Unmounting iPod (is in necessary?)

[noleli2]

I charge my iPod via firewire, and I always unmount it after I plug it in. (I have it set to mount as a regular drive.) I don't want the drive to spin all night. But I think the iPod automatically spins down after a certain amount of time, because if I forget to unmount it, it's not spinning (at least it doesn't sound like it) when I pick it up in the morning. So, is it detrimental to my iPod to leave it mounted on my desktop all night? Or should I keep unmounting it?

[Luca]

It depends on whether it's a first/second generation iPod or a third generation. I've owned all three. The first and second gen iPods will constantly spin while connected to your computer, even when they're not mounted on the desktop. So you can forget about charging via Firewire on those models. Either use the AC adapter to charge, or get a power-only Firewire cable to connect to your computer's Firewire port. I got one of those - the connectors are the same as standard Firewire connectors, but they leave out all the data pins so all it does is send power through the cable.

The third gen iPod will spin down the hard drive if you unmount it and leave it idle for a while. I think it might even spin down if it's connected to your computer but not in use. I am not sure but I do know that the drive can spin down if it's connected to your computer.

[noleli2]

Well, I just listened to my 2nd Gen (10GB) iPod, and it definitely spins down even while plugged in and mounted. And it's within 30-60sec, too. Maybe they the Gen 1 and 2 firmware didn't spin down when you had them, but they have since corrected it.