Hey Hey! Ok - well I brought the new video iPod! THE EXACT SAME THING HAPPENED! and I know how u feel - i did this thing... and it worked fine?! SO i worship it now!!
TRY!!there are several things u can try in this thread.....i fixed my mini so try the things that are in here it may take some time to read it all but it may just be worth your while
somebody made a fix for it and it should be pretty easy to do it is posted on this board somewhere but i have copied it here for you all to see again
these are the steps(i would advise copy and pasting them into word pad or sumthing and then printing them):
>
http://swandog46.geekstogo.com/aproposfix.exe>
> This tool requires you to restart your computer in
> safe mode before running it. To do this press F8
> while your computer restarts until you get a screen
> with a number of options. The first option should be
> safe mode. Select safe mode and let windows boot up.
>
> After the computer has booted up double click the
> downloaded file to unzip it. In the folder it creates
> run the RunThis.bat file and see if that helps. If
> this fixes the problem please post to let me know.
>
Yes this does fix the problem. I found the problem started around 11/20/05 also. My device manager was blank and my ipod was showing up in Explorer but not in itunes or ipod updater.
The above explaination works. No need to back up music files as they are not effected by removing itunes. I'll summerize what I did following the instructions above but adding a few extra details.
I downloaded and extracted the file above.
I deleted itunes by using control panel/add/remove programs.
I rebooted in normal mode to finish the removal process.
I went to C/program files/itunes and deleted that folder.
I rebooted in safe mode holding f8 at the startup screen.
Logged in as administrator.
Found RunThis.bat file I extracted from the file earlier.
Double clicked the file. Followed instructions.
Took about a minute to run.
I then rebooted in normal mode.
Downloaded itunes the newest version from apple.
Plugged in ipod and it worked.
The directions given originally were good, I just thought I could help someone who may miss a step. Hope this saves some additional headaches
HOPE IT HELPED YOU LIKE IT HELPED ME!