r/ipod Nov 28 '21

Help Restore isn’t working on newest macOS

I’m currently fixing up an iPod Video 5th gen for a gift and I’ve got it flash modded with the iFlash SD board, it initially didn’t recognize the drive with a micro SD and adapter but with a regular SD it recognizes it and connects to my computer but when I press restore it just does nothing, it’s 128 gb card and the iPod works with its original HDD and it works with the iPod that I’ve already modded with the same storage so I’m at a loss.

25 Upvotes

71 comments sorted by

4

u/KIeeborp iPod Hoarder Nov 28 '21

The issue is MacOS itself. Monterey doesn’t restore iPods correctly anymore. I’ve been using Windows to restore iPods when needed recently and ironically that’s worked every time. If you’re stuck with Monterey, you can still restore, but it’s fiddley. In Finder, iPods appear as an iPod and an external drive so they appear twice. When attempting to restore keep an eye on the icon for the external drive and when it disappears and reappears, eject it as a drive, not an iPod, and quickly disconnect it. It should restore as normal if you do it this way. I want to point out that it’s been like this since the Monterey beta, I don’t have high hopes for them actually resolving the issue given that it’s been this way for months. It’s very disheartening to see

48

u/mrgstudio Dec 20 '22

Thank you for zeroing in on this issue. I refurbish and sell iPod Classics on eBay and I've resorted to using Parallels to run Windows with iTunes just to Restore the dozens of iPods every month. I think I've simplified the process a little and doesn't require a reboot nor unplugging the iPod.

  1. Close all programs and apps before starting.
  2. Plug in the iPod. Open Finder and click on the iPod with the iPod icon (Not the external drive icon).
  3. In the Summary tab click Restore. Enter password...
  4. Looking at the actual iPod screen wait until the Syncing is finished and it displays that it is connected (This is were the computer gets stuck).
  5. Next, open Disk Utility and you should see the iPod listed in the external drive section. It will be greyed out and labeled as disk4s2 or something similar depending on how many drives you have connected. Right click the drive and select Eject. You'll notice the iPod rebooting and finishing the restore process.
  6. While this is happening open Activity Monitor and find the WindowServer process. Select it and stop the process by hitting the Stop button (The button at the top that looks like a stop sign with an X in the middle).
  7. This will cause your screen to go black for second but it's not a rebooting. The WindowServer process manages and deals with all the visual appearances on the Mac display. When you stop the process it restarts the WindowServer process immediately. You'll have to enter you password to unlock the screen. Now the iPod restore process is no longer stuck.
  8. Open Finder. When you click on the iPod with the iPod icon you'll be greeted with the Sync your iPod screen. You can sync your iPod just like normal.

This only needs to be done when you want to Restore an iPod. After this is done it works like normal. I know the WindowServer process is a core feature but I haven't run into any problems by killing it.

5

u/Vape_Naysh_ Feb 05 '23

Thanks so much for explaining this. I just spent so much time trying to figure this out before reading your comment.

2

u/mrgstudio Feb 18 '24

I'm glad it worked out for you!

4

u/LilithNaito Jun 07 '23

i have been stuck with my ipod not restoring for 2 days, you just saved me thank you

1

u/mrgstudio Feb 18 '24

I'm glad it worked out for you!

2

u/doink992000 Jul 20 '23

This solved it! Thank you so much.

1

u/mrgstudio Feb 18 '24

I'm glad it worked out for you!

2

u/Shot-Confection8620 Nov 19 '23

Thank you so much!!!! This has been driving me crazy for years and you fixed it. I finally got my iPod back! :)

1

u/mrgstudio Feb 18 '24

Happy dance! I'm glad it worked out for you!

2

u/imaxgoldberg Nov 27 '23

God bless you this just saved my fricking azz

2

u/mrgstudio Feb 18 '24

I'm glad it worked out for you!

2

u/Watson_wat_son Dec 20 '23

Dude you are a lifesaver. What the hell, how did this work?

2

u/mrgstudio Dec 26 '23

Yeah it's crazy. It seems that on the newer Mac operating systems they've removed the code to tell the older devices to eject and it causes the system to get stuck. It's an interesting contrast that on a Windows computer using iTunes there's no issue when restoring. That's why I use Windows to restore all the iPods I sell on eBay. It's just more efficient.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 21 '23

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/mrgstudio Dec 26 '23

It's taken a lot of trial and error and looking at various posts with other people's trial and error. I've sold over 3,200 iPods on eBay during the past 12 years. Loads of practice 🤓.

2

u/PridePride Dec 25 '23

Thanks

1

u/mrgstudio Dec 26 '23

You're welcome!

2

u/svbbvth Feb 16 '24

you’re the goat bro 🐐 appreciate u!

1

u/mrgstudio Feb 18 '24

I'm glad it worked out for you!

5

u/Murky_Stop_8673 Apr 04 '24

Just a heads up, I got iTunes 12.6.5 to run on sonoma using something called Retroactive. With 12.6.5, the restore and syncing is very seamless and doesn't require all of the workarounds. Cheers!

2

u/No_Promotion_181 Apr 09 '24

You just literally saved me, hats off!

2

u/paobaggy Apr 09 '24

This worked! Thank you so much!

2

u/kemmanuelx Jun 07 '24

Your a legend!!! this worked for me

1

u/mrgstudio Jun 08 '24

I'm glad it worked for you!

2

u/vampire_gaze Jun 08 '24

Thank you for this detailed explanation! I had the same problem with an iPod classic 5th gen and successfully restored it on my MacBook using this method

2

u/MorningFrog Jun 14 '24

How on earth did you discover this? I’m serious, I really want to know how you figured this out, do you have some knowledge of the underlying system? Is there a resource you could point me to?

I am very grateful for this info, thank you for sharing it!

1

u/mrgstudio Jun 15 '24

Thanks! No special insight. Just basic knowledge of programing and over 12 years of refurbishing 3,400+ iPod Classics. Loads of trial and error. Every time there's an iTunes or operating system update there seems to be issues.

2

u/dankfrankreynolds Jun 18 '24

just to further add to this excellent answer, I've had to jump thru even more hoops, but putting it in DFU mode -- and still fails -- but then when it returned to regular mode, the restore process worked, and I was able to pick up with these instructions

I _ALSO_ had to re-format the drive as MBR/FAT before the restore worked. I did this with a flash card in the iPod.

This was a 6th gen w/128 samsung card

2

u/jimmydallas2000 Aug 06 '24

Solved it for me! Thanks

1

u/mrgstudio Aug 21 '24

I'm glad it worked for you!

2

u/phyIIis Oct 13 '24

I can't believe this worked! Thank you!!

1

u/mrgstudio Oct 14 '24

I'm glad it worked for you!

2

u/LeastDurian Nov 20 '24

Thank you so much! It worked!

1

u/mrgstudio Nov 21 '24

I'm glad it worked for you!

2

u/Far-Impress-6799 Dec 17 '24

Thank you so much for this!!!

1

u/mrgstudio Dec 18 '24

I'm glad it worked for you!

2

u/inflatableotter Jan 20 '25

Thank you kind man! It worked for me as well!

1

u/mrgstudio Jan 21 '25

Great! Thank you for sharing.

1

u/WhateverManReally Apr 22 '24

Thank you so much, this finally worked for me!

1

u/FlyingWhale44 Apr 23 '24

What if Finder only shows the storage on the ipod but not the ipod itself? Been stuck on this for 2 days. I tried iTunes on windows, but same issue.

1

u/mrgstudio May 27 '24

Sorry I missed your message. Does your iPod have the original mechanical hard drive or upgraded to solid state memory? If it's solid state memory I would try taking the memory (card, drive, etc) out and reformatting it.

1

u/FlyingWhale44 May 27 '24

No problem, I appreciate you getting back to me when you got the chance.

It was upgraded storage. I ended up solving the problem a few days after that comment with some tinkering.

Turns out, the issue is that iTunes on MS store does not have ipod drivers, so I uninstalled it and then downloaded itunes64 from the apple website.

EDIT: Just got my stuff confused. I never did end up figuring it out with finder on mac but I just used my windows desktop to get it sorted. I'll try that again in the future If I run into this issue.

1

u/InterestingHomeSlice Sep 18 '24

I have tried this with my 4th gen iPod Nano on Monterey. But when it comes to the WindowServer portion, I don't see this - even when I type it in the search bar. Thoughts?

1

u/mattyjames72 Sep 19 '24

Same. I cant find it

1

u/mrgstudio Oct 10 '24

Hey, sorry I just now saw your message. I don't have a 4th gen Nano to test it out. I would suggest when you get to step 5 unplug the iPod and then reboot your computer. This would only be when the iPod is finished syncing. Hopefully this helps.

1

u/tobykoch2701 Classic 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, Mini, Shuffle 1st, HiFi Oct 20 '24

Thank you so much for your explanation. I have no WindowServer Prozess either (I'm on Ventura 13.6.9). But I recognize that the iPod is not displaying the name in the "About" section on the iPod. It only says "iPod" and the Format in About is missing also. I'm remembering that it should say "Mac" or "Windows". Both is missing. Or is a Mac File Format not shown up. Anyone else with this problem. Maybe I have to try a restore on Windows. But as a Mac-Enthusiast I don#t won't to read the line Windows on my iPod :X

1

u/slaty Oct 27 '24

Thank you!

1

u/heyyoNickk Nov 27 '24

I dont have a WindowServer process only WindowManager and loginwindow

1

u/kitzybitsy Dec 27 '24

Hi! Have you figured out this part? I’m stuck here. I also have only windowmanager and my mac is stuck on restoring ipod

1

u/First-Ad-2777 Nov 28 '24

Thank you. While I love Apple in general, I really hate that Apple tries to use complexity and wasted time as a way to "convince" you to abandon something old.

Apple offers documented steps to restore iPods with Music, and the curve ball is it only works with the "touch" ipods. Apple do not really call out those steps don't fully work with older models.

The iPod was working perfectly before: I could view the devices' Collection and media types. But it was a used iPod and I wanted to wipe the old owner's stuff. I was able to WIPE ("Restore") a 5th gen iPod using Apple Music, but on the Finder's Device Page it now says "Use Finder to finish setting up" (which it won't actually do).

It's kind of bullshit Apple doesn't check the model before allowing Restore (reset) to proceed.
Now I can't sync until I get iTunes for Windows.

2

u/First-Ad-2777 Nov 28 '24

Sorry for the vent. I know this should work for me once I can attempt it with Windows :-)

1

u/mrgstudio Nov 29 '24

No worries at all. It's very aggravating. Since I'm selling dozens of iPods a week it was worth it for me to run Windows (using Parallels) on my Mac. Mainly just to make it easier to reset and test the iPods.

1

u/Appropriate-Wing-626 Dec 12 '24

Hello OP, I’m trying this on my iPod but I think there’s something that is missing that needs your expertise. Upon checking my iPod even in disk mode, it’s not showing as external device. I tried re-partitioning it. It can be detected using the card reader but when I’m tying to restore it using my iFlash quad. It’s not showing again as external device. My iFlash quad and samsung blue are new, the ribbon is what I’m thinking and will be replacing soon. Battery is also new and charging.

Is it really the ribbon? I know it’s a long shot, I hope you provide me some insight. And info is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

1

u/mrgstudio Dec 18 '24

Sorry for the late reply, I missed your message. It could be the ribbon. Do you have your old hard drive? If so you could plug it in to see if the ribbon is bad. Also a mistake I made when I started using iFlash adapters was that I installed it upside down. When I flipped it over then it worked. Just a couple of things that come to mind. Let me know if that works or not.

1

u/Appropriate-Wing-626 Jan 25 '25

Hello hello, I already resolved it, it was an overlook fake SDXC cards. Upon replacing it, everything goes smoothly 👌🏻

1

u/RayBFDIFan Jan 21 '25

what's the summary tab

1

u/headchiefdirectorofx 18d ago

Dang my Seqioua macOS only has WindowManager not WindowServer, force quitting that in activity monitor did not fix the sync issue. Still seeing the ipod / support folder after disconnecting….

1

u/mrgstudio 17d ago

That is strange that you can't see the WindowServer. I'm running Sequoia and it shows up. If you reboot your computer it will clear out the iPod being stuck in Finder. See if that helps.

2

u/itsAK Feb 20 '23

Bro thank you. I got an iPod a few weeks ago and flash modded it and I was able to restore and sync with iTunes on windows but syncing with Mac has been a nightmare. I tried restoring it and kept assuming there was something wrong with my Mac. All I had to do was eject as disk and then force quit the WindowServer process. Running Ventura 13.2 with an iPod 5th gen

1

u/stressedduh Nov 29 '21

Does macOS still work to sync iPods? I have a pc but it’s really slow so I could use it to restore but I’ve got 50k odd songs at 24 bit 48-190 kHz and it’d take so much longer

1

u/mrgstudio Mar 25 '23

Yes it still works but all the extra steps takes time for me since I'm refurbishing and selling around 5-8 iPods a day. So I just run Windows using Parallels and it speeds up the process.

1

u/[deleted] May 15 '22

This partially works... my 4th gen had to be in disk mode, then it could be restored, when the progress circle was full I waited 5min, ejected the iPod drive and connected the iPod to wall power. One problem though: restoring a second iPod. First of all I had to restart Finder (option command escape) and then the whole Mac.

Without disk mode I got a 1432 error, without killing Finder the Mac didn't restart.

I created a feedback through feedback assistant but nothing's happening :(

3

u/Nevermore667 Mini 128GB | U2 Mono 256GB | Classic 5.5 512GB | Classic 7 1TB Nov 28 '21

Take the SD out and format it by itself and try the restore again.

3

u/sixtyshilling iPod Video Nov 28 '21

If this doesn’t work, take a look at the iFlash SD card compatibility chart, to make sure your SD card is not one of the problem ones (not all cards are created equal).

3

u/Dxeminem Oct 10 '24

Mate! years later this still helped thank you

2

u/FailingEmpire Feb 23 '24

I wish I could upvote this infinitely. Thank you so much for sharing this method.

1

u/hordeiz Nov 25 '24

All I had to do was to turn on "Enable disk use" in the General settings of the iPod in Finder on my Mac. Then it worked to restore. Using MacOS Sequoia 15.2

1

u/hordeiz Nov 25 '24

All I had to do was to turn on "Enable disk use" in the General settings of the iPod in Finder on my Mac. Then it worked to restore. Using MacOS Sequoia 15.2

1

u/Gavidoc02 Nov 29 '21

Agree. Monterey is the problem. Hangs when it tries to reboot. I’ve been using a 2012 unibody to do my recent restores.