IPod Sync error -48, cannot update any longer

Question

An intractable and frustrating problem has surfaced on my iPod and I’d appreciate any advice.
System: Powermac G5 Dual 2.0, iPod 80GB. All newest software, firmware, etc. installed.
Problem: A few weeks ago, after adding songs ripped from a CD, the iPod failed on the next sync. A dialog box appeared “Attempting to copy to the disk ‘Dons iPod’ failed. An unknown error occurred (-48).” I clicked OK and sometimes the same box would appear again. Then another dialog box, “The iPod ‘Dons iPod’ cannot be updated. An unknown error occurred (-48).” Clicked OK on that one, and the sync finishes and the iPod shows ‘update complete’ although none of the changed/added songs are added.
I did a full restore and reload and all was well…until my next sync after songs/podcasts were added. Then the error -48 dialog boxes came back and new info was not added. A full restore and reupdate went fine, but basically I cannot resync after a full update any longer.
Attempts to fix: Tried different cables and USB ports. Rebuilt the library per Apple’s technote. Emptied whatever iTunes caches I could find. Tried syncing only songs, not podcasts/photos/contacts. Enabled and disabled disk mode. My older 4GB nano still syncs perfectly, even adding new songs the bigger iPod rejects with the -48 error. My old 60GB photo always worked fine.
Any advice greatly appreciated! Thanks, Don
G5 dual 2.0   Mac OS X (10.4.8)   80GB ipod

Answer 1

At the moment there seems to be no permanent fix for this. This is the workaround I'm currently using until a fix comes along.
Set up iTunes "not" to open when you connect the iPod.
Enable Disk Use on the iPod
Eject the iPod and shut down iTunes
Reconnect the iPod and open Disk Utility
Click on your iPod in the Utility pane and choose Repair Disk which will find and fix a number of errors.
Close Disk Utility and open iTunes and your iPod should connect and update as usual.
Keep the settings above and each time you connect the iPod run Disk Utility repair as above before opening iTunes. It's far from being a acceptable answer but until a permanent one comes along I've found that it works for me. I've tried the Apple advice of erasing the iPod in Disk Utility and restoring it in iTunes but found it only worked for a while before the error came back.