July 22, 2005 12:30 AM PDT

iPod Special Report: iTunes crash on iPod connection; solutions

by CNET staff

Several users are affected by an issue where iTunes crashes shortly after connecting an iPod.

MacFixIt reader Rory Cooney summarizes the problem:

"Longtime users of iPods of various pedigree and size, after upgrading to Panther, are finding that attempting to synch their iPod to iTunes crashes iTunes. The crash results both in the iPod not getting updated and a force-quit required to iTunes. I myself spent 3 hours on the phone with Apple support yesterday, and after troubleshooting every aspect of iTunes, I was told to do an archive and install. Today, the problem persists."

Some users have had success disconnecting all other external peripherals - particularly FireWire devices other than the iPod (and USB components), but for others the problem persists under the same conditions.

In some cases, users are able to transfer only a few songs - usually less than 10 - before iTunes hangs.

The crash generally results both in the iPod not getting updated and a force-quit required for iTunes.

In some cases, users are able to transfer only a few songs - usually less than 10 - before iTunes hangs.

Solutions

Disconnecting other devices Some users have had success disconnecting all other external peripherals - particularly FireWire devices other than the iPod (and USB components), but for others the problem persists under the same conditions.

Delete streaming music files MacFixIt reader Doug Mitchell offers a different solution that involves deleting streaming references in the iPod master library (streaming references include iTunes' radio stations and other streaming source files):

"I just bought a new 20 gig iPod and initially I suffered the same disasters others are referring to. I solved my problems through a variety of steps. First I plugged my dock for the iPod directly into one of the firewire ports in my G4. Secondly I noticed that there were a number of streaming references in the master library for iTunes. When I deleted these items from the library all music transfers went smoothly. I have had no problems since. I am running OS 10.3.2 and iPod software 2.1 as well as iTunes 4.2."

Resetting iPod Jim Kershner was able to restore proper functionality by using the latest iPod Updater application to "Restore" his iPod -- a process described in Knowledge Base article #60983.

Jim writes: "iTunes was crashing on two different upgraded machines. Using the latest iPod updater to restore factory defaults fixed the problem at the expense of erasing 38 Gigs of music on the iPod [...]"

Reformat iPod hard drive MacFixIt reader Bill reports that performing a reformat of the iPod's hard drive in Apple's Disk Utility (located in Applications/Utilities) can sometimes work as a last-resort option before sending the unit in for repair. He writes:

"In this first failure iTunes simply locked up, displayed the rainbow pin-wheel of death, and required a force quit of iTunes. [...] So I reset the iPod. Reconnected the iPod. iTunes locked up again. Disconnect, reset iPod, launch iPod Updater, restore iPod. Disconnect, reset iPod, re-connect, iTunes asks to name iPod (update automatically is checked), iTunes begins to transfer songs but soon reports 'Attempting to copy to disk 'iPod' failed. An unknown error occurred (-36).'

"Over the next two weeks I try various combinations of iPod resets and restores. I even get Disk Utility and DiskWarrior to check the iPod after being freshly restored. Neither program reported a problem. I installed a squeaky clean 10.3.5 without the Sept security updates on another freshly reformatted internal disk, with the latest iTunes, latest QuickTime, latest iPod updater, and permissions repaired. Still no success, iTunes continued to lock up or reported 'attempting to copy disk failed.' A simple restore whether or not the iPod was in 'Disk Mode' did not correct the problem. Very frustrated, I pulled out the iPod's warranty booklet. But wait, lets try one last thing before calling Apple...

"The Solution: Reformat the iPod using Disk Utility, being sure to use 'Mac OS Extended' and in 'Options...' check 'Zero all data.' Before doing so, it is necessary to put the iPod into disk mode (see Apple Article 93651), otherwise iTunes will try to launch when the iPod is connected to the computer. It takes a long time to reformat when "Zero all data" is checked. In my case, it took somewhere between 30-60 minutes to reformat. The progress bar moves very, very slowly and I would put the iPod next to my ear just to be sure the disk was still spinning. Now with a completely reformatted and zeroed iPod, disconnect it (being sure to Eject it first!), launch iPod Updater, reconnect iPod, and hit Restore. Surprisingly, the iPod was still in Disk Mode after going through this exercise, so I reset it. Connecting it once again to the computer, iTunes launched, asked for a name, I left checked the "automatically update" selection, hit OK, and to my great relief the transfer of my entire iTunes library completed without a problem. Hurray!"