IPOD VIDEO 30GB not recognized by iTunes or My PC

Question

So I have this ipod that I'm trying to revive. I'm not even sure which generation it is, but it's a 30GB ipod classic and I bought like in 2005. Here's the thing, this ipod has been in my drawer for years and when I turn it on it says "Use itunes to restore", but itunes wont recognize it, and it won't appear as a disk in my pc. I plug it into the computer and it says do not disconnect but nothing happens, BUT, when I use the "menu and center button at the same time" trick while it is plugged in until the apple logo appears, it shows up in my pc as REMOVABLE DISK F: (an empty one though)
I right click it to format it but by this time the "use itunes to restore" message has appeared again and the ipod either disappears from my pc or it says "the device has been disconnected".
Also, when I open the computer's device manager it appears as APPLE IPOD USB device, which gives me some hope, but it doesn't show any of its properties. (It says - for each characteristic. I mean, Disk -, Type -, Status -, etc)
Finally, when I leave it plugged in for a while just waiting, my computer freezes completely until I plug it out.
Any tips?? Thanks!!
And greetings from Venezuela

Answer 1

did you try all those steps:
Disconnect the device from the computer.
Save a screenshot by pressing the Home button and the Wake/Sleep button at the same time (the screen should flash briefly). Note: Taking screenshots and saving images on iPod touch requires iOS version 2.0 or later.
Reconnect the device to the computer.
Open the Device Manager in Windows as follows:
Windows XP: Click Start > Run. In the resulting dialog type devmgmt.msc and press Return on the keyboard.
Windows Vista or Windows 7: Click Start. In the dialog, type devmgmt.msc and press Return on the keyboard. If Windows needs your permission to continue, click "Continue".
Expand all the sections labeled below (not all sections may be listed):
Imaging Devices
Other Devices
Portable Devices
Universal Serial Bus Controllers
Look for the entry that recognizes the device as a camera. This entry should be called Apple iPhone,Apple iPad, or Apple iPod.