Imac won't boot with Ipod plugged in.

60gb 5G Ipod. Imac Intel Core2 duo 2.0 ghz.
About 80% of the time, if the Ipod is plugged in (through a USB hub), the Mac will only boot to a grey screen. As soon as I unplug the Ipod, the Apple appears on the Imac screen. My Iphone is plugged into the same USB hub at the time, with no similar behavior. I've tried restoring the Ipod with no change.
I've tried making sure that the startup disk pref pane is set correctly and locked, but for some reason, whenever I check it, its unlocked again. The Ipod does not appear there. I do have a clone of the startup disk attached to an always on external firewire drive.

Hello Mark
Having the iPod connected during the boot process is confusing the startup manager!
First try: *System Preferences / Startup Disk* and select the *Mac OS X, 10.5.4 on Macintosh HD* then *Click the lock to prevent further changes.*
You can also try ejecting the iPod be for shutting down or only sleeping the iMac when the iPod is charging!
Normally my iMac sleeps, but as a habit I always eject and disconnect all USB storage devices, iPods, cameras, flash drives, etc. be-for shutting down.
Dennis

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Message was edited by: strathglass

Hello strathglass
The same thing can also happen with other connected devices such as external HD's and iPods, the Startup Manager is lost and searching for a boot volume.
1. You may be able to fix it by going to: *System Preference / Startup Disk* and select the *Mac OS X 10.5.5 on Macintosh HD* then *Click the lock to prevent further changes.*
2. Leave those devices that cause boot issues disconnected until the iMac is up and running!
3. Only sleep the iMac, and be sure to disconnect those devices be for shutting down or updates that require a restart!
As a habit, I have always ejected and disconnected all mounted USB devices (flash driver, iPods, cameras, card reader, etc.) from my hub be for sleeping, restarting or shutting down...
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IMac won't boot with external drives attached

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when i start my imac with external drives attached it won't boot up. Stuck at plain white screen after a startup chime, not even any apple logo or any progress circle appears. And i have to detach all of my drives to make it boot.
This problem arises after upgrading to mavericks. Already tried resetting PRAM, SMC and checked Startup disk and verify disk with disk utility.

Raja,
Do a SMC reset perhaps even a couple of times and see if that helps. Also in System Preferences + Startup Disk make sure the internal HD is selected.
SMC RESET
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and all peripherals.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Attach the computers power cable.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.
PRAM RESET
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
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Computer won't start with iPod plugged in

Hey all,
Just got a brand new MacBook Pro and a 30 gig iPod. When I restart with the iPod plugged into the USB port, the computer sits at the white screen forever and doesn't boot into OS X until it is disconnected. How do I fix this? Thanks!

I don't know if this will fix the problem, but here it is:
1. start the macbook up normally w/o the iPod plugged in.
2. right after u hit the power button hold down the button combination "s" and "command"
3. do not let go until the screen goes black and white text is on it. when the text stops moving there will be a prompt.
4. type the following text WITHOUT QUOTES "fsck -f"
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6. then try to exit type the following text WITHOUT QUOTES "reboot"
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Can you determine if it is just one of the hubs? Resetting the PRAM probably didn't have anything to do with this problem but the SMC controls the power, try this reset:
SMC RESET
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and ALL peripherals.
Wait 15 seconds.
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Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.
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Hi there,
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Hi there,
i have a little problem with my ipod shuffle. When
start my iMac and my iPod is plugged in, then is
doesn't start or extremley slow. As soon as i plug it
out, it starts immeditely or continues. Is there
something i can do? or is it just again an issue or
bug from apple?
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Hello strathglass
The same thing can also happen with other connected devices such as external HD's and iPods, the Startup Manager is lost and searching for a boot volume.
1. You may be able to fix it by going to: *System Preference / Startup Disk* and select the *Mac OS X 10.5.5 on Macintosh HD* then *Click the lock to prevent further changes.*
2. Leave those devices that cause boot issues disconnected until the iMac is up and running!
3. Only sleep the iMac, and be sure to disconnect those devices be for shutting down or updates that require a restart!
As a habit, I have always ejected and disconnected all mounted USB devices (flash driver, iPods, cameras, card reader, etc.) from my hub be for sleeping, restarting or shutting down...
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IMac will not boot with iPod connected

Hello everyone
I have a new iMac Core 2 Duo 17 inch 2.0 ghz and it seems to have a problem starting up when a 5th generation iPod is connected to the computer. When the computer is turned on with the iPod connected, the blank grey screen comes on, yet the apple logo or the spinning startup wheel does not appear. However, if the iPod is unplugged, it will startup as usual. Otherwise, there are no other problems with the computer or iPod.
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edit-
there have been other threads about this, one here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3832641&#3832641
Message was edited by: myhighway

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SMC RESET
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord and ALL peripherals.
Wait 15 seconds.
Attach the computers power cable.
Wait another 5 seconds and press the power button to turn on the computer.
(this reset depends on the 5 second timing for it to work)
PRAM RESET
Zap the PRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

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Imac won't boot with Ipod plugged in.

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