IPod shuffle (1st gen) not recognised

Question

Right, here is my problem:
When i connect my ipod to my computer (or any other) i get an error warning saying that the "usb device is not recognized....". It doesn't appear in 'My Computer' at all, and i have already tried the ipod shuffle reset utility for windows, but because it is not found at all on the computer, the reset utility cannot find it either!
Now where this seems to differ from previous problems that people have mentioned is that my ipod will still play the music that i presently have on it with no problems and will charge with no problems either (its fully charged).
At the time this problem started, i was using the most up to date version of software for it and for itunes.
Any help would be so greatly appreciated

Answer 1

Cowboy Bob, Ataloss2, et al.
This is going to sound hokey, like one of those ‘cheat codes’ where you move your joystick right, right, left, up, down, right, right and then hit the “A” button. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Don’t know if this is going to work for you but no harm in trying.
1. Open the latest version of Itunes.
2. Turn on your Ipod Shuffle quickly (you should see the green led light briefly) and plug it right away into the USB port.
3. Then turn off your Ipod almost just as quickly.
Hopefully, the Ipod should blink orange continuously and Itunes will say that the Ipod is corrupted. “Do you wish to reset it to the original factory settings?”
D*#n right.
4. This will delete everything on your Ipod, but more importantly, after this, the Ipod starts charging with a constant orange light.
5. Then start transferring your music back onto the Ipod.
I’ve played around looking to fix this frickin’ problem forever…would’ve been better buying a 2nd generation Shuffle for $79, but then I see the problems on this forum with it as well. The only good to come out of this was that I no longer feel alone with this problem.
Apple says to download the latest Itunes and do the 5 R’s, blah, blah, blah. I have a frickin’ Shuffle – I just want to listen to it when I ride my bike for 3+ hours, recharge it via a USB, and do it again. I don’t want to download a 50MB application (Itunes) that supports video and does all this other crap, when it was what, originally a 30+ meg. app? Yea, I know there are other Ipods out there - how about a simple Itunes for the simpler applications?
And then doing the 5 R’s mostly involve a fully charged Ipod – how often does that happen? Frickin’ Apple. They just don’t understand. 90 days for support? Based on the forum, some of them do conk out within 90 days of purchase, but a majority will occur after the 90 days. I’ve charged mine for less than 50 cycles, and now, only my “Random” setting will play. I’m not even going to bother looking for a fix for that problem. After my Shuffle dies for good, I’ll get another non-Apple mp3 player that won’t give me hassles.
If the above solution works, great. If it doesn’t, sorry – I tried. I can tell you about how the Ipod will have a momentary charge (orange light) when plugged in and you turn your computer on for the first time (but not when ‘Restarting’) and other nuances from my many experiments, but the above is the only thing I was able to do to get it to work. The whole purpose of the above ‘solution’ is to try to help Itunes communicate with your otherwise dead Ipod (red battery status indicator). One without any lights at all is probably truly dead. Good luck.
HP laptop Windows XP Pro
HP laptop Windows XP Pro