Originally Posted by LaughingGravy

I've got my black and white non-video 20 gig Ipod and a 256MB memory stick/MP3 player w/FM receiver called the Creative MuVo TX.

The Ipod works great when it works, which is 98% of the time.
Granted, I've got it running on a PIII 700 mhz Windows XP with a USB 2.0 card, (which I wonder if it's really working at 2.0), but it does work.
Podcasts are fun.
The other 2% of the time, the Ipod drives me insane. Either Itunes needs to be reinstalled, or I need to actually switch from a USB to the firewire cable, or I need to do a reset (sometimes dicey), or some combination to make it work.
The problem is the whole sync process. If it's not happy, it essentially locks up. For the times it doesn't work, it takes an average of 2 hrs to solve the problem.
One time, only after multiple trips to the Ipod lounge forum, it was determined that the little ribbon cable at the base of the inside of the Ipod had become ever so slightly misaligned, which can happen even if the thing as treated like a piece of fine china, which mine is.
The solution? Keep in mind it's a hard drive.......with the power off, whack it against your palm really hard (calm down, Mistress H)
It worked. I did that once last year and it's been fine ever since.

As for the USB connection, the only reliable connection/sync with my slow Windows XP PC happens when the Ipod is the only USB device attached to the computer.

If I was a paying customer for the Ipod, I'd be furious, but I won this at a trade show, so I deal with it. The fact that I've got close to 5000 tracks is just heaven.

The MP3 player has given me no trouble at all, has no moving parts, and easily doubles as file storage, but I choose what I load before I travel, while the Ipod allows me fantastic variety.