"Use iTunes to restore" - Doesn't recognize

My 1 GB iPod nano (first generation? says 2006 on the back) just stopped working while I was skipping to the next song. A message came up (in several different languages) that said USE iTUNES TO RESTORE. I connected to iTunes and did a restore. Then a message popped up that said "YOU NEED TO FORMAT THE DISK IN DRIVE N: BEFORE YOU CAN USE IT". I clicked FORMAT DISK and START and then got a message that said WINDOWS WAS UNABLE TO COMPLETE THE FORMAT and WINDOWS CAN'T FORMAT N:(make sure disk is not read-only and then try again). iTunes isn't recognizing the iPod but my computer is recognizing it as a Removeable Disk. Is my iPod done? I really can't afford to buy a new one so I'm hoping this is fixable! Thanks for your help.

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My iPod dispalys this message: "Connect to a computer. Use iTunes to restore." When I connect to a computer, iTunes doesn't recognise it. The iPod 5th Gen does not work at all. How do I fix my iPod without losing any data?

My iPod dispalys this message:
"Connect to a computer. Use iTunes to restore." When I connect to a computer, iTunes doesn't recognise it. The iPod 5th Gen does not work at all. How do I fix my iPod without losing any data?
I have seen the Apple webpage suggesting the "five R's" (including restore). Before doing anything, I want to be sure that restoring or any other action is not going to delete or risk my data.
I would be very grateful if anyone can suggest a fix for this problem, in a way that will not risk my data.
Thanks in advance!

Did you try a hard reset with the iPod still connected to your PC? Have you tried multiple USB ports, preferably high powered USB 2.0 ports?
To do a hard reset, first make sure the hold switch is in the Off position, then press and hold both the Select (Center) and Menu buttons together long enough for the Apple logo to appear.
Have you also worked through each and every single troubleshooting suggestion in this Apple support document?
iPod not recognized in 'My Computer' and in iTunes for Windows
B-rock

My 5th gen Ipod won't do anything but show the " Connect to your computer, use itunes to restore" screen. However my computer nor anyone else's will recognize my ipod. What can I do?

My ipod will not do anything but show a screen that asks to "connect ipod to computer, use itunes to restore" My computer however will not recognize my ipod at all so there is no way to restore my ipod. I am not skilled in computers but if anyone has a step by step that would be great.

Did you try a hard reset with the iPod still connected to your PC? Have you tried multiple USB ports, preferably high powered USB 2.0 ports?
To do a hard reset, first make sure the hold switch is in the Off position, then press and hold both the Select (Center) and Menu buttons together long enough for the Apple logo to appear.
Have you also worked through each and every single troubleshooting suggestion in this Apple support document?
iPod not recognized in 'My Computer' and in iTunes for Windows
B-rock

HT201412 iPad not responsive. Even hold both the restart and Home buttons for 20 seconds. Trying using iTune to restore it, then only the charging button is shown. iTunes can not even recognize the iPad anymore.

iPad not responsive. Even hold both the restart and Home buttons for 20 seconds.
Originally I can see the iPad symbol on the screen. Trying using iTune to restore it, then only the charging symbol is shown. iTunes can not even recognize the iPad anymore.

What to Do When Your iPad Won't Turn On
http://ipad.about.com/od/iPad_Troubleshooting/ss/What-To-Do-When-Your-Ipad-Wo-No t-Turn-On.htm
iOS: Not responding or does not turn on
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3281
iPad Frozen? How to Force Quit an App, Reset or Restart Your iPad
http://ipadacademy.com/2010/11/ipad-frozen-how-to-force-quit-an-app-reset-or-res tart-your-ipad
iPad: Basic troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3274
iOS: Resolving update and restore alert messages
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1275
iPad: Unable to update or restore
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4097
 Cheers, Tom

My iPod Classic says to Use iTunes to Restore but whenever I plug in my iPod into my computer, iTunes doesn't detect it and while it's plugged in and not connecting, it just says "Do not Disconnect" with a 'no' sign blinking. PLEASE HELP!!

I've already tried putting it into Disk Mode but nothing happens. Tried restarting computer and a new USB cord but still not working!
PLEASE HELP!

Already tried another USB port, still nothing.
I don't have another PC to check, I only have one which is the one not working with my iPod.
It appears under my Computer, just not under iTunes. Plus, the iPod classic troubleshooting assistant doesn't work because I can't restore since it can't come up onto my iTunes! Even my iPod says "Use iTunes to Restore" once in a while, but I plug it in & I'm not able to restore it since it won't come up under iTunes.
Please help

Ipod Nano 7th Generation is saying Use Itunes to Restore. Itunes no longer recognizes my device

Please Help, My Ipod nano 7th generation was syncing. When I disconnected from my computer, I no longer had any music on it. When I plugged it back in Itunes prompted me to restore my Ipod. I went ahead and restored it, but it kept asking me to restore. When I unplugged my ipod, I got a white screen saying Use Itunes to Restore. Problem is Itunes no longer picks up my device. I've tried plugging it into different USB ports, I've tried to update Itunes to the newest version, and uninstalled and reinstalled itunes. I've tried to reset the ipod, but it still goes back to the white screen saying "Use Itunes to Restore". I've been trying everything. Please Help.
Thanks

No. You need iTunes on a computer to restore it. If you don't have iTunes you can download it from here:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
If you don't have a computer, can you can try to borrow one with iTunes installed.

New iPod Nano isn't being recognized, with "Use iTunes to restore"

I got this new Nano yesterday and I took it out the box, tried it for a while, etc. I then installed iTunes 9 and after that everything was fine, so I plugged it in, hoping to sync it with my library and charge it. It did both for a while. Unfortunately, it was at this moment my PC decided lock up, and I had to use CAD to stop all the programs that were running, including iTunes, with the Nano still plugged in. Now the only functions of the Nano are to show the Apple logo for a bit, go to black and then show the "Use iTunes to restore" screen. I Googled and found that this means it needs to be formatted for Windows use. However, I plug it in and Windows refuses to recognize it, as does iTunes. However, it does connect when I press both the select and menu buttons (I tried to put it into disk mode, but this doesn't work) only to disconnect a few seconds later when iTunes tries to download the recovery software. Can anyone help? Nothing is working. Thanks.

I have also just installed my new Nano, had to upgrade to itunes V9, this worked eventually and then the nano locked up along with the PC. rebooted the PC, reset the Nano, all looked good until I tried to reconnect the Nano to the PC. it connected and then immediately disconnected and itunes gave an error saying that it couldn't read the ipod, try to reconnect.

Use iTunes to restore...but can't!

I have a 2GB Nano. The display says "Use iTunes to restore" then underneath it has text in other languages. I plug the ipod in and itunes doesn't recognize it...nor does it show up in "My Computer". When I plug the ipod in, the display say "ok to disconnect" with a check mark. I've tried turning it off/on, toggling the hold button, etc. Help! My 8 year old son is not happy!

this is not the page you are to be on for the 2G ipod nano.

"Use ITunes to restore" displayed, but cannot connect

Hi all,
I have an IPod Nano which is locked somehow after last time I connected it to my system.
The display shows: "Use ITunes to restore"
However when I connect it to my computer, nothing happens. It is not found as a drive, nor listed in ITunes.
Following things have been tried:
- Resetting the IPod (multiple times)
This brings a grey block in a back screen, and returns to the old message
- Stopping and restarting the IPod-services on my system
Nothing happened
- Updating the ITunes software
No difference, had already 7.2 installed
- Tried connecting to different USB-ports, although all are 2.0
Nothing happened
- Rebooted my system several times
As far as I know I have done all, and am completely lost. Is there anyone who can help me??
Thanks in advance!
2.8 Ghz Intel Windows XP
2.8 Ghz Intel Windows XP

See if any of these articles help.
Windows XP cannot detect an iPod.
USB drivers are not installed properly or are out of date.
iTunes 7 doesn't recognize the iPod.
Your Windows PC doesn't recognize iPod</font color</a>.
iPod appears in Windows Explorer but does not appear in iTunes.
iPod does not appear in iTunes.
Fast user switching in Windows XP is not supported.
Windows confuses iPod with network drive

Use itunes to restore... I CAN'T! help please

hi.. i've been at this for hours and i can't solve anything.. while my ipod was actualizing.. all of the sudden.. the screen shows.. do not disconnect.. and it went black.. so i reseted it.. and instead of .. "working".. another screen shows up that says.. "use itunes to restore".. so i pluged it in.. and nothing happened.. nothing ricognizes it.. not itunes.. and updater says.. can't mount ipod.. what can i do??

My Problem iz rather weird nd strange. about a month back, my 2GB nano just freezed due to no apparent reason. i used the hold-menu-and-centre-key strategy to reset it and the next screen said somthing like USE ITUNES TO RESTORE. i connected it thru my USB cable to my PC and i tunes wudn't recognize it. then i used the updater which said can't mount iPOD. i then checked ur forums and tried tht manual disk mode to format it in my PC. but on right clickin on
iPOD(which shows as REMOVABLE DRIVE), nothing happens. no format screen iz displayed. but somehow trying again and again and restarting and shutting down the ipod service solved the matter. for testing, i copied one song with couple of photos in it. it worked reallly fine until i
formatted my pc.
I re-did the partitions, reinstalled the windows
and every software. then i downloaded the latest iTUNES(7.0.2) from apple's website. ripped a few cds on my pc, then opened iTUNEs to copy more music in my iPOD. just after the copy started, iTUNES gave error which had something to do with the transfer. i unpluggged my iPOD
after ejecting frm iTUNES and found the same freaky error (USE ITUNES TO RESTORE) again. as i had tackled thru this error earlier, so i repeated the same procedure but with latest iTUNES this time. i had to download the latest iPOD updater(1.3 i guess) too as it is not included in iTUNES.
and after every step, it is still giving the same error over and over again. i hav another pc which iz using the same windows with previous iPOD updater and iTUNES. that updater givez errors like CAN'T MOUNT iPOD,FIRMWARE UPDATE FAILURE, etc. and also hangs sometimes. and even if it
restores, the iPOD never restarts. when i use my other PC with newer iTUNES and new windows on it, it givez errors like UNKNOWN ERROR, etc. also after restoring, the iPOD restarts and shows the same USE ITUNES to RESTORE error. main probelm i m facing in restoring process thru disk mode iz tht whenever i right click on the iPOD in my COMPUTER, there r 99% chances that it wont show any format dialogue at all (even if the iPOD service isn't running)
kindly help me az i m tooo much fed up of this thing. i mite smash the nano onto my computer screen if nuthin helps :S
kindly reply soon. please note tht the country i live in doesn't giv support for iPODs and i received this product as a gift about an year back and has been working fine ever since (except last two times) also i cant afford to send it bak to UK or something like tht. so online
help wud b much appreciated...
also i cudnt find any POST new TOPIC button on these forums, kindly help me in tht regard too...
THANKING IN ANTICIPATION
P.S. i've tried it three different PCs with frsh installations. so suggest me something different also drive letter can't b changed for iPOD in disk manager..

Help! "Use iTunes to restore.."(CAN'T!!)

Hi all,
I got an ipod nano.(4 gb)when i tried to open my ipod ,it gives an error "use iTunes to restore" then i try to restore but it gives an error "iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode.You must restore the ipod before it can be used with iTunes"
Hundreds of time i tried to restore but all of the time same error..
Anyone have any idea?
Ipod Nano 4 gb Windows XP

My Problem iz rather weird nd strange. about a month back, my 2GB nano just freezed due to no apparent reason. i used the hold-menu-and-centre-key strategy to reset it and the next screen said somthing like USE ITUNES TO RESTORE. i connected it thru my USB cable to my PC and i tunes wudn't recognize it. then i used the updater which said can't mount iPOD. i then checked ur forums and tried tht manual disk mode to format it in my PC. but on right clickin on
iPOD(which shows as REMOVABLE DRIVE), nothing happens. no format screen iz displayed. but somehow trying again and again and restarting and shutting down the ipod service solved the matter. for testing, i copied one song with couple of photos in it. it worked reallly fine until i
formatted my pc.
I re-did the partitions, reinstalled the windows
and every software. then i downloaded the latest iTUNES(7.0.2) from apple's website. ripped a few cds on my pc, then opened iTUNEs to copy more music in my iPOD. just after the copy started, iTUNES gave error which had something to do with the transfer. i unpluggged my iPOD
after ejecting frm iTUNES and found the same freaky error (USE ITUNES TO RESTORE) again. as i had tackled thru this error earlier, so i repeated the same procedure but with latest iTUNES this time. i had to download the latest iPOD updater(1.3 i guess) too as it is not included in iTUNES.
and after every step, it is still giving the same error over and over again. i hav another pc which iz using the same windows with previous iPOD updater and iTUNES. that updater givez errors like CAN'T MOUNT iPOD,FIRMWARE UPDATE FAILURE, etc. and also hangs sometimes. and even if it
restores, the iPOD never restarts. when i use my other PC with newer iTUNES and new windows on it, it givez errors like UNKNOWN ERROR, etc. also after restoring, the iPOD restarts and shows the same USE ITUNES to RESTORE error. main probelm i m facing in restoring process thru disk mode iz tht whenever i right click on the iPOD in my COMPUTER, there r 99% chances that it wont show any format dialogue at all (even if the iPOD service isn't running)
kindly help me az i m tooo much fed up of this thing. i mite smash the nano onto my computer screen if nuthin helps :S
kindly reply soon. please note tht the country i live in doesn't giv support for iPODs and i received this product as a gift about an year back and has been working fine ever since (except last two times) also i cant afford to send it bak to UK or something like tht. so online
help wud b much appreciated...
also i cudnt find any POST new TOPIC button on these forums, kindly help me in tht regard too...
THANKING IN ANTICIPATION
P.S. i've tried it three different PCs with frsh installations. so suggest me something different also drive letter can't b changed for iPOD in disk manager..

When i turn my ipod on it said use itunes to restore......

when i turn my ipod on it said use itunes to restore. SO i downloaded the new itunes (7.2 i think) and when i pluged ipod in it said ipod in recovery mode restore before use in itunes for sumthin like that... so i did that and at the end it said error occured (1413)...so im like ***...anyways iv ran out of ideas of what to do. and iv used my ipod before and one morning it didnt work...so yeah please help me!!!!

My Problem iz rather weird nd strange. about a month back, my 2GB nano just freezed due to no apparent reason. i used the hold-menu-and-centre-key strategy to reset it and the next screen said somthing like USE ITUNES TO RESTORE. i connected it thru my USB cable to my PC and i tunes wudn't recognize it. then i used the updater which said can't mount iPOD. i then checked ur forums and tried tht manual disk mode to format it in my PC. but on right clickin on
iPOD(which shows as REMOVABLE DRIVE), nothing happens. no format screen iz displayed. but somehow trying again and again and restarting and shutting down the ipod service solved the matter. for testing, i copied one song with couple of photos in it. it worked reallly fine until i
formatted my pc.
I re-did the partitions, reinstalled the windows
and every software. then i downloaded the latest iTUNES(7.0.2) from apple's website. ripped a few cds on my pc, then opened iTUNEs to copy more music in my iPOD. just after the copy started, iTUNES gave error which had something to do with the transfer. i unpluggged my iPOD
after ejecting frm iTUNES and found the same freaky error (USE ITUNES TO RESTORE) again. as i had tackled thru this error earlier, so i repeated the same procedure but with latest iTUNES this time. i had to download the latest iPOD updater(1.3 i guess) too as it is not included in iTUNES.
and after every step, it is still giving the same error over and over again. i hav another pc which iz using the same windows with previous iPOD updater and iTUNES. that updater givez errors like CAN'T MOUNT iPOD,FIRMWARE UPDATE FAILURE, etc. and also hangs sometimes. and even if it
restores, the iPOD never restarts. when i use my other PC with newer iTUNES and new windows on it, it givez errors like UNKNOWN ERROR, etc. also after restoring, the iPOD restarts and shows the same USE ITUNES to RESTORE error. main probelm i m facing in restoring process thru disk mode iz tht whenever i right click on the iPOD in my COMPUTER, there r 99% chances that it wont show any format dialogue at all (even if the iPOD service isn't running)
kindly help me az i m tooo much fed up of this thing. i mite smash the nano onto my computer screen if nuthin helps :S
kindly reply soon. please note tht the country i live in doesn't giv support for iPODs and i received this product as a gift about an year back and has been working fine ever since (except last two times) also i cant afford to send it bak to UK or something like tht. so online
help wud b much appreciated...
also i cudnt find any POST new TOPIC button on these forums, kindly help me in tht regard too...
THANKING IN ANTICIPATION
P.S. i've tried it three different PCs with frsh installations. so suggest me something different also drive letter can't b changed for iPOD in disk manager..

HT1363 My old iPod Nano says to use iTunes to restore and I've followed all suggested help steps, but I can't get it into disk mode nor can I get it to show in my computer or in iTunes.

My old iPod Nano says to use iTunes to restore and I've followed all suggested help steps, but I can't get it into disk mode nor can I get it to show in my computer or in iTunes. I have the latest version of iTunes. Windows has all the most recent updates too. I can reset the iPod, but the message to Use iTunes to restore comes back and I am stuck.

Already tried another USB port, still nothing.
I don't have another PC to check, I only have one which is the one not working with my iPod.
It appears under my Computer, just not under iTunes. Plus, the iPod classic troubleshooting assistant doesn't work because I can't restore since it can't come up onto my iTunes! Even my iPod says "Use iTunes to Restore" once in a while, but I plug it in & I'm not able to restore it since it won't come up under iTunes.
Please help

Made HDD, Battery and case upgrades to my ipod video 5th Gen and now I am told "Connect to your computer. Use iTunes to restore."

I have a 5th Gen iPod Video that I have had many years now. It has worked faithfully until about 2 weeks ago and the HDD totally died on me.
So I decided to upgrade from a 30 to 60 gb HDD, replaced the battery for the appropriate HDD and bought a new back shell for the unit. I made incremental installations as parts arrived. First the HDD itself and the next day the battery. Both went in with no problem and I have been running them in a jerry rigged case (basically the 30gb back case has been taped together to make sure it was going to work OK. I have been taking it to work with absolutely no issues, great response and great battery life. Synching is fabulous.
Here is the issue, I hope this makes sense...
Today I received my 60 GB silver back cover and moved all of my parts over. It seems to fit fine. Headphone jack is working fine. However, now the hold button is unresponsive (which is not a big loss to me but still just so you know). I can play music and I can sync. However, if I restart the unit, or I try synching a second time, I get screen saying "Connect to your computer. Use iTunes to restore." It does not matter if I snap it shut or leave the case loose, this happens.
I have this error until I open my case up again and do nothing else. At that time, the error goes away, and my ipod is fine again. Then, the screen comes back after restarting to a normal boot. But, if I sync or restart without doing anything else, we go through the motions again until I open the case back up.
I have disconnected the battery as well as the HDD, but still have the problem. I have also disconnected the cable coming from the hold button/earphone jack to the M/B,
Has anyone else ever experienced this issue or have any suggestions.

Shouldn't you contact the vendor or person who sold the back cover? At the very least, it has a Hold switch that doesn't work.
This web site has repair guides
http://www.ifixit.com/Device/iPod_Original
and they call it "Headphone Jack & Hold Switch"
http://www.ifixit.com/Guide/iPod+5th+Generation+%28Video%29+Headphone+Jack+%26+H old+Switch+Replacement/604
Under Relevant Parts, they seem to list separate parts for the thick and thin back cover.
On a side note, another way to fix your iPod is to use a compact flash card instead of a hard drive. This web page has details
http://www.instructables.com/id/Convert-your-5th-Gen-iPod-Video-to-use-Flash-Mem or/
Then, you can use your existing thin profile back cover that works. I replaced the hard drive in my 4th gen iPod with a CF card. Currently, it is only 8GB, but with lower prices these days, I may soon upgrade it with a 64GB CF card. But it works great with the 8GB card. The iPod is noticeably lighter. There is no hard drive spin-up delay. The battery lasts longer per charge. And it is no doubt more shock-resistant.

My ipod says "connect to your computer. use itunes to restore."

My ipod says "connect to your computer. use itunes to restore."
So I plug it into the computer and itunes says it needs to restore, so I click restore, everything seems to go fine, and it says the ipod needs to restart, it does, has a lil progress bar go across the ipod screen, then itunes detects the ipod again and says it needs to be restored again. This is an endless loop, anyone have any idea how to solve this problem?

Have you had a chance to look at this troubleshooting page? Have a look at the bottom section that covers what to try if restoring doesn't work, it may be of some help: iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode - Use iTunes to restore

"Use iTunes to restore" - Doesn't recognize

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