How to Fix Corrupted iPod – Top 5 Ways – Restore, Driver, Disk Management, Format, Doctor

Thursday, June 25th, 2009 | #Tags: corruption, Guide, Hardware, howto, ipod, Tips N Tricks, troubleshooting

You own a xx GB iPod and till yesterday it was working fine then all of a sudden iTunes monster tells you “Error ipod is corrupt please restore”. You connected it and the “do not disconnect” was blinking forever and you had to disconnect it manually. IPod doesn’t show up in iTunes and you get a message that it detects a corrupted ipod. Darkness falls on your eyes. OMG! what happened ?

Why iPod Corrupts?

There are several possible causes for iPod crash:
- iTunes database on iPod is corrupt. Could be becuase you tampered it.

- iPod File system/Library corrupted while you migrated from older to newer version of iTunes

- Corruption due to migration of PC to PC or PC to MAC or vice-versa.

- Damage of Hard disk clusters.

Unless the reason is NOT the last one, it can be fixed. In case of the last one, you must rush to apple for support.

It has been restored at least 4 times and still says it’s corrupted. It was also reformatted. Nothing. Since then I’ve updated to the new Itunes version. In My Computer it has just changed from saying “IPOD” to “removable disk” and when I right click on it to check properties it freezes so I can’t get in. The menus all work on the IPOD, it has no music on it. I can play games, just can’t get it recognized or uncorrupted. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I too have the same problem. I just change my computer and when I connected my Ipod to the new computer….it all started. The only new action I did was to install a newly downloaded iTunes. Then when I hooked up my Ipod….it took so long to connect not like before when it only took seconds for my computer to detected my Ipod. Bec of this, my Ipod was corrupted. I already restored my ipod….all are new version already, Ipod and Itunes, but still have the same problem of long detection of the Ipod. BTW, my computer is faster now since it is brand new. Please help. I am hesitant to transfer my files at the moment because it might be corrupted in the end again.

How to fix the iPod

There are multiple ways to fix the corrupted iPod, though it’s not 100% gauranteed it will work coz chances of HDD corruption do exist.

- Restore method Try putting it in disk mode by holding the Menu + Center buttons until the Apple logo appears, then when it Logo appears, switch to holding Center + Play/Pause buttons until it says “Ok to Disconnect”. Then try formatting or restoring it and see if it fixes it at all. To get out of disk mode, reset your iPod by holding Menu + Center buttons until the Apple logo appears again. If this fails, proceed with the next.

- Disk management: plug in iPod > Right click My computer > Manage > under “storage”, click on “disk management” right-click on the iPod it shows. “Change drive letter and paths…” then change the drive letter to something different. Then unplug the iPod and plug it back in again. It should work.

- Driver Re-install -Plug your ipod into your computer, My Computer > manage > Device Manager and click on Universal Serial Bus Controller. Then click the plus sign and find the one with your device (it should say something like “USB Mass Storage Device.”. Right-click on that device and select “Uninstall.” Let the screen refresh. Replug your device from the computer, wait about 5 seconds then plug it back in.

- Formatting and Restoring Another way is to format the iPod HDD (and then restore) to remove minor disk errors that might have come over usage of iPod.

To proceed with this, you need a utility called HP USB. You can either google it or download it here. Format the drive as FAT 32 and then you should be able to restore it with no problem.

- Try CopyTrans Doctor Its a good software for iPod recovery and fixes. Guide available here.
If All of the above methods fail, probability of having bad clusters is high.
How to confirm iPod Hard disk has gone bad?

If you succeed in doing the quick format with the utility tool, and can now right click on Apple ipod in “my computer” and get the menu, proceed with this. Select the iPod in “my computer” right click >Properties > Tools > check disk. MAke sure you have the checkbox ” Attempt for the recovery of bad sectors” selected. Now your disk is checked for consistency. It will be checked in 2 phases. If it fails in any one of those with un-repairable message or freezes infinitely, then there is no solution, you would have to rush to apple to get the support. Else try the above steps again with the latest iTunes, it should work.

Glad to help you. If you have any questions, feel free to post below or ask @taranfx on Twitter. We post friendly Guides in Technology, iPhone, Windows, Mac OS frequently. Follow us on Twitter @Taranfx or subscribe below for LIVE updates.

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Sympatica

OMG! Thanks! Got my pod back!
best registry cleaner

•If your iPod is connected to Windows or iTunes, properly eject/disconnect it.

•2
First try to simply reboot your iPod and reset it. This often fixes the problem. If you have a click wheel, turn the off the Hold button which is on top of your iPod. Then hold the Select and Menu buttons at the same time for a few seconds until it restarts. If you have an iPod Touch, you reset it by holding down the power button on top and the Home button on the bottom/front of your iPod Touch at the same time for a few seconds until the Apple icon pops up. This will reset your iPod.

•3
If simply re-booting your iPod doesn't fix the problem and it still says that your iPod is corrupted, do a hard reset. Note that this will remove your music, videos etc. from your iPod. To do a hard reset, hold Select and Menu at same time for about 10 seconds or until it resets and the screen goes blank. Then press Select and Play/Pause which will switch it over to disk mode and say OK to disconnect.

•4
Plug your iPod into the computer and go to iTunes. iTunes will ask you to restore it. Do so and then re-sync all your files to get your music, videos, etc. back onto your iPod.
Olivia

Thank you so much for this article! :)
I almost died when it was corrupted.
Elizabeth Evans

This helped my situation instantly! Thank you so much
Elizabeth Evans
karen

Thanks for this information my Ipod classic is now working.
Black

OMFG I LOVE U, i was sooking all afternoon until i found ur page, U ROCK
Johnnyc1118

Thanks man! I could never get my iPod out of recovery mode. All I had 2 do wuz keep resetting the iPod.
Sheila

Hey, My Ipod screen is lit up but staying permanently blank. I've tried restoring it three time and it's done nothing. I'm not very good with computers. :S What should I do please help?
Klc-4444

i took my ipod off after syncing it and accidently did not press eject...now it wont even turn on. This has never happened before. Can anyone help?
Rim

thanks so so much it started working when i pressedMenu + Center buttons until the Apple logo appeared, then when it appeared, switched to holding Center + Play/Pause button. who ever said this u r a freaking GENIUS i cant thank u enough thanks so much i cant tell how thankful i am i love you who ever said this GOD BLESS YOU....
Kristen

OH MY GOD! You're a freaking genius! I've been sitting here trying to fix my ipod for the last two and a half hours then I googled the problem, clicked this link and you helped me fix it instantly! Thanks so much :-D
Tionneb

This Worked Thank You So Much WHOOOOO!!!
Jeremy

omg thank you so much!!! i was getting ready to flip out haha
Seebigtrees

Amazing, worked like a charm!
Dougbrown11

Thank you very much!
I thought my ipod was completely broken until i read your advice on here.
Thank you !!!!
Ed

Omg thank you!!!
2fuzzers

Thank you sooooooo much! I had no idea why my brand new ipod nano stopped doing anything. Your simple instructions made everything work again!

I do have another question...I just got a new computer (thus my ipod corrupting) itunes now recognizes my ipod, but I get all of my downloaded songs to show up in itunes on my new computer. Any advice?

Thank you again!!!
Rachael

it worked wonderfully I got my ipod back!!!!!
Marcela

Oh GOOOOD THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I thought I was dead!!!! Im going on vacations and I couldn't have possibly survived without my iPod. The first step fixed everything! God bless google and people like you!!!!
Sophia

OH MY GOODNESS
when i first saw this on itunes i totally FREAKED
i thought id have to go through all the hassle of going to some shop but u basically saved my LIFE
Thank You So Much!!
Pizarro_marisol

omg thanks soooo much ily yu person!! <3 i thought i was gonna die for a minute there :)
Sam_redz6

thanks person
you really helped me
in my time of need
Haidar Ali

my ipod isnt working none of the tips above is helping PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE HELP MEEEEEEEEEE OMGGGGGGGG IM FKNNNNN LOSINGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG MY MINDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD INBOX ME HW TO DO IT AT
courtney

omfg i loveee youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu
Laurie

If you have a corrupted database file it's actually very easy to fix. Just look inside your itunes_control/itunes folder for a file itunesdb.old.mpml (or something like that can't remember now). Rename the existing itunesdb (which should now be 0kb) file to something else. Then rename the itunesdb.old file to just itunesdb. Eject and enjoy having your songs again.
Sevoy80

thank you sooo much i needed it
Jaammees

thanks buddy hope you get a day of good luck you saved my shit
david

We are the biggest ipod and iphone parts distributor in shenzhen,china,welcome to visit www.ipartscity.com ,you can also contact me directly,my email is ipodparts(at)yahoo(dot)cn ,my AIM is ipartscity.
Jose

thanks guys!!!! i thought my ipod had took a shit. you guys saved me some money.
thank you so much
Jennifer

thanx i think by re-installing my driver it is now working, well so far no error 4,000 more songs to go, crossing my fingers. i would have never known to do that, and apple doesnt tell you that, so thanks a bunch!!!
Nick

Hi.
Do you have any fixes for Mac? Already restored, but nothing happened. Thanks!
Christy

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I love you so much. I was so worried it was broken forever and I'd have to buy a new one. You are awesome!
jeymoh.kip

WTF, procedure no 1(restore method) works like charm, you awesome man, was so terrified my shuffle 5 generation 16gb had just showed me its darkest side,was so so numb the whole day till i came across these staff, dudes believe u me it works!!! thanx lots.
Guicho

The problem I'm experiencing with my Ipod is that corrupted to the fact, according to a girl at the apple store, that I used several different pc to upload my cd collection. It corrupted and it won't sync with itunes anymore. Also, the artwork I downloaded to the ipod is all wrong, such as wrong cd covers with artists and such. However, it plays all the songs I downloaded to it. But also since its corrupted I'm unable to download more music to it. It's a 8G ipod and I barely got to 900 songs!!! HELP! I spent almost an entire week putting my cd collection on it. PS I didn't save the song to itunes! That's why Im really desperate to fix it without losing or deleting my songs that I already have on the ipod
anfernee

okay i reset my ipod but it wont go pass the searching for preconfigured driver folders what should
REGGAMUFFEN

dude i f........king love you man
you jast saved me shot peace out

els the MONSTER madnes
Jennifer

Thank you!!!!! You have save me from a very upset daughter!!!!!!
Isolated

Hey I've Got A Few Questions. In - Restore method, my itunes cannot read my ipod. In - Disk management, My disk management Is Taking More Than Hours To Read. In - Driver Re-install, Nothing Happen After I've Tried It. In - Formatting and Restoring, All Of The Sudden The Program Cannot Respond. In - Try CopyTrans Doctor, The Program Also Cannot Respond.
Dayton Jones

Mine came up as "corrupted" a few times, but all I did was hold the center button and menu together for about 5 seconds and it restarted my iPod then it was recognized in iTunes like normal. There was no way I was restoring it, because that means all of my music and podcasts will be erased. So, just hold the center button and the menu button together and everything should be fine.
Mike

Thank you so much! I just replaced my battery and was having problems with my ipod saying its corrupted. My computer recognized that the ipod was corrupted and told me to restore it. I tried and tried, but it would always be "corrupted" after the restore mode. Putting it in "disk mode" and then trying to restore was all it took.

Thank you so much!
Mal

You guys ROCK. Love you guys. Fixed my ipod. all my songs still intact...
Samantha

My ipod had been frozen for hours, and i could not fix it!! But the first step you said to do worked in seconds, thank you!
Albert

This info was very helpful.. I was able to fix my iPod. Thanks a lot.
HappyHanged

While I was working on one of the ways to fix your iPod here, I searched it again and found this site that shows you a corrupted iPod and a hanged iPod. I thought nothing would work since iTiunes wasn't even recognizing it but it turns out it was only hanged. All I had to do was press the menu and center button at the same time for 10 seconds and it was fixed. So if this isn't working go to http://dt.yogtec.com/2007/12/how-to-repair-a-hanged-or-corrupted-ipod/ to see if it hanged or not
hottibs

Thank you
Kevin

Thanx it worked, haha i got so mad i thought it broke
lou137

This was amazingly helpful!
Thank you :D
Nikki

omg...i almost freaked out too. it totally restored it! thank you so much. i wouldnt know what to do if i didnt have my ipod!!!
fjdishgogsjhl

thank you!! i thought i was doomed
Guest

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. omg thank you x10. like seriously i love you. the last time this happened it took forever for me to fix it. but the first method given, took less than a minute. THANK YOU. i'm favoriting this site XD
Guest

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. omg thank you x10. like seriously i love you. the last time this happened it took forever for me to fix it. but the first method given, took less than a minute. THANK YOU. i'm favoriting this site XD
Aks

Thank you guys........ur the best...Geniuses at work....I panicked when my Ipod hung and nothing seemed to work...It works now and thanks to u fellas...All credit to u :)))))))
abijith

i don't know whom u are boss but nu r a real genius man bcoz i tried several methods to correct my mp3 player but at last your advice only came to my rescue
Blue

Thanks son much, this is the only thing that i've tried that worked :-D
Sheetal

You are a life saver, i tried holding menu and center button till the apple logo appears as you said and it came back on... Awesome post!!... Thanks!!!!
Tom

Hi ive tryed all of your methods and unfortunately none of them worked. my ipod is only 1 month old. It is not itunes that tells me its corrupt but a program that i use to back it up. I have tryed transdoctor repair and that said my database was corrupt, but there was nothing there that would allow me to repair. I also tryed a different program that recognised no errors with my Ipod.. im truley confused and the matter is really annoying any help will be greatly appreciated.

~Tom
charlesmulupi

Thanks!. I i was in panic mode. i only bought it last week and it wanted to spoil my day.
simmy12345

thank youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! U R THE BESTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKKKKKKKKKKYOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUU
LOL:D
hiiii

Wow!!! Thank you SO much. I got so scared when I say my iPod was corrupted- I practically live on that thing. Great advice, and the directions are very easy to follow.

Thanks again!
Marua

Thank you very much! I was about to throw my second ipod away ))

Now, I have found the old one (which somehow was still there) and can use both of them!
brittney111

uggh i almost died when itunes said my ipod was corrupted!! Then i tried this and it worked!! Im so so so happy!! thaaaank you :D
Selkaine

Thank you so much. I literally bought my new iPod like not even an hour ago and it got corrupted. I googled how to fix it and found this site. Your first suggestion worked! Thanks
sasha

thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much !
my ipods working again !!!
i love you!
<3 from Ireland!
Grateful

Holy potato, thank you so much!!!! I just used the holding menu and center button method until the apple logo appears and wala! I really thought I had lost all of my music. I have never wanted to kiss a help article before...until now. THANK YOU SO MUCH!
an anonymous fan

THANK YOU!!!
joseyl21

heyy, thankyou so much this has really helped me, it was easy to follow.
thanks again.
Mel

Omg i love you!!
this totally fixed my ipod! i was like in ahuge panic but thank you thank you thankyou!!!!!!!!!!
Kinoguti14

wich one did you use?
romik

BRILIANT my friend, advices are GREAT. Thank you for posting several methods, i allmost got to the end of the list and i thought my iPod was broken. At the end the formatting did the job.
I tryed to restore it, because it was not syncing, but it was taking too long, so i unplugged it (after about 2h). After that not even iTunes won't recognize my iPod.
Jon

I too am getting the "Device media is write-protected" message. Is there any way around this?
liamlockwood

hey its christmas next week and my ipod broke too late to get a new one and the whole of christmas and most of jan wivout ipod until i found your page. then i followed the easy simple steps and god bless you man you need a knighthood. thank you sooo much
Taranfx

You are welcome :) You can subscribe to us for more tips and Happy Christmas :)
Fish Glitter Gal

You are AMAZING! This article was more helpfull than the people at the Apple Store. Thank you so much! <3 from California
grab24

OMG thank you!!! i hate technology when it fails but this was the easiest fix i've ever done! deer sweet got thank you!!!
Jose

Hi, when I try to reformat using the HP USB utility, it gives an error message saying "Device media is Write-protected" how can I change this in order to reformat?
torisatori

I have a 80gig Classic that I was given with the instructions "if you can fix it, you can have it!" I've been trying for days to fix it but nothing has worked.

It was used with a MAC but I have a PC. I have done all of these 5 steps with it but none of them have been able to take it out of recovery mode. Each time I plug in the Ipod after successfully completing one of these steps, I plug it into the computer and Itunes tells me that "an Ipod has been detected that is in recovery mode. You must restore this ipod before it can be used with Itunes. I run the restore and the ipod is restored, restarts and then Itunes gives me the exact same message again.

I have put this Ipod is disk mode, reformatted it using Windows, I have switched computers, switched USB ports, and followed to the letter the 5 directions above. I have checked the hard drive with windows and with CopyTransDoctor. Nothing shows up.

I am out of ideas. If you have any suggestions any help at all would be greatly appreciated!
unholyrevolution

You could try connecting it to iTunes, if at all possible. If it does successfully connect to iTunes i.e. you can see in the device area. If the steps are successful then go to the restore button. It then should hopefully work!
However if it does not then i suggest taking it to your nearest apple store for a service (although services are quite expensive!)
r4i card

have a 2G i phone i had downloaded the latest update 3.1 i think from i tunes not knowing the problem of not to download it but then once i did it locked my i phone only displaying the emergency pad is there a way for me to unlock it and i do not have a Sim card i just want tose it as an i pod right now not as a phone
Andrew

Hmm... so how would you go about doing this on a Mac?
Veronica

Thank you so much for this info. My Ipod is working again! I got so scared that it would not open. Thank you! Thank You! I am SO Happy right now! thanks
Taranfx

Our Pleasure. Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/taranfx and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Taranfx/286037690264
Tatiana

Also, is there any way to rip my iPod while it's corrupted into my computer? Because I would like to at least save my data files.
Tatiana

Hi there, I found your post through Google. I have a major dilemma. By mistake I downloaded this program called Xilisoft iPod Rip (thinking it was an AMR to MP3 ripper), and one day when I connected my iPod to my laptop to charge it, it automatically synched with Xilisoft iPod Rip, and then when I disconnected the iPod and started listening to music in it I realized that something was terribly wrong because the songs featured pictures of albums by other artists, not the artist who was playing.

Today when I connected my iPod it froze up and iTunes wouldn't open it, finally iTunes told me my iPod was corrupt and that I had to reset it. I unfroze it and disconnected it from my laptop because I do NOT want to lose all my files, so is there any way to restore a corrupted iPod WITHOUT losing any files, and if it's free I would be even more grateful to you! Thanks!
Ingrid K

Re: Ipod disconnected from Vista x64 = Invisible iPod???
How do I make my computer SEE the corrupted iPod???
Great article on corrupted iPod fixes - makes a lot of sense.
BUT ... how can I go about restoring my 80GB iPod Classic when neither computer recognizes it when I plug it into the USB port?(WinXP Pro x86 & Vista x64)
I'm not using a hub, & I am using the original Apple USB cord.
I've had this iPod for over a year with absolutely no problems - until - it was disconnected from Vista x64 this morning.
Message said iPod was corrupted.
It now just displays the big red X and turns itself off whenever I turn it on.
I want to follow your advice for fixing this ... if I could only get either computer to actually "SEEe" this iPod!!!
I've tried Computer management> Storage > Disk Management = but there's absolutely no indication that this ipod is attached.
I've tried Computer management >Device Mngr >Human Interface / USB Controllers / Disk Drives = again it's as though the USB-attached iPod is invisible!
I've tried different USB ports, and 2 different computers.
Always the same.
How can I repair/restore/reset this iPod if I can't get the computer to acknowledge that it's attached?
Can you offer any suggestions? I'd be grateful for anything!!! I'm completely out of ideas .....
Thanks for your help with my invisible iPod
Kazzo

Ingrid K mine is exactly the same - I still cant fix it did you succeed ??
Norman

Try putting it in disk mode first. The same thing happened to me but I put it in disk mode and it worked out fine.
Brian 500

My apologies, the correct link for DriveRestore Professional is: www.pcrecovery.com/driverestore/ipod-repair
Brian 500

DriveRestore Professional will repair a corrupted iPod with NO loss of data and no loss of the personalised settings! It is free to download and try at: www.pcrecovery.com/DriveRestore/iPod-Repair

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