20G iPod Failure to Restore...

[dimeshow]

Hello, hello.
I tried updating the software on my 20G B/W iPod but to no avail.
The iPod Updater froze after getting 1/3 of the way into the process, and I stupidly disconnected my iPod in an effort to try again (it wouldn't eject, the updater wouldn't force quit, etc).

A folder with an exclamation point began appearing, and after launching the iPod Updater and then re-connecting the iPod (in Disk Mode), a warning message pops up declaring that "You have inserted a disk containing no volumes that Mac OSX can read. To continue with the disk inserted, click Ignore."

Suffice to say that the iPod Updater Restore option doesn't work (spinning color wheel forever), and that while clicking Initialize launches Disk Utiltity, using Disk Utility to Verify and/or Repair the Disk results in this message:

Repairing disk for “disk4s3”
Volume check failed.

Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)

Repair attempted on 1 volume
0 HFS volumes repaired
1 volume could not be repaired

I've scoured the internet but seem to have run out of options. Any suggestions? Fingers crossed for magic solutions...

-Ben

[dimeshow]

I've been keeping at this for a while, and seem to have entered some minor circle of hell -
Disk Utility will happily erase the iPod about 50% of the time, at which moments both Verify Disk and Repair Disk propose that all is well.
iPod Updater still won't work for either Update (= stops due to error) or Restore (= spinning circle forever).
When Disk Utility doesn't work, it declares that there is a Disk Erase Error and will not continue.
More confusion? Hopefully there's a solution...