Do you need ipodservice.exe to charge an iPod?

BobTheSlob

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 16, 2002
Messages
291
My iPod refuses to charge via USB. I don't have iTunes installed nor do I have the iPod software installed. All I have is Anapod.

I plug my iPod in via USB and it just doesn't charge at all. It'll just sit there with an apple on the screen until kingdom come.

What gives?
 
There's no way it wouldn't charge it if you had the ipod/itunes software or not. You're probably just using a usb port that isn't powered. If this is on the front of your computer, try one on the back or somewhere else. If that doesn't work try a usb port on another computer to see if it's the port or the ipod that won't charge.
 
Good to know. Thanks for the prompt reply. Based on what you said I think it's the iPod that won't charge. Is that bad? It seems like it.

I was just using my iPod the other day. I let it run till it turned off (probably where I made my mistake) and now it won't charge.

=(
 
Letting it run until it dies isn't bad, it should charge right back up. Do you have or know anyone that has a wall charger for an ipod? Try that if you can and lmk how it works out.
 
i don't know the specifics of how iPods charge over USB, but it's not outside the realm of possibilities for it to _not_ charge without a proper service or driver. take for example, motorola RAZR telephones. you can plug them in to USB on your PC all you want, but without the driver it won't charge -- it'll just be seen as an unknown USB modem. Like I said, I don't know specifically how the iPods handle it, but it IS possible for it to require the driver.
 
The iPod does not even have to be mounted for it to charge via USB. Heck, it even charges if it's crashed! (At least mine did.)
 
i don't know the specifics of how iPods charge over USB, but it's not outside the realm of possibilities for it to _not_ charge without a proper service or driver. take for example, motorola RAZR telephones. you can plug them in to USB on your PC all you want, but without the driver it won't charge -- it'll just be seen as an unknown USB modem.

Yeah, exactly. I was so pissed off when I started up Boot Camp and my RAZR wouldn't charge anymore. I thought it was broken or something, since it charges automatically in Mac OS.

Anyway, I don't think that's how the iPod works. People charge their iPods on the PCs in the computer labs here and they work fine.
 
I managed to get my hands on a wall charger and it works just fine now. I must have managed to continually pick non-powered USB ports =/
 
I've only got a 3rd Gen iPod, so I don't know how charging over USB works with it, but I know from looking up the same issue with my RAZR (was without my wall charger and battery was totally drained, so it couldnt connect) that there's part of the USB power spec that basically allots up to x mA of power to a device when its first plugged in, and the driver for that device can request more after it's detected etc.
 
I've only got a 3rd Gen iPod, so I don't know how charging over USB works with it, but I know from looking up the same issue with my RAZR (was without my wall charger and battery was totally drained, so it couldnt connect) that there's part of the USB power spec that basically allots up to x mA of power to a device when its first plugged in, and the driver for that device can request more after it's detected etc.

Yes, USB devices are allowed to draw a maximum of 100mA (1 unit) at initial connect. Then, once the handshake is finished (not necessarily when the driver gets loaded, just when the host finishes talking to the slave), the slave device is able to request current up to 500mA (5 units) in increments of 2mA. The driver is not neccessarily what requests the higher current. Lots of devices have the higher demand hard coded into firmware and they request the higher power load during initial handshake.

I'm an electronics designer who has recently been doing a lot of work with USB (specifically, HID compliant devices) lately, so this is all fresh in my mind.:p The bitch of it all is how the slave devices handle (or dont as in a lot of cases) USB suspend mode and other low-power scenarios where the maximum current per device gets driven down into the micro-amp range.
 
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