Formatting iPod mini
|
New member Username: MartahDeptford, New jersey USA Post Number: 1 Registered: Jun-05 | How long does it usually take to format a mini iPod? I have been formatting mine for at least an hour now.. I had problems with my iPod. My computer was recognizing it but wasn't installing it correctly. When I opened iTunes and plugged it in.. it just said "do not disconnect" and stayed like that. It didn't update my iPod or anything.. So I sent it back to Apple and they "fixed it" and sent it back. I'm installing my iPod but how long does it take to format? Does it usually take a long time for everyone? And did you ever have my problem of it not being recognized in iTunes? |
|
Unregistered guest | i have the same problem. i installed a 2.0 usb today figuring that was the problem but i have had 3 failed formatting attempts, each taking about 20 min. Any idea on the problem? |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 3200 Registered: Dec-03 | check this out. It should address some of the problems you are encountering. and it should not take long to format. http://www.apple.com/support/ipod/ |
|
Unregistered guest | i had mine formatting my ipod overnight and it still wasn't done why????? |
|
Charlie1969 Unregistered guest | It turns out the usb 2.0 i installed was not compatable with ipods...REDICULOUS. i have since tried two other 2.0's to no avail...i did have success formatting the thing from "my computer" with a right click on the ipod driver and transferred songs using my standard 1.1 usb. it just takes longer but the damn thing finally works. |
|
New member Username: Arrowspace90Highland Village, TX United States Post Number: 5 Registered: May-04 | I just plugged in new mini for the first time after installing a USB Hi Speed 2.0 card in my computer. Card installed fine. Installed ipod software, then plugged in mini ipod. It said formatting....and has been formatting for about hour and a half. Is this normal? How long does it take? Is this a sign of a problem? This mini is brand new, never been plugged in before. |
|
Unregistered guest | My computer refuses to recognise my ipod mini. The software CD cannot be read by my PC new hardware installer. Any ideas? |
|
Anonymous | hey i accidentaly deleted the file the ipod mini came with now it wont even let me turn on my ipod can some one help me out like send me the file or have an ideas. thnx |
|
Joe_the_man Unregistered guest | I plopped in the CD into my Windows XP (without Service Pack 2, aka the bringer of internet error screens from hell), began the process, and hit the formatting screen... 3 hours ago. I have since then, "disconnected and reconnected" my ipod mini 4g. I dont have firewire here so i cant solve it that way.. and apple's support site offers nothing in terms of answering "formatting problems" but instead anything else. I havnt even gotten to installing software on my computer yet... I dont even know if the damn this has any battery charge... I will try to "continue without connecting the iPod" |
|
Anonymous | I bought an Ipod from a friend of mine and he's now in Japan. The 40B pod has 7500 songs I don't want to lose, but my computer doesn't recognize it. It asks me to format it. If I do, I lose all the data (7500 songs). Is there a way to put the songs into my computer without reformating it, or reformating it without losing the data? |
|
Rosemarie Unregistered guest | Noticed a lot of people had this problem but no answer on this thread so I thought maybe I could help some of you. I too had the eternal formating issue with my ipod mini 4G on a Windows XP machine. I spoke directly with Apple and the solution that worked for me was: One of my mass storage devise drives was marked "E". Apparently the ipod associates "E" drive with a network drive and as mentioned in the article at this link http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93499 creates "strange behavior". Although eternal formatting isn't mentioned in this article all the service rep at Apple had me do was rename the mass storage devise to "I" and it fixed the problem. After canceling the ipod install and restarting the install wizard the ipod showed it was already formatted so the format occurs but doens't move to the next step and the status bar just keeps going. Hope this solution helps at least some of you. |
|
Spacebaboon Unregistered guest | thanks Rosemarie  That fixed the problem I was having too, with formatting seeming to go on endlessly. change the drive name to I, and it's picked up straight away. Strange that such a popular product has such a badly written installer, maybe Apple are trying to discourage people using Windows! |
|
baxtefer Unregistered guest | I just had the same experience. Formatting was going on forever, so i just cancelled the installer, hooked the ipod up to another USB port and re-ran the installer. This time it said that it didn't need formatting. Stupid Apple. |
|
bj94869856 Unregistered guest | the program says my ipod mini has beeen formatted but my ipod still says do not disconnect..what the hell is going on!!!!!!! |
|
Marshmello Unregistered guest | im having the same problm with the endless formatting.... but how do you swith the mass storage thing from E to I? |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 3462 Registered: Dec-03 | go to "my computer". right click on the drive that is designated for your iPod. from there click rename. |
|
skuta Unregistered guest | i have been trying for a whole day to format but would not do it so i changed my cd drive to I and it still didnt do it. i have 2 USB ports and tried both, still didn't work. so i changed the name of 1 USB drive from G to D and bingo it finally worked. |
|
Anonymous | Hey, i have an ipod mini and it suddenly froze, i tried holding the menu and select button, i tried holding the menu and play button and when i plug my ipod into my computer my computer wont recognize it and my ipod still wont respond to anything...WHATS GOING ON? |
|
Unregistered guest | please help me. i have a weird situation with my 4GB mini ipod. when i hook it up to the computer it dosent read that its hooked up. i have a mac and it USED to show that i had an ipod and it would show up on the desktop. now it dosent. also it used to have a lightning bolt showing that it was charging. but now it dosent have the bolt...yet it still getc charged even though the computer says i have no ipod attached. i recently got lots of new songs and want to upload them to my ipod but itunes dosent realize its hooked up PLEASE HELP ME! i can turn the ipod on and off when its attached which is really weird. it dosent have the "do not disconnect " or anything! |
|
abcd1234 Unregistered guest | ok i tried renaming it but it still asks me to format the drive. ive been told that you run the ipod on another computer install the drivers and stuff for it and it will work i havent tried it yet but for any of you that want to go ahead and post back with teh results |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 3868 Registered: Dec-03 | do not let your ipod dock on to another computer or you will have even more trouble trying to update it with your own pc. |
|
Unregistered guest | I formatted my iPod mini on a windows computer but now I have a MAC and I can't do anything unless I format my iPod to a MAC. Is there any way I can do the switch over without losing all my songs? Please e-mail me to let me know! THANKS SO MUCH! |
|
Gold Member Username: IlluminatorUSA Post Number: 1607 Registered: Apr-05 | You've lost your songs. Just accept it. It's Macintosh. |
|
Gold Member Username: IlluminatorUSA Post Number: 1608 Registered: Apr-05 | Oops, I do believe there are programs out that allow you to transfer your files back onto your computer, however I am not familiar with them. |
|
bryson Unregistered guest | got a new 20gb ipod, experiencing same issues, forever formatting, but, my I have 2 HDD one named E dirve, and a card reader, from G to J (4 mass drives in effect) how can i get my XP machine to see the ipod? Help!!! |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4007 Registered: Dec-03 | Christine, Back up all your songs to a cd or dvd and from there you can actually just transfer all the files in the cd or dvd to your mac. Unless you destroyed the old computer or just plain got rid of it without transferring any files (that is just plain nonsense) then you have nothing. And you can't pull anything out of nothing. |
|
christophski14 Unregistered guest | i cant change the name of my drives and have no idea how |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4024 Registered: Dec-03 | you're kidding right? right click on the drive |
|
christophski14 Unregistered guest | it aint showin up after i plug my ipod in, it only allows me to change the letter of my cd rom, and that aint doin nuthin to help the problem |
|
christophski14 Unregistered guest | it also doesnt show it as a disc, only shows up in device manager |
|
Anonymous | In response the questions regarding the initial formatting of your iPod. I found that the iPod was assigned a drive letter that was already in use. I reassigned the drive letter and restarted the format...it took about 2 min to complete. |
|
Anonymous | Hi guys! i use a firewire cable at home to update my songs library in my 4GB mini. to charge it at work or at any of my friends PC's, I use a USB 2.0 cable without problems, how is this related to your questions? at the bottom right corner where the clock is, there will be icons of programs and one of them should be a GREEN ARROW pointing downward-left, just right click that and click on SAFELY REMOVE HARDWARE to stop the music device detected as an external HDD (hard drive) drive. After that, just manualy disconnect the cable (either USB or firewire) from your iPod adn reconnect it. MAKE SURE ITUNES IS RUNNING. it should be detected already. If not, press and hold the MENU and PLAY/PAUSE button for about 5secs until the Apple logo appears to disable it from USE AS HDD mode connected or not. hope this helps! enjoy! |
|
stu dinnie Unregistered guest | hey peeps, bernie you seem to know wot ur talkin about. ive bought a 20g ipod from my mate. he has 3500 songs on it. he told me if i install itunes and connect, the songs will be automatically wiped. how can i get round this without the use of external backup(hd/cds)?? |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4080 Registered: Dec-03 | stu, First do no connect your iPod to your PC if the songs are pre-loaded. Configure the iTunes program on your PC first before doing anything. When you configure the preferences tab, select "update manually". This will keep the songs on your iPod from being erased and replaced. However, a word of caution, it is not a very good idea to get a second hand iPod. Some PCs with the iTunes program seem to be having trouble recognizing iPods that are not fresh from the manufacturer. |
|
Anonymous | I have an iMac G5, I used my iPod Mini 4GB there first, works perfectly, not I take it to my XP Laptop, installed all the software, the iPod is recognized, but I am being asked to Format the drive. It there a way to use the iPod between Mac OSx and XP? |
|
Unregistered guest | I have an IPOD mini and iTunes (God bless it) says that it is full - guess what - yes it isn't full it only has a few songs on it. I am happy to reformat or do anything - ideas. Also how do you install contacts etc? |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4099 Registered: Dec-03 | Anonymous, You cannot flip flop between different operating systems. CosmicGorilla, Check your instruction manual about contacts and how to reset. If the iPod is still under warranty call tech support. |
|
Morena Brooke Unregistered guest | Hey, I'm having formatting problems with my 20GB iPod. It was formatted on my pc then re-formatted on a mac so I could get my friends songs. Now my PC computer can't reformat it because it sees it as a mac, and eventually the updater/reformatting program freezes. My computer recognizes it as a removable disk but my itunes doesn't even see it. I've tried changing the drive to a different letter and nothing happened. I downloaded the trial version of XPlay but when i plug my iPod in, it won't run. I read something about updating or reformatting on the mac you reformatted the iPod on...does that do anything? HAve any other great ideas? |
|
Anjali Unregistered guest | Well yesterday I just got an Ipod Mini so today I decided to install and register it onto my computer. While I was doing this it told me to re-start my computer for it to format. So I did that and then a black screen came up instead and had all these symbols I didn't understand. There was no way of getting out it so I unplugged the USB out of my computer and iPod, took out the disc and manually shut my computer. The iPod got registered onto my computer but the songs from my limewire were not automatically copied onto my iTunes like it said it would be and I have noo clue how to transfer any songs onto my iPod. Nothing is working. If anyone has had this problem or can help me in anyway it would be greatly appreciated. |
|
NoelB Unregistered guest | Can anyone one help me please- I was given a 3 month old ipod mini(4gb) by a friend and want to retain the 900 tracks on it. I installed i-tunes on an xp laptop, enetered SN and registered my details in i-tunes and then connected the ipod via USB2. i-tunes wont see it and explorer only sees a USB device and says it needs to be formatted to run with this computer and I will loose all data. I-tunes update also says the same -it needs to be formatted. Looks like there is now no way out but to reformat and loose the tracks on the ipod and go out and rebuy some from itunes and reload for many hours from CD's? Surely Ipods arent married to only one pc for life? People out there must be plugging their ipod in to other pc's and loading more tracks on to it! Can anyone help - I have tried many of the suggestions mentioned here - I cant rename the ipod drive without reformating according to explorer. I have downloaded ephPod which would allow me to offload all the tracks from the ipod to the pc -but that relies on explorer seeing it. Stuck -no way out unless you know better. Please help. Cheers. Noel |
|
Morena Brooke Unregistered guest | wow, it looks like everyone is having the same problems without any answers. lol But anyways Noel, i hear that you can download all your songs to a program called pod util from ilounge.com without having them be erased. I'm not sure if it would work or not in your situation but you might give it a try before reformatting it. |
|
Anonymous | how do i change the name of my ipod mini..it says "Mac Dre's Ipod" because i let my stupid brother set up my ipod, but i want it to say my name now?? please help. |
|
Kritta Unregistered guest | Hello, i just bought an ipod mini from someone second hand and her name still shows up on it, i tried renaming the file but it will not let me. does anyone know how i can change the name without losing the songs i put on it? |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 4112 Registered: Dec-03 | Where did the songs come from? Are they from the previous owner? You have to use the original computer that the iPod has docked to change the name. or you can configure your PC to accept mulitple iPods. Go to apple.com for details on how this is done. |
|
Unregistered guest | my ipod has a corrupt OS..how can i send the ipod firmware to it when my computer wont recognize it? |
|
kitchen_ninja Unregistered guest | ace_of_cards: i'm having the same problem and am thinking of reformating the ipod. |
|
Unregistered guest | I have just bought a new 20 gb ipod and it is taking AGES to format! the computer has said it has found new hardware when i plugged it in, and the installation window thingy constatly says waiting for ipod. I've tried renaming the drive but it just says that it needs to be formatted first. What can I do, I just want to put some songs on it! |
|
New member Username: AlexlanalexPuyallup, Wa North america Post Number: 1 Registered: Oct-05 | Hi.., I just Bought an Ipod mini 4GB and i was wondering how long its supposed to take to charge...?? thx |
|
kramersoldier Unregistered guest | i plug in my ipod, and itunes recognizes it with no problem, but it only stays in my computer as e: drive for about 10 seconds before it dissapears, yet can still communicate with itunes. i cant put any notes on it and have no clue how to find it. i have about 10 sconds to do anything with the actual drive. it works fine, just that it is a bit of a hassle to un plug and plug in everytime i want to put some notes on it does anyone have any ideas about whats wrong? |
|
Unregistered guest | Hi I've just updated itunes and ipod to the latest version , itunes is fine , ipod is far from fine this is the sequence of events : updated itunes , restarted comp updated ipod ,restarted comp tried to update songs on ipod via itunes ,got the exclamation mark and folder icon , resetting didn't work had to restore instead (now lost over 50 songs purchased on another comp), now get the menu with a totally cleaned out ipod ,blank sheet nothing ,nada , plug back into comp to update songs ,a box appears saying i have register my ipod ,so i do as i'm told like a good customer , after when i drag my library into my ipod a windows fatal error box appears saying it is unable to write to or read from disk , this has happened several times , i've reinstalled itunes and the ipod software update more than once following the correct procedure ,it's just over a year old and has worked perfectly always until this update , does anyone have a similar prob or even a solution thanks just tried to restore it and a message comes up in an apple box saying " firmware update failure . disk write eror" even though it acknowledges that it's software is up to date does no-one seriously have a clue what could be the problem ? if so could anyone point me in the right direction where i can get help ? or is an ipod disposable after one year , throw away and get another one? Windows XP Pro I've noticed that the format on my ipod is FAT32 and on my comp operating system it's NTFS ,could this be the problem ? if so how do i change my ipod to NTFS? tried to do a chkdsk on it and it couldn't complete because of the file system ,said it could send me to the update software that could correct that , so went to the same apple box that only gives the option of restoring it then says "firmware update failure ...disk write error" Windows XP |
|
hjismkls;aokdjaidnkoaxmxc Unregistered guest | i just bought an iPod mini. It wouldn't format, so I went to my computer and formatted it. Now, nothing shows up when I turn it on, and the thing is completely blank. What should i do? |
|
Ree Unregistered guest | omg! i have had my iPod mini since july. I had to reinstall Windows XP b/c i got a virus on my computer..now i tried to reinstall my ipod. I reinstalled it but i keep getting the message "firmware update failure. disk write error" whenever i try to format my iPod so i can actually use it. Also, it wont let me click on Update only Restore. PLEASE help me i cant live w/o my ipod!! |
|
Ree Unregistered guest | omg@ andyrew..thats my exact problem..now could some nice person help us? tx |
|
The Neil Unregistered guest | yea, i got an ipod second hand and my computer didnt regonise it so i wanted 2 get rid of the files on it so i formatted it and now it only comes up with the folder and the exclamation box and my computer still wont read it evn tho i downloaded ipod updater and itunes and all. WTF do i do!! |
|
jbgerster Unregistered guest | "firmware update failure. disk write error" I have the same thing going on. I updated the firmware and itunes? Any help??? |
|
gmp2535 Unregistered guest | hi apple sent me a new ipod mini(4GB) because my old ipod mini broke but now i can't get my computer (it runs on windows xp) to configure my ipod and i have tried to configure it on another computer but it didn't help please help |
|
Unregistered guest | MERRY CHRISTMAS. To everyone who is trying to format a new Ipod because it says to or i-tunes does not recognize or sees it, you probably have a DRIVE LETTER conflict. You're Ipod may be showing up as usb drive "E", when you already have a drive "E", such as a CD/DVD drive. You need to change the USB drive that you're using to a letter not already in use. Go into control panel/ administrative tools/ computer management and change the usb drive letter to something else. Reinstall the software ( you should reboot first), it should now say ipod does NOT need formatting. Finish the setup. It worked great for me. |
|
Unregistered guest | Same problem, bought second hand from Mac user with 100's of tunes on it. My pc will not recognise and says it needs formatting hence loose my music. How do i get the pc to recognise the ipod and not have to reformat. The pc reads my drive as I and this is not being used by anything else on the pc. Thanks |
|
Anonymous | http://www.error1607.com has some info on the 1607 error when trying to install the ipod software |
|
tris Unregistered guest | When plugging in my iPod to USB on XP... Explorer stalls for a good 20 seconds, and - not only does iTunes not recognise the Pod, and Explorer labels it Removable Disk - but the AutoPlay does not recognise the folders and elements of the hard-drive of the external HD, it just "AutoPlays" nothing and the pop-up window is blank. Does this sound like symptons of the issue being more the iPod's drive, rather than the PCs registration lining up? |
|
CarlaK Unregistered guest | Hi everybody, I have read all of the post in here, but I didn't see an answer to "anonymous" question. Basically I also need to know how to change the name on my ipod mini, I bought it used and I wanted to have my name now. Thanks for your help! |
|
Unregistered guest | I just got an ipod form a windows owner. I have a mac. How can I reformat my ipode mini to work on my mac? PLEASE HELP! |
|
Unregistered guest | I just got an ipod mini from a mac user. The problem is that i have a mac. How can I refomat my ipod so that my computer will recoginze the ipod insted of just saing do no disconnect when it is connected to the computer. PLEASE HELP! thanks |
|
Unregistered guest | I ment that he had a windows and I have a mac! sorry^ |
|
dingo22uk Unregistered guest | OH MY GOD...This has saved my bacon guys and gals. I offered to update the firmware on a pals ipod mini - Thought I was doing the right thing by formatting in windows...Nightmare. Got the folder icon and all looked bleak. After reading all your kind posts I managed to make it work again. Thanks again. |
|
cookie_dude Unregistered guest | I updated a firmware on my ipod mini 4g, now all I can see is a picture asking me to plug it into an external adapter. I did that, and the picture is still there. My computer will not recognise my ipod now. What should I do? I cannot do anything with my ipod now. Help. Thanks. |
|
peevedrightorf Unregistered guest | Just got my 20GB ipod, after waiting for 3hrs for it to format (via the setup.exe on the cd) i read this forum and disconnected safely via the toolbar - reconnected it and right clicked the removable disk (this is what the ipod shows up as on mine) which is my F: and clicked format - its nearly done after about 15 mins!!! - bloomin apple and thier pappy ipod software / system! grrr - and it failed GRRR! |
|
it's jay Unregistered guest | I have the same problem like tris up there with the "autoplay" feature and nothing recognising my iPod. Is there a solution or am I basically screwed?!? |
|
Unregistered guest | hI jus got an Ipod mini 4gb. wen i put songs on it it was playin with echoes so i formatted it using windows. My computer right clik and then format. So it did format and i got to put cople songs on it and they played well, but then wen i plugged the ipod bak in the pc just doest seen to read it via the usb port. i changed port and even another pc but it still diddnt read. could some one please help me |
|
Greg41 Unregistered guest | Hey all, thanks for the good info, I am having trouble with my ipods. I have 20GB and my wife has the mini, we are both sharing the same itunes. But obviously I have more space than she does. If I link hers to the computer with too many songs on the itunes then her mini goes crazy. How do I pick and choose what songs to upload to the mini without clearing all of my library songs? thanks |
|
New member Username: ThisisbrianzaPost Number: 1 Registered: Feb-06 | i have the same troubles. It appears on my ipod the folder/exclamation mark icon.. I tried to format it and restore to factory settings but my ipod has not been recognized by my pc. So it is impossible to format it. A few times I tried with the format by cd but it takes a long time and never end sayin "restoring your ipod". Now my ipod is still showing the folder icon and not been recognizing by pc.. someone can help me !??!?! PLEASE!!! THANKS |
|
Bio Unregistered guest | Having the same problem as Tris, it labels the Ipod as removeable Disk, and doesn't let me do anything with it. |
|
New member Username: KdbPost Number: 1 Registered: Feb-06 | I bought an ipod nano 1Gb today and i went to install the cd on my computer and it says i need Windows XP, I only have Windows ME, is there any way to get around this coz its pissing me off! Cheers |
|
Anonymous | Hi i bought a second hand iPod from someone and i dont know their username or password. How can i register the iPod for my computer? I do have the original packaging and the serial number. |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 6326 Registered: Dec-03 | Try a factory reset. Go to apple.com for details on how this is done. this will erase everything on the iPod. |
|
New member Username: Eddy1234Post Number: 5 Registered: Feb-06 | Is flip floping from XP to 2003 server very bad |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 6433 Registered: Dec-03 | You really can't flip flop because it will not work with 2003. The latest update, I believe is Windows 2000. |
|
New member Username: Eddy1234Post Number: 6 Registered: Feb-06 | 2000 i have it as well but is there any way of fixing my frozen ipod that still freezes after recharge |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 6435 Registered: Dec-03 | How are you recharging it? |
|
New member Username: Eddy1234Post Number: 8 Registered: Feb-06 | computer usb firewire high speed 2.0 |
|
Gold Member Username: Project6Post Number: 6438 Registered: Dec-03 | That is your first problem. Stop using the computer as a charging cradle. Make sure that your PC has all the iTunes updates. Make sure that you iTunes is managed manually and not automatic. You have to do any changes that you want when you want and do not leave the computer to change anything. |