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iPod iPod has gone bad...need advice please

A

AnewMac

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 10, 2004
154
0
The Northern Plains of OK!
I recieved a 20 gb iPod for Christmas as a gift. I love(d) it. I treated it better than my wife in some instances. It has never been dropped, tossed, or bang about. The past 2 days it has been acting strangely. I get the folder with an exclamation mark, so I try to run an iPod updater to restore it. It goes through the restore process but half way through it says "iPod disk does not have the correct structure." :eek:

I tried running disk utility but it seems to freeze also. I listen to my iPod harddrive and I can hear it whir to life only to stop suddenly. Am I doomed with a broken iPod? I did a search and I couldn't figure out what to do if the restore or restart doesn't work. If you have any ideas let me know. I'll check back in the morning. I wasted too much evening messing with the thing. Thanks a bunch...
 
Ok, I lied about Disk Utility (it must take a long time for it to run). It just popped up. I tried repairing the disk but I recieved:

"Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)"

Does this spell doom? :confused:
 
No, you should be OK. Use Disk Utility to completely format the iPod, THEN run the iPod updater on it. I've experienced the error you describe, and that fixed the problem.

Of course, if you have files on the iPod that you don't have backed up, that won't help much...
 
AnewMac said:
How long does the warranty last? I thought it was only 3 months?
Click to expand...

its a one year warranty, three months phone support, thats standard from what i recall
 
zach said:
No, you should be OK. Use Disk Utility to completely format the iPod, THEN run the iPod updater on it. I've experienced the error you describe, and that fixed the problem.

Of course, if you have files on the iPod that you don't have backed up, that won't help much...
Click to expand...

Running anything in Disk Utility results in the same error. I guess it will be a phone call to Apple. :mad: I didn't realize iPods are so fragile.
 
AnewMac said:
Running anything in Disk Utility results in the same error. I guess it will be a phone call to Apple. :mad: I didn't realize iPods are so fragile.
Click to expand...

you can request repairs on their website as well, its simple and easy too
just go to apple.com/support, and on the right hand of the screen there is request repair, the dispatch a box for you to send your ipod to them in and send it back to you
 
That's really interesting, checking/repairing in disk utility has given me that error on two separate occasions, but both were able to be formatted, and both were fixed by a format.

Definitely call Apple, that's really weird.
 
It's a little hard disk in the iPod. They do fail no matter how gentle you are with them, cause they're spinning wickedly fast for hours and hours.
 
MontyZ said:
It's a little hard disk in the iPod. They do fail no matter how gentle you are with them, cause they're spinning wickedly fast for hours and hours.
Click to expand...

they actually spin up very little, because they load the songs into the memory, but they do spin, and they are mechanical, and things do go wrong
 
PlaceofDis said:
they actually spin up very little, because they load the songs into the memory, but they do spin, and they are mechanical, and things do go wrong
Click to expand...

I can hear it spinning, it revs up and then makes a small click noise and then dies back down. From what I have read elsewhere a click is a bad noise :eek: . I am going to check into Apple Support and keep everyone posted. Thanks for the help.
 
AnewMac said:
I can hear it spinning, it revs up and then makes a small click noise and then dies back down. From what I have read elsewhere a click is a bad noise :eek: . I am going to check into Apple Support and keep everyone posted. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

definitely sounds like a harddrive problem, if you can hear it spin, thats not unusual, but the click is not a good sign at all. good luck and i hope you get it fixed/replaced
 
PlaceofDis said:
you can request repairs on their website as well, its simple and easy too
just go to apple.com/support, and on the right hand of the screen there is request repair, the dispatch a box for you to send your ipod to them in and send it back to you
Click to expand...

I didn't see where it says request repair. I am probably overlooking it. Is it under the Services and Upgrades heading?
 
I got the exclamation folder and then wasn't able to mount the iPod at all... Apple sent me the most awesome packaging ever to ship it to them and a few days later I got a brand new iPod in the mail... possibly the best customer service ever...

Daniel
 
BurtonCCC said:
I got the exclamation folder and then wasn't able to mount the iPod at all... Apple sent me the most awesome packaging ever to ship it to them and a few days later I got a brand new iPod in the mail... possibly the best customer service ever...

Daniel
Click to expand...

That is good to hear. Mine was engraved, and I have read in other threads that engraved ones take 2 to 3 weeks to be repaired. Am I correct with this?
 
AnewMac said:
That is good to hear. Mine was engraved, and I have read in other threads that engraved ones take 2 to 3 weeks to be repaired. Am I correct with this?
Click to expand...


In the past when I've had iPod problems, I've just bought it in to the ARS and they've replaced it for me. If it needs to be engraved, I'd assume that takes a little bit longer. 2 to 3 weeks sounds like a little bit much though.
 
newwavedave said:
In the past when I've had iPod problems, I've just bought it in to the ARS and they've replaced it for me. If it needs to be engraved, I'd assume that takes a little bit longer. 2 to 3 weeks sounds like a little bit much though.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't mind having a "non-engraved" iPod. However I wonder what kind of trouble I would stir up if I asked for my iPod to be fixed but send it "non-engraved." My intuition says, better not ask.
 
Filled out the request for repair form. Anyone know how long it takes to get the package here? I had to pay 32 bucks for shipping. I am already going trough iPod withdraws... :(
 
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