Ejecting iPod during sync may cause iTunes for Windows to "freeze"

  • Last Modified: July 20, 2004
  • Article: TA27756
  • Old Article: 93886
Trying to eject your iPod while it is syncing may cause iTunes to stop responding, and your PC may not eject your iPod.

Products Affected

iPod

This can happen in iTunes 4.6 on Windows XP or Windows 2000 with an iPod (with Dock Connector) or iPod (Click Wheel) when connected using USB 2.0.

To prevent this from happening, cancel the sync before trying to eject iPod or wait until the sync is complete.

If this has already happened and iTunes has stopped responding, follow these steps:
  1. Open Windows Task Manager by pressing the Control-Alt-Del keys.
  2. Click the Applications tab.
  3. Select iTunes in the list of tasks.
  4. Click the End Task button at the bottom of the Task Manager window.
  5. Open iTunes.
  6. Click the "Safely Remove Hardware" button in the system tray to eject iPod.