iPod help needed

[DarrenMcLeod]

I recently got around to updating my 4g 20gig iPod up to version 3.1. However, since then, for some strange reason whenever the battery icon goes down to about 3/4 full, a message comes up saying "PLEASE CONNECT iPOD TO A POWER SOURCE IMMEDIATELY," and it shuts off. I'm only getting two or three hours of playback on it, and because it happened right after updating I don't think it's the battery's fault.

Can anyone offer some help?

Also, my iPod says it has 6 gigs left of room on it, yet iTunes says it only has 2.04 gigs of room left.

[Null]

honestly it sounds like something is currupt on it and screwing something up... did the storage amount problem start at the same time? because i would think about maybe backing up your music (if it isnt already) and resetting the ipod.

i know on many devices with rechargable batteries like that they can sometimes get set weird where they think they have different amount of power left.... Usually you just let it drain completely by leaving it on and then recharge it fully (if the ipods shutting down, even leaving it like that will continue to drain the battery slowly over the next couple days)


did you try a reboot of the ipod?

[DarrenMcLeod]

When you say reboot, do you mean a reset by toggling the hold switch, then holding menu and the select button? I just did that.

I'm gonna see what happens with it now, and if it still screws up i'll reformat it.

[Krypton]

why do people waste money on those things. :confused:

[Null]

why do people waste money on those things. :confused:


well untill one comes out thats better, some people want the best.
others can settle for something less. I guess it all depends.

[DarrenMcLeod]

Well, Krypton, since you asked...

My parents asked what I wanted for graduation. I don't have a car, so i'd be taking a lot of public transit and walking a lot. I wanted a music player to keep me busy. I wanted an mp3 player for portability/better for jogging, and convenience of not carrying around a CD book. I wanted one that was high quality. I wanted one that would hold my 15+ gigs of music at the time. I wanted one I could use as a substitute for having music on a computer, to save HD space. I wanted one that had lots of accessories, and was popular enough that there'd be lots of support available for it. iPod was what worked out best for my tastes.

I don't consider it a waste of money. I use it probably more than I use my DS, GameCube, and television combined. I've had it for over a year and almost every day, it's in my pocket or my backpack as I go to school/downtown.

[Null]

i think he meant over another brand.. problem with other brands is (i dont know which brands even have a 60gig player) they dont have a set standard, and while the ipods have unlimited amount of addons and accessories... others are lucky just to get a couple... and then when the new model comes out thoes accessories are useless and they have to start all over. majority of ipod accessories can be used on any ipod, (aside from the ones that have a holder the specific size) my friend just bought a ipod car kit for his car (not just a charger, but an actual box that hooks up to the back of the stereo, and lets you control the ipod through the stereo with perfect quality, unlike thoes crappy fm broadcasters) and i installed that for him... neat thing about that is it will work from anything from a mini/nano to a full sized ipod.


i do like the irivers, however on thier players, the touch slider is a bar up and down, i dont find it as easy/fast as the ipods circle one. and it doesnt have as nice of a feel in your hand as the ipods.
Then theres many players that feel like they come in cheep plastic cases, i like the ipods shell. feels like theres something there.

(btw, im talking HD players, not flash based ones)

so untill theres something better then an ipod out, i stick with em. i just bought a new video one to replace my 3 year old ipod. plus its smaller, lighter, and gives me double the storage of my old. heh. And it rules out the need to carry my PSP as a video player. :p i can just worry about games on my PSP/DS, and movies and music all go on my iPod. :)








Anywho, Darren, whats the update on your problem?

[DarrenMcLeod]

Posted at both iLounge and Apple's discussion forums to no avail... I didn't use it yseterday so i didn't see if it did it again. if it does, i'm reformatting it.

[Teuthida]

See this is why I sometimes wish Nintendo who make regular electronic devices. They're helpful to a point of being scary.

I like small flash based players because I don't want something clunky in my pocket when I go running. I also spend 3 hours commuting each day so nice to have something to listen to. And I prefer buttons to the ipod's scroll wheel so I can easily change songs by sticking my hand in my pocket rather than taking out the player and sorting through my music.

Plus since people have actually died over iPods in NYC I'm wary of having one and would never wear the white headphones (which my YP-U1 sadly came with)...though white seems to be more frequent than black as of late. My hate probably came about years ago when iPods first came out and you'd see rich yuppies flaunting them on the train...and now that my college sells Apple only products and pimps them to the point of being embarassing I feel obligated to rebel.

[Null]

Thank you! for finally fixing that sig pic. lol. that white edge was pissing me off :p hehe


Anywho, thats why i said i was talkin about HD based mp3 players, i dont use the small flash based ones, since it would only hold a fraction of my songs and i wouldnt want to keep switching em in and out. So i cant defend if ipod mini's or shuffles are better or worse then other flash based mp3 players. but as far as HD based ones go, ipod still sits atop.

[bobcat]

well untill one comes out thats better, some people want the best.
others can settle for something less. I guess it all depends.
I think iPod is far from being the best.

There are alternatives, and from my experience , are much better! Look at Sony/Samsung range if anybody is interested. I don't agree with the reviews the iPod has been getting. 40 hours playback on the Sony Network Walkman ( replaceable )vs the 14 hours playback for the iPod mini is one major influence for me. Plus the hardware feels sturdy and is easy to navigate, much more intuitive than the iPod I reckon.

And for the topic, I used to get that problem when my iPod was 1/4 battery remaining. Have you checked the apple forums ? Maybe a similar problem is there.

[Bube]

I think iPod is far from being the best.

There are alternatives, and from my experience , are much better! Look at Sony/Samsung range if anybody is interested. I don't agree with the reviews the iPod has been getting. 40 hours playback on the Sony Network Walkman ( replaceable )vs the 14 hours playback for the iPod mini is one major influence for me. Plus the hardware feels sturdy and is easy to navigate, much more intuitive than the iPod I reckon.

And for the topic, I used to get that problem when my iPod was 1/4 battery remaining. Have you checked the apple forums ? Maybe a similar problem is there.
I'm sorry, I can't help on the iPod problem. But what do you mean by "40 hours playback on the Sony Network Walkman ( replaceable )", Bobcat?

[Null]

I think iPod is far from being the best.

There are alternatives, and from my experience , are much better! Look at Sony/Samsung range if anybody is interested. I don't agree with the reviews the iPod has been getting. 40 hours playback on the Sony Network Walkman ( replaceable )vs the 14 hours playback for the iPod mini is one major influence for me. Plus the hardware feels sturdy and is easy to navigate, much more intuitive than the iPod I reckon.



again, you're talkin ipod mini, even tho thats a HD based one, i wouldnt use anything that low on space. (and they dont make mini's anymore, plus at 6gigs, who would ever waste the money to get that anyway? could just get a 30gigs for $50 more.. heh.)
sonys ones again, control interface is not as quick and simple as ipods, and i cant stand the sony connect software.

samesungs flash based ones are nicely designed, but i wouldnt go anywhere near the HD based ones.

at size, simplicity, quick use, storage (60gig) and video play, i cant find any better then the ipod.

[bobcat]

I'm sorry, I can't help on the iPod problem. But what do you mean by "40 hours playback on the Sony Network Walkman ( replaceable )", Bobcat?
The Sony Network Walkman has 40 hour playback for it's battery and the battery is easily replaceable. The Nano has 14 hour playback, the 20GB-60GB range has 20 hours playback and is not replaceable.

The interface of the iPod is an opinion, and I prefer Sony's one coz I find it easier to select songs on it (with the up and down buttons rather than the wheel of "who knows where it will land") :)

Also Sony's n/w walkman can play Attrac3+, a music standard which Sony is trying to introduce (as usual to take over the market). It's pretty cool, no time to explain but you can read on Sony site! Off 2 work ?_?

[Null]

ipod batterys can be replaced, its just not a cap to slide off and quickly pop a new one in. but they're replacable anyway, not very expensive either.

i find it works better just to buy a external battery accessory, and just plug it in when needed.. only reason i've never got one is because i've never needed to play a music player for a full 24 hours in 1 day. hehe.

[bobcat]

ipod batterys can be replaced, its just not a cap to slide off and quickly pop a new one in. but they're replacable anyway, not very expensive either.

i find it works better just to buy a external battery accessory, and just plug it in when needed.. only reason i've never got one is because i've never needed to play a music player for a full 24 hours in 1 day. hehe.
By replaceable, I mean it's just a matter of unplugging the battery, and replacing it with a new one with ease. How do you open the iPod just outta curiosity?

And doesn't that void your warranty if you do that? :confused:

I own 2 iPods, one 6GB Mini and one 20GB. Both have given me grief (I've replaced the 6GB twice!!!). Sony N/W walkman has given me no issues wot so ever. That's what I'm basing my comparison on.

Sonic Stage ain't as good as Itunes I admit, but still it works great for me. The Network Walkman unit feels so good in my hand, I urge everybody to get their hands on one.

[Null]

yea its that way for many things HD based.

people have problems with one HD will goto another, and stick with it untill they have a problem. For example, i had a Seagate HD crap out on me, i only buy Western Digital drives now..... it by no means surprises me that the same goes for HD based products.

i've owned and used other players, main factors that come to me are the size issue, apples 60gigs are usually smaller and lighter then most, most dont even have one that size.

the scroll wheel, as you said you dont like it for selecting a single song, i havnt had that problem but i dont like others for searching through and entire list, move thumb from top top bottom, pick up and repeat, circling the wheel is just faster for me.

and a big one is the addons as i said before, i like being able to say, hey, i wish i could do this or that, then look up accessories and find out i can.



its just one of thoes things tho, people are going to use the ones that they dont get the problems with.

[bobcat]

My problems with my iPods are battery based for the 6GB and 20GB ones.

And also my 2nd 6GB one randomly paused. The stupid guy at Apple said "that's the first I've heard of it". I told him "Maybe you should add it to your list of Apple problems because it is definitely a problem". And eventually it ended up being a common problem with the iPods. Typical when I was trying to show him, it wouldn't happen. So I demanded this was the 2nd time I've taken my iPod for problems, and I said "I am not moving until I get another iPod out of the box". He was going to send it to Apple after 3 days.....stupid dweeb. He got a new iPod, slammed it on the table and walked off. I was happy :)

Also Null....with the up and down, you can hold it down, so you don't have to keep making circles with your thumb. It's so much easier imo. It will go through the list very quickly. But it's up 2 u which u prefer obviously.

From all of this, I'm never buying another apple based mp3 player. I think they are way overrated, and there are much better quality players out there.

[Null]

with the circle i control how fast it goes tho, i get thro 4000 songs in 2 seconds or 30,

thats just how it is with things hd based. you've had problems with them, i've had (and seen with friends) problems with other players. so i stick with the ipods untill a better quality player comes out. :)

[Bube]

The Sony Network Walkman has 40 hour playback for it's battery and the battery is easily replaceable. The Nano has 14 hour playback, the 20GB-60GB range has 20 hours playback and is not replaceable.

The interface of the iPod is an opinion, and I prefer Sony's one coz I find it easier to select songs on it (with the up and down buttons rather than the wheel of "who knows where it will land") :)

Also Sony's n/w walkman can play Attrac3+, a music standard which Sony is trying to introduce (as usual to take over the market). It's pretty cool, no time to explain but you can read on Sony site! Off 2 work ?_?

Thanks for the explanation, but I already own an HD3 :D.

I asked because I only get about 20 hours of playback. I thought you were talking about a different, longer-lasting battery. I wonder what the problem with mine is..?

[bobcat]

Thanks for the explanation, but I already own an HD3 :D.

I asked because I only get about 20 hours of playback. I thought you were talking about a different, longer-lasting battery. I wonder what the problem with mine is..?
Yeh that's because lithium batteies deplete over usage. First charge I got heaps out of it, then eventually got a bit less and less, but still solid

[Null]

yes, the same HD related and battery related issues will hit any related products.

honestly to help the battery keep its charge longer, you can use it and not charge it till its completely drained, then give it a full charge, that cycle keeps it at higher capacity longer.

however doing that jusnt isnt really realistic because unless you let it drain each night then charge it fully for the next day it just doenst happen much.

[bobcat]

yes, the same HD related and battery related issues will hit any related products.

honestly to help the battery keep its charge longer, you can use it and not charge it till its completely drained, then give it a full charge, that cycle keeps it at higher capacity longer.

however doing that jusnt isnt really realistic because unless you let it drain each night then charge it fully for the next day it just doenst happen much.
I heard that if you completely drain the battery overnight, it still ain't good. Sporatically using it until it depletes is the best way to go, but then again I'm not sure I just heard this.

[Null]

it doesnt matter how it drains. what the thing is with rechargable batteries, is they have almost a memory of sorts, thats why whenever you get something like that they always ask you to charge competely before use, if you charge half way use, charge half way and use, over and over, its possible that half way will be the full charge you get outta that battery.

so whats best for the battery is to be completely drained then recharged fully. going from empty to full. it wouldnt know the diffference if you drained it in 3 days or drained it in 1.

[Canyarion]

That's how I killed my Nokia battery. For 2 years, I always drained it 100% and then charged it 100%. But then I started charging it when it wasn't really 'empty' yet, that's when the misery started. Now it can stay on stand-by for perhaps a week, but I can't make calls longer than a couple of minutes. If I'm lucky.

[DarrenMcLeod]

Alright, I was busy and kept putting off posting this.

Anyways, I reformatted my iPod, but you can't get rid of the update, or at least you can't as far as I could tell. Any way to completely remove the update and go back to a previous one? or anything similar? I still have the old update on my computer, but I can't do anything with it, because the system thinks that my iPod is better with it's newer software. It isn't!

Any solutions?

[Null]

hrm.. which way did you reformat?

whenever i've had the ipod or a friends ipod reset, he needed to get all the updates all over again.

[DarrenMcLeod]

hrm.. which way did you reformat?

whenever i've had the ipod or a friends ipod reset, he needed to get all the updates all over again.
Using iPod updater. I clicked the Reset to Factory Settings option on there.

[Null]

hmm, i'll look up the options, maybe i've just formated the drive before.

im positive i had to update it again after however i reset it tho. infact when i did it i woulda liked a way to keep it the same version. heh.

[DarrenMcLeod]

Thanks, Null! I'd really like to at least give it a shot getting it back to factory settings or an old update... seems weird that after a year and 3 months that it'd already be dying.

[Null]

hey, when you charge your ipod... what are you using to charge it? connection to the computer or actually plugging it into a power outlet?

[DarrenMcLeod]

90% of the time I'm using the power outlet. I use the computer connection once in a while, but that's only if I'm uploading songs onto it and forget to unplug it afterwards.