How to restore Ipod Classic 120GB – Hard Reset iPod Classic?

Reset iPod Classic Quickly – Works Everytime

An Apple’s Ipod Classic 120GB is a great treat or gift for someone who is fond of music and loves to store massive amount of music and stuff on his/her fingertips.

120GB is really a hell lot of space to store your stuff, whether it is music, videos, movies, pictures, etc. You can also use it as an external disk to store your non-iPod compatible stuff. That can be setups of your software, doc files, games setups, etc.

If I were to describe this device in one line then I would say that this iPod version from Apple is just awesome for multipurpose use.

But as you probably know that iPods are infamous for corrupt system software (referred as iPod itself), hence you must know how to deal with resetting or updating your iPod Classic without any extra cost or hassle.

Must have things to restore Ipod Classic:

1. Latest version of ITunes – I am stating latest because latest version of Apple’s ITunes software can fix various bugs in your Ipod as well as in ITunes itself so that you can work smoothly from next time.
   You can always download latest version of ITunes for free from Apple’s website. Just type www.apple.com and then head for a link stating ITunes software. Clicking on that link or image will lead you to the main page where you can download ITunes for free.
2. Ipod Classic 120 GB usb cable – This is a connectivity cable which is supplied with the box to connect your Ipod with your laptop or desktop. If you have lost it then you’ll not be able to restore your iPod as well as transfer data to your device.
3. Internet Connection – After the above stated two things, this last one is the real deal which ensures the latest firmware version to your Ipod Classic 120 GB via Apple’s site.

That’s all, now follow this quick step by step procedure to successfully restore/update Ipod Classic 120 GB:

1. Install latest ITunes software on your computer after downloading it from Apple’s website. It is 8.0 as I write this.
2. Connect your Ipod Classic 120 GB via usb cable with your computer. Your system will automatically detect a new hardware and with ITunes already installed in your system, all the necessary drivers will be installed automatically.
3. Open ITunes when you successfully get this message stating that “New hardware is successfully installed and is ready to use” (obviously it may be something else depending on your operating system, but you get the idea).
4. When you open ITunes for the first time after connecting your Ipod Classic, it will automatically detect its serial number, maximum disk capacity, data already installed in it and some other information.
5. You will also see the current version of your Ipod Classic’s firmware. Latest ITunes version also contains the information of new firmware versions for  IPod’s hence if you’ve gotten a new version available then you won’t have to look anywhere else, ITunes will list it automatically. Along with the information about the firmware, you will also see two buttons stating, ‘Restore’ and ‘Update’.
   This is where you need an internet connection. Click on ‘Restore’ if your Ipod Classic’s firmware is corrupt and you want to reset it to factory settings with absolutely no data (i.e. no music, no videos, nothing).
   But if you just want to enhance some fluidity in your Ipod Classic with latest firmware and want to keep all your data and settings intact then you may want to click Update.
6. Your data and settings will not be affected in any manner. New firmware may contain some bug fixes, performance boost, and extra fluidity for your device.
7. Decide carefully whether you want a complete restore Ipod Classic (deleting all data and reinstalling firmware) or you just want an ‘Update’ (keeping all data and enjoy new bug fixes).
8. In my case, I had to restore my Ipod Classic because a noob friend of mine showed a little extra intelligence and formatted my Ipod via my computer’s built in ‘Full Format’ function (you know what I mean!).  This in turn corrupted my IPod’s firmware and ITunes could not detect the total disk space in my Ipod, let alone transferring the data.
9. Alright, in any case, when I clicked restore, ITunes connected itself from Apple’s sever to find out any new version than my current corrupted version of Ipod. Luckily there was one. In a matter of time ITunes downloaded the firmware (57 MB) and saved it to a temporary location.
10. Now you have to click on restore again to let ITunes install it to your Ipod successfully. Your Ipod will restart and now you’ve gotten the latest version of firmware available for your Ipod Classic or in other words, your Ipod Classic 120 GB is fixed without any extra cost apart from the internet charge if you had you use a cyber café.

Things to remember when you restore Ipod Classic

1. Never disconnect the Ipod while ITunes is installing the latest firmware.
2. Never copy applications or music or any data that you want to play on your Ipod directly. Always use ITunes to transfer music and movies. Because Ipod will detect all your data as external, just to store it for sometime if you copy and paste it directly.
3. You don’t have to download the firmware from Apple’s website whenever you need to restore your Ipod. ITunes will keep it safe for future use until you uninstall ITunes application from your computer.

That’s all, thanks for sharing time to read this article. Please feel free to comment or leave any question or suggestion you may have.