Hey these are really good, indestructible iPod cases. They will make your iPod last so much longer. I recommend them to every iPod owner! Having one of these cases will reduce the amount of repairs your iPod will need! Check out these great cases at http://vibevault.com/

If I accidently drop my iPod on the pavement I dont even care any more because i know my iPod is perfectly fine!

Thanks for the spam, casey!

Sometimes, if your iPod makes a “whirrrrrrrr-click-whirrrrrrrr-click-whirrrrrrrr-click-whirrrrrrrr-click” followed by a “sad iPod” icon, the solution is often simple:

1) Wait for the drive to stop making noise and the usit to auto power-off
2) Remove it from any case you may have it in
3) Hold the iPod sideways (i.e. landscape, not portrait and not) perpendicular to a tabletop, and about 1 - 1.5″ off the tabletop.
4) Drop the iPod
5) Power it back on

Sometimes, a drop or jolt while the drive mechanism is running will cause the hard drive “arm” to get into a funk where it will occasionally stick. The little drop trick will “unstick” the drive arm, until it decides to stick again.

I’ve used this trick 3 times now on my 60GB iPod Photo, and it works every time.

my ipod is stuck on hold, not the switch but the ipod. the switch is on the other side but the buttons dont work as if its on hold. any help

I tried this though very skeptical.

It actually worked!

My ipod (3G Video w/ 30G drive) would intermittently experience the
symptoms described in this article. It had failed to boot (despite
repeated attempts) for a good two weeks before I read this article.

I pried the back cover off and held my finger against the drive case to put
a little pressure on the disk and it booted right up. I then took an
old business card and put that in as described.

It worked for a bit and then froze again. I figured I probably now put
too much pressure on the drive so I opened it again and cut the
business card in half and tried again.

It’s been working now for about two days.

I think this was it.

Nice job and thank you!

By the way: I took this to apple and they said they won’t fix it.
They looked at it but said the drive was fried and I could get a
new one for 250 bucks or trade it in for 50 bucks credit towards
a new itouch. Not much help from their genius bar.

Does anyone have any idea how to fix this problem?

My iPod was working fine- but for some reason (didn’t even drop it)- it just stopped workibng-all the folders were wiped clean. I tried to resync it- and it will looking like its synching- but get stuck about 1/4 of the way through synching everything- then freezes- I try to eject it but it stays frozen until I turn off my computer manually. Then then I can’t turn the iPod off (it has the “Do not Disconnect” screen so I have to wait for the battery to die out and try again. I tried resetting it to the factory settings- still didn’t work.

I live way out in a place where I have no access to anyone who has even seen an iPod before- if this one is busted my chances are getting another one are pretty slim. Really looking for an easy fix.

I was completely skeptical about whether this would work or not, and after dropping it twice on the table, it worked perfectly fine. Simply amazing!

Wow! I just tried the ‘drop’ trick that Mike posted, and managed to fix two broken ipods that’ve sat in a drawer for over a year. Thanks Mike!

It’s the magic drop. Amazing. Wish the genius at the bar could have done that! Now I don’t have to shell out $200+ for a new one.

Thanks, Mike! The drop trick just worked for me, too.

Bobak: does it light up and sync properly? If it really is locked on hold, then it’ll sync even without taking it out of hold. If it isn’t syncing properly, your problem is not the hold button. If it is, then open up the iPod as is demonstrated in his wonderful article, and you will see the hold button right above the battery, and hopefully, be able to fix your problem with simple household materials.

Nandita - your problem most likely lies either in the software or the wiring of the iPod itself. If it’s the wiring, it’s something that should almost definitely be taken care of by someone who has experience, especially if one of the wires needs replacing. If it’s software, then a simple internet search out to turn up what you need; I’d try replacing that software, and if that doesn’t work, come back here and give an update, and even if I can’t help you I’m sure that some other kind computer geek would be more than happy to tell you what to do.

Hope this helps you guys out!

If you are skeptical about “the Drop”, try the smack instead; A firm crack with an open palm fixed mine. It has worked fine for 2 months now.

Took off the back inserted the biz card, booted up but froze. Would not play.Fiddled around, took back off 2 more times, removed biz card, and nw it works!!! Thank-you, crunch gear, and NYtimes.

Oh my goodness. I read the NYtimes article this morning and it sparked interest in reviving my deceased 20G Ipod. I was getting the depressing frowny face and after trying to throw it agaist the ground (also from the blog), and smacking it around, I was desperate.

What was funny was that as I was about to begin the surgery — it came back to life! It a strange way, I think it knew it’s fate. So for the entire day it worked…but low and beyond, I went to sync it to Itunes this evening, and it froze.-up. What a tease.

From there, Itunes said it was corrupted and wanted me to restore it, which I didn’t want to do. And then it reverted back to the sad face. So…I reached for my mini screw driver and shimmied off the backing. Got a little nervous since my Ipod didn’t totally resemble your photos (I had one wide ribbon with little give vs. the longer ones in your photos). Grabbed my business card, did as you said, and right away I could see lights inside coming on and it was back to life! Seriously an amazing trick and very happy. Thank you so so much.

you should add a search function to your webpage - i’m a NYTimes reader and wasted 10 min just to find this link. good stuff though!

people i’ve done a disaster wit ma shuffle.. while removin the usb cove the the whole usb pin is out along with the cover. and the strip(bus) is visible .. how’d i ever fix this.. need help!!!

I tried the “drop” with no success, but I’m happy to say that the “smack” encouraged a miracle resurrection of my dead 20gb G4 iPod! Thanks for the great information.

Does this fix-it work if an iPod has been dropped? Mine fell off the bed onto a hard floor and stopped working. After I fiddled with it about 30 minutes, it started working again. But, someone told me that the hard drive might be cracked and it would eventually die. What do you know about this problem and will this solution help?

Business card = Bank! Oddly, this would be such an easy design fix for apple to account for… too bad for the suckage…

The “drop” worked!

I had left the “Genius Bar” 15 minutes previous where they told me my iPod was out of warranty and the HDD was hosed. The he told me of the wonders of donating my iPod for recycling to save the environment AND get 10% off a new iPod.

I thought I would see if I could replace the HDD myself for much less, when I stumbled across this and the amazing “drop” worked!

Thank you much!

i have a big problem with my 4g ipod. i was using it on my pc i tried to remove it safely but it was slow so i just removed it and while going out it stopped working it cant show any signs of life.is there any problem with my hardware?how do i fix it

The business card really works. 4G 20GB whir click whir. Thanks guys!

Any tips for an iPod that won’t even go on? My husband left it in the car for a few hours when it was very cold and now it won’t turn on at all. I opened it and looked for a battery to replace but I don’t understand what’s going on in there. Haven’t gone to apple yet…don’t have the funds.

help!

Alexis: I had the same problem with my 2G iPod Nano
what i did was i replaced the battery (needed a solderer) and then it didn’t work for about a year, when all of a sudden my sister bought a wall charger. i had already tried connecting it to a computer and the computer wouldn’t recognize it and the iPod couldn’t get past the apple logo screen, but when i connected my Nano to just power it started charging! i dont know yet whether it will hold a charge though.

I have a 80gb apple ipod a currupt logo shown on my apple ipod i don’t know how to fix it back and it make me feel sad and i want help from someone.i try to restore it on the lastest itune it will not restore…

I’ve tried all of the above on my ipod photo (business card, 1/2 business card, whacking) i seem to have a similar problem to pat’s in the original article:

“sad face before i put in card board…
put in cardboard, then plugged in…
sad face then no response from computer to tell if it recognises the ipod…
then settles with charging symbol.”

i was gonna trying to put into disc mode but it won’t even give me the apple logo when it’s plugged in just the frozen charge symbol. right now when it’s plugged in it’s cycling btw “frozen charge, sad face, and apple.” any advice or should i just give up? please help

I’ve tried all of the above on my ipod photo (business card, 1/2 business card, whacking) i seem to have a similar problem to pat’s (in the original post):

“sad face before i put in card board…
put in cardboard, then plugged in…
sad face then no response from computer to tell if it recognises the ipod…
then settles with charging symbol.”

i was gonna trying to put into disc mode but it won’t even give me the apple logo when it’s plugged in just the frozen charge symbol. right now when it’s plugged it just cycles between frozen charge symbol, apple logo and sad face (in that order). any advice or should i just give up? please help

I am absolutely amazed. I had a 20G and 40G not working. I used a business card on 20G and it now works after daughter let it lay in a drawer for almost 2 years. On 40G was able to hear hard drive clicking so did the drop method a couple of times and now it is back in operation. My son wanted to know how I fixed it and I decided to keep the trade secret to myself and now son thinks dad is genius. Thanks to everyone for ideas which allowed me to repair 2 ipods at no expense and not buy new ones for Christmas. I greatly appreciate the shared knowledge.

I have a 30G ipod and I tried to get it off the ’sad ipod’ by both smacking it and dropping it, but neither worked, any suggestions?

i fixed my friends 30G with your groovy bush mechanics…..

i suggest practicing opening on a few oysters..! very similar (don’t eat the hard drive)…

thankyou..

my i pod video 30 gb has a constant white screen no apple logo no nothing ive tried to restat it but the plain white screen dosent go away help?

My ipod video stopped working one day and when i tried to connect it to the computer, it dosent turn on and is not recognized by the computer as even being plugged in. The only thing it does is when its plugged in it makes a peeping sound like a baby chic. If anyone can help me or diagnose this problem it would be a huge help. Thanks

my ipod wont even turn on and i tried to smack and to drop it but none of them worked any body know what to do

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call me at 834 654 8249

Hi guys I have a really annoying iPod problem.
I didn’t use the iPod for a month and when I used it again it didn’t work properly and after reseting I noticed that my iPod Video 60 GB is now 15.9 GB!!!!!
I tried formating, partitioning, scanning(with special software)……. no way it’s working just like previous but showing only 15.9 GB : (

So if anyone can help me in this issue I’ll be very thankful……..
khboyan_ara@yahoo.com

thank you everyone! i can once again enjoy seether, hatebreed,god forbid,flyleaf and much more on my kick ass ipod!

im billiewinchester with a new user name. im leaving and hopefully i won’t be back on for the sake of my ipod:D

my ipod jst flicks off wen its playing sum soundz waht do i do?

turn it back on or bitch about it to the government. that’s the way i roll!

You are the best! I was devastated thinking I would need a new iPod. Then I dropped it! Works fine! You’re awesome!

I have a 80gb ipod classic.
it fell off my bed and now i hear a clicking noise,
when i turn it on it goes from the apple logo to a circle with an x in it and it says http://www.apple.com/support/ipod. i did everything it says and it still doesnt work. every time i try to plug in my ipod it wont do anything, charge or even bring up itunes. ive tried dropping/smacking it and that hasnt worked.

I turned on my ipod in class one day, and then i turned it off…well i went to turn it on the next day and the screen read “OK to disconnect”…even though it was not connected to anything, so i plugged it up to the computer, and then it was fine but when i went to turn it on again it said the same thang…anyone know what i should do????

I wouldn’t advise throwing an ipod on the floor especially anything over 10gb as this will wreck the hard drive’s moving parts

dude…my 30g 4th gen…BACK FROM THE DEAD!!!! praise God for the internet and the people on it…thanks so much…magic cure i would have never gotten from apple…thanks again!

kids…got a sad ipod? just drop it on its side and WHAM…it’ll be sad no more…