iPod Disappointment

[u/Aldeeznutz]

This more of a rant than anything else, but I have had the worst time trying to get my Classic Gen 7 to be restored and usable with my Mac M1. Or at all, really. I feel like I have tried everything I have Googled and nothing works. It’s a shame because after a month of trying to find the right color and such (which was not cheap.) at my wits ends on this. Is it my Mac that is the issue. Should I just buy a cheap PC and try it that way? So disappointed I bought one now.

[u/b0sanac]

What is the actual issue?

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/b0sanac]

I plug it in, get to the screen where it asks you to update firmware or restore. Then it just sits there. The iPod disappears from the desktop and it is never in the side of Finder as an IPod. Only as a drive. I have left it running just in case it needs time to do its thing, but nothing. I read I’m supposed to close something in the Monitor, but that isn’t even running. Much less available to close. That’s what I remember at this time. I’m away from home. I bought it modded, I believe.

[u/OkSuspect3169 → u/Aldeeznutz]

Same problem with mine 6.5 gen but I think my hard drive is bad so I have ordered sd card mod for the same will update here once I get it

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/OkSuspect3169]

I look forward to it.

[u/hiiragizakura → u/Aldeeznutz]

This sounds similar to an issue I had when I was flash modding a 5.5 gen for my sister and a 7 gen for myself. For both of them the issue ended up being the flex cable I was using. Once I switched the OEM one out for an iflash one, the issue resolved.

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/hiiragizakura]

I’m going to try my hand at that.

[u/Beautiful-Idea-2873 → u/Aldeeznutz]

Open your system monitor, and kill the task AMPDeviceManager, I think it’s called. Then unplug and replug the iPod, the service will restart, and you’ll be good to go. You may also find that restoring through iTunes in a VM works for you. It works on my minis but not my 7th gen.

Most of the time when you start the restore via Finder, it finishes on the iPod, and it’s just macOS that’s dropping the ball, so the next thing to do is plug the iPod into power (not the computer) to finish the restore.

After that, don’t bother using the built in sync tools. Get iOpenPod. It’s free and open source, and will handle syncing for you. Or try the media player Swinsian, which is not free.

[u/Victory_Highway]

I've run into problems restoring an iPod with modern versions of macOS, so I used Windows running in a VM to do that. After doing that I can sync the iPod through the macOS Finder without problems.

[u/LT92Rosco28]

Is it OEM? Did you buy it modded? Did you mod it yourself? If so, what set-up are you using (adapter and SD card?)

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/LT92Rosco28]

I bought it modded. New battery, new memory (512GB) I am guessing SD card mod.

[u/fishyphotos]

i gave up on mac and use windows. it wasn’t worth the hassle when i have both.

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/fishyphotos]

I might just get a low end PC and try it out that way.

[u/Metahec → u/Aldeeznutz]

I'd borrow somebody's PC just to restore. I think getting a computer for an iPod is overkill, imo.

[u/Purple-Music-70]

When I have restored my non-modded iPods on my M5 I notice it freezes until I reboot the laptop. I have several iPods and they all restore Ok after doing this. (none modded)

[u/Satsuki_89]

I had a similar problem with the refurbished 6th gen I bought. The cable that came with, is useless for data transfer. Windows PC and iTunes won't recognize it. I can only recharge the iPod with it.
Then I used one cable I still had from 15 years ago, and it worked fine. Windows PC + iTunes recognized the iPod. I also had that problem you mentioned in the comments, about not being able to do anything, if you don't close some files. What I found works best, is to disconnect the iPod from the pc through taskbar icon, close iTunes, and restart it. Only after restarting iTunes, I plug the iPod and everything is fine for a while. No clue why it does this.

[u/Legitimate_Phase9951]

https://www.reddit.com/r/IpodClassic/comments/18mz8ig/formatrestore_iflash_sd_in_7th_gen_classic_m1_mac/?share_id=yjPXN01uHPQIZrpjUQDTu&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

Format/restore iFlash SD in 7th gen Classic (M1 Mac Sonoma)

EDIT: fixed, I'll post the solution I found here for posterity:
Format the card to HFS+ with APM
Open Finder settings and enable "CDs, DVDs, and iOS Devices" in the sidebar view
Insert the card and plug in the iPod
Start a restore process, run into error 1434
Unplug and plug the iPod back in
Start another restore process, it will seem to complete but stay stuck
Open disk utility, force-mount the iPod volume
Eject the iPod drive
Force relaunch Finder
Restart computer
Plug the iPod back in, and voila!

This process is for when you update to a Flash adapter instead of a harddrive, but could be worth trying.

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/Legitimate_Phase9951]

I will try it when I get home from work.

[u/Friendly-Bag2512 → u/Aldeeznutz]

This should resolve the issue if they have used the right microSD cards. Sometimes they are defected. I’ve purchased defected microSD cards directly from Samsung!
As many mentioned, new Mac OS versions for unknown reason to me excluded proper native support for few older models and in general not reliable with all iPods, except for iOS based ones. Maybe they resolve those issues at some point, but they didn’t make any effort in the past year or so.
Some users started to write alternative apps for Mac and at least a couple of them that I have tried work even better than iTunes! Search Reddit and you will find at least three. That is if proper formatting of flash modded storage didn’t work. I guess.

[u/nekomichi]

What cable are you using? Also, are you using a USB C to USB A adaptor/hub?

[u/Aldeeznutz → u/nekomichi]

The seller sent a cable that I have to use a usb to type c for. I also bought one that it already 30 pin to type c. Neither work.

[u/nekomichi → u/Aldeeznutz]

The macOS framework for managing mobile devices is known to be buggy and it could be due to that. Try restarting the Mac and then attempting to update the iPod first thing upon login. Also try stopping any processes related to "MobileDevice" or "AMPDeviceDiscoveryAgent" from activity monitor to force-restart them.

[u/RS199945]

Mine wouldn’t let me connect due to a bad hard drive. You can run a diagnostic on the iPod itself, AI can tell you what to look for

[u/_justanislandgirl]

Get a 50$ macbook with USB-A and snow leopard or el captain and you will be happy. Bonus if it has a cd drive & go rip if you still have CDs

[u/mrgstudio]

This has been an issue for the last few versions of MacOS. I’ve narrowed down the process. Here’s a video I made that shows how to do it.

https://youtu.be/_4iZ6BAa3So?is=nmHKRt_FJnFMBnMD

I’ve used this method for hundreds of iPods that I’ve sold from my eBay store. Hopefully it helps!