[johnnq]

my 4th gen color ipod shows a sadface....and doesn't turn on. really unfortunate how many ipods die.

I'm looking for any decent mp3 player around the $200 range. Are ipods really the best on the market? Is their failure rate any better from previous generations?

 

[leveller1642]

The ipod 4th gen with the color screen was introduced in September 2004 and discontinued in October 2005. You got around 4 years of use with it. That's fairly reasonable I'd say. Ipods are certainly not the best, but there are advantages in having the world's most popular DAP.

If you put your ear up to it, do you hear a clicking noise?

Have you tried a system restore, if you can't hear a clicking noise?

What is your music ripped in? ie AAC or MP3

Is gapless playback important to you?

 

[johnnq]

If you put your ear up to it, do you hear a clicking noise?
Yes. It sounds like a slighting tapping maybe 4 taps/second until the sadface appears.


Have you tried a system restore, if you can't hear a clicking noise?
My computer doesn't recognize the ipod now...it just shows the battery charging symbol


What is your music ripped in? ie AAC or MP3
Mostly mp3, but my classical is wav or aiff.


Is gapless playback important to you?
yes


thanks for the help

 

[shigzeo]

damn, 4 years is pretty good for a hd player. my meizu lasted a full 8 months before dying, a sony unit twice that length and a few other notables seem to be okay.

 

[johnnq]

4 years is good?? my 15 year old walkman still works

 

[roebeet]

Flash-based players should give you years of enjoyment, due to the lack of moving parts. Probably the first thing to go on those types of players will be the battery.

Since you mentioned you are mostly MP3, I would have recommended a Cowon D2/D2+, but it doesn't support gapless yet. For a little more than $200, you could get an 8GB iPod Touch.

 

[labrat]

Delete

 

[zeroibis]

Yes, if it is just the HDD you can just replace it with a new one and you will not even need a new player! Hell while you are in there you could maybe even pull off a DIY mod or even a battery upgrade lol

 

[roebeet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zeroibis /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, if it is just the HDD you can just replace it with a new one and you will not even need a new player! Hell while you are in there you could maybe even pull off a DIY mod or even a battery upgrade lol

One of my neighbors just had a 4G die on him - I was convinced that it was the battery, going on the symptoms. But, after buying a cheap eBay battery for him, it did not fix it.

My point is that it will be a risk to replace the HDD, if the OP is not 100% certain that it's the root cause. And the only way to know for sure is to have a second player to use as a baseline.

 

[Happy Camper]

I had this on a 3 & 4 gen. Have you tried giving it a sharp hit? I dropped mine and I got the face. After trying everything, I read that the read arm gets stuck. The suggestion was to give it a slight jolt on the corner by rapping it again on a hard surface. I was able to get them both working again and are in use today.

 

[johnnq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I had this on a 3 & 4 gen. Have you tried giving it a sharp hit? I dropped mine and I got the face. After trying everything, I read that the read arm gets stuck. The suggestion was to give it a slight jolt on the corner by rapping it again on a hard surface. I was able to get them both working again and are in use today.

I LOVE YOU


gave it a bang on the desk and it magically turns on and works again!

 

[hockeyb213]

HA~! Now that is a good solution to a problem imo just give it a good ol' whack to get it working again.

 

[cn11]

I still wish Trekstor would come out with a 32GB flash Vibez DAP. Guess it's never going to happen.

 

[Happy Camper]

It is a joy to have it suddenly show all your music. It will still have bouts with sticking but this should help clear it.

 

[johnnq]

Strange, I'm missing some songs that I deleted a little while ago...and some are now back...I even deleted them off my computer.

Hard drive problem?? I guess the files weren't overwritten when I deleted them.