big red x

carrie, reason for the big red X is usually a bad hard drive. Try to place the iPod in diagnostic mode, follow the instructions for that from here. you can also try to place the i{Pod in disk mode and see if you can access the harddrive and try to format it. I use a Zif-to-USB adapter to check the drives, you can get those adapters for cheap on places like ebay. Ultimately, I believe that you will need a new hard drive. The guide for the repair is here.The hard drive is available at many places and not a terrible job to change it. There are those that recommend to "slap", literally hitting the iPod hard on the back. Sometimes, it loosens a frozen drive. I prefer to change it and to fix it for sure. Hope this helps, good luck.