"Ipod" failed. Disk could not read from or written to

HELP me! I FINALLY got Itunes to recognize the Ipod, but when I go to auto fill the Ipod, I get an error:
"Attempting to copy to the disk "IPOD" failed. The disk could not be read from or written to.
Anyone have any ideas? Please help me

I happen to be in Best Buy yesterday and went to the Geek Squad help desk and told them about this error. They told me that the Ipod Shuffle is probably corrupted, some kind of memory or something inside.
I got the receipt from my dad, so I'm going to go exchange it today. I hope I have luck with the new one tonight.

Similar Messages

IPod(s) disk cannot be read from or written to

I have received this message when attempting sync to 2 different iPods (NOT old). One of which I subsequently did a factory restore but still got this message and cannot sync.
"Attempting to copy to (iPod) disk failed. The disk could not be read from or written to."
This occurs within a minute of syncing (only 1-3 songs).
huh? help! TIA

Hello pwwwayne,
I would start by taking a look at this article discussing troubleshooting techniques for this error message.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1207
If nothing else, it might not hurt to try and completely reformat your ipod's HD using Disk Utility. See this page for instructions on how to do this,
http://b-rockprogramming.blogspot.com/p/ipoditunes-tutorials-and.html
B-rock

ITunes Error when using Nas drive..Error occurred while converting the file the disk can not read from or written to

This is the error I get only when trying to convert a file to AAC. I have my itunes library stored on a network drive it all works fine I can add files sync files with my devices exc. Only when I dry to convert a flie from mp3 to AAC do I get this error. Any one have any suggestions.
Thanks
Rick

I wonder if the disk being referred to is actually your iPod which is not plugged in. Maybe something has stuck thinking the iPod should be there.
Try completely removing all the iTunes related programs according to this method.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Restart you PC and see if startup improves.
If it doesn't improve you need to consider the possibility that there is something else going on.
If The problem goes away, hopefully a fresh install will be OK.

'Disk cannot be read from or written to' when syncing iPhone 3GS

Hi everybody,
I have had a problem for a few weeks now, and can't find a solutions to it. My iPhone 3GS won't sync music anymore. It gets stuck at the first song, sometimes it can copy a very few and then crashes, with iTunes displaying the message "Attempting to copy to the disk iPhone failed. The disk could not be read from or written to." I found this article but none of suggested procedures gave results http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1207. What is weired is that Mac OS crashes with iTunes for a few seconds, not only iTunes.
Maybe sou should also know that I don't only have problems syncing my iPhone to my Macbook Pro, I also have the same kind of problem with Time Machine. It gets stuck during the backup and displays the same kind of a message. At first, I thought it was a USB problem, but after having run the test from the DVD "Applications", the USB ports don't have any problem. I have the feeling that it might be a software problem.
I'm thankful in advance for any suggestion !
Have a nice evening,
Damien

I have the exact same frustrating problem. It starts to sync and then get's stuck on some song and says it could not sync because the disk could not read from or written to.
I've rebuilt my hard drive from my time machine and reinstalled the combo OSX update as well as reinstalled the latest iTunes. Still won't sync any of my iPhones or iPad...
Anyone have an idea whats going on?
Thanks

Media Encoder - encoding failed - could not read from the source

Using PPCC, AME queued jobs all fail with the message "Encoding failed. Could not read from the source".
But doing a simple export works perfectly.

I recall quite a few other threads about this. Do a forum search.

Adobe Media Encoder for CS4 error Could not read from the source

Hello,
I get an error when I try to export from Premiere CS4. It doesn't matter how I export. Seems like an easy fix, but I can't figure it out. Any help is appreciated:
- Source File: C:\DOCUME~1\ARTWHI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\extra and b roll.prproj
- Output File: E:\Living Accused Movie Transfers\video\Cindy at table.avi
- Preset Used: NTSC DV
- Video:
- Audio:
- Bitrate:
- Encoding Time: 16:10:34
1/21/2009 9:50:25 PM : Encoding Failed
Could not read from the source. Please check if it has moved or been
deleted.
Thank you
Art

When you attempt to encode media with Adobe Media Encoder CS4 on Windows, the following error message appears in the text file (AMEEncodingErrorLog.txt) that opens when you click the error icon: "Encoding Failed. Could not read from the source. Please check if it has moved or been deleted."
If it's that correct, you removed an earlier version of Adobe Premiere Pro or Adobe Creative Suite on the same computer.
Do one or both of the following solutions:
Solution 1: Create a shortcut to the Premiere Pro executable file, rename the shortcut to Premiere, and move the shortcut to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\dynamiclink.
Close all Adobe applications.
In Windows Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Premiere Pro CS4. (If you installed Premiere Pro CS4 in a location other than the default of C:\Program Files\Adobe, then navigate to your custom installation location.)
Right-click on Adobe Premiere Pro.exe (which might appear without the .exe extension) and choose Create Shortcut.
Rename the newly created shortcut to just Premiere.
Important: The name of the shortcut must be exactly Premiere with no other characters.
Open a second Windows Explorer window, and navigate to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\dynamiclink.
Move the Premiere shortcut that you created into the dynamiclink folder.
Solution 2: Remove and reinstall all Premiere Pro CS4 components or all Adobe Creative Suite 4 components.
Do one of the following:
Windows XP: Choose Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
Windows Vista: Choose Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features.
In the list of installed programs, select Adobe Premiere Pro CS4, Adobe Creative Suite 4 Production Premium, or Adobe Creative Suite 4 Master Collection.
Click Change/Remove (Windows XP) or Uninstall (Windows Vista).
Follow the on-screen instructions to remove all components of Premiere Pro CS4 (including Adobe Encore CS4 and Adobe OnLocation CS4) or to remove all components of your edition of Adobe Creative Suite 4.
Re-install your Adobe software.

Solved "Attempting to copy to disk "ipod" failed. Could not be read from or

Finally found a solution that worked for me when getting this error message on an 2nd Gen. iPod Nano.
There is a lot of discussion on this topic with no real answers coming back other than to read this article/topic. So, I wanted to share a solution that worked on mine.
The background: Computer running Windows XP Pro. Up-to-date iTunes and iPod software. I downloaded several CDs into iTunes and synced with no problem. I made a few purchases from iTunes Store and would get to one song that when I tried to sync, the following error message appeared; "Attempting to copy to the disk "ipod" failed. The disk could not be read from or written to." When I deleted the song, then I could sync without receiving the error message, but the purchased song would not be included. I restored my iPod, my iTunes was up-to-date, ran chk dsk, emailed support, searched the forums, followed instructions, re-downloaded the problem song from iTunes Store, BUT as long as that problem song was included, I could not sync without getting the error message.
The solution (this worked in my situation): After doing all of the above and not getting rid of this problem, I set the iPod to manually manage my music and synced the iPod (without the problem song, which was already deleted from iTunes). When I deleted the song from the iTunes library, I would always click the button to keep the song in the files instead of sending it to trash. I then went into the iTunes music folder where my songs were kept and opened the file for the problem song. I dragged the song back into my purchases folder in iTunes. From the purchases folder, I dragged the song over to my iPod in iTunes. Then synced. The problem song synced without any problems and the error message did not appear. Thinking that something was still not right, I went back and clicked on the button to NOT manually manage my music and then re-synced. Same good result. No error message. The problem song sings along just fine now with no more error message.
I haven't tried to download another song just yet, so this may not hold, but at least this worked and resolved this problem song. There may be some other factors through all of the work that I did above in trying to resolve this problem that contributed, but it wasn't until I set the iPod to manually manage the music and brought back in the problem song that the error message disappeared. Hopefully this might help. It worked for me so I'm happy now.
Windows XP Pro

I see you've stumbled upon the catch-all article for this incredibly generic error message. Note the phrasing of it: "DISK cannot be READ FROM or written to." Notice that the error doesn't specifically state that it's the iPod disk that cannot be read or written. I used to get this error all the time when I had my library stored on a remote server. The issue being that my machine couldn't access my songs fast enough to copy them to the iPod w/o timing out, and so the disk, in this case my file server, could not be read from. Since you mentioned previously that you're having some anomalies with your library, I would say concentrate on correcting that, rather than worrying that your iPod is kaput.
regards,
-c.

IPod nano 4th gen says "Attempitng to copy to Cesar's IPO failed, disk could not be read from or written to." what do I do?

Itunes froze completely, tried the task manager but to no avail. Resorted to hard rebooting PC. iPod disks seems to have been damaged as a result, since it was syncing, I think.

See this.
"Disk cannot be read from or written to" error syncing iPod in iTunes.

Can't sync to iPod: The disk could not be read from or written to.

I recently installed a new operating system (Windows XP with service pack 2), and then downloaded the latest version of iTunes. The next time I hooked up my iPod (3rd gen.)to sync it, iTunes removed all of the music that I'd purchased on iTunes, and i was unable to sync it back on. Then every time I opened iTunes to try again, my computer would freeze (but only when on iTunes). I used the restore function to restore factory settings, so now there is nothing at all on my iPod and when I try to sync, it gives the above message (The iPod cannot by synced. The disk could not be read from or written to). Any suggestions for how I can fix this problem?
Thanks!

Have you had a chance to look at this troubleshooting page? It may be of some help: "Disk cannot be read from or written to" when syncing iPod

Premiere Pro CS4 Export fails with Media Encoder CS4 "Encoding Failed"," Could Not Read From Source.

There has never been a history of Adobe CS3 installation on the brand new MAC Pro I am using prior to installing Master Collection CS4, despite other posts claiming that chief cause of this issue is a previous CS3, Beta or trial installations of previous versions. I simply had a straightforward installation of CS4 and have had trouble since day 1.
I have uninstalled and reinstalled Master CS4 three times, two times with the action script cleaner for CS4. I tried changing Adobe Cache folder locations to alternative drives. I ran shift start many times to correct any inconsistencies and corrected for permissions using disk utilities repeatedly. All updates have been installed and I am still getting the same error when exporting my timeline to Media Encoder CS4, be it a large High Definition project or a small one consisting of few stills.
No matter what presets I chose, the job appears as one of the items in the render qeuee of Media Encoder CS4 and sits there with the status WAITING until i hit Start Queue. When I do, it still says WAITING under Status and at the bottom corner of the window it reads : Loading "project name.prproj" and after an average of about 6 minutes, a yellow caution sign appears. No render whatsoever takes place. When I click on the yellow caution sign, it reads a log of all errors in connection with each job, including the ones that have gone before it. Here is one:
Start of the Error Paste
- Source File:/users/myname/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/test.prproj
- Output File:/ users/my name/Documetns/Adobe/Premiere Pro/4.0/Sequence 01.mov
- Preset used :NTSC DV
- Video:
- Audio:
- Bitrate:
0 Encoding Time: 00:33:01
Sat Mar 21 17:12:25 2009 : Encoding failed
Could not read from the source. Please check if it has moved or been deleted.
END OF ERROR Paste
Please any gurus out there know how to troubleshoot this damn thing on Mac, I really appreciate it. I have not yet encountered any posts of Mac owners with no previous CS3 installation having this issue. I am in the middle of 3 projects with tight deadlines and need your urgent help. THANK YOU!

Hello There,
I resolved the issue through a simple process of elimination. So simple in fact I wonder how I missed it. Since there has been no history of prior CS3 installation on this machine and every conceivable trick was applied to resolve the problem (refer to my original post earlier in the thread) ending in frustration, the problem had to reside in a factor or series of factors that were only present in this machine. Of the two remaining causes different in compare to other machines, I had to look into the possibility of any hardware and/or software conflicts. After all, this very same installation works perfectly fine on my colleague's Apple Macbook Pro and several Windows machines.
It turns out that I had installed Pro Tools on this machine that comes with all kinds of optional plug-ins in the so called ignition pack. One of these optional plug-ins is called IZOTOPE (three varieties include Spectron, Trash and another one that escapes my mind). They were all lite version licenses that would automatically pop up on their own when you would start a program where they had been residing. One such program where an association existed was indeed the Premiere. An annoying dialogue box directing you to buy the full version when you would start the premiere would refuse to go away. Sometimes it would even start on its own culminating in a a permanent dialogue box.
The cause of the problem was right before my eyes and I had overlooked it. Once uninstalled using IZOTOPE clean uninstaller on step 4, the problem was resolved. Projects are now loading very fast into the AME and encoding begins in earnest. I have never had any issues ever since.
Long story short, if you have any plug-ins specially the ones that are loading upon the start of any program or the ones that reside inside the premiere or the ones that start on their own independently, they could be one of the highly probable causes of this error. I have seen other similar posts complaining of plug in folders inside premiere that needed to be moved to resolve the issue for instance the ones that needed to be moved to AE folders. If you are a plug-in admirer, I would suggest to look into them seriously.
On the side note, many combination and causes may lead to the same error. I am not claiming that this is the solution for everyone.
It must also be noted that I applied the trick of creating a shortcut of Premiere (and naming it exactly as such) and dropped it into the Adobe Dynamic LInk folder (even though this was suggested for windows)and have changed the adobe Cache locations to an alternative folder on a separate drive. I haven't been able to establish conclusively if the latter steps are also essential in fixing the error on MAC but I can confirm that since the latter steps were taken before the uninstalling of Izotope plug-ins and i still had issues, probably uninstalling those plug ins or finding a way to move them to a place where they don't interfere (if you absolutely need to keep them) is the one essential step that solved the problem.
Hope this helps.

Encoding Failed- Could Not Read from the Source

I have a quickly approaching deadline for the short film I am working on, and it would be greatly appreciated if anyone knew anything of my predicament. Everytime I try to export anything from Premiere Pro (CS4 of course), when I start the queue it says "Could Not Read from the Source. Please check if it has been moved or deleted." The files, of course, have not been moved or deleted, and the raw footage for the film is in the same place as everything else. All my scratch disks are set to the same folder, etc. I don't understand, and it won't even let me export to my camera. It says it does, but when I check my camera, it's nothing but blank tape. Any (quick) help would be very much appreciated!
Thank you.

CS4 Pr-Encoder: "Encoding failed/Could not read from the source..."

When i start queueing it apears to be loading fine but then after a few minutes it gives me the yellow hazard triangle on the status column. I have tryied changing settings and still the same.
"Could not read from the source. Please check if it has moved or been deleted."
...is what the details notepad displays
This is my first Pr CS4 editing, Please help.
Thanx!

latest versions of CS4 and snow leopard 10.6.1.
May have no part in your problem, but many are having real issues with almost anything Adobe with Snow Leopard. There has been a lot of chatter saying that Apple is aware of this, and is working on an OS update to be released soon.
While I have not seen this particular issue with Snow Leopard, there have been so many more, that I'd certainly put the OS into the list of "usual suspects." In the Encore forum, some had great success by rolling back the OS to whatever was prior to Snow Leopard, just plain old "Leopard?"
Wish I had a definite cure for your ills, but the best that I can offer is that it does not seem that you are alone.
Good luck, and I hope that the Mac OS update does fix things for you.
Hunt

2nd iPod in a row saying "Disk cannot be read from or written to." Help!

My setup is as following:
MacBook Pro 2.16 Ghz Intel Core Duo
Mac OS X 10.5.2
Lacie 250GB External Hard Drive attached via Firewire
iPod Classic 160GB Black
iTunes 7.6.2 - Library has about 16,000 songs
Using the above setup, my 5th Generation iPod, my iPhone, and my iPod Nano all work just fine. My newly purchased iPod Classic however, refuses to work. Here is the story so far...
I have all of my music on my external hard drive. On the external, there is a folder entitled "iTunes." Inside of that, there are 2 folders. One entitled "Album Artwork" and on entitled "iTunes Music." The music folder contains all of the actual AAC and Mp3 files that makeup my iTunes Library. The actual library data itself, the files entitled "iTunes Library" and "iTunes Library.xml" are on my computer HD, in User>Music>iTunes. Now, I dont know why the library file is on the computer when all the music is on the external, but maybe thats just the way that works.
Anyway, I plugged in the new iPod Classic, it started to sync, and about 15 minutes in, I got a pop up box that said "iPod Sync failed. Disk cannot be read from or written to." So I did a few things to try to make it work. I reinstalled iTunes, I restored the iPod a few times. I set it to only sync music and not TV shows or Movies or Podcasts or Photos. I tried to sync it again. Nothing worked. So, thinking I had a bad iPod, I brought it to the store and swapped it out for a new one. Not a "new" one, but one from the back, so it was refurbished. I tried that. It still didn't work. So I called Apple tech support.
Tech support had me set my iPod for Manual use, and then alphabetically import songs by artists. In other words, bring over all the "A" artists, followed by the "B" artists and so on...So I did that, I got to importing a few songs by Cyndi Lauper, and it got to one song, called "Shine" and the error message came up. So I figured, there it was, the corrupted file. So I deleted it from my computer, and proceeded to go on importing manually, just in case. Well I continued for a while, and at the end of the day, there were about 100 songs that would not copy over. These were songs that worked just fine when you played them through iTunes, and worked just fine on all my other iPods.
So I manually transferred over all the songs that worked, which was about a 100 less than my full library. Along the way, instead of deleting the corrupted songs, I unchecked them. After I did the full manual transfer, I set up the iPod to an automatic sync, only syncing over songs that are checked, thinking the unchecked ones, the corrupted ones, would not even try to be transferred over and it work fine.
I was wrong. With the sync, this time it stopped on a song that was not corrupted the first time around. Not knowing what to do, I ejected my iPod, and it wouldn't eject. It said "iPod appears to be corrupt, please click restore." So I did that, thinking this would finally fix it, since the computer realized the iPod was messed up. I was wrong again. It didn't do anything, it just made it so I could eject my iPod.
So I'm now on my 2nd iPod classic. I've done what Tech Support has told me to do. Now I need help. Badly.

I had similar problems, it was a nightmare and on a 3 month ipod too!. I use a Powerbook G4 at home and a G5 at work - both were returning the same problems. so I sent it off to apple, they quickly sent it back saying there was nothing wrong with and it didn't need to be repaired. I tried it again and the same problems occurred "disc cannot be written to or read from." I could copy 20 songs onto it at the very most. A couple of guys at my work suggested updating it on a PC, then adding tunes via my mac as normal - guess what!? it works a treat!?. How ridiculous is that!? an Apple product works best on a PC. these generations of ipods are obviously designed to work best on Intel based Macs. What is wrong Apple? are you abandoning the G-generation!? still, atleast my ipod works for now - it will prove a problem when I have to update the iPod's software since I don't own a PC or an intel-based Mac.

"Disk cannot be read from or written to" When syncing CERTAIN songs to iPod

So I bought my friend's iPod Touch. I've talked to her about this issue and she's never experienced anything of the sort. When I got her iPod Touch I downloaded the newest software (3.1.2).
It's still currently running on 3.1.2 (as I know of no way to set it back to a previous version). When I try to update the iPod it will sync fine until reaching certain songs. These songs will freeze iTunes entirely for a few moments, an error message will pop up saying "Disk cannot be read from or written to". The only way I could go around this predicament was to go through my library and un-check the songs which caused the iPod sync to fail. This is quite annoying having to have several songs un-checked as some of them are the songs I want to listen to.
What can I do to fix this? I've reset and restored everything. Multiple times. Yet to no avail.
The error occurs only with songs, I have not run in to any errors updating applications (yet).
I'm running Mac OS X Snow Leopard, the iPod Touch is running 3.1.2 (the newest update), the iPod was originally purchased back in July.

I suggest you read through the following article for some help: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1207
Normally, if you have a DRM'd song that you do not own, you will get an error (not this one, however) that the song will not/cannot be copied to your iPod. My feeling is that you might have some corrupted files.

20gb iPod, error 1418, "disk cannot be read from or written to", and others

I am having a series of serious issues with my 4th gen 20gb. I have tried restoring it several times, syncing if and when it restores, then restoring it again when it tells me "disk cannot be read from or written to". Sometimes when I try restoring it i get the "unknown error 1418" message, so I disconnect the iPod and try again; sometimes it restores, sometimes it doesn't. I have also tried plain resetting it (select+menu) and that either gives me the dead smiley ipod or a folder with an exclamation point.
What can I do to salvage my beloved iPod?
Thanks for any and all help.

If a sad iPod icon or an exclamation point and folder icon appears on your iPod’s screen, or with sounds of clicking or HD whirring, it is usually the sign of a hard drive problem and you have the power to do something about it now. Your silver bullet of resolving your iPod issue – is to restore your iPod to factory settings.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60983
If you're having trouble, try these steps at different levels one at a time until the issue is resolved. These steps will often whip your iPod back into shape.
Make sure you do all the following “TRYs”
A. Try to wait 30 minutes while iPod is charging.
B. Try another FireWire or USB through Dock Connector cable.
C. Try another FireWire or USB port on your computer .
D. Try to disconnect all devices from your computer's FireWire and USB ports.
E. Try to download and install the latest version of iPod software and iTunes
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
For old and other versions of iPod updater for window you can get here
http://www.ipodwizard.net/showthread.php?t=7369
F. Try these five steps (known as the five Rs) and it would conquer most iPod issues.
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/five_rs/
G. Try to put the iPod into Disk Mode if it fails to appear on the desktop
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
If none of these steps address the issue, you may need to go to Intermediate level listed below in logical order. Check from the top of the lists to see if that is what keeping iPod from appearing on your computer in order for doing the Restore.
Intermediate Level
A. Try to connect your iPod with another computer with the iPod updater pre-installed.
B. Still can’t see your iPod, put it in Disk Mode and connect with a computer, instead of doing a Restore on iPod Updater. Go and format the iPod instead.
For Mac computer
1. Open the disk utility, hope your iPod appears there (left hand side), highlight it
2. Go to Tab “Partition”, click either “Delete” or “Partition”, if fails, skip this step and go to 3
3. Go to Tab “Erase” , choose Volume Format as “MAC OS Extended (Journaled), and click Erase, again if fails, skip it and go to 4
4. Same as step 3, but open the “Security Options....” and choose “Zero Out Data” before click Erase. It will take 1 to 2 hours to complete.
5. Eject your iPod and do a Reset
6. Open the iTunes 7 and click “Restore”
For Window computer
Go to folder “My Computer”
Hope you can see your iPod there and right click on the iPod
Choose “Format”. Ensure the settings are at “Default” and that “Quick Format” is not checked
Now select “Format”
Eject your iPod and do a Reset
Open the iTunes 7 and click “Restore”
In case you do not manage to do a “Format” on a window computer, try to use some 3rd party disk utility software, e.g.“HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool”.
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=501330&tstart=0
C. Windows users having trouble with their iPods should locate a Mac user. In many cases when an iPod won't show up on a PC that it will show up on the Mac. Then it can be restored. When the PC user returns to his computer the iPod will be recognized by the PC, reformatted for the PC, and usable again. By the way, it works in reverse too. A Mac user often can get his iPod back by connecting it to a PC and restoring it.
Tips
a. It does not matter whether the format is completed or not, the key is to erase (or partly) the corrupted firmware files on the Hard Drive of the iPod. After that, when the iPod re-connected with a computer, it will be recognized as an fresh external hard drive, it will show up on the iTunes 7.
b. It is not a difficult issue for a Mac user to find a window base computer, for a PC user, if they can’t find any Mac user, they can go to a nearest Apple Shop for a favor.
c. You may need to switch around the PC and Mac, try to do several attempts between “Format” and “Restore”
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2364921&#2364921
Advance Level
A. Diagnostic mode solution
If you have tried trouble shooting your iPod to no avail after all the steps above, chances are your iPod has a hardware problem. The iPod's built-in Diagnostic Mode is a quick and easy way to determine if you have a "bad" iPod.
You need to restart your iPod before putting it into Diagnostic Mode. Check that your hold switch is off by sliding the switch away from the headphone jack. Toggle it on and off to be safe.
Press and hold the following combination of buttons simultaneously for approximately 10 seconds to reset the iPod.
iPod 1G to 3G: "Menu" and "Play/Pause"
iPod 4G+ (includes Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini): "Menu" and "Select"
The Apple logo will appear and you should feel the hard drive spinning up. Press and hold the following sequence of buttons:
iPod 1G to 3G: "REW", "FFW" and "Select"
iPod 4G+ (includes Photo, Nano, Video, and Mini): "Back" and "Select"
You will hear an audible chirp sound (3G models and higher) and the Apple logo should appear backwards. You are now in Diagnostic Mode. Navigate the list of tests using "REW" and "FFW". The scroll wheel will not function while in diagnostic mode. For further details on Diagnostic mode can be found at http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/diagnosticmode/
Try to do the 5in1, HDD R/W and HDD scan tests. Some successful cases have been reported after the running the few tests under the Diagnostic mode. In case it does not work in your case, and the scan tests reports show some errors then it proves your iPod has a hardware problem and it needs a repairing service.
B. Format your iPod with a start disk
I have not tried this solution myself, I heard that there were few successful cases that the users managed to get their iPod (you must put your iPod in disk mode before connecting with a computer) mounted by the computer, which was booted by a system startup disk. For Mac, you can use the Disk Utility (on the Tiger OS system disk), for PC user, you can use the window OS system disk. Try to find a way to reformat your iPod, again it does not matter which format (FAT32, NTFS or HFS+) you choose, the key is to erase the corrupted system files on the iPod. Then eject your iPod and do a Reset to switch out from Disk Mode. Reboot your computer at the normal way, connect your iPod back with it, open the iPod updater, and hopefully your iPod will appear there for the Restore.
If none of these steps address the issue, your iPod may need to be repaired.
Consider setting up a mail-in repair for your iPod http://depot.info.apple.com/ipod/
Or visit your local Apple Retail Store http://www.apple.com/retail/
In case your iPod is no longer covered by the warranty and you want to find a second repairing company, you can try iPodResQ or ifixit at your own risk
http://www.ipodresq.com/index.php
http://www.ifixit.com/
Just in case that you are at the following situation
Your iPod warranty is expired
You don’t want to pay any service charges
You are prepared to buy a new one
You can’t accept the re-sell value of your broken iPod
Rather than leave your iPod as paper-weight or throw it away.
You can try the following, but again, only do it as your last resort and at your own risk.
Warning !!!! – It may or may not manage to solve your problem, and with a risk that you may further damage your iPod, which end up as an expensive paper weight or you need to pay more higher repairing cost. Therefore, please re-consider again whether you want to try the next level
Last Resort Level
1. . Disconnecting the Hard Drive and battery inside the iPod – Warning !! Your iPod warranty will be waived once you open the iPod.
In Hong Kong there are some electronic shops offering an iPod service for Sad iPod, the first thing they do is to open up the iPod’s case and disconnecting the battery and the Hard Drive from the main board of the iPod. Wait for 5-10 minutes and reconnecting them back. The reason behind which I can think of is to do a fully reset of a processor of the iPod. In case you want do it itself and you believe that you are good on fixing the electronics devices and have experience to deal with small bits of electronic parts, then you can read the following of how to open the iPod case for battery and HDD replacement (with Quicktimes)
http://eshop.macsales.com/tech_center/index.cfm?page=Video/directory.html
2.Press the reset button on the Hard Drive inside the iPod – Suggestion from Kill8joy
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2438774#2438774
Have I tried these myself? No, I am afraid to do it myself as I am squeamish about tinkering inside electronic devices, I have few experiences that either I broke the parts (which are normally tiny or fragile) or failed to put the parts back to the main case. Therefore, I agree with suggestion to have it fixed by a Pro.
2. Do a search on Google and some topics on this discussion forum about “Sad iPod”
Exclamation point and folder and nothing else
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3597173#3597173
Exclamation point and folder and nothing else
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2831962#2831962
What should I do with my iPod? Send it or keep it?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=469080&tstart=0
Strange error on iPod (probably death)
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=435160&start=0&tstart=0
Sad Face on iPod for no apparent reason
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=336342&start=0&tstart=0
Meeting the Sad iPod icon
http://askpang.typepad.com/relevanthistory/2004/11/meeting_thesad.html#comment-10519524
Sad faced iPod, but my computer won’t recognize it?
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2236095#2236095
iPod Photo: unhappy icon + warranty question
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2233746#2233746
4th Gen iPod Users - are we all having the same problem?
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=2235623#2235623
Low Battery, and clicking sounds
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2237714#2237714
Sad faced iPod, but my computer won’t recognize it
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2242018#2242018
Sad iPod solution
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=412033&tstart=0
Re: try to restore ipod and it says "can't mount ipod"
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=443659&tstart=30
iPod making clicking noise and is frozen
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=2420150#2420150
Cant put it into disk mode
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3786084#3786084
I think my iPod just died its final death
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3813051
Apple logo & monochrome battery stay
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3827167#3827167
My iPod ism’t resetting and isn’t being read by my computer
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4489387#4489387
I am not suggesting that you should follow as well, but just read them as your reference. You are the person to make the call.
Finally, I read a fair comments from dwb, regarding of slapping the back of the iPod multiple times
Quote “This has been discussed numerous times as a 'fix'. It does work, at least for a while. In fact I remember using the same basic trick to revive Seagate and Quantam drives back in the mid to late 1980's. Why these tiny hard drives go bad I don't know - could be the actuator gets stuck in place or misaligned. Could be the platter gets stuck or the motor gets stuck. 'Stiction' was a problem for drives back in the 80's. Unfortunately the fix can cause damage to the platter so we temporarily fix one problem by creating another. But I know of two instances where a little slap onto the table revived the iPods and they are still worked a year or more later.”UnQuote

"Ipod" failed. Disk could not read from or written to

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