iPod Video charges but not recognised by PC.

[CikeMannon]

Hi guys.
I have an iPod Video (30gb) with iFlash Quad (2x 128 gb micro sd cards).
It was working fine until recently. Could load flac files etc.
Now when I attach the ipod to any computer, it is not recognised as a device on the 'My Computer' screen or by the device manager.
The charging icon on the ipod shows the device to be charging, so I'm assuming it is not a usb problem.
I have tried connecting using different cables and also to different laptops but the result has been the same - not recognised.
The ipod is playing fine and boots to apple and to rockbox fine, but I am not able to load any new music onto the device.
I have read similar type problems on older posts, but the ipods in question were not charging or not working.
I am thinking of opening the iPod and copying all the files from the sd cards to my computer, formatting the cards and then reinstalling Rockbox from scratch and reloading the files back onto the cards.
Is this my best (Only?) option?

Has anybody any other suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

[Chronon]

Any difference in behavior between Rockbox's USB mode and Apple's?

Basic troubleshooting method would be to validate the components separately.  Do the cables work with other iPods?  Do the USB ports work with other USB devices?  Etc.

[Frankenpod]

I vaguely remember, in years of tinkering with multiple ipods, encountering one that had that issue, but I have no recollection of ever fixing it!

But just because it charges doesn't necessarily mean the USB connection is working properly.  I would assume power uses one pathway, data another.  Are all the pins on the ipod's connector intact?  I suppose you could try cleaning them (very gently!)#

Edit - oh, the iflash adds another complication.  When you say 'not recognised' are you saying the computer decides it's an 'unknown' device or does it just not register that anything has been connected at all?

[CikeMannon]

Thanks for the replies folks.
I have tried multiple apple connector cables but no joy.
The PC does not register that there is a device attached either on the 'My Computer' screen or in device manager.
I play the ipod in my car (connected via the ipod connector into aux in the car) and it works fine.
Would the same pins in the connector be used for connecting to computer as well as the aux?
I can boot into both Rockbox and Apple mode (I don't have anything loaded in the Apple mode as I'm just using FLAC files), but it has not made any difference in being recognised by laptops.

[saratoga]

If it doesn't work in either firmware that is probably some kind of hardware problem.  AUX and charging do not use the same pins as USB. 

[CikeMannon]

I guess I will have to find some place that will do a replacement of the charging port. Thanks for all the help.

[crcjh]

I had similar problems when using the RockBox firmware on my iPOD Video. The USB connection was too unreliable for file transfer. Workaround was to use the dual boot facility in rockbox and boot the original Apple firmware. This would then result in a reliable USB connection and allow me to sync/transfer files with my PC. Once complete, reboot with the Rockbox firmware.

[saratoga]

This would then result in a reliable USB connection and allow me to sync/transfer files with my PC. Once complete, reboot with the Rockbox firmware.

Since USB doesn't work in the Apple firmware, that isn't going to work.

[CikeMannon]

Just wondering.
If I open up ipod, is it possible to read/copy the music files on a laptop (from the micro sd cards in the iflash quad) by transferring the card(s) to sd card reader?
If I have to do a restore, I would lose all data on the cards.