Electronic Death and Ressurection

I got up this morning and after jump starting my heart I went in to teach a dance lesson.  Easier said than done, as I don't care for exercise first thing in the morning.  Anyway, after I got the place unlocked and the sound system fired up, I plugged in my iPod and... nothing.  No lights, no sound, no nothing.  I fooled around with the cursed thing, but no luck.  The iPod was deader than a staunch Republican at the last presidential election.  In more than a little desperation I managed to coax an ancient laptop to boot and, wonder of wonders, found the laptop owner's copy of iTunes.  I connected the laptop to the stereo and was temporarily saved.

I've got a 60 Gig iPod that Shotgun Bob bought me for my birthday some years back.  Having it bite the big one wasn't surprising, but it was very vexing.  A new replacement will start at $250, and they go up from there.  Then there's the whole iPod vs. mp3 question to rehash, because if I'm spending over two bills on anything, I'm going to think it over pretty carefully, and I'm not real happy with Apple just now over the 'stolen' iPhone crap. I'd sooner take my bread elsewhere, if it's anything close to quick, fun and easy.

When I finally got back home I posted an RFC on ToledoTalk - hey, why not?  Maybe someone knows something I don't and I can get some help.  That was at 1:56 PM.  By 7:00 PM I had a solution courtesy of ToledoTalk user Mesmerix:

1. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Slide it to Hold, then turn it off again.)

2. Press and hold the Menu and Center (Select) buttons simultaneously until the Apple logo appears, about 6 to 8 seconds. You may need to repeat this step.

Tip: If you are having difficulty resetting your iPod, set it on a flat surface. Make sure the finger pressing the Select button is not touching any part of the click wheel. Also make sure that you are pressing the Menu button toward the outside of the click wheel, and not near the center.

I had tried a version of this before with no success.  The difference this time was that I put the iPod on a solid, flat surface and was very careful about positioning my fingers on the click wheel.  I pressed down and in five seconds had an Apple logo on the screen. 

My iPod is back! 

My thanks and a hoist of the bourbon glass to Mesmerix, who saved me from spending a couple hundred dollars today.  Thanks Mesmerix!  Here to you!

Click here for the original thread on ToledoTalk.