Ipod Stuck in recovery mode loop and must be restored every 2 days

Question

Hi everyone,
I have a Fifth Generation Ipod Video 30 Gig that I purchased from an Apple store sometime in july and it has given me nothing but problems. 3 weeks into using it, the ipod tells me that it is in recovery mode and must be restored. I restore it and it continues to give the same message until I finally disconnect it and wait a good 20 minutes before it finally allows me to activate it. A week later, the Ipod needs to be restored again and the same incident occurs. I have changed the drive letter 13 times (currently on letter Z), used every version of itunes (old and new), changed the type of files I upload, etc. but nothing works. The worst part is that after restoring it, the Ipod works for a few days before it relapses again. Worst of all, I use it for less than an hour a day.
I even went to the Apple store after i restored it and the "genius technician" synced my ipod and said there was nothing wrong with the Ipod. I have seen many people in the forums cite hard drive failure as the cause of this problem but I cannot convince the "genius technicians" at the Apple store that this is the problem.
Please help me resolve this frustrated, unwarranted, and expensive problem!!! Your help is most appreciated.
Thank you,
Ice

Answer 1

I have tried connecting the ipod via the front and back USb 2.0 jacks on my desktop. I have only one external drive connected to the computer. Doesn't matter whether I remove it or not, the same problem occurs. I do not have a network. My drive letter for the ipod is letter z so it is not disk recognition which is a problem. 1/3 of my music comes from I-tunes, the rest I rip from my Cd's (like Linkin Park, Slipknot, Dir en grey). I only used about 650 MB worth of the ipods 30 gig drive capacity. Doesn't matter which version of the itunes software I use, it gives me the same problem. The recovery loop occured after just after 2 weeks of purchasing it from the apple storeand I took it back with only 12 songs in it. The restored it and 10 days later, the same problem occured. Recently, the ipod has been entering the recovery mode much more frequently prompting me to believe the hard drive is malfunctioning.
I have scanned my computer and the Ipod with everything from Norton, AVG, McCafee, and trendmicro and found no viruses, bugs, worms, etc.
Any suggestions to help me resolve this issue would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ice