iPod Dead iPod Classic - 80GB - Any chance at saving it?

[Corey Grandy]

Hi. My sister got an iPod Classic two Christmases ago (2007; my parents had purchased in a few months prior in September). They were never offered AppleCare and did not think to ask, so fast-forward to this past November and out of the blue the iPod just stops working after a few new song were place on it. It won't charge, it won't turn on, nothing. It had done this once before and my sister had left it off overnight and it was fine by morning, so I have no experience with fixing such a problem. Anyway, it has since been replaced with a Touch, but it feels really wasteful that this iPod has been sitting in a closet for months and may just stay there.

Any help would be incredibly appreciated...
Thanks

 

[miles01110]

Can you boot it into diagnostic mode? Does it mount if you plug it in?

The hard drive might have died. If it did, it's not that difficult to replace. Of course you'd have to buy a new HD...

 

[Corey Grandy]

Nope, neither. Plugging it in to anything shows no difference, and there is no booting to begin with, let alone diagnostic mode.

I thought it may have been the HD, and if so, we've replaced them by now, so it may just be this iPod's time to enter some sort of electronic recycling program or what have you.

iPods are so fickle, or so I've found. I've had the same mini for 4 years and it still works (the battery is no champion, but it works) and a 60GB video for about 3, and it also still works really (however, it won't fully shut now, what with the many times I've had it open to fix broken hold switches, etc. and neither has ever showed a sign of dying. I guess this was just an unlucky line of iPods to begin with (this would have been her 4th replacement, her first three refused to get past the "select language" screen, as the click wheel did not work, and we would have replaced this one as well, but it was not under warranty, too bad).

Thanks though,
Corey.