i have an ipod mini and ive been trying to get it to work at all for quite a while now. Im connecting it using usb2 (and when i do dmesg with it plugged in it shows up). My distro is gentoo and im using udev. Its pc formatted so im assuming thats VFAT. i have the vfat modules installed and i added a line into the udev rules that makes it show up under /dev/ipod whenever its plugged in. When i try to mount it i get the whole wrong fs type, bad superblock.... (mount -t vfat /dev/ipod /mnt/ipod). If anyone knows how to make it work or knows of any reasonable tutorial where i can learn how that would be greatly appreciated.

What deivice is shown up as /dev/ipod?

You should mount the second parition with vfat like /dev/sda2
The other is the system partition and should not be touched.

/dev/ipod is /dev/sdb2 (i have an sata hard drive so its b). when i try to mount that or mount -t vfat /dev/sdb2 /mnt/ipod i get the whole wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock... error.

Can you do a:
this should list the ipod partition table
Maybe your ipod is partitioned differently.

If the ipod is pc formatted it should use vfat.
Are you sure the vfat moudels are loaded by the kernel.
Can you try mounting another vfat partition, without using the ipod?

Disk /dev/sdb: 4095 MB, 4095737856 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 497 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/sdb1 1 5 40131 0 Empty
/dev/sdb2 * 6 497 3951990 b W95 FAT32

i have a 64 bit proc if that could be causing this.

I have gentoo_x64 too, so that should not be a problem.

Here I will show you how I use the iPod...
(Typing off of my head, don't take it accurate to the letter, I have a german iPod, I don't know the exact iPod messages)

First off all, in /etc/modules.autoload.d/kernel-2.6
Then, to mount my iPod, I connect my iPod to the firewire cable, the iPod shows the "you can disconnect your iPod now" (!!)

Then (as root) i do
This should change the iPod to displaying:
"Do not disconnect" (!!, finaly)

Now, if I'm at work I'm still using Kernel 2.4.X, I need to rescan the SCSI bus,
there is a script for this www.garloff.de/kurt/linux/rescan-scsi-bus.sh
At home (kernel 2.6.X) this is not nesecary.

Now, if I do a "fdisk -l /dev/sda" I get the same partition table, you have.

If I do
My iPod is mounted correctly.

After I'm done with the iPod, before phisicaly disconnecting I do the following:
After the "rmmod" the iPod should display "ok to disconnect"

Can you do these steps, and comment if something is different at your side?

[Things to ponder..]
Are you sure that you have not shredded the iPod filesystem, sometime while trying to get it to run.
Is the iPod accesible from windows/mac (maybe some friend of you still has windows in use :-))

I don't work with "udev", maybe it is getting in your way??

Don't stop trying.
(runnig out of ideas myself, ....)