[AuroraProject]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWIFOSP Allthough I can't imagine the problem being boot order if that progress bar is freezing. You aren't even getting to the point where the BIOS hands off control to the next bootable device.

Dell's BIOS are kinda lame, I have an 8250 and I had a secondary hard drive fail, the POST would hang at 80% and wouldn't boot with the bad hard drive in it. The drive wasn't all that bad, just had a few bad sectors.

 

[Davie]

TWIFOSP,

Thanks for the info. I'll try a BIOS upgrade. I remember doing that several years ago with a previous Dell machine and it fixed whatever was ailing me then.

I have a bunch of USB devices that I've used with no problems. In particular, I have a Maxtor hard drive that is normally connected. One of the first things I tried was disconnecting it and booting with the iPod separately. I also tried the iPod in a different USB jack.

It occurs to me now that I may have had McAfee virus scan running when I installed the iPod. May this messed something up. It's late now on the east coast, but in the morning I'm going to try uninstalling and reinstalling everthing with virus scan disabled. Perhaps that will help. Then I'll do the BIOS flash for good measure.

Thanks again to everyone for their help. I'm convinced it's worth a try to get these bugs ironed out.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AuroraProject Post back so we know if this worked. Note: This works for my 600m, your Dell may be slightly different. If you don't feel comfortable doing this then you should call Dell, they can guide you through it over the phone.

AuroraProject,

Thanks. I'll check this out in the morning.

 

[AuroraProject]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davie AuroraProject, Thanks. I'll check this out in the morning.

No problem, I just checked over at the Dell forums and apparently there was a recent BIOS update specifically for this issue, so you definitely want that.

Good luck, your ipod and XP will be making music together in no time!

 

[BigFil]

I just set up my mom's mini on her XP machine via Firewire and didn't have any problems per se, but it was more of a pain in the ass then setting my own up on a my mac. No complaints really though.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigFil I just set up my mom's mini on her XP machine via Firewire and didn't have any problems per se, but it was more of a pain in the ass then setting my own up on a my mac. No complaints really though.

I guess I'm just special, somehow.

I've got my evening planned: upgrading my system BIOS, reinstalling ipod, and watching the election returns come in. Should be a fun night...

 

[BigFil]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Davie I guess I'm just special, somehow. I've got my evening planned: upgrading my system BIOS, reinstalling ipod, and watching the election returns come in. Should be a fun night...

Well I hope all goes well and your Dell and iPod can be uniters and not dividers.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigFil Well I hope all goes well and your Dell and iPod can be uniters and not dividers.

Things aren't looking good. I've updated the BIOS and reinstalled all the iPod software but still having the same problem. I'm going to look into this further and will have a statement later this morning.

 

[Davie]

I called Dell tech support to get their advice -- a very frustrating experience. Put on hold endlessly while the support person researched my problem, then the line goes dead. Then had to call twice to get a phone connection where the techie and I could actually understand each other over the drop outs.

I don't trust the advice I was given. They told me that the USB port's power may not be sufficient for the ipod and that I should get in touch with Apple, who would:

a) Tell me the USB power requirements of the iPod (what I'm supposed to do with this information was unclear), or

b) send me a new CD with the correct driver!

Apart from my doubts that Apple would do any such thing, I just find it hard to believe that there's something so special about my USB port that the ipod isn't compatible with it. Granted, I have no technical knowledge about how this stuff works but my gut tells me that the tech support guy was grasping at straws. His only other suggestion was to get my motherboard replaced.

Could anyone give me a reality check on this before I spend (waste?#!%) any time pursuing this suggestion. I've already put a number of hours into resolving this whole problem and I'm feeling like it may be enough.

My next step, I guess, would be to go out and try to find a firewire cable (or adaptor) I can use with my 4-pin laptop port.

 

[TWIFOSP]

What model laptop again?

 

[Davie]

Inspiron 5100.

Latest progress: Apple support guy just laughed at what the Dell guy told me. I really think Dell's support has gone downhill. If they don't have an answer, they make stuff up. The Dell guy told me that I must have the ipod connected when booting up because if I try to connect it when the computer is already on it could damage my system. Big laughs from Apple about this too.

Also, Apple doesn't sell a 4-pin version of their firewire cable and I've been having trouble finding a 4- to 6-pin adapter locally. The frustration continues...

 

[DEMIW]

I ahve no problem with my Sony Vaio and XP...

 

[kloan]

Davie, I'm surprised you're having problems finding a 4 pin to 6 pin firewire cable. They sell them everywhere. Try any big chain box type of electronics store, such as Best Buy. The cable is used by many manufacturers for camcorders. Just remember that you won't be able to charge with it, only sync.. so your battery will drain quickly.

I'm not sure how much they cost, but I almost think you'd be better off getting a firewire PCMCIA card that has 6 pin connectivity.

 

[Davie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kloan Davie, I'm surprised you're having problems finding a 4 pin to 6 pin firewire cable. They sell them everywhere. Try any big chain box type of electronics store, such as Best Buy. The cable is used by many manufacturers for camcorders. Just remember that you won't be able to charge with it, only sync.. so your battery will drain quickly. I'm not sure how much they cost, but I almost think you'd be better off getting a firewire PCMCIA card that has 6 pin connectivity.

It's actually not a cable that I need. What I need is an adapter from a 6-pin to a 4-pin plug so that I can use the supplied 6-pin ipod cable with my laptop's 4-pin Firewire jack. The ipod doesn't use a standard firewire connector on the ipod-end. I was particularly surprised that the Apple store here in New York doesn't have anything. You'd think with all the ipod accessories they sell that they'd have such a simple thing covered.

I'm resisting the idea of buying a new firewire card just to support this thing. My old Karma didn't charge through the USB connection and I got used to a certain level of power drain after syncing. Would it be worse with the ipod and firewire?

 

[kloan]

Oh right, I forgot about the dock connector..

Is this a 4th gen? Because 3rd gen comes with that adapter.. did they stop including them in the packaging?

I found some online.. dunno if that helps.. all pretty cheap though..

http://www.cablestogo.com/product.as...=601&sku=27028
http://www.buyextras.com/fi6feto4maad.html
http://www.welovemacs.com/ipodfwadp.html
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...718443338&rd=1


Here's a PCMCIA card for dirt cheap.. which I think you'd be better off with, unless you can cope with the battery drain...

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...718905946&rd=1


And another one.. with ports on the card..

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?...719021159&rd=1