Been looking through the forums, and it's slightly disheartening, as I can't seem to find anyone else who's had the same problem, meaning its probably dead.
But hey, just in case....
My 2G 10GB (win) ipod actually developed this problem whilst in warranty, and I didn't realise I only had about a month to send it for free repair (well that's ?300 down the drain i guess, hell getting it repaired costs more than a new one).
Anyways, my ipod boots just fine, I can transfer songs to and from it, I have used ipod updater to restore it multiple times, but I have the same problem every time.
When i try and play a song, it goes to the now playing screen (can hear the disk spin up). Disk accesses for a few seconds, then just cuts out and spins down. I can still browse the ipod at this point. If i attempt to change the song, fast forward it, stop it etc. the ipod hard locks and I have to reset.
Basically it won't play any songs at all, but there are no little folders with exclamation marks and the like anywhere, it seems perfectly healthy up until the point where I try to play a song.
Please help someone, this was my 18th birthday present, and as a uni student I can hardly afford a new one :)