Nano gets stuck in connection mode, or original firmware loads improperly.

[Sims2789]

Model: iPod nano 4GB, first generation

Rockbox was working for a while, even though occasionally it'd boot into the default firmware instead. Now neither work.

I've tried to connect to my iPod on my Ubuntu Linux computer, my friend's Windows computer, and a Mac at the Apple store. The Linux computer recognizes that there is a device named "Apple iPod Music Player" (I named my iPod "IPOD", which is what it would recognize it as before I had this problem). I cannot mount nor unmount Apple iPod Device, nor can I access it as like a flash drive

iTunes in Windows sees my iPod (and its color) but says that I need to reformat it to work on Windows. I do this and after that iTunes doesn't recognize it unless I plug it back in. I cannot add or remove files neither within iTunes nor Windows Explorer.

I have tried many hard and soft resets and have let the battery run down before trying to connect with iTunes or Linux but none of this has worked. The Apple store did not know what the problem was, and offered me a 10% discount on a new iPod.

When I try a Menu + Select reset I go back to the "Use iTunes to Restore" screen, and when I do a Play + Select reset I go to the Rockbox "Do not disconnect" screen. When this happens, the circle with a slash through it only flashes once, and the iPod reboots into the "Use iTunes to Restore" screen. When I press Plat + Select and the iPod is off I go to Rockbox's "Okay to disconnect" screen; when I plug it into Windows while in this screen it switches to the "Do not disconnect" screen.

I'm guessing that Windows fails to restore my iPod and doesn't change it to a Windows-formatted iPod either. Also, I believe Linux and Windows detect it as a drive but one without any media. Windows detects it as "Removable Disk" but says it has 0 bytes on it.

What I get when I turn my nano on:

[safetydan]

Rockbox has nothing to do with the "Do not disconnect" or "Okay to disconnect" screens. It sounds like you have something fundamentally wrong with your iPod, unrelated to Rockbox. Have you actually tried using iTunes to restore it?

[Sims2789]

Rockbox has nothing to do with the "Do not disconnect" or "Okay to disconnect" screens. It sounds like you have something fundamentally wrong with your iPod, unrelated to Rockbox. Have you actually tried using iTunes to restore it?

Yes. I've used iTunes on Mac and Windows. I'm betting it isn't Rockbox either, but it loads into Rockbox's disk mode when it displays those connection screens (the native firmware's are more colorful).

[safetydan]

Rockbox doesn't have a disk mode on iPods. The screens you're talking about are the iPod firmware emergency disk modes. There's likely something broken at the hardware level on your iPod if the iTunes restore proecss isn't working.

[Sims2789]

Rockbox doesn't have a disk mode on iPods. The screens you're talking about are the iPod firmware emergency disk modes. There's likely something broken at the hardware level on your iPod if the iTunes restore proecss isn't working.

I see. Is the screen you get when you plug your iPod into your computer part of the disk mode? That is the screen I'm talking about, the one with the circle/slash that flashes once then goes away. That screen changed when I installed Rockbox (it's greyscale now).

[saratoga]

Rockbox doesn't have a disk mode on iPods. The screens you're talking about are the iPod firmware emergency disk modes. There's likely something broken at the hardware level on your iPod if the iTunes restore proecss isn't working.

I see. Is the screen you get when you plug your iPod into your computer part of the disk mode? That is the screen I'm talking about, the one with the circle/slash that flashes once then goes away. That screen changed when I installed Rockbox (it's greyscale now).

I don't think it changes when you install rockbox.  You're probably just using the other disk mode in Apple's firmware (theres two of them).  

And if restoring in iTunes doesn't work, your player is broken and needs to be replaced most likely.

[Sims2789]

Rockbox doesn't have a disk mode on iPods. The screens you're talking about are the iPod firmware emergency disk modes. There's likely something broken at the hardware level on your iPod if the iTunes restore proecss isn't working.

I see. Is the screen you get when you plug your iPod into your computer part of the disk mode? That is the screen I'm talking about, the one with the circle/slash that flashes once then goes away. That screen changed when I installed Rockbox (it's greyscale now).

I don't think it changes when you install rockbox.  You're probably just using the other disk mode in Apple's firmware (theres two of them).  

And if restoring in iTunes doesn't work, your player is broken and needs to be replaced most likely.

I had a similar problem in the summer (pre-Rockbox), but restoring it at the Apple Store worked. Before it didn't work, I told Windows to restore it and it deleted all my songs (like it's supposed to) but did not restore the firmware. It would no longer load. I don't remember the exact details, but I don't think it was stuck in the "Do not disconnect" screen, and I never got the "Use iTunes to Restore" error message like I get now.

[GodEater]

Also, I believe Linux and Windows detect it as a drive but one without any media. Windows detects it as "Removable Disk" but says it has 0 bytes on it.

Are you saying that under linux, when you plug it in, dmesg reports not finding the partition table?

[Sims2789]

Here's what I got:

,SUGGEST_OK
[  208.672000] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : Medium Error [current]
[  208.672000] Info fld=0x0
[  208.672000] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: Unrecovered read error
[  208.672000] end_request: I/O error, dev sdb, sector 0
[  208.672000] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_SENSE
,SUGGEST_OK
[  208.672000] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Sense Key : Medium Error [current]
[  208.672000] Info fld=0x0
[  208.672000] sd 2:0:0:0: [sdb] Add. Sense: Unrecovered read error
[  208.672000] end_request: I/O error, dev sdb, sector 7

[GodEater]

That could be one of two things.

Cheapest to fix, and the one to hope for is a dodgy connection between your iPod and your computer. Make sure you're plugging directly into the PC, not into a hub. If that doesn't help - get a new USB cable.

If that still fails though then it looks to me like your Nano is actually dying