iBleg

I've got a weird problem with our iPod. At the moment it ONLY works on our iBook or my old iMac at school. If I plug it into our spanking brand new iMac it shows but, if I try to put tunes on, it freezes the whole system so I have to turn the machine off. I've reinstalled the iPod software - reset to factory settings. I can do that fine, but get the same result. It's sort of inconvenient because the MUSIC is on the big machine. So now I've got to attach the iBook to the big machine. Move 10 gigs of songs onto the iBook. Then plug the iPod into the book. It so happens that the three machines have three different systems running: the iBook is 10.2.8; old iMac is running 10.3; new iMac is running 10.4. It's an old iPod. Three years old, I think. One of the click-wheel ones. Any clues why an old pod might not like 10.4? Or why it might like iTunes 3 but not iTunes 6?

Comments

[aidee]

Hi J&B, have you had a look at the Apple Support Discussion forums - for example:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=886504󘛨

A solution may be this:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651

or that:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61937

[Matt]

You might find this blog post of interest:
http://www.concurringopinions.com/archives/2006/02/the_ipod_busine.html

It discusses the claim that apple is building expensive junk they know will break down becuase they can get away with it due to their (undeserved, I think- "unknown type 2 error", anyone?) reputation for building quality stuff and a general bias for people to think shiney expensive things must be of high quality.

[Doctor Memory]

If it's only the one machine that it's failing to talk to, I'd suspect a problem with the usb or firewire interface on that Mac. Try a different cable for starters -- a cable that's borderline might do fine with a controller interface that's 100%, but freak the hell out with one that's not.

If that doesn't work... does Apple have a store in Singapore?

And I'm sorry, but the Hoffman post linked above is so much hand-waving speculation: a bunch of early ipod failures among him and his friends do not a statistically significant sample make, and certainly do not add up to a "a steep product failure curve at month 13." (Even dumber is inferring such a jump from the length of the warranty: that fails to pass even a giggle test.) Show your data or move on, please.

[ash]

Second Dr. Memory. A total-lock up like that means that either you have a bad/buggy driver, or there is something physically wrong with the machine.

If you're using firewire, switch to USB (different cable) and vice versa to test. If it works with no problems, it's the physical port.

ash
['Ja.']

[jholbo]

You're right. I should try some more systematic port switching/cable switching. I tried switching my firewire cables but they all look the same - I've got three of 'em with identical lengths - so maybe there's one bad, um, apple.