Restoring iPod Classic

So I got this 120GB 6th generation iPod Classic on eBay. I noticed that it's running a bit slower than normal. Here's how to check the hard disk stats:

1. Press Menu and Select simultaneously until iPod reboots.
2. Immediately, press Menu and |<< simultaneously to go into Diagnostics Boot mode.
3. Go to Manual Test, then I/O, then Hard Drive, then HD Smart Data.

You'll then get a screen that shows you counters for reallocs and pending sectors. The higher the count, the higher probability that you're hard disk is being bogged down by bad sectors. Your best bet is to replace the hard drive, but if you're a cheapskate like me, there are still a couple of options.

Option 1: Use Windows to attempt recovery of bad sectors

1. Press Menu and Select simultaneously until iPod reboots.
2. Immediately, press Play and Select simultaneously to go to disk mode.
3. Make sure iTunes is configued NOT to sync with iPods automatically.
4. Connect iPod to PC.From Windows Explorer, right-click on the iPod drive, go to Properties, then Tools. Under Error-checking, press Check Now. Under Check disk options, tick Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.

In my case, Windows didn't detect anything wrong. So we take the more drastic option.

Option 2: Format the hard disk
Again, go to disk mode. Use Windows to format the iPod drive.
In my case, Windows reported that it cannot format my drive.
Regardless, fire up iTunes, and do a Restore.
In my case, HD diagnostics reported the same bad stats as before. But give it a try - might just work for you.