Apple today posted iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0 for both Mac and Windows. The long-overdue software update fixes a number of widespread issues affecting 512MB and 1GB first-generation iPod shuffle models. The update will completely erase all music and data and reinstalls software version 1.1.4 on affected shuffles. According to Apple, iPod shuffle Reset Utility 1.0 fixes the following issues:
With the iPod shuffle switched on, pressing the Play button will cause amber and green LEDs to flash for a few seconds, and the unit will not play any music, nor can you sync music to it from iTunes.
On a Windows PC, iPod shuffle will appear in My Computer as a “Removable Disk,” however the iPod shuffle volume will not mount correctly. The unit is listed in Device Manager under “Disk Drives” as “Apple iPod USB Device.”
On a Mac, the unit will only be recognized in Apple System Profiler under Hardware -> USB and will not appear or mount in the Finder.
When attempting to restore, the unit may not be recognized at all. However, if it is recognized, the restore may fail with an error dialog “Firmware update failure. Disk write error” or another error. It may take 3 restore attempts before the error appears. Note: iPod shuffle may take several minutes to be recognized.