By pressing the proper combination of buttons on the iPod’s face, you can force the device
to reset, enter Disk Mode, scan its hard disk for damage, and perform a series of diagnostic
tests. Here are those combinations and the wonders they perform:

• Reset

  First three generations of the white iPod: Plug the iPod into a powered FireWire
  device (the Apple iPod Power Adapter, an auto adapter, or a built-in FireWire port),
  and press and hold Play and Menu for 6 seconds.
  Fourth-generation iPod, iPod Photo, and iPod mini: Plug the mini into a powered
  device (the Apple iPod Power Adapter, an auto adapter, or a built-in FireWire port)
  or a high-powered USB 2.0 port; then press and hold Select and Menu for 6 seconds.
  When you reset your iPod, your data remains intact, but the iPod restores the factory
  settings. This technique reboots the iPod and is helpful when your iPod is locked up.

• Disk mode.

  First three generations of the white iPod: Reset the iPod. At the Apple logo, press and
  hold the Previous and Next buttons.
  Fourth-generation iPod, iPod Photo, and iPod mini: Reset the iPod. At the Apple
  logo, press and hold the Select and Play buttons.
  Use this technique when you need to mount your iPod on a Mac with an unpowered
  FireWire card (a FireWire PC Card in your older PowerBook, for example) or on a
  PC with a similarly unpowered FireWire or USB 2.0 connection.

• Disk scan.

  First three generations of the white iPod: Reset the iPod. At the Apple logo, press and
  hold Previous, Next, Select, and Menu. An animated icon of a disk and magnifying
  glass with a progress bar below it appears.
  Fourth-generation iPod, iPod Photo, and iPod mini: Click-wheel iPods don’t offer a
  button combination to scan the hard drive. Rather, you must access this function
  through the iPod’s Diagnostic screen (which I explain at great length later in this
  chapter).
  Use this combination when you want to check the integrity of the iPod’s hard drive.
  This test can take 15 to 20 minutes, so be patient. Be sure to plug your iPod into the
  power adapter when you perform this test so that the iPod doesn’t run out of juice
  before the scan is complete. If the scan shows no problems, a check mark appears
  over the disk icon. To return your iPod to regular use, press Play.

• Diagnostic mode.

  First three generations of the white iPod: Reset the iPod. At the Apple logo, press and
  hold Previous, Next, and Select.
  Fourth-generation iPod, iPod Photo, and iPod mini: Reset the iPod. At the Apple
  logo, press and hold Select and Previous.
  Diagnostic mode includes 16 tests for the first three generations of the white iPod, 19
  tests for the iPod mini, 21 tests for the fourth-generation iPod, and a mess o’ tests for
  the iPod Photo that may help you determine what’s wrong.

Alexandru is the proud owner of the best iPod resource site available. Check out the free software available and the free stuff offered!

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!