Diagnosing your Ipod

Technology breaks, and humans get frustrated. Sometimes
you don’t know where to start. Sometimes you don’t want to
know. You just want your stuff to work like it ought to.
Diagnosing your iPod can be a pain, because it isn’t always
an easy or straightforward task. The meanings of the warning
icons and screens might not make a whole lot of sense when
they appear and interrupt your tunes. Plus, depending on the
circumstances, the same icon might mean different things,
from hardware issues to software issues. Who wouldn’t get
frustrated?

The diagnostic menu presents a battery of technical tests to run when your
iPod is on the fritz. It’s invaluable in helping you figure out what’s wrong with
your iPod, and it’s often the first stop on the road to recovery. In this section, we
show you how to access the diagnostic menu and navigate its options.

Access the Diagnostic Menu on an Older iPod
To access the diagnostic menu on a first-generation, second-generation, or thirdgeneration
iPod:
1. Reset your iPod by holding down the Menu and Play buttons simultaneously ( see 2 in red color)
. Don’t be too impatient! You need to hold the buttons
for five to eight seconds.
2. After the iPod shuts down, it should turn back on almost immediately. Once you see
the Apple logo appear on the liquid crystal display (LCD), hold down the Forward,
Back, and Select buttons simultaneously (see 3 in red color ) until the backwards Apple
logo appears. The third-generation iPod makes an audible chirp when you access the
diagnostic menu.
3. The next screen asks you to press Play to continue. Press the Play button. You can
now select options from the diagnostic menu.

Access the Diagnostic Menu on a Newer iPod
To access the diagnostic menu on a fourth- or fifth-generation iPod, an iPod
photo, an iPod mini, or an iPod nano:
1. Reset your iPod by holding down the Menu and Select buttons simultaneously
(see 4 in red color). You need to hold down the buttons for about eight seconds.

2. After the iPod shuts down, it should turn back on almost immediately. Once you see
the Apple logo on the LCD, hold down the Back and Select buttons simultaneously
(see 5 in red color) until the backwards Apple logo appears. You should also hear an
audible chirp.
3. The next screen asks you to press Play to continue. Press the Play button. You can
now select options from the diagnostic menu. If you have an iPod video, press the
Menu button to run the tests manually, or press the Previous button to auto-test the
iPod. To see the diagnostic menu, press Menu.