Hopefully something here will be useful

iPod Nano and the folder with an exclamation point

So I received a new iPod Nano the other day and from the moment I first plugged it in it wasn't working properly. When starting up I'd get the familiar folder with exclamation point along with the URL to Apple's iPod support. It would then power down. Starting it back up had the same effect. If I plugged it in then it would remain on and the computer would detect it and I could load music onto it, but it was useless as I couldn't unplug it nor could I access the menus while it was plugged in. The battery meter and iPod diagnostics showed the battery was indeed fully charged. After following the 5R's Apple suggests for repairing iPod problems several times I ultimately ended up allowing the iPod to discharge fully to the point where it would not even start up. I then plugged it back in where it would start up, give me the same error as before, be detected by the computer, and then shut off. Possibly due to lack of battery. Leaving it connected for a few minutes eventually charged the battery to the point where it would not keep resetting. I then ran a Restore again using the updater utility as I'd done a number of times before, but this time the utility worked and repaired my iPod properly. So if you've run into this situation, try discharging your iPod fully and then see if repairing it works.

To fully discharge the iPod I needed a way for it to stay on. In the diagnostics menu I found a FlashScan option which worked nicely because it kept the backlight on and also constantly showed the remaining battery remaining. There are plenty of articles explaining how to get into diagnostics mode, but briefly stated you hold the action button and the previous song button at the same time while resetting.

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