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Putting iPod into Disk Mode

Learn how to manually put iPod into Disk Mode.

When troubleshooting an issue with your iPod, it's sometimes helpful to manually put it into Disk Mode. After manually placing an iPod into Disk Mode, you will have to reset iPod in order to return it to its normal operating state.

If you have an iPod with a Click Wheel including:

  • Fifth Generation iPod
  • iPod mini
  • iPod (Click Wheel)
  • iPod with a color display
  • iPod photo
  • iPod nano
  1. Before manually placing the iPod into Disk Mode you should verify that it has a charge, if not you need to either charge iPod before continuing or connect it to power. You can either connect it to a high-powered USB port, or plug the iPod Power Adapter into an electrical outlet and connect iPod to the power adapter.
  2. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Set it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
  3. Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons for at least 6 seconds until the Apple logo appears.
  4. When the Apple logo appears, release the Menu and Select buttons and immediately press and hold the Select and the Play/Pause buttons until the Disk Mode screen appears.


  5. Disconnect iPod from the power adapter and connect it to your computer; the screen on the iPod will change and say "Do not disconnect"

If you are having difficulty putting an iPod model with a Click Wheel into Disk Mode, set the iPod on a flat surface. Make sure that the finger pressing the Select button is not touching the Click Wheel. Also make sure that you are pressing the Play/Pause button toward the outside of the Click Wheel and not near the center.

If you are still unable to put your iPod with a Click Wheel into Disk Mode, use one finger from one hand to press the Select button, and one finger from the other hand to press the Play/Pause button.

If you have an older iPod model without a Click Wheel

  1. Before manually placing the iPod into Disk Mode you should verify that it has a charge, if not you need to either charge iPod before continuing or connect it to power. You can connect it to the iPod Power Adapter which needs to be connected to an electrical outlet or a 6-pin Firewire port on your computer.
  2. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Set it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
  3. Press and hold the Play/Pause and Menu buttons until the Apple/iPod logo appears, then release them. This resets iPod. When you reset iPod all your music and data files are saved, but some customized settings may be lost.
  4. When the Apple logo appears, immediately press and hold the Previous and Next buttons until the Disk Mode screen appears. (For iPod Software 1.0 through 1.1, a FireWire logo appears on the screen.) Some iPods will show a "OK to Disconnect" message before you connect it to the computer. This changes to "Do Not Disconnect" after connecting.
  5. Disconnect iPod from the power adapter and connect it to your computer.

If you don't normally have it in Disk Mode, don't forget to reset iPod to get it out of Disk Mode.