IPod mini won't stay formatted or retain any data

I've had this iPod for just over two years now and while the battery's not the most reliable it works fine for listening to on my commute and hooking up and playing through iTunes at work. The other day I went to do this but when I arrived at work somehow a) all the playlists were gone and b) the actual music library seemed to have reverted back a few months with all the music I had added since then having disappeared. Even looking at the drive in Windows its disk usage had gone down.
I tried resetting but to no avail. iTunes was up to date both at home and at work. The iPod software is up to date. So, I tried restoring the iPod and putting the music back on. This worked fine for a day. Then this morning as soon as I disconnected the iPod to head to work it was blank. There was no music at all on it. This time when I looked at it in Windows it still showed as much disk space used up as it ought to, but iTunes and the iPod itself couldn't see the music.
I again tried restoring and copying over the music. Everything copied fine. Then, a few minutes later, -while still plugged in to the USB port- and with iTunes still open, the iPod again reverted to an unreadable state with all its music missing. I have now tried this a few times, once even reformatting the iPod in Windows before hitting restore. No change.
It also seems that, when I disconnect the iPod, "Do not disconnect" remains on the screen and will not go away until I reset the iPod.
What on earth is going on and is there any way I can fix it?

I have bad batteries and bad hard drives cause a few different issues, but none like that....I'll ask a few friends at work and see if we can't get this answered for you.
BTW. lovely username!

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Lori,
Yes, There is a "Hard Reset" for the iPod. Apple (and in iTunes) labels it as an iPod in Recovery Mode. It is really easy to do!
Basically what you do is reset the iPod while it is plugged into the computer (make sure you have your iPod plugged into the back of your computer and have your printer unplugged. Sometimes printers will mess up this process!) and restore the iPod.
If that dont work the only other suggestion that I would have for you is to use a different computer and try again. If it still doesn't work for you then I think you iPod is officially done for!
Also, just remember that apple has a recycling program for iPods. So if you would want a new one just take it to a local apple store and exchange it for a brand spanking new one with a one year limited coverage on it (warranty). You can save up to 10 %. Or if you look at the apple online store there is always refurbished models there and ! have seen some of those up to 30% off with the coverage for a year. To be honest, my friend has a refurbished iPod and you can not tell the difference between his and a brand new one. It works like a charm!
I am sorry for my long winded response & I hope that everything works out for you!
Message was edited by:

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I say try a different charger. When I wanted to avoid having to take my laptop everywhere, I bought this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BNZLGE/ref=pdcp_etitle/002-2209999-2570423?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=172282
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My Ipod mini won't reset. Help!

1. Try these five steps (known as the five Rs) will conquer most iPod issues.
http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/five_rs/
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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
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Several things could keep iPod from appearing in iTunes or in the Desktop/Finder when you connect it to your PC/Mac. The most likely causes are listed below in logical order. Check each one starting from the top of the list to see if that is what's keeping iPod from appearing.
3. Try to wait 30 minutes while iPod is charging.
4. Try another known-good FireWire or USB through Dock Connector cable.
5. Try another known-good FireWire or USB port on your computer .
6. Try to disconnect all devices from your computer's FireWire and USB ports.
7. Windows users having trouble with their iPods should locate a Mac user. We've found that 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. BTW, it works in reverse too. A Mac user often can get his iPod back by connecting it to a PC and restoring it.
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Try:
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Tried these?
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Welcome to Apple Discussions!
First, try restoring the iPod, as long as iTunes and the iPod updater are installed...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60983
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http://www.apple.com/itunes/download
http://www.apple.com/ipod/download
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btabz

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HI,
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Jeff,
Thank you for the info - I apologise for cross posting I've been inactive on the discussions pages for about 6 months and had forgotten - I also wanted a quick response, which I got thanks.
Pete

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windows Windows XP Pro
windows Windows XP Pro
windows Windows XP Pro

I just had a new harddrive installed into my IPOD
mini and now I can't get my music library to download
from the computor. HELP!?!?! I've tried the 5 R's and
still no music. Also,my computor won't acnowledge
the device. Any suggestions?
windows Windows XP Pro
windows
Windows XP Pro
windows Windows XP Pro
Please follow the link to the same question which i Answered recently: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=790287&tstart=0

IPod mini won't stay formatted or retain any data

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