Please help! My shuffle has gone totally up the shoot!

Question

Hi everyone, I seem to have developed a rather major problem with my shuffle and I don't know how to fix it.
Since I got my shuffle I've been using it on my work computer then I got a new work computer and it was some weeks before I could reinstall itunes - I finally did that a couple of days ago.
When I reinstalled itunes it asked me if I wanted to update to the latest version which I did.
When I plugged my shuffle in the name came up in itunes as 'DATA' which wasn't the name I'd previously given it.
When I tried to update the music it said it was doing it but it seemed to happen too quickly and when I checked it hadn't changed the music. It tried several times with no luck.
I downloaded the latest ipod software and restored my shuffle, when itunes opened up I renamed my shuffle and tried to add new music. It said it was doing it but again seemed to be doing it too fast and when I checked there was no music on the shuffle.
So I re-restored it and did all the same stuff again...with the same results.
Finally I restored it for a third time at which point it my computer stopped recognising it at all.
Now:
* when you press play on the shuffle the green and orange lights flash.
* my shuffle doesn't show up in itunes
* doesn't show up in my computer (it never did in the first place though)
* my computer won't recognise it if I try to restore or update it.
* finally today I've tried reinstalling it from the original disc that came with it but my computer doesn't even recognise that my shuffle is plugged in when it asks to check if it's formatted.
Yes I'm using a high speed cable and yes I've tried reinstalling itunes and the ipod software - several times.
I don't know what else to do - please, please can anyone help or suggest anything or tell me where I can get this fixed?

Answer 1

I replaced my first shuffle two weeks ago after installing the 1.1.2 software (haven't seen any bills and don't expect to either!).
Sadly i didn't realize it was the software update that caused the burnout so i updated the new shuffle when it arrived (after two days actually - nice service) resulting in another burnout.
This is how i described the problem to apple:
Dead Unit / Continious
Green/Amber light flicker when pushing play. The iPod Shuffle is recognized as a "Removable Disc" but Windows XP reports the following error when trying to access the device: "The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error." - rendering it unusable.
Reinstalling iTunes and iPod updater doesn't help. The iPod Updater can't initialize the device and iTunes doesn't recognize the iPod Shuffle at all! Neither PCs or Macs recognized the device properly. It's dead!
I just reported this second dead shuffle and expect a new one in a few days. Next time i'll leave the default software intact and only update with iTunes previous to version 5.x
I'll report back as soon as i know if this is a solution or not.
The best of luck to the rest of you unlucky shuffle owners