Ipod 80Gb - 5 R's haven't worked, computer won't recognise, please help.

Question

Hey there kindly folk,
I've read through posts on this and other sites and tried what feels like hours worth of solutions but I'm at my wits end. Here's the details, hope someone can help.
1) Have 80GB classic Ipod.
2) All has been working fine for months ...
3) Recently plugged it in to sync and Windows Vista popped up a screen saying something like 'drive is corrupted' and asked me if I wanted to repair it. I said yes, nothing much happened.
4) Since then, neither Itunes, nor my computer, will recognise my ipod.
5) Have checked device manager, it's not there. Even after multiple resets and switching to other USB ports.
6) Have tried the '5 R's' with no success.
7) Have updated all vista and itunes software. No success.
7) Have tried putting it into disk mode. Got it into disk mode but computer still wouldn't recognise it.
8) Now the battery has drained and it won't charge. When I try to reset the ipod it's screen shows a yellow ! point and says 'connect to power'. As the computer doesn't seem to recognise it exists, it won't power up. Have left it plugged in for hours, with no success.
So, I guess the question is - what now? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers!

Answer 1

Have you got an AC power adapter? They used to be shipped with ipod, and I still got mine from the 3rd gen one.
You DO need that to fully recharge ipod. An apple store will either sell you one or even perhaps charge it for you.
Should they exchange it, the IFRST thing, you must do is plug into the AC charger, PRIOR to connecting it to computer. For some reason, apple do recommend a FULL AC charge first.
Good luck