Strange Happenings With My i-Pod Pt. 2

[Dave James]

Over the course of the last month of so, my one year old i-Pod will occasionally display the following:

To the left of the battery level "icon" it says "Disk Mode". There's a line all the way across the screen directly below this. Then underneath that line is a very large check mark. Right under the check mark it says "OK to disconnect".

When this happens, the Pod is essentially dead. This behavior comes and goes, but its frequency is becoming annoying. The battery is charged, and it will charge when plugged into a power source, so this not appear to be a bettary related issue.

Anyone have any idea what's going on here?

Thanks.

Up over and out.

Edited January 7, 2006 by Dave James

[Jim Dye]

I believe you can turn off FireWire disk mode. There is a check box when you look at the iPod preferences in iTunes.

There are some instructions here but they may refer to an older version of iTunes:

http://www.iconlockit.com/iPodDiskUse.htm

[spinlps]

Why do you think the check mark bad? The check mark indicates that the synch has completed and the iPod can be disconnected on my 3Gen iPod. The disk mode can be disabled in iTunes.

[Dave James]

The check mark is bad because when it's on in combination with the Pod being in disk mode, it's completely frozen.

I looked all over i-Tunes, and I can find no reference to disk mode or how one would go about disabling it. I bought my i-Pod just over a year ago, but I'm not sure what "generation" that makes it. If someone could walk a computer illiterate through the disk mode disable processs, I would be eternally grateful.

Up over and out.

Edited January 7, 2006 by Dave James

[spinlps]

With the iPod connected, open iTunes and go to the Edit menu, select Preferences, click on the iPod tab. There will be a check box to enable / disable disk mode.

Good luck,

Tony

The check mark is bad because when it's on in combination with the Pod being in disk mode, it's completely frozen.

I looked all over i-Tunes, and I can find no reference to disk mode or how one would go about disabling it. I bought my i-Pod just over a year ago, but I'm not sure what "generation" that makes it. If someone could walk a computer illiterate through the disk mode disable processs, I would be eternally grateful.

Up over and out.

[Dave James]

Tony,

I followed your instructions, but the box you refer to is not checked. I think I have a serious problem here. Thanks for trying to help me out.

Up over and out.

[GA Russell]

I don't have an mp3 player, and don't expect to ever get one.

I must say, the devotees of iPods seem to be the most tolerant consumers on earth.

I haven't been keeping a close watch, but just from reading here and in the newspaper, I see problems like batteries dying prematurely, "repairs" that mean loss of what's on your hard disk, scratches on the screen, and inability to withstand dropping, just to name some.

Yet the iPod has been the Christmas gift of the year for two years running, and apparently has many repeat customers spending hundreds of dollars to move up when a larger capacity or lighter weight model is released.

Steve Jobs has the Midas Touch, that's for sure.

[marcello]

Never a problem with mine after two years.

I use the Apple Lossless feature for hi bitrate files.

[md655321]

Never had a serious problem with mine. Couple times it froze, but a quick reset and all was good.

I understand how it can seem odd how much we put up with ipod problems, but it is because they are worth it. The ipod is easily the coolest device I have ever owned and has greatly increased my access to musical pleasure. Any problems I may have are a very small price to pay.

[John L]

My iPod has been stuck in "check mark mode" a few times. Both times, it was due to a problem in disconnecting the iPod from iTunes. Every time I hit "disengage," I got a confusing message "cannot disengage because files are still in use." So I finally just existed iTunes and turned off my computer. When I powered down, the check mark came on the iPod. After that, I had to wait for the battery to die (which it did pretty quickly. Apparently check mark mode drains the battery like when the iPod is running). Once the battery died, it went out of "check mark mode" and, after a recharge, it worked fine.

Do you know how it got into "check mark mode?"

[Dave James]

The check mark just appeared when I tried to power up my i-Pod. It was accompanied by the "disk mode" message I referred to in my initial post. I had not been downloading any tunes. You're right about the check. When it's on, the battery drains very quickly. Not sure why that would be. At any rate, I have been able to get my Pod back in the saddle. Turns out I wasn't using the proper procedure for a reset. I'm still not convinced my problems are solved, but as long as the Pod is functional, I'm fine. The disk mode thing is still very curious, especially when the Pod appears to have done this on its own.

Thanks to everyone who tried to help me out. I just think these little guys are cantankerous by nature. Don't get me wrong...I love my Pod, but it's been, at times, a stressful relationship.

Up over and out.

Edited January 10, 2006 by Dave James