My apple ipod video 30 gb is showing the sad ipod icon on my screen. I have tried to force it into disk mode but it still shows the sad ipod icon. I can plug it into the computer or wall or even just trying to turn it on it will still come up with the same sad ipod icon. What do i do?

The "sad" iPod icon usually indicated that the iPod is having trouble connecting with a computer. This is, in most cases, not a serious issue and can be resolved with a few easy procedures. In most cases the data on the iPod is intact, even if the sad icon was displayed.

Verify the iPod has a charge. If in doubt, allow it to charge for 30 to 60 minutes. Do not remove charging cable. Toggle the Hold switch to the Hold position and back. Then press both the center (Select) button and the Menu (upper part of wheel) for up to 10 seconds. Release the Select and Menu buttons when the Apple logo appears, and quickly simultaneously press the Select and Play/Pause (bottom of the wheel) button. Switch from the electrical plug to a computer connection (if necessary) when the Disk Mode screen appears. The screen should change to the normal "Do Not Disconnect" update screen. Contact Apple about finding a repair service if the iPod will not go into Disk Mode.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1399

It looks like there is some kind of software problem with your iPod.
First, power up your iPod (showing the sad face). Try pressing the center and menu buttons at the same time, and holding it like this until the iPod shuts off (after about 5 seconds). This should 'force-restart' the iPod.
If this doesn't work, plug your iPod into your computer, open iTunes, select your iPod in the left-hand menu and click Restore. Note that all songs/photos/videos will be erased by this procedure.
Should this also fail, you can try leaving your iPod turned on (with the sad face), and wait for the battery to completely run out (the iPod should not turn on at all anymore). Leave the iPod unpowered for about an hour, recharge it, and retry the above steps.
Hope this helped,
tS

In most cases, the sad iPod icon indicates a hardware issue. If you are able to force iPod into Disk Mode, then it may not be a hardware issue, and you should try to restore your iPod with the latest software.
To force ipod into Disk mode http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1363?viewlocale=en_US
To restore ipod http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1339?viewlocale=en_US

If the iPod is showing the "Sad iPod face" icon, this means that the hard drive inside the iPod (located on the logic/circuit board) has died/failed and needs to be replaced. If you plan on replacing this part, you may also need to purchase and solder a new battery to the iPod logic board if you were to do it yourself.

i am so sorry but the hard drive is down.
:(
also u can check for restoration and upgrade through iTunes.
p^^lz rate this post.

Don't just change the hard drive,Change the motorboard as well.Different generation ipods use different boards and the hard drive from one won't always just plug in and work.

Hopefully your ipod is still under warranty, because this is indicative of a hardware problem.

You could try to force it into disk mode and do a restore, if that doesn't work then it needs to be sent in for repair.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61771

Unfortunately, it means your iPod's hard drive is severely damaged. Try putting it into disk mode and formatting it with windows, sometimes that'll take care of bad sectors on the drive and MIGHT make it usable again. It's either that or take it back to Apple to have them fix it.