Oh, iPod/iTunes, whatever will I do with you... (problems, of course)

Mac or Windows?

Windows (Vista unfortunately). Sorry, completely forgot to mention that!

Tis cool.. I don’t really do Windows so I can’t help. Good luck.

Hey, thanks for your time and for at least trying as much as you could anyway, John!

Whoa, that’s weird!!! Did you drop it or get it wet or something? Which iPod do you have?

@iSteve: Nope, it has not been dropped, or moistened (if that’s the correct term). Here’s an image of the same kind of iPod I have: http://www.pricescan.com/ItemImages/ImagesL/522340.jpg. It’s the 4th generation (black and white).

And when you say “I attempted to turn the device off, and simply restart it…” by restart do you mean holding the ‘Menu’ and ‘Center’ button for 10 seconds?

Also, have you tried running diagnostics mode on it? This will tell you if there is anything physically wrong with any component of your ipod. If it passes all the tests, I’m afraid I’ll have to bow out, as I am a Mac user. Still, hopefully the above will help…

@yannick: Yes, I pressed down on the ‘Menu’ and ‘Center’ button. I’m attempting to run the diagnostic mode right now (as I did not do such before posting this question), but I am not getting the results that the steps say should occur (the beep / backwards Apple logo). Although, I might just be doing it wrong, I’ll keep trying.

My first ipod did exactly that (the white one with four buttons, all touch sensitive, that turned red with the blacklight, third generation I think). One day it just started skipping each song before it began playing, and then i tried to restart it, but a little file symbol appeared with an exclamation point next to it. I called apple, and they said there was nothing I could do, unfortunately. I bought a new one. If it is still under warrantee (<1 yr old, unless you got applecare) apple will give you a new one. Go to the store and talk to them about it, they might offer you some kind of discount on a new one, maybe.

@chad: yeah, sometimes diagnostics mode can be hard to get into. I tried it on my ipod video jjust before posting, and had to try a few times to get it to work… you have to press previous and center pretty much straight after it you’ve reset it…

The clicking makes me think hard drive problem.

have you tried restoring it or using the hp usb format tool? or even just rebooting the ipod? have you tried rebooting your computer as well? (to fix the itunes issue)

Did you install the new vista upgrade? just as a side thought because SP1 vista has caused all sorts of problems, could have corrupted your itunes therefore corrupting you ipod.

(a conspiracy from bill gates to end the reign of all ipods)

Well, there’s been a development. It was suggested to me that I go ahead and install SP1 for Vista, and so after what seemed to be eternity, it finished, and I opened up iTunes and plugged in my iPod. Only to be given a pop-up error/message box saying: ”The iPod ”(Name)” cannot be synced. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable.”

Ugh.

Is there any way that I could have a virus within one of my .MP3s? The last time I updated my iPod, it included two or three songs that I downloaded :( off of Frostwire because they aren’t on iTunes.

I scanned the (F:) drive, where iTunes is connected to, with both Symantec AntiVirus, and ClamWin, but both times nothing was found. Here’s the report that ClamWin provided at the end of searching:

—————- SCAN SUMMARY—————-
Known viruses: 230928
Engine version: 0.92
Scanned directories: 58
Scanned files: 75
Skipped non-executable files: 1141
Infected files: 0

Data scanned: 426.08 MB
Time: 151.739 sec (2 m 31 s)
———————————————————

Wow, I feel like a complete tool for posting three times in a row… but I just plugged the iPod back in one last time, and after clicking “Okay” on the “corrupted and unreadable” message… the iPod began to sync, and the songs are transferring back onto the player as I type! Ugh, I hope this is the end of this ridiculous situation. Thank you ALL for your help and suggestions. I’m rewarding each of you for the time and effort you put in! Thank you so much once again!

Right on!!! I love happy endings!

If the hard drive was clicking, it’s dying. If it’s still under warranty, apple should replace it.

Wow. It just happened again tonight, when I tried to sync my iPod again. I’m about to just call it quits and go for a newer iPod. Blah.