iPod: falls asleep after exactly 2 minutes; problems with bookmarkable .m4a files

Falls asleep after exactly 2 minutes MacFixIt reader Luc Beaudoin reports an issue where his iPod falls asleep after playing exactly 2 minutes of music -- an issue for which we are seeking confirmation:

"I bought a new 15-GB iPod on 30 June 2003. It would often go to sleep while playing the first song I play after about 2 minutes of playing. I could work around the issue by just pressing play again. There were some other glitches with the iPod so I sent the whole thing back in about Sept 2003.

"The new model didn't have the other glitches, but to my surprise it continued to have this problem where it sometimes goes to sleep after exactly 2 minutes (with this iPod, it's always exactly 2 min on the dot if/when it goes to sleep). I have still not managed to pin point exactly when it decides to do this. E.g., sometimes it's the first time I turn it on and play, other times I play a few songs, stop [not pause] it (without turning off) and play a different song. Sometimes it goes to sleep, sometimes it doesn't. But several times a week I get this problem. I could have shipped the replacement iPod back but I decided it wasn't worth the hassle."

Problems with bookmarkable .m4a files Meanwhile, reader Kenny Cason reports a problem where bookmarkable .m4a files -- generally used for audiobooks -- cause iPods to freeze.

"I'm having this problem with *.m4a files I made bookmarkable with the "Make Bookmarkable" script by Doug Adams (http://www.malcomadams.com/itunes). These files were converted to aac from CDs using iTunes on a Mac."

Another user on Apple's Discussion boards reports a similar issue:

"I have a new 4G 40GB iPod and it keeps hanging when it goes to sleep after playing an m4b audiobook. I've tried everything: I've used m4a, m4b and m4p extensions; I used the 'Make Bookmarkable' script, of course; I've re-encoded my audiobooks to 16, 32 and 64 kbps (mono).

"This only happens with audiobooks, when I listen to them and then put the iPod to sleep, after a while (maybe 30 to 60 minutes) the screen is blank and the iPod won't respond forcing me to reset it."

Having a similar problem? Please let us know.

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