How to put iPod Nano into DFU mode

Entering DFU Mode

Entering DFU Mode on the nano is a little tricky. I had done so by doing the following:

1. Connect the iPod to a PC running Linux.
2. dd the firmware partition and the MBR to backup files (dd if=/dev/sdX1 (replace X with the letter assigned to the device) of=nano-of.bin; dd if=/dev/sdX1 of=mbr.bin count=1)
3. dd some random data to the firmware partition to trash it (dd=/dev/urandom of=/dev/sdX1); let it run until it can't anymore.
4. Disconnect, reset (MENU+SELECT), then reattach it to the PC.
5. Reset it again while it's still connected, then immediately hit BACK+PLAY.

A picture of the dock connector cable should appear, along with the Apple support URL. This is DFU mode.