HowTo Fix an iPod that Wont Boot

Theres a conspiracy theory that Steve Jobs wants you to buy a new iPod every 12 months. That may or may not be the case, but if your iPod is hosed, it doesnt necessarily mean its time to put it out to pasture. Most iPods are user-fixable and you dont need to be a total geek to make it work.An iPod, no matter which version you have, is basically a self-contained, battery-operated, pocket-sized geputer. All the geponents that a regular laptop has are represented: display, battery, storage, RAM, and logic board. This is what makes the iPod something easily fixable: the pieces are just scaled-down versions of their PC analogues, and are put together in the same basic way. This means if you can isolate your iPods problem, you can fix it.There are a number of things that can go wrong with an iPod, but, like any other geputer, the majority of the ailments are hard-drive based, usually taking the form of a boot error: either a sad iPod face, constant Apple logo, or folder-with-exclamation-mark icon when its turned on. Fortunately, these problems are easier to fix than people realize, and weve gee up with a five-point plan for getting your little friend back on its feet. Some of our advice is straight from Apple, but some of it is a little more guerrilla. Take heed, though, as the farther into our plan you delve, the greater the chances youll kill your warranty or permanently damage your iPod. But, then, if youre desperate enough to go that far, chances are your warranty is up anyway, so what have you to lose, adventurer?Apples superb design of the iPod isnt just what you see on the outside, the inside is organized into easily recognizable parts that can be manipulated and removed with very few tools. Indeed, a very thin, flat-head screwdriver is all most repairs require. If youre fixing a Mini, you might also consider a hair dryer to melt the industrial adhesive that holds the tops on. For our illustrations, weve used a 5G iPod with video, but the steps for any disk-based iPod are more or less the same.Step 1: Doing things the Apple wayMost crashed iPods can be fixed by simply resetting the device. Because theyre geputers, iPods can crash. By initiating the iPod version of a reboot, you reload the iPods software, hopefully writing over the troublesome spots in memory.On the majority of iPods, holding the Menu and Select buttons (Select being the middle button of the Clickwheel) for 6 to 10 seconds will force the iPod to reboot, clearing the memory and bringing it back to life. The first couple generations of iPod have their own button sequences, but theyre just as easy to actuate.Apple regemends a few other steps if this doesnt remedy your problem, including plugging the iPod into a different port or geputer, restarting your PC or Mac, and reinstalling the iPod desktop software. If these actions dont restore your iPod to full functionality, then the problem lies deeper and more drastic steps are needed.