IT’S BOUND TO HAPPEN SOMETIME: YOUR IPOD LOCKS UP, FREAKS out, or just isn’t its usual cheerful self. Luckily, you can solve many iPod problems with a button-tap here or a battery charge there. Then your portable ‘Pod is back to normal.

But your iPod is a mini-computer in its own right, and getting it back in working order might involve more than a button press or two—and maybe even the attention of a technical expert. This chapter explains what to do if your iPod starts acting weird—and where to go if you can’t fix it yourself.

But iPod triage isn’t all about magnifying glasses and tiny screwdrivers. Yes, the iPod is a nice piece of hardware, but where there’s hardware, there’s software. In this chapter, you’ll also learn how to keep your iPod up to date with the latest software from Apple so you have the latest bug fixes and new features right in your pocket.