My iTunes database on my Nano as been corrupted several times now and reformatting it is a lot more work than is necessary... surely there must be some tool to rebuild the itunesDB file by now??

I searched for awhile but came up blank.

The easiest thing to do is just to restore the iPod nano with iTunes. That would ensure that you don't have any compatibility issues. Anapod Explorer can rebuild an iPod's database but they don't recommend doing so. It is compatible only with the first and second generation iPod nanos, it isn't compatible with the video capable iPod nano models. Ephpod can also do the same thing but it isn't compatible with many iPods.

The best thing that you can do is just restore your iPod with iTunes. I know that re-syncing all the content can be a pain but it is the best solution and more than likely the only solution if you are using a 3G or 4G iPod nano. You shouldn't have to worry about losing anything in your iTunes library unless you use your iPod nano as the sole means to store content. You can learned a much needed lesson if that is the case.

It seems that foo_dop as a feature called "rebuild database from scratch" or "rewrite databse"... something like that. I would try it first.
Wikipedia also lists several applications featuring the "rebuilding" option.

Hey,
Thanks for replies...

I saw Anapod Explorer but it is not free and I don't care for a big software suite!! I already have PoddoX, they just sadly never got the repair feature implemented.

I also tried EphPod but it doesn't seem to actually work.

I would never use iTunes... I'd rather just wipe the iPod clean myself, but it's a big waste of time to have to transfer all the music off it and then right back, just to rebuild 1 indexing file!

Someone really should make a tool to do this.

As for foo_dop, I saw that but it seems old so I question whether it would work with the newer iPods.

foo_dop doesn't work with latest Touch and iPhone. Classic & Nano are fine, unless you need the new "Genius" feature.
foo_dop site returns a 403 error on my side.
The list of supported iPod is available through google's cache:

http://209.85.129.132/search?q=cache:I9QAL...mp;client=opera

The last update was September 28, 2008. That does not seem old to me. I have a Classic and it works perfectly. It should work fine with your Nano, as well. "Someone" did make a tool, so take advantage of it and try it.

Winamp can also repair with the ml_iPod plugin (not the iPod plugin that comes with Winamp).

You mean that you don't have your music files stored on your computer as well as your iPod? That is a big problem.

Thanks I'll try that, I thought it was last updated in 2006 or something.

I store music in FLAC on my harddrive and then convert them to mp3 for the ipod.