Ipod classic 160gb won't sync past the 36 gigabyte point

Question

I recently had the headphone jack on my iPod Classic replaced, but when I got it back and tried to sync it on my computer (running Windows XP SP3) I began to encounter serious problems. When the sync reaches the 36 gigabyte mark (I can't say for sure if it always crashes at exactly the same point), the ipod will refuse to add any more music and I encounter one of three error messages, one about being unable to write itunesdb.old, one claiming the ipod is full and one claiming it encountered a crc error (alas I can't remember the exact wording of any of the three, I can get this information with some effort if it is really necessary). Furthermore, after this error occurs, the ipod causes the computer to behave sluggishly, with the 'my computer' folder frequently freezing when I attempt to open it. Also, when I attempt to eject the ipod it goes into a reset (but for some reason it will still play all music added before the last sync attempt perfectly).
I have taken a number of steps to try and fix this problem, after the ipod would not sync with Winamp and the ml_ipod plugin, I installed the latest version of iTunes and encountered the same problem, I also tried restoring the ipod using iTunes a number of times. To ensure the problem was not corrupt files I ran the chdk utility on my hard drive, in addition I attempted to add files from different parts of my music library, tried adding the music letter by letter and tried syncing the ipod to my friend's music collection on his computer (running Vista and the latest Itunes)and encountered the same problem every time.
Could someone please help me out diagnosing this problem?

Answer 1

I bought my 160gb iPod clear in the knowlege that I had a 12 month warranty on hardware failure. No extended warranty or insurance. If I lose my iPod or damage it through carelessness I'll be cross with myself not Apple. I've had almost two years use out of it so far and when it does die, hopefully from natural causes, I'll still be cross but I reckon I'll have had my money's worth. Having been through a significant number and variety of portable cassette & CD players over 30 years it's lasted longer & been much more fun to own than any of those. To be honest it's survived quite a few falls and proved to be remarkably robust although my nice silicone sleeve may be an important factor in it's survival. Two of my kids have 5th gen iPods which have needed new headphone jacks (their wear & tear) and one's battery could do with replacing (age) but they've been good too.
Hard drives can & do fail. A hard drive that is used while moving is probably going to have a shorter life-span than one that sits still. This article on the bathtub curve illustrates three classes of failure, early infant mortality, due, presumably to some manufacturing defect, random failures over time & failures due to wear & tear. User induced failure (dropping, drowning, baking in the sun etc.) are presumably random over time, although I guess we're all a little more protective/careful with a shiny new toy. Your warranty should have covered any early failure. Apple or your dealer probably offered an option for an extended warranty when you bought it which you, I presume, like me, declined on the basis that you didn't think it was good value for the money. With this in mind why do you think Apple should replace an out of warranty iPod? They've kept their end of the contract, presumably you've had 12 months of useage out of it for your warranty to have expired.
Putting all that aside you say you have the same problem. What symptoms exactly? Have you looked at the SmartData for example? Have you conducted surface tests of both the iPod's drive & your source media? If your iPod's drive is damaged are you being honest with yourself over how roughly you've treated it?
tt2