Ipod Shuffle question, help! [Archive]

Curiousmonster

09-30-2005, 06:51 AM

Hi, I need you guy's help. See, my uncle gave me his ipod shuffle and when I connect it to my comp it charges but doesn't show up in neither Itunes, or the 'My Computer' folder. My bro's ipod does show up howver, so it's not the usb connection. It's been days now and I googled around to no help :(. Well, anyways I'm wondering if any of you people can help me with this problem. Thank you for your time :)

nkuvu

09-30-2005, 01:31 PM

I got a shuffle for my friend, and she had the same problem. In her case it was because the USB port on the side of the G3 iMac blocks the shuffle from properly connecting. It got enough of a connection to charge it, it seems, but not enough for the computer to actually see it.

Since you reference "My Computer" I'm guessing you're on Windows. So I can't make any guesses on the USB connection based on your computer model.

So -- is your iPod making a solid connection? Also, are you connecting the iPod to a decently powered USB port? That is, some keyboards have USB ports built in, but the shuffle needs to be plugged in directly to the computer or a powered USB port. OS X tells you this if you connect the shuffle to the keyboard, I don't know how Windows handles it.

Have you tried connecting the shuffle to another computer?

cwtnospam

09-30-2005, 01:45 PM

Have you tried connecting the shuffle to another computer?
Yeah, like a Mac? (This is a Mac site.) :D

nkuvu

09-30-2005, 02:32 PM

Yeah, like a Mac? (This is a Mac site.) :D
Meh. The shuffle is an Apple product, this is the iPod section of MacOSXHints, I see no problem asking about this here. :)

xx_katie_xx

09-30-2005, 02:39 PM

fat elvis

09-30-2005, 02:40 PM

Does your uncle have a Mac? This may be formatted for a Mac...which is not visible on a PC...er, in "My Computer" ;) or does it??? I'm not positive about flash based iPods...perhaps someone else can chime in here.

cwtnospam

09-30-2005, 03:02 PM

Meh. The shuffle is an Apple product, this is the iPod section of MacOSXHints, I see no problem asking about this here. :)Sure, if the shuffle doesn't work with a Mac either. It's well established that they work with PCs, so if it works on a Mac, then it's a PC problem.

fat elvis

09-30-2005, 03:07 PM

I was given an ipod shuffle as a present only the other day but it will not let me put more than 26 songs on it. I hav tried but it will not let me add any more songs and comes up saying there is not enough room. It is meant to hold 120 songs though. Has anyone elso had the same problem or is it just me? :confused: :confused: :confused:

first off...Katie, please don't post in that "Dark Orchid" color. There's no rule against it, but me no likey

second...when Apple claims a certain number of songs that's only an estimate. Are you loading long songs? Led Zeplin, Godspeed? or are you loading small 3 minute songs? Johnny Cash, Lenny Kravitz? If you're loading small songs I'd start for formatting your iPod and staring from scratch. Go to the search button on this site and look for "format ipod" if you're not familiar with how to do that.

HTH

guardian34

09-30-2005, 03:09 PM

What version of Windows are you using?

fat elvis, the iPod shuffle uses FAT32 out of the box. In fact, HFS is not even supported with the shuffle.

Curiousmonster

09-30-2005, 07:16 PM

Thank you guys for responding, here are my replies to your guy's questions: I don't know if my uncle has a mac or a pc. I connected the shuffle directly into my desktops usb, the same one that my bro uses for his Ipod mini. I'm using Windows XP. I have tried all of the usb slots including the ones in the back. Like I said before, the shuffle charges and it blinks orange but it doesn't appear on my computer. I tried connecting it in all of its modes (off, shuffle, and I'm not sure about the other one) but it didn't work. As for the format thing the shuffle uses FAT32 which is supported by mac and pc. I tried reinstalling Itunes and ipod software and I even updated them their latest version. Thank you for helping me out.

malkin

09-30-2005, 08:59 PM

I wonder if plugging the Shuffle in and then rebooting your computer would do anything...

Curiousmonster

10-01-2005, 07:25 PM

I tried rebooting my computer with the Shuffle plugged in but it still didn't detect it.

malkin

10-02-2005, 07:28 PM

Hm. Do you have the latest version of iTunes/iPod shuffle updates? This might sound a little silly, but your shuffle shoulda come with software attached - did you install it?

Curiousmonster

10-04-2005, 01:35 AM

Is there software updates/drivers specially for the shuffle? I didn't install anything specifically for my shuffle I thought you can just connect it directly into my computer and it will detect it.

styrafome

10-04-2005, 02:02 AM

Well, yeah, it will detect it...as a disk drive. But you can't just copy music files onto it and expect them to play. There was a CD in the shuffle box with iTunes on it, which manages your shuffle. You can just download the latest iTunes from Apple to make sure you have the latest, and after you install iTunes it will tell you if you're up to date on shuffle drivers. There have been shuffle driver updates.

Curiousmonster

10-04-2005, 03:45 AM

Like I said before, I have the latest Itunes and Software updates. Please read my posts. Basically, It doesn't detect it at all.

mclbruce

10-05-2005, 12:22 AM

I was hoping it was a software incompatibility issue myself. That seemed most likely. Oh well. It looks like there is an iPod Software Update Utility that is or can be installed on Windows. Have you tried that? Perhaps it will see the iPod Shuffle.

Curiousmonster

10-05-2005, 04:44 PM

mclbruce, I haven't tried that. Could you post a link to it?

Screengem0531

10-05-2005, 05:02 PM

I'm not sure what kind of utility bruce has in mind but you might want to try looking through these. http://macs.about.com/od/ipod/a/free_ipod_utils.htm
Maybe the Elipodo utility?

Also, i would get a hold of your uncle and find out what kind of computer he has. I assume that he didn't give it to you broken (I hope). He might be able to reformat it for you if he has a PC that can see it. Good Luck.

mclbruce

10-06-2005, 01:32 AM

mclbruce, I haven't tried that. Could you post a link to it? Here's a page on Apple's web site that describes what I have in mind.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300701

Curiousmonster

10-06-2005, 05:20 PM

mclbruce, thank you for that. When I followed the instructions it recognized the shuffle but then it said "ipod service error". I think this happened becuase I deleted an older dated ipod updater when I was trying to make this shuffle work, big accident. Also, thank you Screengem0531 but I don't think any of the applications will help me.

Curiousmonster

10-10-2005, 06:47 PM

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Curiousmonster

10-14-2005, 01:50 AM

bump, hopefully someone can help me.

jibbon

10-14-2005, 03:38 AM

I wondered if the symptoms you describe might actually be a bug that Windows XP has. Is your brother's iPod a shuffle? If not, the answer may be that windows is recognising the drive, but not allocating a drive letter to it. If his is a shuffle, then it may be a problem with your shuffle.

Leeww

10-14-2005, 03:47 PM

tiea_to_much

10-26-2005, 03:02 PM

Okay i am new at this but i got my shuffle for my birthday in july and it is now almost november and i have not had a problem with it till now. :( it comes up error (-36) and i don't know what to do can anyone help me??

hayne

10-26-2005, 04:41 PM

it comes up error (-36) and i don't know what to do

Did you check the FAQ that is a sticky thread at the top of this forum section?

Curiousmonster

10-31-2005, 09:20 PM

Hi guys, Sorry for not checking up on this but I have kind of have just given up. I tried everything with no luck. However it did work once on the "my computer" folder but then it quickly disappeared. I remember getting an email from someone on these boards, I forgot who it was but if you are still willing to help me I would be very thankful. Thanks guys for offering me suggestions but I think the problem is the USB connection itself, it was a little dirty. I cleaned it but It didn't help.

jibbon

11-01-2005, 02:23 AM

This is a reprint of my last email to you:

You say you have XP? Do you have, or can you get administrative access? Do you have other drives on your computer, such as D drive, E drive etc? If you do, it may be that XP has run out of drive letters to allocate to the iPod (you can plug in other USB drives to test this). Check out this Microsoft knowledge base article:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;297694
if this sounds possible.

Alternatively, your computer may not have fully up-to-date drivers. Have you installed Windows Service Pack 2? I haven’t got access to a Windows machine at home, so I can’t take you through the steps to check.

Curiousmonster

11-01-2005, 04:20 PM

No I don't have windows service pack 2. I tried installing it but I it doesn't work because of some error caused by having Alcohol 120%. I tried uninstalling it but when I did install SP2 but I had to restore back because my computer would not work at all. I followed the instructions in the link you gave me but the problem is it doesn't recognize it at all.

jibbon

11-02-2005, 04:11 AM

How many other drives do you have? D: E: F: ?
From your post before last, it sounds like it IS actually recognised by Windows, but doesn't have a space to assign to it. You can check this if you have admin rights.
Have you tried the shuffle in another computer? Try it somewhere else to eliminate the possibility that it is faulty.

min_t

11-02-2005, 02:01 PM

According to apple website, service pack 2 required on xp to use shuffle.

Curiousmonster

11-02-2005, 07:17 PM

Oh yes I remember now it WAS recognized by the software. I'm going to try it out on my friends computer soon sometime when he's not busy. My last drive letter is a K. Min_t can you link the website where it says I need Service Pack 2? Thanks guys.

Curiousmonster

11-02-2005, 07:22 PM

Nevermind, I googled around and and read the shuffle requirements and service pack 2 really is required. Well, I will try to install it again later on tonight and see what happens. Thanks for pointing that out Min_t

Curiousmonster

11-05-2005, 02:40 AM

I tried to install Service Pack 2 and I failed again. I got a black screen then I had to go into safe mode and restore. 1 and half hours wasted.

cwtnospam

11-05-2005, 01:47 PM

Have you tried connecting it to a Mac? There's a good chance that there's an Apple store not too far from you. Take it there and try it out. If it doesn't work on a Mac, then you know the problem is with the Shuffle. If it does work, well, the Mac Mini is cheap, and you'll be at the store...

jibbon

11-05-2005, 06:58 PM

Curious, do a full reinstall of windows. Back up all your data, and blow away what you have. That'll fix it!

jibbon

11-05-2005, 07:03 PM

And you say your last drive letter is K? That sounds very much like the problem I've had. Once you have service pack two installed, you may need to move some of the drive letters further down the alphabet, so f,g,h,i,j and k become m,n,o,p,q and r, for example.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307844&sd=tech should show you how this is done.

cojo2034

04-19-2006, 10:49 PM

Hey.. just adding to this because you guys seem like you're headed somewhere.. I'm completely stuck. Recently I went from an old Windows 2000 (ya I know!) to a XP Sp2 and I've got an iPod shuffle. It used to work and now my computer will not recognize it.. Ive been to stores, people and various websites and they all tell me the same thing! Lucky for me I've lost receipts and I'm stuck with no battery life and my brothers bad taste in music.. Please help! I'm a lost cause!

jibbon

04-20-2006, 12:46 AM

Have you got multiple drives attached, i.e. f:, g:, h: etc?
if yes, check out the knowledge base article I linked to last time.

If no, (and if your ipod isn't charging) it may need to be fixed - the USB port should charge regardless if the problem is the same as curiousmonster's. If it isn't charging, the usb port may be underpowered, meaning a hardware upgrade, or the ipod is toast.

Try the ipod on another computer, and try a different usb device on your computer. Report back on which was most successful.

pmaralihalli86

10-26-2006, 05:36 AM

well i have ipod shuffle,well as ussual i tried to add songs in the playlist thru i tunes,but the moment i connected my ipod it showed tht my ipod was corrupted and by pressing restore button i cud get it restored,

so i went on to restore thru i tunes(the latest version) but i dont know wat went wrong at almost completion the msg popped tht the ipod cannot be restored,

now the ipod is not even switching on neither is it showing the orange light after being put into the pc thru almost all the USBs present,its not even shown on itunes nor on mycomputer(i use winxp sp2)

i also tried to do it at few of my frnd's pcs also,but there is same condition over there too,i stay in india and there is hardly any ipod service center out here so i have no clue whatsoever,even the warranty has expired,i need to get it fixed(its very important for me to do so),i hope somebody cud help me out with this

tea_and_cake

11-05-2006, 05:58 PM

okay, whenever i try listening to my ipod shuffle, it starts to blink orange and green

so i tried plugging it back into my computer, and then it said that there is no songs on it, when i was just listening to it

i had to restart it, but then it happend again!

help me please!!!