IPod 60GB Freezes When I Connect to USB

Question

I read a lot of the postings related to this topic, but none seem to fit my situration.
I have an iPod 60Gb I have been using without problems, synching regularly with iTunes, since Christmas. In the past couple of days, when I plug it into the USB port, I get the "Do Not Disconnect" message, which never goes away. Toggling the Hold switch does not reset it. Pressing the center and Menu buttons for 6 seconds does not reset it when the iPod is plugged into the USB port, but it does reset it if I first unplug the iPod from the USB port. Once reset, if I again plug it into the USB port, it freezes, and I have to unplug and reset again.
I moved the USB connector to another port, with no effect.
When I plug the iPod into the USB port, it does not appear in the iTunes display (and if iTunes is not running, it does not invoke iTunes), nor does it show up in Windows as a disk drive under My Computer.
I thought perhaps the iPod was conflicting with another drive, so I fired up the Disk Management utility under the Windows System Accessories and then connected the iPod to a USB port. Even though Windows makes the sound of a drive connecting to the system, nothing shows up in the Disk Management window to indicate a new drive has been connected, or that anything is conflicting with an existing drive.
I have performed the first three of the five R's recommended by Apple - Reset, Retry, and Restart. I have not tried to Reinstall because I have the latest version of the iTunes and iPod software (2006-01-10), and since the iPod is not connecting via the USB port, I do not see how running the Updater on my desktop PC is going to be able to push any updates to my iPod.
I am trying to avoid the 5th R, Restore, as that seems a bit extreme and that it will result in a lot of collateral damage from slicking the hard drive.
Any suggestions?
Dell Dimension 8400   Windows XP Pro  

Answer 1

Hi there,
I'm having the same problem too. I've even gone so far as to try the 5th R. Twice now. The first time, as long as he iPod remained in it's dock afterward, it would still appear in iTunes and on my desktop so that I was able to sync it properly. However, upon disconnecting it and re-inserting it in the dock it was no longer recognoized and reverted back to it's usual "do not disconnect" screen.
At first I thought that it might have been a cabling issue, as I'd around the same time that I'd first experienced the problem, I switched from the USB 2.0 cable to a FireWire cable beween the computer and the dock. However, upon switching back, the problem remained. Furthermore, I'd recently picked up a newer 5G iPod. I've had no problems with it at all. So the dock, cable and ports that it's connected to are all fully functional.
I tried the restore another time tonight. Once again, the restore was successful. It copied all of my music back to the iPod. However, this time the unit managed to get itself stuck back in the "do not disconnect" state again without my disconnecting it from the cradle after the restore. So it's even worse than last time.
In the Disk Utility, the iPod appears. I can use the Verify Disk tool and it appears OK. As well, I can eject the iPod from here, which is successful at making the "Do not disconnect" screen go away. However, upon disconnecting and then reconnecting the iPod to the cradle, it sends itself back into a tizzy -- the unit appears as a disk in the Disk Utility, but iTunes cannot see the device as an iPod, nor does it appear as one on the desktop.