ipod usb problem
The file allocation table, FAT, is a linked list. It is always stored on the hard drive or flash drive depending on the player. When copying data to the i-Pod or other mp3 player, the OS has to write new data to the FAT. If it is interrupted during this write, the FAT table is corrupted and the linked list is broken.
Typically, this is fatal to the firmware of the player and either a hard reset or reformatting the storage space is required. I had a player with a removeable flash card that this happened to frequently. The player put some special data into the FAT table. If I reformatted the card in a card reader or other device, the MP3 player would not recognize it. I had to format it with the player to make it work.
Because of the fragile nature of the FAT table, that is why Windows has all those warnings about turning off a USB device before unplugging it. Turning it off in Windows only insures that all writes to the device are completed and no application has open files on the device. It does nothing to actually turn off the hardware, it just insures that the hardware is idle before disconnecting.
---- Steve