[DSchaefer]

I have now had 2 of the 40gb click wheel iPods. They last about 9 months before the hard drive stops working. I only used these in my car - no jogging, no rock climbing - no severe duty. They just sit in my console and play... for a while. Each time they crashed, I tried all of the suggestions at Apple support. I retored, I rebooted, I did everything. Sometimes I could get the ipod to come back but only for a couple of days, and each time I would have to invest hours trying to resurrect it. The first one was replaced by Apple with a reconditioned replacement as it was still under warranty. Now outside the warranty, and about 9 months later I will have to eat this one. Had I known this damn thing would only last 9 months I would have never ever bought it. I have been a Mac and Apple user since my first Mac Plus and I am just livid that I spent any money on this piece of garbage iPod.
Some will say I should have bought Applecare - well the Ipod already was $400 when new, I never imagined they would be so unreliable. Some will also say I can take it back to the Apple store and get a $50 credit on a new iPod - well I am so livid now that I am swearing off of Ipods so they can stick their credit. I'll be going back to burning CDs for the car - cheap & reliable.
Maybe I won't be so quick to ALWAYS recommend Apple products in the future.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
Dang that luck. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Seriously though...I'm on my fourth iPod now and the only problem I've had and ever sent an iPod 'in' for was a cosmetic flaw. My first 5G must have had a misaligned something as I could see the backlight through the casing when using it in dark environments.
I've had a 15GB 3G, a 20GB 4G, a 4GB 2G mini, and a 60GB 5G.

[Tom_Diola]

Question: Do you leave the iPod in your car on hot days?
-and-
That thing about you ALWAYS recommending apple products doesn't incite a riot on this forum.

[DSchaefer]

Yes. My car is in covered parking and garaged at home.
BTW - all of my accessories are for sale;
car charger, leather case and dock w/USB cable.

[Nobody]

DSchaefer,
Since you do not specify what you have done in the way to resurrect the iPod, it is not possible to suggest, perhaps a few things that might have been left out by Apple because there are many things they consider unfit for a mere consumer to attempt on their own.
If you wish to put in a little effort in trying a few things, I would be happy to help you with eminently questionable advice that comes with no guarantees but for the price, this is what you get! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
[I have on many occasions left my iPod in my car... not by design but because at times when I am in a hurry, it happens! /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Though, most of the time my car is parked in a covered garage, there have been times when it was baking in the sun. Since non-operating storage temp of drives are high enough to take the heat, so far nothing bad has happened (LCDs are far more prone to damage by heat) but I agree with others that it is not an advisable practice to leave such things in hot sun in a car. In a covered parking, I see no problems... other than the general invitation for someone to break the window to get to it but that depends on the area. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif]

[DSchaefer]

I tried Diskwarrior and the Apple Disk Utility to repair the disk. I also wiped the entire disk clean and started over. This along with the ipod restore worked last time and the ipod ran flawlessly for about 2 weeks. Then another freeze. This last time I could not get it "unstuck" so that the Mac would recognize it, so it is now in a landfill. I have already invested untold hours in a product that is supposed to be plug & play and designed for the "average consumer".
My rant is just that, not a troll for advice, just a way to get this off my chest and to give Apple some badly needed negative PR about this product.

[Rugby]

well sad to hear but hey they sold a lot these "poorly made product". Good luck in finding a product that isnt prone to break. Everybody knows Apple made these poorly made products just to make some easy cash.:p
Sorry but I really do not get your post/rant, any product can break and you should be writing to Apple.
I have 3 players in my household. My Mini died after 6 monhs, I got a free new one from Apple (the warranty laws in Denmark are 12months). I use it for training etc. No problems
"untold hours" yeah
so you decide to give "badly needed negative PR" ? yeah a Mac only site should do it
Sorry but seeing you have only posted a very few posts here I seriously doubt your credibility.

[Nobody]

Have you tried to erase the disk using Disk Utility with zero data option?
If your iPod works for a while after restoration and then fails, it may have to do with the drive having developed some defects where it cannot read/write. Restoration does nothing to account for these damaged blocks but during the process of writing "zero" for all data through the entire drive, the system also keeps track of the areas that are not responding properly and in essense takes them out of circulation. The remaining storage, if stable, should work fine... hopefully for a while longer than a few days.
And ultimately, there is always an option of installing a new drive rather than throwing away the toy.
As for venting, if it makes you feel batter...

[Nobody]

[indent]In reply to:

---

Sorry but seeing you have only posted a very few posts here I seriously doubt your credibility.

---

[/indent]
A mere high count of posts does not always translate into honesty... not that I, or anyone for that matter, know whether or not the original poster (or anyone else) is telling the truth.
One of the main useful functions of fora like these towards the Mac users is to provide solutions for problems. If a poster is entirely unwilling to try reasonable suggestions made for resolving problems he or she is encountering, leaving them to their devices seems a fair way to deal with them... rant or no rant, the truth usually comes out soon enough. Displaying hostility towards a person who posts something that does not sit well with you, hardly serves any useful purpose.

[DSchaefer]

Thanks for your spectacular insight Rugby. Yeah I guess every product is prone to break at some point. I guess when I spend $400 for an iPod my expectation is that it will last me a few years before dying. Maybe the Flash based players are better... no moving parts in the drive. The warranty is the same here in the US and I already got my free replacement (see original post). Now I am outside the 12 months and am on my own.
I think Apple needs to be brought down a couple notches after all of the recent success. Their iPod products need some engineering attention so that they operate as good as they look. They also need to stand behind their products (more than offering a paltry discount on a new model) especially when they have known issues. I have already written to Apple though I do not expect them to respond.
Your conspiracy theory about my credibility is ridiculous and has no place here.
Alam: I finally threw in the towel. I did erase the drive with zeros, then restored the iPod software. I simply couldn't afford to spend any more time and energy trying to use/revive a simple consumer device.

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
"Known issues"? Either I'm lucky -- Y-e-a-h r-i-g-h-t ! -- or my track record [and others] prove this isn't a normal experience for iPod owners. Two other comments I will make...
1) It contains a hard drive and whether it be a laptop or MP3 player, hard drives are sensitive to conditions other storage medium aren't and vice versa.
2) While your vehicle may have been in a shaded parking area, was it uncomfortably warm to you when you got in? Shaded helps but that's not to say it may have been warmer than should. Even though I've had my iPods in some extreme temperatures...Mainly cold but outside of that recommeded for operation and storage......No problems seemed to have been caused.
Apple offers a quite standard warranty. One year. Usually replacements are warrantied for the rest of the original product's time or 90 days, whichever is greater. Seems quite reasonable to me.
It's understandable to be angry but to a certain degree.

[DSchaefer]

So being strapped to someone's arm or belt for a 5 mile run 4 days a week would be considered normal, but sitting snugly in the console of my car while driving, in a garage or in a covered parking spot would be considered beyond what the device is designed to handle...??? Also, when two of these devices fail in the same way at about the same amount of use... something is wrong. I have owned laptops in the past and subjected them to all kinds of extremes (temps and use) and never had a hard drive fail. The constant jarring should be more harmful to the hard drive than the temperature.
I think that if the product needs to be replaced under warranty, then the replacement should carry a full warranty so that, when it fails like this one did, the consumer isn't out of luck. Also, when the other one failed at 9 months I asked if I could get a credit toward a new model and was told that credits are only issued if there are no reconditioned, identical models available. So they are passing the trash. I would have gladly traded out of this model at that time.
The moral of the story here is that I am sorry I bought an iPod, Apple will not do anything else for me, and I will never buy another hard drive based MP3 player from anyone.

[Nobody]

[indent]In reply to:

---

1) It contains a hard drive and whether it be a laptop or MP3 player, hard drives are sensitive to conditions other storage medium aren't and vice versa.

---

[/indent]
What does that (bold portion in the context of the rest) actually mean in plain Engrish... I ain't edumacated enough to decipher that on my own!
And as for the rest, I can't shake loose the thought that if Apple pays you some thing to go after each and every poster who might have the audacity to say anything negative about Apple or does this type of stuff simply flows out of your soul naturally, completely unimpeded by the slightest thought that if someone wishes to say something out of frustration, perhaps just once in a while it may not be such a horrendous idea to leave the poor sod alone!
[Yes, you needn't bother with the obvious in the latter part; I'm acutely aware of the irony of this post! ]

[MacCheetah3]

Hi
Originally posted by DSchaefer
[indent]In reply to:

---

So being strapped to someone's arm or belt for a 5 mile run 4 days a week would be considered normal, but sitting snugly in the console of my car while driving, in a garage or in a covered parking spot would be considered beyond what the device is designed to handle...???

---

[/indent]
Either could be.
Originally posted by DSchaefer
[indent]In reply to:

---

Also, when two of these devices fail in the same way at about the same amount of use... something is wrong.

---

[/indent]
I agree. Either it is the environment or you just happen to end up with two consecutive units with problems resulting in total unusable early down the road...Bad luck.
Originally posted by DSchaefer
[indent]In reply to:

---

The constant jarring should be more harmful to the hard drive than the temperature.

---

[/indent]
Depends.
Originally posted by DSchaefer
[indent]In reply to:

---

then the replacement should carry a full warranty so that, when it fails like this one did, the consumer isn't out of luck.

---

[/indent]
Debatable. However, than you may still complain that it isn't two years instead of one or five years if it fails within 4.5. Just saying...
Originally posted by DSchaefer
[indent]In reply to:

---

The moral of the story here is that I am sorry I bought an iPod, Apple will not do anything else for me, and I will never buy another hard drive based MP3 player from anyone.

---

[/indent]
So be it, I'll continue enjoying mine. -- That's not meant to be a rude comment. --