GB of music on it and it works fine but within the last few days has kept requesting me to run a disk check to fix files which I've done but it does not connect to iTunes.
After running disk check it reports that files are fixed but clicking on details, it reports that volume created on 15/09/2014 refers to a disk that appears to be a non-windows XP disk!
I would certainly appreciate some help in trying to sort this problem out.
With thanks, Brian.

Hi brianfrombourne end,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like your iPod is working but is not recognized by iTunes or your computer.
I recommend starting with these two articles to troubleshoot the issue:
iPod appears in Windows but not in iTunes
iPod not recognized in 'My Computer' and in iTunes for Windows
From:
iPod not appearing in iTunes
These articles have a lot of good steps that can help, whether your iPod is not showing up in iTunes or Windows.
Best Regards,
Jeremy

ITunes not recognizing iPod - FIXED

I was having the same problem as a lot of you where iTunes did not recognize my iPod. Now it does. Here's what I did.
Disclaimer: I am no computer expert, just read ALOT of posts and figured my problem out.
First problem I was having was that my cpu wasn't seeing the iPod as a mass storage device or iPod, just "removable disc". This was due to having my usb printer on. It was hogging resources I guess.
Still didn't work in iTunes and locked it up. Reset using the iPod (whre the Apple logo comes up and have to select language initial screen)
My problem included the following:
When I looked at the "about" list on the iPod it said "Songs: 0, Capacity: 0, Format Unknown". Nothing there so the computer wouldn't read it I guess. When I right clicked in My computer/J:removable disk and got to the list with "properties" (took a while but it finally came up) it said the format was RAW, and there were 0 bytes on the iPod.
This is the fix. On the same menu(removable disk - right click) there is selection called "Format..". Hit that and it should bring up a window to format the drive. Make sure it's set on "default Setting - or something like that", FAT32 and that the "Quick Format" is unchecked. Hit format and wait for it to finish.
After I did this the computer shows the iPod and iTunes recognizes it and off I went on re-syncing all of the music in my playlist.
Oh, and it did NOT delete the firmware in case you were worried like I was about that.
Hope this helps!

Hey coach913,
There are a few articles that should help you resolve that problem with easy step-by-step instructions. If you have an iPod touch, then take a look at this one:
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538
If you have any other kind of iPod, check here:
iPod: Appears in Windows but not in iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1363
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Have a good one,
Delgadoh

SOLUTION to iTunes not recognizing iPod

I was having a problem with itunes not loading my ipod under the source list...and it wasn't even in the preferences..it would say "no ipod connected" and I noticed NUMEROUS other people were having the SAME problem!
I was so frustrated after hours and hours of trying different things..and uninstalling and reinstalling the programs NUMEROUS times..
While filling out the service form I decided to try ONE MORE THING...it worked...
here's how I did it..(make sure your ipod is attached to your computer)
- open itunes
- go to file
- then, export song list or library (either one)
- find "my computer"
- find the drive that ipod is in....it won't say..but mine was "J"
- select the drive.
- it'll say that it needs to be formatted
- allow it to format..
and BAM! the ipod showed up in the source list on itunes RIGHT AWAY...
Hopefully this works for others like it worked for me! that would be great!
Windows XP

4georgia: allow it to format; I'm pretty sure it's just giving you a heads up that if you had anything stored on our ipod, that it would erase it.
abbottg: glad to hear it was a success!
as for the other two posts: Did you try it anyway to see if it was on one of your drives? Because after a couple of times I would plug my iPod into my computer, the computer would not recognize it anymore. But it still would work. If not; then good luck! I know how frustrating it is
Windows XP

Itunes not recognizing ipod touch, but recognizes ipod classic....?

This is my second time syncing my ipod touch and I've had my classic for forever and just use it to play in my car. I tried shutting down and it still did not work. Help? Thanks a bunch
Also...my computer recognizes both of them (Asus, Windows 7)

See:
iOS: Device not recognized in iTunes for Windows
The iPod touch uses different drivers than other iPods.

Downloaded itunes 8.0, windows & itunes not recognizing ipod

I downloaded the new version of itunes (8.0) and now my computer and itune will not acknowledge ipod connection. States "found new hardware"? When I go into help and do diagnostic check it comes up with the correct ipod and serial number, just won't pick up on ipod being connected.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1567

How to prevent iTunes not recognizing iPod

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