Unable to update "users" ipod, disk could not be read from or written to??

Question

Ok, so my first shuffle dies and I send away for a new one. This new one doesnt work, so after doing the 5 R's I get to where iTunes and Windows explorer both recognise the ipod....
Now my problem is:
When I go to transfer music onto the ipod through itunes i get the msg in the subject feild ^^^. After much reading and updating drivers etc I finally have found a hard way to get music on there, this requires selecting 'keep this ipod in the source list' option. From there the songs i had enqued to be loaded on will load after I eject and then re connect my ipod.
Does anyone know how to simply get rid of that msg so i can go back to easily draging and dropping songs from the library straight on???
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I fixed this problem with my Shuffle! Here’s what worked for me. During install, Apple asked me what to call my Shuffle. Like a fool, I gave it a name like, “Jim’s iPod”. Dumb. I forgot about using forbidden characters enforced by Windows, especially for removable flash drives (which is what the iPod really is). That stupid apostrophe is what did it for the unit. After a while, iTunes couldn’t find a drive with an unrecognized character. Simple.
This is what I did (Windows XP machine):
1.) Go to your Windows machine’s control panel and use the “Add or Remove Software” function to uninstall iTunes (don’t worry, your playlists will all come back when you re-install the Apple software)
2.) Also uninstall the iPod drivers and any updaters
3.) Restart Windows (it’ll make you do this anyway)
4.) Once your up an running, plug-in the iPod to the usual USB port and then open up “My Computer”. Browse over to the drive designation for the iPod. It’ll just be listed as a flash drive at this point, with your goofy name (Jim’s iPod).
5.) Find the iPod listed as a removable drive and format it (yep, blow it away, wipe it clean, yes, be sure you’ve got the right drive). Remove the iPod from the USB port when finished!
6.) Re-install the software from your Apple Shuffle CD
7.) Re-start your computer as it indicates
8.) Start iTunes and verify it’s working.
9.) Plug in your Shuffle to the USB port. Apple will see it as a blank drive and then ask you what you want to call your iPod. Here’s the important part: give it a name without any forbidden characters (?’/-.:”, etc.). A single word would be even better. THIS IS THE DRIVE’S NAME TO WINDOWS!
I did this and my Shuffle is now no longer moving toward the trash can. Music once again!
Dell   Windows XP