"iPod cannot be identified"

For the last week, every time I plugged in my ipod (whether by firewire or usb) itunes locked up with the indefinite spinning ball of death. So, I reset my ipod to factory setting using the ipod installer. That worked, but now when I plug in my ipod, it flashes on screen momentarily, then says "an ipod has been detected, but it could not be identified properly. Please disconnect and reconnect ipod then try again." So I tried again, but with the same result, with either firewire or usb.
I wonder if it is relative to the whole ipoddriver.ktxt deal from earlier in the year. Help please? My ipod now has no music on it, b/c I reset it.

Hi ..
Follow the steps from this support article > iPod nano: Error message saying that iPod 'could not be identified properly

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Updated iTunes, now my iPod cannot be identified properly.

I updated iTunes a couple days ago and when I try to sync my iPod, it gives me the error of iPod has been detected but cannot be properly identified. I have tried for 2 days now to fix this by following the instructions everyone keeps promoting but having no luck. How can I undo the stupid update so my iPod can sync and I can add my new music?? Seriously unhappy with Apple right now for rolling out an update that causes so many problems. I have uninstalled iTunes about 3 times now and reinstalled. Still no luck!

Hi there - I've spoken with Apple and here is their response (worked for me). You need to uninstall not only iTunes, but also (in this order):
1) iTunes
2) Apple Software Update
3) Apple Mobile Device Support
4) Bonjour
5) Apple Application Support
Then you restart your computer.
Then you install the latest version of iTunes (which will reinstall all those things you uninstalled).
Then you restart your computer again.
Mine is working perfectly again now.
I hope it works for you,
Carmen.

A new ipod has been detected but cannot be identified. [drivers?]

Yes -that again- the reason I'm making a new post is that this is the second time an ipod hasn't worked with me, I would like to know if there's something I can do to my system or whatever to repair it. Here's the situation.
- Just so ya know, I use Vista on a laptop [unfortunatley]
- Previously [as in yesterday] I had an ipod touch, it was stuck in recovery mode and nothing [and I mean nothing] worked to recover it, it wasn't being recognized at all. This problem occured when I installed Itunes 9.
- Today I bought myself a brand new iPod Nano (5th Gen) for several reasons [not just to do with the itouch breaking, I was sick to death of the thing in general], took it home and connected it. 'A new ipod has been detected but cannot be identified' yadda yadda.
- I tried everything, I have also downgraded my itunes back to 8, still the same message!! Argh! Here's the thing (that I think might be causing the problem) when I open Device Manager and go to Universal Serial Bus Controllers, there is no apple/ipod recognized. There is a 'USB Mass Storage Device' whch has an error symbol next to it, I've tired updating/reinstalling it etc and it doesn't work ):
- Is there anything anyone can do? I'm so sick of ipods breaking on me. Just so you guys know, I'm not completley computer savvy so i'll need precise instructions, thanks so much to anyone who can help me.

This is how it's displayed: http://i50.tinypic.com/nd7vk7.jpg
And this is what happens when I click properties and 'search for solutions': http://i47.tinypic.com/2iu3vrc.jpg (the box disappears after that, apparently having done nothing, when I search online for software it informs me my computer already has the best/latest installed)
I use a Toshiba Satelite L350-170, my Vista is a 32-bit Thankyou!
Message was edited by: Martha11

New ipod nano (6th gen) cannot be identified

New ipod nano 6th gen replacement for a broken one and when plugged in a message says "An ipod has been detected but cannot be identified properly". How do you connect a new iod to an old playlist?

See here: iPod nano: Error message saying that iPod 'could not be identified properly'
B-rock

Using windows 8 - receive message "ipod detected but cannot be identified" when connecting ipod nano 7th gen. Have unisntalled and reinstalled itunes from apple site as advised with no luck. Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it please?

Using windows 8 - receive message "ipod detected but cannot be identified properly" when connecting ipod nano 7th gen. Have unisntalled and reinstalled itunes from apple site as advised with no luck. Has anyone else had this problem and resolved it please?

This is how it's displayed: http://i50.tinypic.com/nd7vk7.jpg
And this is what happens when I click properties and 'search for solutions': http://i47.tinypic.com/2iu3vrc.jpg (the box disappears after that, apparently having done nothing, when I search online for software it informs me my computer already has the best/latest installed)
I use a Toshiba Satelite L350-170, my Vista is a 32-bit Thankyou!
Message was edited by: Martha11

I Just bought a used 6th gen nano. But when I plug it into my usb it says " an ipod had be detected but cannot be identified properly". I registered it also. What am I doing wrong?

I Just bought a used 6th gen nano and when I plug it into the usb it says on my itunes page "an ipod has been detected but cannot be identified properly". I have already registered it. What am I doing wrong? Is it a faulty one?

The following document might be worth a try with that:
iPod nano: Error message saying that iPod 'could not be identified properly'

My iPod cannot be synced because the required file could not be found. How do I fix this problem?

Peace. My name is Free. Thanks in advance for any help u can offer. My iPod cannot be synced because the required file could not be found. How do I fix this problem?

Hi antiklady,
I see that you may be having an issue with compatibility of iTunes when connecting your iOS device. This sort of issue can arise if you have two versions of iTunes installed on your computer, which I feel may be the case. Here is an article that can tell you how to identify the version of iTunes that you have open:
iTunes: How to find which version you are using - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201521
If the version of iTunes that is opened is not the version you are required to use for the iOS device in question, try searching through your computer or applications folder to see if there may be two versions of iTunes installed on your computer. Then, uninstall the version that is incompatible using these steps:
Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1923
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
-Braden

ITunes says that my iPod cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Says to install 64-bit version. Problem is 64-bit version is installed already.

I have a 64 GB iPod operating on iOS 5.1.1 (says software is up to date). I finally was able to download iTunes 64 Bit to my computer and open it. Now when I connect my iPod to the computer, I get a message saying "This iPod cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Tun the iTunes installer to remove iTunes, then install the 64-bit version of iTunes." I have removed iTunes from my computer and downloaded the 64-bit version again and installed it. I still get the same message.

Hi antiklady,
I see that you may be having an issue with compatibility of iTunes when connecting your iOS device. This sort of issue can arise if you have two versions of iTunes installed on your computer, which I feel may be the case. Here is an article that can tell you how to identify the version of iTunes that you have open:
iTunes: How to find which version you are using - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201521
If the version of iTunes that is opened is not the version you are required to use for the iOS device in question, try searching through your computer or applications folder to see if there may be two versions of iTunes installed on your computer. Then, uninstall the version that is incompatible using these steps:
Remove and reinstall iTunes and related software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8 - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT1923
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
-Braden

The Ipod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by ano

When I want to eject my Ipod i get this message:
The Ipod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.
After I had put some songs on the ipod, i got that message. I thought maybe the new songs were the problem but de computer still doesn't want to eject my Ipod and there are no programes in use other than itunes.
Does anybody know what to do???!!!
greetings Mandarijn

hi Mandarijn!
The Ipod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.
by any chance, do you have McAfee ActiveScan security software on that PC? i've seen that implicated a few times with this message.
if you do have McAfee, as an experiment try switching that off prior to doing a sync. do you still get the message then?
if the McAfee thing doesn't-help/isn't-relevant, let's try using the following techniques to see if we can identify if some other program is causing the message. (the article is actually about installation errors, but the techniques are relevant to this sort of investigation.)
Close Applications Running in the Background
love, b

Nano Error - The iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that...

I am receiving the following message from windows -
The iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.
Thus far I have
reset me iPod, restores my iPod, uninstalled and installed iTunes. I have also removed Music Match Jukebox.
Any help is appreciated.

hi annicajess!
The iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.
let's try an experiment. first, let's check to see if the wee darling will disconnect properly if you switch off your antivirus and antispyware prior to an attempt at an eject.
if you're still getting the message, let's try steadily switching off background applications prior to attempts to eject (the following article is actually about installer errors, but the technique is the same for this sort of thing):
Close Applications Running in the Background
can you identify which application is causing the problem?
keep us posted.
love, b

FIX: Ipod cannot be synced. An unknown error occurred (-48)

Hey everybody,
I just wanted to share with you a solution that my friend and I have used to eliminate the "iPod cannot be synced. An unknown error occurred (-48)" error. I have a iPod Photo 60 gig that has not had this error before....until 3 days ago. I tried to drop a few songs onto my iPod and it gave me this error. After talking with my friend, I realized that a few things had happened that I didn't think were variables at first. For one thing, I had just updated my iTunes to version 7.4.1.2. That same day, I also had a new update to Windows XP sp2. When I restarted my computer (to complete my iTunes update), both install were now active.
I tried to add new songs to my iPod and I kept getting this Cannot Sync error. The songs would get onto my iPod and I could play them from the iPod via iTunes. Once I disconnected my iPod and tried to play them, the songs were gone. iTunes was failing to save the songs on the iPod.
Resolution: I connected my iPod to a 3rd party interface (to replace iTunes) and it worked. The interface is called Yamipod and this is where you get it from:
http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/
When I connected it to my iPod, it identified some bad file and corrected (or replaced) it with a good file. I added songs via Yamipod and they were correctly synced to my iPod. And the best part is, after I used Yamipod my iTunes was now working correctly. I told my friend at work to try this out and it worked for her too. She mentioned that she used Yamipod and then updated her version of Quicktime before everything started working.
All I have to say is that the latest release of iTunes was probably incompatible with Windos XP and some file was corrupted. Like iTunes, Yamipod probably needed this file to sync correctly...so it just overwrote the file, compared to iTunes, which just compained about being broken.
One more thing, Yamipod is a free tool that you can use to extrasct songs from your iPod to your computer. That is the main reason why I use it, but now I realise it's more stable than iTunes too!
Good luck out there, it ***** to have an iPod that you can't add songs to.
Italian.Dude3

First off, have you tried these five iPod troubleshooting steps?:
The Five Rs
If you have, then let's move onto a few general possible troubleshooting fixes, since the solution to a -48 error on a PC is somewhat unknown or various.
See if assigning your iPod a different drive letter helps, following the instructions from this article:
Windows confuses iPod with network drive or hard drive
Try reformatting your iPod to FAT32, through your computer. Then, we'll restore it in iTunes afterward. To do that, see these steps:
1 - Connect your iPod to your computer.
2 - When iTunes has finished syncing with your iPod, open "My Computer".
3 - Right-click on your iPod, and click on "Format". (If your iPod is not showing in My Computer, make sure that disk use is enabled in iTunes).
4 - Here, verify that your formatting settings are "Default", with the format type set for FAT32. Also, make sure that "Quick Scan" is not selected.
5 - Then, click on "OK" to begin the formatting process.
6 - When this is complete (it might take a while), make sure to restore your iPod in iTunes again, so as to properly reload the firmware back onto it again.
Finally, this could be caused by digital signing issues on your computer. See the "Solution 1" section of this article for help regarding that possible cause:
iTunes displays a -50 error when syncing iPod
Any success with any of those things, or do you still have the error?
-Kylene

Error message iPod cannot update b/c all of the playlists no longer exist

Hello. I have been getting this error message. "Songs on the iPod "MAR(the name of my iPod)" cannot update because all of the playlists selecting for updating no longer exist." And my playlists are still on the left side in my iTunes. They do exist. I have a feeling ths might have to do with the fact that on vacation the person I was visiting gave me a gift of putting all of his music that would fit into the external hard drive part of my iPod, and for the past week or so I have been putting that music onto my 40 GB portable hard drive at home. I suspect I took a vital folder out of my iPod by accident. Right now I have the folder iPod_control if I open my iPod up in My Computer. Am I missing something? Right now my iPod is empty because iTunes made a composite playlist last week and I deleted it thinking I could get my real playlists back. Can you help me, or reccomend a site/someone who can? Thank you.
PC Windows XP

hiya!
And my playlists are still on the left side in my iTunes. They do exist.
let's just doublecheck this. folks get this message if they have "automatically update selected playlists only" selected in their itunes "ipod" preferences tab. so bring up that tab ("edit > preferences", click "ipod" while the ipod is showing up in the source list), and do a playlist by playlist crosscheck of the playlists selected in that tab, and the playlists showing up in the itunes sourcelist.
is there any playlist selected in the preferences tab that isn't showing up in the sourcelist?
love, b

IPOD cannot be update - 40 GB Click Wheel

Upgraded Itunes & Ipod to latest software versions and can't synch up ipod with Itunes. Have followed ALL steps to recify...uninstall, empty temp directory,standalone Quicktime,reinstall latest. Install goes fine but when I connect Ipod it begins to update from itunes but after about 9G or 2500 songs it says complete (I have over 7500 songs). When I go to update again I get the error message "The iPOD cannot be updated. The disk could not be read from or written to." Please help!

Well it was worth a try...after restoring iPOD, set it up and started auto download from iTunes...once again, everything seemed to be going fine...got up to 2615 songs and it started slowing down while updating ipod and ipod statred making little noises..at 2636 songs it said ipod update complete..my ipod still said do not disconnect so I ejected and still said same thing..no songs updated although it said they had.....reconnected and only 5 songs shoed...clicked on update again and got the message "windows delayed write failed..windows was unable to save all the data for the file G: the data has been lost. This error may be caused by a failure of your computer hardware or network connection. please try to save the file elsewhere....the other message that i have been getting is "This ipod Neil's Ipod cannot be updated. The disk could not be read from or written to"

ERROR MESSAGE: The IPOD cannot be updated.

Please help!! Have tried everything can think of including, resetting, retrying, restarting, reinstalling and restoring. ITunes automatically starts downloading when you connect but then only transfers the first 50 or so songs in the library, and then says update complete. When you ask it to then update the IPOD through file menu an error message comes up saying 'The IPOD cannot be updated, the disk could not be read from or written to.' There is no problem with the IPOD, because I have been able to update it via another PC, it just won't update via the laptop even though the ITunes has been set up on the laptop as the ITunes I want to use.
Click wheel Windows XP

To all concerned: There is a new Apple Support Document regarding this error:
-36 or "Disk cannot be read from or written to" error syncing iPod in iTunes
Maybe this helps.
Alexander.

Ipod cannot be updated....

Ok so I put music on my nano no problem, but when I try to put pictures on it, it gives me the following error message...
The Ipod cannot be updated. The disk could not be read from or written to.
What do I do???

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Are you transferring pics from a folder or through a program?
btabz

"iPod cannot be identified"

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