My ipod suddenly stopped working today. Tried resetting it but no luck. When I plug it into my laptop it doesnt even appear in my itunes..any ideas or is it time for a new one. Its a 20G one with the colour screen so its a few years old.

Mine did a similar thing. Let the battery run right down and then recharge. It worked for me.

If all else fails try giving it a good whack on the back / smashing it down on a hard surface depending on your level of frustration.

I have an old one which displays the sick iPod logo occasionally. The above remedy sorts it out.

It might be worth looking around for a good condition 5G iPod. There were 30, 60 and 80Gb versions, and the reason I suggest it is because they are the last models you can do your own battery upgrade/replacement on. You can also replace the h/drive; up to 160 or 250Gb! These people do the kits:
http://apricorn.com/product_detail.php?type=family&id=42
Guess what I'm doing with my 80Gb 5G, instead of buying a new 160 Classic…

Plug it in and leave it there, it's probably so low on power it won't register, and the USB is just a trickle charge so it'll take a while

hide it behind a curtain and walk away muttering.