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format unmountable drive

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:30 am
by shiznatix
Ok my iPod is mangled so I need to format it. I can't mount it on Linux or Windows, On the windows installation thing it was not shown, and I can only get it to display the folder and the website link to their support site which is of no help.

So just treating it like a regular HD, how can I format it if I can't mount it?

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 8:45 am
by Chris Corbyn
Never ever mount your drive if you're going to format it ;)

Connect it to USB.

Code: Select all

#Check it's the right disk
fdisk -l /dev/sda

mkdosfs -v -F 32 -n volname /dev/sda2
The iPod's have an iTunes DB on them though right? So you'll need to then hook it up to your Windows machine and re-run the iPod software on it.

I have no idea what's on the first partition, but I know all the tunes data and stuff is on the seconds partition.

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:15 am
by shiznatix

Code: Select all

shiznatix@shiznatix:~$ df -h
Filesystem            Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/hda1              36G   20G   15G  59% /
varrun                122M  104K  122M   1% /var/run
varlock               122M  4.0K  122M   1% /var/lock
udev                  122M  108K  122M   1% /dev
devshm                122M     0  122M   0% /dev/shm
lrm                   122M   19M  103M  16% /lib/modules/2.6.15-23-386/volatile

shiznatix@shiznatix:~$ fdisk -l /dev/sda
shiznatix@shiznatix:~$ mkdosfs -v -F 32 -n volname /dev/sda2
mkdosfs 2.11 (12 Mar 2005)
/dev/sda2: No such file or directory
thats what im getting. I don't really know much about these fdisk and whatnot so as dumbed down as you can put it would be helpful

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 9:28 am
by Chris Corbyn
What's happening on the iPod screen when you connect it? Is the iPod acknowledging the connection? I'm not sure it's the drive n the iPod, but maybe the connection.

fdisk showed that there's nothing there.

EDIT | Make sure USB is running:

Code: Select all

modprobe usbcore
modprobe ehci_hcd
modprobe ohci_hcd
modprobe uhci_hcd
sync

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:14 pm
by shiznatix
see i think it has to notice that there is SOMETHING there because if i turn on my computer with it plugged in then it wont boot like usual but i can only get the one picture to show up on my ipod of the folder and the little exclamation mark next to it. i can't turn it off but i can turn it on. i can't do the reset thing on it because after it is on it does not respond to anything.

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:16 pm
by shiznatix
see i think it has to notice that there is SOMETHING there because if i turn on my computer with it plugged in then it wont boot like usual but i can only get the one picture to show up on my ipod of the folder and the little exclamation mark next to it. i can't turn it off but i can turn it on. i can't do the reset thing on it because after it is on it does not respond to anything.

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 4:17 pm
by shiznatix
see i think it has to notice that there is SOMETHING there because if i turn on my computer with it plugged in then it wont boot like usual but i can only get the one picture to show up on my ipod of the folder and the little exclamation mark next to it. i can't turn it off but i can turn it on. i can't do the reset thing on it because after it is on it does not respond to anything.

Posted: Wed Jun 14, 2006 6:45 pm
by Chris Corbyn
By golly we are feeling clickey today 8O

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 2:19 am
by Benjamin
ya the connection to devnetwork.net has been touch and go lately. Everyone is in denial though 8O

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 3:42 am
by shiznatix
it might just have been my laptop because the thing is definatly on its deathbed. it will probably be my death too, it will catch fire while im sleeping and ill burn. If a mod can delete those posts for me as I can't anymore that would be cool.

but back on topic.

Here was the history:

-iPod had problems but it would mount and I could view all my songs and everything on the Linux iTunes but iTunes on Windows would not recognize it. Still was able to play music and everything but could not add songs no matter what

-Tried to format it. It appeared partitioned in some Linux disk manager thing so I formatted the one part. This was it's death.

-Was able to turn it off and on and do the reset stuff on it but this was touchy and did not always work.

-After a bit of trying to mount it, we are now at my current situation.

So! Any ideas? If I am able to format it then I believe that I will be able to fix it but if I can't get it recognized as being there then I don't know how to go about formating it.

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:00 am
by Chris Corbyn
shiznatix wrote:it might just have been my laptop because the thing is definatly on its deathbed. it will probably be my death too, it will catch fire while im sleeping and ill burn. If a mod can delete those posts for me as I can't anymore that would be cool.

but back on topic.

Here was the history:

-iPod had problems but it would mount and I could view all my songs and everything on the Linux iTunes but iTunes on Windows would not recognize it. Still was able to play music and everything but could not add songs no matter what

-Tried to format it. It appeared partitioned in some Linux disk manager thing so I formatted the one part. This was it's death.

-Was able to turn it off and on and do the reset stuff on it but this was touchy and did not always work.

-After a bit of trying to mount it, we are now at my current situation.

So! Any ideas? If I am able to format it then I believe that I will be able to fix it but if I can't get it recognized as being there then I don't know how to go about formating it.
Hmm... what exactly did you format? I'd probably try taking it back to the store claiming it simply stopped working and hope you can get an exchange... Sounds like you may have overwritten the first partition, which I'm assuming is where it stores all the system files.

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 6:28 am
by shiznatix
can't take it back to the store because I got it in America :(. If I overwrote the system files is it broken forever?

Posted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 7:51 am
by Chris Corbyn
shiznatix wrote:can't take it back to the store because I got it in America :(. If I overwrote the system files is it broken forever?
Do you know anybody else with an iPod? You may be able to duplicate it's filesystem/disk schema using Parted or something.