Why does my iPod show a red "x" in a circle?

Well, I believe you have a 6th gen, slim 80 GB iPod classic. If I am correct, iTunes 9.X (Whatever version) should be able to work with it. When a red X appears on your iPod screen, especially the 6th Gen classics, it is usually a hard drive failure. If it charges, you know it's not the battery. Try formatting it with Windows, then do a restore on it from iTunes. If that doesn't work, try giving it a good hand slap on the table (with the sync port pointing down to the table). I know this might sound barbaric, but the needle in your hard drive might have been displaced and needs to be realigned. Also, the hard drive cable that connects your hard drive to your logic board might be slightly loose. Doing this will help you connect. If all else fails, which I hope it doesn't, then I believe you should sell it on eBay or try to replace the hard drive. A hard drive for this model can be found here.

here is a "howto" video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZDYk4-kc...

somebody has to open the iPod and replace the hard drive. The cheapest way is to do it yourself and you should get away with around $70. The part is available on ebay. Here's a iPhone Repair guide on http://www.portatronics.com/guide how to disassemble an iPhone. Maybe a tech savvy friend can do it for you. If you want to pay to have a service do it for you there are third party Services such as ifixit.com

"If Your iPod Displays a Red ""X"" Icon:

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1463

1. Put your ipod into disk mode

If you don't know how to put your ipod into disk mode:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1363?viewl...

2. Connect it to your computer"

It’s true!! My iPod classic wouldn’t respond and just showed a big red X in a res circle. I tried everything and was about to spend loads of money at the Apple store for them to fix and found this advice on the net. “smack your iPod down hard on a table, charging port first”. No way, that’s crazy. Insane. Reckless. Irresponsible. BUT IT WORKS!!!!! I did it and it worked a treat. Incredible but true. Enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yea it’s true, you got nothing else to lose, so do it bruh!!