Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPod 3G 40 GB Classic Bricked after "Enable Disc Use"

combatcolin

combatcolin

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 24, 2004
2,283
0
Northants, UK
Hi all,

Mu trusty old 40GB 3G iPod has bricked itself after i "Enabled Disc Use" to transfer a large game file from a friend.

Battery still charges, it is however 5 years old but runs as well as can be expected.

HDD spins up, spins for 5-10 seconds and then stops, iPod then resets at this point.

Continues like this until the battery dies.

If connected via FW nothing happens on my PC, if connected via USB it detects "Something" but doesn't know what it is but does know that its not working properly.

The last time it worked OK Windows wanted to do disc scan on my iPod, but i skipped it - mistake.

Normally i have Disc Use turned off, and am wishing i just downloaded the bloody file in the 1st place.

Thanks for reading.
 
i used to have a 40gb photo and it started not to turn on, i listened to it and it sounded like it was starting to spin then stopping and then starting to spin and then stopping. It would do this for a while then just stop altogether.
What I did was 'whack' it on the back when it was trying to start to spin to try and getting it spinning continuously. This worked for a while, and I did it every time time it wouldn't turn on. I had to do this increasingly often until it eventually wouldn't turn on at all. The hard drive is basically dying.
I'm not a professional on this but I'm just giving a story of my experiences, and if it is all but gone anyway its a sort of last ditch attempt to revive it.
 
Try restoring the firmware. And then enable disk use (if you dare:D)
 
PC won't recognise it via Firewire

USB fares a little better, Windows know something is connected, knows that it isn't working but can't tell what it is.

Wondering if trying via a Mac might help?
 
Disappointed with OSX

Was hoping it would have more of a chance than Win 7 at fixing my iPod but it couldn't even recognise at all.
 
combatcolin said:
Is there a stand alone apple ipod firmware updater anywhere?

iTunes can't see it so can't attempt to fix it.
Click to expand...

Yes. Back in the day, Apple used MusicMatch Jukebox to sync iPod with Windows. Apple also had a stand alone updater.

If you're looking to repair the iPod, the HDD being bad won't stop itunes from recognizing iPod. It's likely something else, such as the connector or motherboard.
 
Bumping my thread.

Found a site that sells new HDD for £35, quite cheap.

Anyone else ever needed to replace their HDD?

Sending it in for repair is way too expensive, anyone else replaced there HDD on there classic?
 
combatcolin said:
...anyone else replaced there HDD on there classic?
Click to expand...


Yep. Use the right plastic tools to get the case open without damaging it. Once it's open, the rest is a doddle. Might be worth replacing the battery as well while you're about it as they're only about a tenner.
 
I had an iPod that wouldn't get recognized by iTunes, nor appear in the finder. When I opened Disk First Aid in OSX, the device was listed. I ran a repair in Disk First Aid, then the iPod appeared in iTunes and I was able to run a restore. That was a couple years ago and it has run trouble-free ever since.
 
Win 7 nor OS X (albeit an old version - 10.3.9 i think) could do much with it.

Swile FW charges, it cannot connect on either OS, Win 7 can pick up "something" via USB - but can't really get further than that.

HDD makes quite a loud "click" when it resets - you can feel the vibration in your hand.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back