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A friend of mine asked for help with an iPod Classic that isn't working.

It is an 80GB iPod Classic, model A1238, that doesn't give any signs of still being alive. It won't beep or light the screen, doesn't matters what I try.

I have tried to reset it (turn the hold switch on/off and then hold the middle and menu button) but it did nothing, and so I couldn't put it in disk mode either.

Right now I'm trying to charge it from a power adapter, but I don't expect it to help. I had already tried to charge it from a PC, and from a MacBook Pro.

Anything else I could try, before sending it to repair?

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  • Note that it is probably out of power, so you need to recharge it first. Note that if it does not at least indicate that it has found out it is being charged (some kind of visual feedback - may not show immediately), it is most likely very broken. – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Jul 15 '13 at 10:06
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Assuming that you've tried resetting while the iPod is connected to a power source, there's really not much else that can be done. The Apple Store, or an Authorized Apple Service Provider, is pretty much your only option at this point.

Also, how long has the iPod been doing this? If it was subject to extreme conditions for an extensive amount of time, or if it suffered liquid damage, it may be broken beyond repair (or repair may be cost-prohibitive, assuming it's no longer under warranty).

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  • I don't know what (or if) happened to it, but the problem was in the front panel and the circuitry attached to it. When I replaced the panel with one I took from my defective iPod Classic 160 GB, it worked pretty well. – lpacheco Jul 24 '11 at 23:40
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Here's something that worked for me:

  1. Put the iPod into a ziploc bag and seal it tightly.
  2. Put it in the freezer overnight.
  3. Take it out in the morning.

I thought that it was just an urban myth, but as the iPod was apparently dead, why not try it? I was (pleasantly!) shocked to see it start up again the next morning.

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    That would probably only help in the event of hard drive problems, as I've heard similar suggestions for (temporary!) recovery of crashed hard drives. I doubt it would help at all for the newer flash-based devices. – Tim Dec 13 '10 at 4:55

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