Jim H., Adam, and whoever else will listen:
Well, here's my latest update. Trials and Tribulations, part 25:
Last night I spent most of my night on the phone with the tech support staff from both Dell and Apple trying hone in on the problem. Here's where that "got me":
Dell: While stumbling over the language barrier hurdle (all Dell tech support is contracted out to India), my goal was to verify that I had the right drivers installed for my USB 2.0 ports. We've discussed how my transfer speeds (0.89 MB/s) seem to be more consistent with USB 1.1 or 1.0 and not 2.0 so I thought maybe somehow my USB drivers were lost or corrupted. I felt it would be a fairly simple process, but I didn't know how to do it on my own so I called on Dell for guidance. We talked for about an hour trying various things and at the end of our discussion the tech rep said that I now could be sure I had the right drivers in place. I have to say that I'm not very confident in her statement, mainly because they follow a premade step-by-step guide to troubleshoot customer problems as opposed to going off of experience and personal knowledge. Nevertheless I am forced (until I find out how to do this on my own) to believe that I have the right drivers in place and my USB ports should not be an issue. Then I decided to call Apple....
Apple: I wanted to talk to Apple about the error message I was getting - the one that was telling me that I didn't have enough space available to complete the file transfer, then it would terminate the sync and then I would lose my F-drive icon within MC (not the exact wording of the message obviously, but you get the idea). The Apple rep was quick to point out that they only supported MMJB version 7.5 and nothing else. He asked me if I did a complete iPod restore (which I did), if I was running the latest iPod software version 2.0.1 (which I am) and I had formatted my iPod for use with the various applications I was trying to use (which I also had done). He basically had two comments for me. First, he said that I should not be using anything other than MMJB v7.5 or he wouldn't be able to help me. I told him that I new of many other users of other apps (MC, Ephpod, XPlay, and even MMJB v8.0) that weren't having any issues but he insisted that I use MMJB v7.5 or he wouldn't be able to help me. Second, he said that I could very easily have a malfunctioning iPod and there could be a problem with its hard drive. He told me to go back to using MMJB v7.5 and see what happens. He also gave me a website link to use if I wanted to send it in for service (inspection/repair).
At the end of the phone conversations I was no closer to a solution and felt as frustrated and depressed as I have since getting the iPod. Here I have this brand new iPod and I can't use it for one reason or another. It's my $400 paperweight, along with the costs of buying MMJB and all their future releases ($60, I know, I'm an idiot but it was before I knew about MC) and the $40 I just shelled out for MC, plus various iPod accessories (FM transmitter, firewire-to-usb adapter cable, etc.) - all in all we're talking about $550 worth of stuff that doesn't work!
Adam - I'll try your latest suggestion tonight and see what happens. Forgive me if I'm less than optimistic about it working, but I do appreciate you help throughout this ordeal.
Apple can't help me because they claim it's a problem with my computer or the application I using (if other than MMJB v7.5), Dell can 't help me because they say it's a problem with the iPod or the software I'm running with it, and JRiver can't help me because apparently my problems are the result of a bad iPod or something screwed up with my computer. WHO CAN HELP! Running in circles, not getting anywhere.
I feel a little better having let that out
- sorry about that:rolleyes: but you can probably imagine what I'm going through. Still open for ideas if you've got em.
Josey Wales