Flash Quad + iPod Classic 7g — stuck in restore loop on iTunes

Hi all,

Stuck on a iPod Classic 7th Gen with iFlash Quad build. Would appreciate any help.

Setup:

- iPod Classic 7th Gen

- iFlash Quad

- 256GB + 512GB Samsung EVO Select MicroSD cards (both on confirmed compatibility list)

- New 3600mah battery

Background:

PC crashed and soft locked during first restore attempt. Powered down computer, disconnected the iPod and rebooted. After that the iPod wouldn't boot — stuck asking to restore. I have manual and auto tested the iPod through diagnostic mode. All internals and hardware are recognised by the system and functional.

What I've tried:

- Reseated SD cards - ipod identifies all 768GB, both cards detected.

- Completed iFlash SDXC prep guide, cards formatted to FAT32.

- Tried restoring on Windows with iTunes 12.13 and 12.8 — restore completes fully, success message shows, iPod reboots to Apple logo then immediately drops back into recovery mode. Loops every time.

- Tried restoring on Mac via Finder — restore froze completely for 5+ hours with zero progress.

Any ideas what's causing the restore loop or the Mac freeze. I suspect it is software issue rather than hardware, but otherwise am lost.

Thanks for taking the time to read! Best wishes :)

Adam