IPod 5th gen will not play (clock stuck at 0:00)

Question

So I've seen similar postings here about this. My 30GB 5th gen iPod just started acting up by not playing any song at all -- the song timer stays stuck at 0:00.
First I've reset the iPod -- doesn't play afterwards.
Then I restored the iPod -- still doesn't work.
I tried playing with earphones plugged in -- nope.
How about through the iPod dock connector? -- nope.
However, I can tell the HD drive inside is OK -- I can sync the iPod, erase and add songs, and even play songs within iTunes from the iPod.
Has my iPod gone or is there a way to salvage the situation? I use my iPod every day! Any guidance would be much appreciated!

Answer 1

First, to Athena53, these forums are user to user forums and besides Apple employees who monitor the forums for content, they generally do not answer questions here.
Second, my own experience with the counter stuck at 0:00 is there is a bug in the 5th generation iPod firmware where when you wake up the iPod, plug in the headphones, then try to play something, it will often get stuck at 0:00. A reset of the iPod gets it out of that state.
The work around is that the problem is plugging in the headphones first. Instead I start the iPod playing, THEN plug in the headphones and I never get the problem. And I have verified that it always occurs when the headphones are plugged in first then hitting play after the iPod wakes up.
Regards,
Patrick