Hi Becca: You probably need to take the iPod back to its factory settings. This will erase all the files on the iPod but you should have them in iTunes and can restore them. I don't know the version of the Software Updater on a PC but I found this download for version 1.3 http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=120236 When you download and run this program it should give you the option of restoring the iPod to its factory settings. After doing that your iPod should be as good as new. Ken On Nov 19, 2008, at 4:15 PM, Becca wrote: > I've done the reset magic a few times to reboot it. You can see the > books and music I've got on it, but it won't select and play anything. > > I tried to restore it but it won't register with iTunes (using > Windows XP). It's not the fault of iTunes: it works just fine with > my old gen2 nano. I tried connecting the hosed iPod to my son's > computer to restore it, and it won't register with his copy of > iTunes either. > > any suggestions how I can salvage this? > > -becca