iPod photo issues w/ sync and detection

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blasthash

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Alright everyone,

First post here; I'll try and make this as comprehensive as possible.

I recently purchased an old iPod photo 20GB off none other than eBay; part of it was simply nostalgia whereas the other part was wanting to finally replace the many iPods that I've had that by various causes went to the digital grave.

The listing denoted that the device was working, and even included photos of the thing on the home screen so I understood that the device was indeed in functioning order.

On delivery, it is clear that this is the iPod from hell; it's formatted Windows, but neither my Windows nor Mac machines will recognize it. I've tried rebooting the thing while attached; no go. Disk Utility doesn't detect a mount. Booting into disk mode gives the check (as in "OK to disconnect") automatically without ever having acknowledged a sync. I have yet to run through the diag menu but at least my first thought was that it happens to be a HDD issue.

That being said, I've had 5 iPods before at various points in my life (not including this one), so I'm understanding of the fact that iPods are sometimes gremlins to mount and connect. They get moody, and I get that.

There is one other problem - the battery. Now, obviously an iPod photo that has no verifiable signs of opening is likely to have a questionable battery in 2015, but this is something else entirely. The device will not even recognize power (device/wall; at least it's an equal opportunity PITA) without being rebooted, so death is an obvious outcome. When plugged in, it will charge up to about 10% (ca. the second-to-smallest red sliver the iPod can produce while having visible indication) and then stop charging without any notice.

At first I thought this was an HDD issue, but because the charging system usually isn't implemented in storage software, I'm thinking it might be a motherboard problem.

I've read on the subject that there are issues with Yosemite and iPods; other places I read that only pertains to the Yosemite Beta. I may have a Core 2 Duo unibody that doesn't have Yosemite I can attempt, but I'd like to rule out other things first.

While on the subject, I'm not aloof to the idea of opening it up; in fact, once I verified it is working, I already intend to go the SS/CF route and put in a replacement battery. I would just like to see that the thing isn't a goose egg before I go through the trouble and purchasing of parts.

Thanks in advance to anyone with insight or ideas as to what's going on.
blasthash

UPDATE: Going to Terminal and running diskutil list and mount both verify that the only thing connected right now is my system SSD.
 
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skins247

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IF you purchased this VERY recently read last sentence FIRST......if this doesn't apply.....First thing I would do is ...open it...unhook the hard drive for a few minutes, then hook it back up (keep the ipod open, just be careful of the headphone ribbon) while you're working on the iPod flipping it over etc....then see what happens....if you have to , place it into disk mode again and let it charge (from outlet) in that mode for at least an hour or so and see where your battery indicator goes....hopefully much more than the 10% you explained..If not, I'm leaning toward a bad board......then attach it to your computer again ( I would also re start my computer fresh, before hooking it up again).....If you get the same results you probably have a bad board....also...did the iPod come with "his" original music on it...if so , "he" probably had the same "unable to sync" problem....PS....items listed as "used" on ebay are "returnable" at seller's expense for "item not as described"....easy peazy....
 

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blasthash

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Sep 22, 2015
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IF you purchased this VERY recently read last sentence FIRST......if this doesn't apply.....First thing I would do is ...open it...unhook the hard drive for a few minutes, then hook it back up (keep the ipod open, just be careful of the headphone ribbon) while you're working on the iPod flipping it over etc....then see what happens....if you have to , place it into disk mode again and let it charge (from outlet) in that mode for at least an hour or so and see where your battery indicator goes....hopefully much more than the 10% you explained..If not, I'm leaning toward a bad board......then attach it to your computer again ( I would also re start my computer fresh, before hooking it up again).....If you get the same results you probably have a bad board....also...did the iPod come with "his" original music on it...if so , "he" probably had the same "unable to sync" problem....PS....items listed as "used" on ebay are "returnable" at seller's expense for "item not as described"....easy peazy....
The iPod arrived today, so I wasted no time in trying to make it work.

As far as the seller's music, it's clean. 0 songs, 0 photos; it's been cleaned of data. I know about the buyer protections on eBay, but for the general price of a Photo on the 'Bay (~$40) as of late, as long as it's workable without causing a mid-life crisis it's worth it.

I'll try the disk mode charge first; I don't have any of the tools to do a clean open on hand. I'll probably let the thing sit to deplete a bit more just in case it's an oscillation hiccup or something.
 
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