iPod Troubleshooting
OK, if you’ve been reading through this website, you’ve probably got the impression that the iPod is darn near perfect for playing backing tracks (which it is!).

But, like most pieces of electronic wizardry, it can from time to time start behaving a little out of the ordinary and doing things it’s not supposed to do.

You may have to troubleshoot your iPod from time to time and if you do, this is the page to revisit!

In effect, an iPod is a computer, (and we all know how computers like to behave) so, just like computers, an iPod can crash, freeze up, or generally just start doing some crazy things it’s not supposed to.

When this happens, the simplest solution is to reset your iPod much in the same way you would re-boot a computer that’s acting up. In 99.9% cases this will solve the problem and causes less headaches than trying to actually find out what caused the problem in the first place.

Most iPod problems are usually caused by the software. Software glitches are a sad fact of life and are not isolated to the iPod (how many times have you seen the familiar Windows blue screen of death in your life)!

Troubleshooting Hard Drive problems
If the problem is the iPods hard drive or your iPod suspects that there might be an issue with its hard drive, it will automatically start to run its built in disk scan utility. The screen will display a disk and magnifying glass icon while the scan is in process. It should take around twenty minutes to complete and once it’s done, you will see an icon to show that everything's OK and the hard drive is in perfect condition.

If however the scan fails, don’t despair – it doesn’t necessarily mean your hard drive is dead and gone. Although the scan failed, it will be repeated the next time you turn on your iPod and the next scan may just be able to fix the problem. In some circumstances, if the scan has found problems on your hard drive, but repaired them you may need to restore your iPod using an iPod software updater which you can download from Apples Website. The iPod will display little icons to tell you it’s scan results and these can vary so check your owners manual for a guide. The main icon you DON’T want is an icon of an iPod with a sad face on it’s screen – it means your iPod needs sent to Apple for repair.

If your computer refuses to mount or dismount your iPod , even though Disk Use is enabled, try forcing it by re-setting the iPod.

Troubleshooting Battery Problems
Much has been said about the life span of the iPod battery and the speed with which it runs down. To be honest, I haven't had any bad experiences at all with iPod batteries (maybe because I continually upgrade/buy new iPods so never have one model long enough for the battery to get old)! But if your battery seems to be running down very quickly, there are a couple of things you can do to maximize the listening time you get from a single battery charge.

1. First, make sure you're not running an old iPod software version.

2. Buy a decent pair of sound isolating headphones so you don't have to listen to your music at such a high volume (the amplifier which powers the headphones is a big drain on the battery).

3. Avoid using the backlight, and turn off the clock and calendar alarm functions.

4. Use lower-quality song files so the iPod doesn't have to work so hard to play them (see http://www.mp3backingtrax.com/article19.htm for more info).

5. Try not to use the menu buttons too frequently as they require more hard-drive use.

6. Use the Hold switch so that your iPod doesn't "play itself" when it’s in your pocket and buttons get pressed accidentally.

7. Turn off repeat mode

If your iPod battery does eventually die, either send the iPod to Apple for a replacement (free if your warranty hasn't expired) or get a third-party company to replace it for you (there are lots of these companies on the internet – look for a local company near where you live so that you can drop off and pick up your iPod rather than posting it). You could have a go at doing it yourself by buying a new battery and downloading instructions on how to replace it, but personally, I’d get it done properly by professionals.

iTunes Troubleshooting
You may from time to time encounter a few problems using iTunes. If you do, it may well be that your hard drive is becoming full or cluttered and that’s what’s causing the problems. So, first of all, clean up your iTunes Library. Sort it by file size and either delete any unwanted uncompressed files (RIFFS or WAVs) or convert them to something more space efficient. Next, look at your system as a whole and see if you can save any space by deleting, or archiving, old files and disposing of temporary files. Finally, if you really need all the stuff that’s on your iPod hard drive, then consider getting an extra hard drive.

Within every iTunes folder, along with the actual music folders, you should also find an iTunes library file which contains a database of information that points iTunes to your music files and records playlists, play counts and more. If your library file seems to be missing or corrupt, you could simply restore the file (if you backed it up) or you could use a program like iPodRip (you’ll find it elsewhere on the internet) to restore the information from your iPod to iTunes.

Finally you could simply drag your iTunes Music folder (located beside the iTunes folder in your Music folder on a Mac and in My Music on a PC) to the Library icon in iTunes Source list. This should bring back all the songs, but not playlists, playcounts and other information.

You may also run in to this kind of problem if you've moved your music archive to somewhere other than the default location. In this case, point iTunes to the new location via the Advanced tab in Preferences. If all the song lists are garbled, this is most likely caused by problems with your ID3 tags (special bits of code within music files that record the track information that you see when you are browsing your iTunes Library). The problem is easily solved. In the song list, select the tracks causing you grief and choose “convert ID3Tags” from the iTunes Advanced menu.

If you’re still struggling, upgrade to the most up-to-date version of iTunes or, if you are already up-to-date, try reinstalling it. It goes without saying though that before you do anything, make a back-up first.

For more troubleshooting advice look for an answer by typing a search in to Google (below). No matter what problem you have with your iPod, there’s a good chance someone else has experienced the same problem and solved it (and posted it somewhere on a website, user-group or forum.