My 30GB iPod 5G seems to have given up... (I'm no noob, the hdd might be dead)

[jswetzen]

The last two or three weeks my iPod has often been unwilling to start easily, the sad iPod icon comes up and I have to reboot to make it load. Also the hard drive has been sounding strange - spinning up fast and clicking as if it stops suddenly.
Now it is connected to the computer makes a loop of the sad iPod icon, thelow battery icon and a loading icon that flashes before it start all over again. It doesn't sound like the hard disk is doing anything, my iPod is only making a very low sound - maybe the disk is spinning but not read.

Does anyone recognize this? Might my iPod really be dead, although it's not even two years old?  

[LambdaCalculus]

Not the right place to post this (it should be in Hardware instead), but I'll help you out anyway.

More than likely. My dad's old 4G greyscale was acting up in the same way some months ago. It turned out that his iPod's hard drive borked on him, after nearly 3 years of usage.

Try using chkdsk /f (if you're on Windows) to scan the iPod for errors. If it turns out that it's a physical problem with the drive, then go to these guys for replacements:

http://www.ifixit.com

They even have do-it-yourself guides on how to open your iPod up to replace the hard drive!

[jswetzen]

It started, and I got it into disk mode. Just luck I guess. After I have backed up some things I'll try chkdsk /f.
Thank you for the information about ifixit.com, I just checked and they ship to Sweden!
A huge thank you!

[LambdaCalculus]

Anytime, dude!  

[jswetzen]

Unfortunately I couldn't run chkdsk with the /f parameter because some other process was using my iPod, even when I went into safe mode... A regular chkdsk however, told me that there were problems with the drive.
But I'll use my dear iPod as long as it will boot, then I have to replace the hard drive.