[m a d r a]

[apologies in advance if this is in the wrong forum but it could equally well fall under OSX problems, itunes problems or ipod problems!]


this is an intermittent problem [ie. one of the really annoying ones!] that i cannae quite pin down:

sometimes when i plug in my ipod [3rd gen], itunes will launch and update the ipod without a hitch - other times itunes will launch and refuse to recognise the ipod [and neither will the finder] and sometimes itunes will launch and then hang - then the finder will hang and i have to restart the comp and reset the ipod.

things i've tried so far:

resetting the ipod
using ipod's self diagnostic tests
rebuilding ipod with discwarrior
rebuilding main hard drive with discwarrior
changing ipod's postion in firewire chain [ie. at first it was chained onto an external firewire drive - have now plugged it directly into my comp's firewire port]

we can disregard the glaringly obvious solutions as the ipod cable itself is fine, as are both my comp's firewire ports. i kinda sorta think that the problem *might* have something to do with itunes being already running when i connect the ipod [as this was the situation last time this happened] as opposed to itunes being launched automatically when the ipod is attached

the fact that both the finder and itunes crash in tandem suggests that the ipod is corrupted, however having rebuilt the ipod with discwarrior and having disc utility give it a clean bill of health, it's not an obvious 'corruption'

i suppose i should just bite the bullet and do a complete factory restore of the ipod, but just thought i'd throw this on here as a last "clutching at straws" type thingy

any ideas anyone?

[theolein]

Have you look in the iPod section of the forum? I can guess that the Powers That be™ will be around soonish to lock this, so I thought I'd let you know.

[Randman]

Trash your itunes and finder plists. Repair permissions. If needed, re-download the iPod updater.

[m a d r a]

well, in the end i bit the bullet and did a complete low-level format of the 'pod and reinstalled everything from scratch. so far it's behaving itself [but i've got my beady eye on it and a big stick handy - just in case!]