iPod Preventing Windows XP Startup

[skibum1981]

Hey All,

If there are any Windows iPod Gurus that are willing to help me out, it would be extremely appreciated!

I have a problem with my iPod in that it prevents windows from starting up whenever it is attached. When my iPod is plugged in via USB on startup, my computer will just sit there at a blank screen (before the Windows XP GUI shows up). XP will NOT load until I actually physically remove the iPod from the dock. Sometimes this occurs again when the GUI actually does show up (after the login screen), though instead of a blank screen I am left with just my desktop; explorer.exe (read as: any windows XP functionality) will not load until I physically remove the iPod from the dock yet again.

I presume what is happening when the bootup pauses the first time is that the BIOS tries to run from the hard drives before XP is loaded -- the iPod being one of them, on which there is no operating system. I tried entering setup (by pressing F2 when the computer starts) to fix this problem, but I cannot disable individual hard drives; I can only change the order of "Floppy" "CD" and "Hard Drives," but it will read from all hard drives irrespective of the ordering of those three options.

I have no clue what would cause the second problem.

Has anyone had a problem remotely similiar? How can you fix this? Please let me know ASAP. Thanks!!!!!!

- Adam

[3dogs]

I'm having the same problem. I take the iPod out of the dock on start up. I suspect it is a bios issue, but have not gotten around to looking at it yet. If you want to fix it, look in the bios at which disk is the first, second, third to start. Changing that might fix it.

[skibum1981]

Yeah but if you read my post, I cannot modify that information. I can modify the order of the following categories.

1) Floppy
2) CD
3) Hard Disk(s)

But I CANNOT modify the order of members of an individual category; ie, I cannot modify the order of the individual hard disks (in this case C -- my XP drive, versus E -- my iPod) or prevent hard disks from being read at all.

Does anyone have a fix for this? Fyi, I have a Dell Inspiron 5000 which uses PhoenixBIOS, but I cannot remember what version (A08??).

[3dogs]

I skimmed through the post and missed that. What about just taking the iPod out of the dock on start up. The only reason I press this issue is that I have read that keeping the iPod in the dock connected to a computer can reduce the life of the battery.

[bdb]

My iPod also locked up my laptop when I accidently had it connected at startup. I also had to reset the iPod to get it to work again.

I solved this problem by not doing it anymore. :)

[insomnia]

hey skibum1981,

I have been having the same problem since Sunday. I was gonna take it to the mac store but after visiting this forum
I ran the chkdsk utility and it miraculously reappeared on my itunes and is working.

I don't know why this was happening, I even did the system restore sunday and nothing. Also while I was on the train my ipod just froze on a song and went back like 4 songs on my playlist. Also when I went to play the same song on another playlist, it clicked/paused mid song.