iPod Updater 2005-02-22 (#3): iPods don't turn on, generic icons; more

Following Wednesday's release of iPod Updater 2005-02-22, we received a number of reports of iPods that would no longer turn on, or wouldn't "disconnect," after applying the update; we covered these early reports yesterday. Since then we've received a number of confirmations of this issue. In some cases, a simple reset of the iPod has been enough to resolve the problem; in others, the user has been unable to revive their player.

Resetting iPod fixes problems In a good number of cases, readers report that resetting their iPod -- using the instructions found in Knowledge Base article #61705 -- has allowed their iPod to start up normally. Alan Somers writes:

"I had similar problems...The update started, the iPod screen went blank, and then nothing. I pressed and held the play and menu buttons to reset the iPod...and it completed the update (copied the software to disk or flash or wherever, with an accompanying progress bar, and then reset again to normal operation)."

Bill Teawell reports a similar experience:

"I have a 3rd generation 10GB dockable iPod. I plugged mine into the FireWire port and downloaded the new software update. (I did an update, not restore.) The installer displayed a message that the iPod must now restart. It shut down, the Apple logo appeared and a display bar crept across the screen, but the menu screen never appeared. then the 'do not disconnect' screen appeared. I waited about 10 minutes then manually [reset] the iPod (holding down both start and menu buttons). It shut down but I received the message that the drive was disconnected improperly and that it might have been damaged. I then pressed the start menu and it started right up. I checked a few songs (didn't listen to all) and they seemed alright."

iPod still dead Unfortunately, a few readers have reported that since updating their iPods they've been unable to resuscitate the players. Reader Ed Cruwys writes:

"Yep, exactly as outlined on your website. Applied the 2005.02.22 patch with my 2G 15GB iPod in its dock. Ran the updater and was told to eject the iPod to allow the process to complete but my iPod just completely failed and now appears dead. Rebooted my Mac in the vain hope it might mount on restart...still no dice."

Similarly, David Cauthron reports, "After the software update, my second generation 20GB iPod is dead. When I hard reset it (pause/select/menu) the drive 'clicks' as if it is trying to spin up, but alas it does not. Nothing on the screen, nada. I have popped the cover and unplugged and replugged the battery and that didn't help as well. So all that's left is to wait and hope it 'heals' after 20 hours." (David is referring to the fact that some users who could not get their iPods to start up after installing past updates found that leaving the player for a day or so and then turning it on fixed the problem.)

Generic iPod icons We've received several reports that after applying the update, users' iPods no longer have custom iPod icons in the Finder. James Ward, for example, writes: "It's not a massive big deal, but since applying the latest iPod update, my iPod now mounts with an ordinary disk image icon -- no longer looks like my lovely iPod."

Shuffle mounting problems A few readers have also noted that since applying the update to their iPod shuffles, it takes a couple tries to get the shuffle to mount. Jean-Pierre Callut reports:

"I've just updated all of my 4 iPods (one by one, as required). With the iPod shuffle, something strange happened: after the update completed -- apparently successfully -- the iPod shuffle did not appear in iTunes. Only the iPod shuffle playlist was there (because I had chosen that option), but not the grey dot that is normally next to it [when it is mounted]. Neither did any iPod icon appear in the bottom right corner in iTunes. I was about to restore the software but after mounting and unmounting the iPod shuffle, turning it on and off and launching and quitting iTunes several times, iTunes finally started the update sequence -- whereas that sequence launches automatically on the other iPods as can be seen from the progress bar on their display -- and things came back to normal."

For what it's worth, at least one MacFixIt staff member with an iPod shuffle has found that he often needs to connect and disconnect the shuffle several times before it is recognized by iTunes.

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