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June 26th, 2008, 11:09 GMT · By

iPod-in-Recovery-Mode Issues Strike Again

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"iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode - Use iTunes to restore." Are you familiar with this message? If you are, but don't know what to do to connect your iPod again, have a look at these possible solutions below.

Lots of iPod users owning a PC have had issues when trying to sync their devices with iTunes. Warin is one of them. Here's what the disappointed iPod owner writes on Apple Discussions: "I have an iPod classic and am [sic] running the latest iTunes on vista home. Now [sic] here's the messed up part. As of late when I connect the iPod, it gives me a pop-up window which reads "iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode. You must restore this iPod before it can be used with iTunes. I tried restoring it many, many times, and till I get the same end result. [...] Has anyone else [sic] encountered this, or better yet, found a solution?"

Well Warin, yes, lots of folks using their iPods with PCs have encountered this. Both Microsoft and Apple have acknowledged the issue and have issued resolutions to it. You most likely need to change your iPod's drive letter in order to start syncing again. Here's what Apple says about your problem: "If the drive letter after iPod is mapped to a network drive or is a drive letter typically used by a hard drive, both Windows Explorer and iTunes may exhibit strange behavior in relation to the iPod."

A short-term resolution would be to change your iPod's drive letter. A long-term resolution is, of course, proceeding with restoring your iPod. Here are some details on the former, since you obviously don't want to restore your factory settings just yet.

Changing the Drive Letter of your iPod

1- Open Control Panel.
2- Double click on Administrative Tools (if you don't see Administrative Tools, look at the left column in Control Panel for a link that says "Switch to Classic View" and click it).
3- Double click on Computer Management.
4- In the left column, click on Disk Management.
5- Locate the iPod and right click on it, then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
6- Click the Change button.
7- Use the drop-down menu to select a new drive letter.

NOTE: You need to make sure to choose a new drive letter that is not already assigned to a network drive. The drop-down menu will display all available letters that are not assigned to a physical drive. Drive letters that are assigned to a network volume will still be listed here. The best thing you could do is assign a drive letter other than a, b, c, or d - these are usually reserved for your primary system drives.

8- Click OK.
9- Click Yes on the confirmation dialog.
10- Close the Computer Management window.
11- Restart your computer.

Microsoft dubbed this issue "New Drive or Mapped Network Drive Not Available in Windows Explorer" in its Microsoft Knowledge Base (document 297694). You may also find some information from the guys behind your OS of choice right HERE. Good luck, and drop by later to tell us if this solved your problem.

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READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: mick on 03 Jan 2009, 10:38 UTC reply to this comment

this is the solution. so easy but yet not a lot of people give this advice. got my ipod going that had been dead for months. thanks


Comment #2 by: Jaguar on 02 Feb 2009, 04:19 UTC reply to this comment

Yeah well, I reset the ipod, I changed the drive letter and pressed restore. I got a message saying 'your ipod is restarting, and will appear in the itunes window once it's ready'. the ipod screen shows a little meter filling up gradually, then once full, the ipod screen turns on and the computer makes that little usb noise, but the same 'your ipod is in recovery mode message, needs to be restored' message comes up again.


Comment #3 by: Elaine on 15 Feb 2009, 23:28 UTC reply to this comment

Well, it didn't work for me. I'm totally frustrated by this and haven't been able to use my ipod classic at all - I have no idea what to do. I've already sent it back once and got a brand new one and the same thing happens. Any idea? My warranty is going to expire soon!


Comment #4 by: Aaron on 31 Mar 2009, 18:53 UTC reply to this comment

I just solved this problem with a friend's iPod here at work. She had drive letters mapped in Windows for all kinds of things. After removing some of the unnecessary network shares, Windows had a free drive letter for the iPod, and was able to sync like normal. I didn't have to force a drive letter as outlined above.

FYI: Macs don't use drive letters, so they will not run into this issue.


Comment #5 by: dstefanni on 21 Apr 2009, 21:28 UTC reply to this comment

The same happens to my ipod Did you finally got it fixed? Please help me thank you


Comment #6 by: Pablo Epanol on 11 Jun 2009, 15:48 UTC reply to this comment

Thank you. This solved the issue on my Windows XP PC. I've not had it on Vista I wonder what will happen when I intall my memory stick. Does everything reset.
At least there is a solution that doesn;t involve Restoring 7300 songs


Comment #7 by: maggie on 02 Jul 2009, 21:33 UTC reply to this comment

thanks! switched it to the J drive and we are in business!


Comment #8 by: Jason on 25 Jul 2009, 07:48 UTC reply to this comment

my ipod dont even show up on disk management


Comment #9 by: cassandra on 29 Jul 2009, 08:08 UTC reply to this comment

My computer can’t locate my iPod anywhere and iTunes wont restore the iPod itself, every time it had finished restoring it I get the "iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode - Use iTunes to restore." message again, I can’t find any way to fix it.
And it won’t locate any music it had on it, it just disappeared.
It had the world’s worst timing to do this as in 5 days I will be stuck on a plane for 30 hours and now won’t have any entertainment


Comment #10 by: Savy on 01 Oct 2009, 22:47 UTC reply to this comment

Hi guys , i am using i Pod & same message is appearing again & again , i Pod need to restore . I am using Mac Book as well , could you please advice how can i resolve this issue . I understand Mac dont use drive letter , So is there something else that can be done . Please advice .


Comment #11 by: Cath on 18 Nov 2009, 02:50 UTC reply to this comment

It's the first time it happens to me but I encountered a similar problem before. I forgot what it said but it said to restore my iPod. I restored it and now, there's the recovery mode thing. I read the comments here and I wondered if this only happens with IPOD CLASSIC because I got one too and I see a lot of people who got the same problem with the iPod classic.


Comment #12 by: James on 14 Feb 2010, 01:52 UTC reply to this comment

What a crap device to do this to me. I was doing an update through itunes, it somehow failed and then I have reset the whole device. I cannot believe how crap apple actually is. This really annoyed me. It didn't even back up my device before the update.


Comment #13 by: Amanda on 04 Nov 2010, 22:18 UTC reply to this comment

will this delete my songs on my iPod if i select "restore"

Comment #13.1 by: bleterme on 11 Dec 2010, 04:47 GMT

it deletes everything.its like new again


Comment #14 by: T-Dub on 31 Jul 2011, 01:06 UTC reply to this comment

I can't find the ipod in the device management. It won't even recognize it. I am starting to hate apple. I am now going to use my smartphone as my ipod from now on.


Comment #15 by: beck on 09 Mar 2012, 09:49 UTC reply to this comment

i need help my daughter ipod touch its not turning on computer wont recongnise it but then itunes said it was in recovery mode how can i fix it please help anyone


Comment #16 by: clark nova on 04 May 2012, 05:06 UTC reply to this comment

this worked for me.. the very first time i tried it.. then it froze my itunes, and i had to end process... thats what started this issue for me in the first place... i plugd it in to sync, it seemd to freeze, and it says it detects a corrupt ipod when i plug it in.. it says to reformat, i do... then when its all done, my ipod keeps giving me the red x... however, it my pod still works fine independently, i just cannot sync it or reformat it : ((((

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