Sad ipod face - what's wrong with my ipod?

If iPod show's sad face, mostly it means that iPod have hardware problem.

At first try to force iPod into Disk Mode and restore your iPod with the latest software.

If you succeed then you're lucky and it was software problem.

Disk Mode

Putting iPods with a Click Wheel into disk mode

1. Before placing the iPod into disk mode, you should verify that it is charged.
2. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Set it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
3. Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons for at least 6 seconds until the Apple logo appears.
4. When the Apple logo appears, release the Menu and Select buttons and immediately press and hold the Select and the Play/Pause buttons until the Disk Mode screen appears.


5. Connect the iPod to your computer; the screen on the iPod will change and say "Do not disconnect"

If you are having difficulty putting the iPod model into disk mode, set it on a flat surface. Make sure that the finger pressing the Select button is not touching the Click Wheel. Also make sure that you are pressing the Play/Pause button toward the outside of the Click Wheel and not near the center.

If you are still unable to put your iPod with a Click Wheel into Disk Mode, use one finger from one hand to press the Select button, and one finger from the other hand to press the Play/Pause button.
If you have an older iPod model without a Click Wheel

1. Before placing the iPod into disk mode you should verify that it has a charge.
2. Toggle the Hold switch on and off. (Set it to Hold, then turn it off again.)
3. Press and hold the Play/Pause and Menu buttons until the Apple/iPod logo appears, then release them. This resets iPod. When you reset iPod all your music and data files are saved, but some customized settings may be lost.
4. When the Apple logo appears, immediately press and hold the Previous and Next buttons until the Disk Mode screen appears.
5. Connect the iPod to your computer; the screen on the iPod will change and say "Do not disconnect"

To return it to its normal operating state, you will have to reset iPod.

Source - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1363

Last chance?

So, your iPod still shows sad face and it wasn't software problem..
For those who have iPod with hard drive (like iPod classic or iPod Video), there is one more chance:

1. Open the iPod (likely it wont be pretty and it’ll scratch).
2. Locate the hard drive.
3. Reset the hard drive connector (fancy way of saying: take it off, then put it back).

For those, who have iPod with flash memory card (like iPod nano, shuffle etc.) this way would'nt work, because flash memory card doesn't have connector.