“The ipod cannot be restored because it contains files that are in use by another application.”
I got this error message in iTunes (on a Mac) when trying to restore (i.e., reformat) an old iPod that has previously been used on a Windows machine. Tried a few solutions, but what finally worked was to erase the music that was already on the ipod, eject it, and reboot it. Once the iPod restarted and reconnected I was able to restore it.
How to reboot an iPod: Press and hold the Menu and Select buttons. The iPod will restart and the Apple logo will appear.
