iPod Issues: A Do-It-Yourself Guide (Part I)

The trick is to identify the problem first. So let’s start with the problem.

Your iPod hangs while in use
There's a simple fix to this: just reset your iPod. For a pod with a click-wheel (2nd-gen and up) you need to put your iPod on hold and then slide it off again. Then press and hold the Menu and Center (Select) buttons together (at the same time) for about 10 seconds until the apple logo appears. This means it's rebooting. It’ll start almost immediately and you can go back to using your iPod.

In older iPods, you need to press and hold the Play/Pause and Menu buttons together after you toggle the Hold switch on and off. Don’t worry all your music, bookmarks, and playlists will remain intact.

Every time you switch on your iPod you get the sad iPod icon (seen in earlier hard-drive based models)
When you get this you need to bring the pod close to your ear and listen intently. If you can hear the hard drive clicking, it means a drive misalignment (essentially a hardware problem). This can be cured by taking your player to the service center, or effect a cure yourself – with some luck.

This may seem crazy but it actually works; at least it's worked for me. Hold the iPod securely in your palm, and bang the corner lightly. I smacked it at least four times before it started working. This apparently works for the new iPods as well, though I haven't tried it myself.

You get the folder icon with an exclamation mark
This may happen with a faulty Windows partition or format. You can fix it by restoring the player. Plug your iPod into the PC and start iTunes. Next click on Restore and iTunes will download the latest firmware and restore your iPod to factory settings. You will lose all your data, however.

There are plenty more issues, and a lot more hands-on solutions. For that you will have to wait for the next part of this feature. In that I will talk about some in-depth fixes where you can open up your iPod and work out things yourself. Ciao till then!