hi i think my ipod is naffed, hope not got some class songs on it. the problem i have is the batterry went realy flat and was not used for a few days . now when i try charging with the usb lead to comp i get the charge logo. the the apple then i get a little ipod icon with an exclamation at the side of the little ipod icon then after a few secounds it says www.apple.com/support/ipod. anybody got any idiea's thanks in advance martyn

First, try a reset: Press the centre button and menu button -hold for several seconds, you should see a message about rebooting or similar. Wait till it completes -this might take a short time, be patient.

Assuming all your music is backed up on your computer, performing a restore on the iPod will bring it back to life. Connect to your computer and start iTunes. Click your iPod icon in the sidebar and choose "restore". This will erase it, download the operating system and copy your music back over. This needs an active internet connection to work.

The symptoms are the same as those which heralded the demise of the battery in my fiancee's iPod mini - though it's not necessarily the case yours is similarly afflicted. If the above solution and others you may be offered don't work then book yourself in for a "Genius Bar (http://www.apple.com/uk/retail/geniusbar/)" session at an Apple Store - e.g. the one Meadowhall - they giving you a free fifteen minutes' support regardless as to where you got it from and its age and if it's still under warranty they may fix it. (Dead batteries are not always covered as they sometimes fail early through poor usage - guidance on best practice being found here (http://www.apple.com/uk/batteries/ipods.html).) If you have to pay for a replacement battery or a repair of any kind I recommend this (http://www.ukipodrepairs.co.uk) outfit.