iPod Problems

Notes before you start:

• This document does not apply to iPod touch.
• Windows operating systems don’t recognize Mac OS-formatted disks (HFS or HFS Plus formats), so you can’t use a Mac-formatted iPod to move your music to a Windows PC. See iPod: How to determine iPod’s hard disk format if you’re not sure how your iPod is formatted.
• You can use the Transfer Purchases from iPod option under the File menu to copy iTunes Store purchases from iPod to another computer. You cannot, however, transfer songs from other sources from the iPod library to iTunes. You’ll need to follow the steps below to use iPod as a hard disk to transfer music files from one computer to another. This process will require the use of iTunes 7 or later on all computers. You will need to update any computers with iTunes 6 or earlier to follow these steps. Download the latest version of iTunes. After you have the files transferred, you’ll need to authorize any iTunes Store content. If you won’t be using your old computer, you can deauthorize it.
• If you do not have access to a CD or DVD burner and do not have an iPod, you may also use an external hard drive to back up your iTunes Library from your older computer and then restore it to your newer computer.

Switch the iPod to manual update and enable disk use

The first thing you need to do is verify that you have configured your iPod to enable disk use. To do this:

1. Open iTunes on your old computer.
2. Connect your iPod to your old computer and wait for it to appear in iTunes.
3. Select your iPod on the left side of the iTunes window under the Devices section to display your iPod preferences.
4. Click the Summary tab in the main iTunes window.
5. Select the “Manually manage music” checkbox. This will also select Enable disk use.
6. A message appears that says:
   

   “Disabling automatic update requires manually unmounting the iPod before each disconnect.”

   Click OK in the message window.

7. Click Apply in bottom right of the iTunes window.
   

Locating and consolidating the iTunes Media folder

Consolidating will make sure all of your content is in the same location. Look in iTunes Preferences to determine the location of your iTunes Media folder.

1. Open iTunes Preferences:
   Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
   Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
2. Click Advanced and note the location of your iTunes Media folder.
   
3. If you’re not going to be able to complete these steps all at once, it’s a good idea to make sure that any new content gets added to the iTunes Music folder. If you’re not able to finish these steps, select the “Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library” if it’s not already selected. This will ensure any content you add before finishing these steps gets added to the iTunes Music folder.
   
4. Click OK.
5. For iTunes 9 or later choose File >  LIbrary > Organize Library > Consolidate Files.
   For iTunes 8.2.1 or later choose File > Library > Consolidate.
   Note: A window may appear that reads: “Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes Media folder. This cannot be undone.”
6. Click Consolidate.
   Note: Clicking Consolidate will cause iTunes to copy all of your music files to another location on your computer. You will need to manually remove the files from their previous locations if you are concerned about drive space. If your computer does not have enough hard-drive space this process will not work correctly. Please speak to your computer manufacturer or Microsoft for more information on how to obtain more space to perform this action.

Is there enough room on the iPod?

iPod shares its hard disk space between the songs that iTunes puts on it and any files you’ve added when using its disk mode. To transfer music with your iPod, you need enough free space to hold a copy of all your music files in addition to any copies that may already have been placed by iTunes (this is because non-purchased songs placed on the iPod by iTunes cannot be copied off the iPod while in disk mode). To figure out how much space you have on your iPod:

1. Open iTunes on your old computer.
2. Click on Music on the left side of the iTunes window. The size of your Music library appears at the bottom of the iTunes window:
   
   Repeat this for the other libraries (Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks, Applications, and Ringtones). Add these to get the total space required to consolidate your library.
3. Connect your iPod to your old computer and wait for it to appear in iTunes.
4. Click iPod under Devices on the left side of iTunes.
5. The amount of free space on iPod appears near the bottom of the iTunes window:
   
6. If the amount of free space left on your iPod is larger than your combined libraries, skip to Copy iTunes folder to iPod.

Free up space on iPod

If your library is larger than the amount of free space on your iPod, you’ll need to free up some space on it. Here’s how:

1. Click iPod on the left side of the iTunes window.
2. Click on the Music option listed under iPod. (If you do not see this option, click the gray arrow next to the iPod to reveal the iPod’s contents).
3. Click any song that appears in the main part of the iTunes window (to the right).
4. Choose Edit > Select All.
   
   Important: The next step will delete all music from your iPod. If you have been using automatic update you don’t need to worry, because all your music is also on your computer. If you have not been using automatic update, and your iPod has music on it from another source (other than your iTunes library), following the next step will delete that music.
5. Press Delete on the keyboard. If you see a message that says “Are you sure you want to remove the selected items from the list?”, click Yes.

Copy iTunes folder to iPod

To copy all your music files (including the library file that holds all your playlists and other settings) to your iPod:

1. Quit iTunes.
2. Locate your iPod:
   Mac OS X: On the desktop
   Windows: In My Computer
3. Locate your iTunes folder:
   Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
   Windows: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
4. Drag the iTunes folder to the iPod. This can take a while if you have a lot of songs.From your old Mac to the iPod
   

   From your old Windows PC to the iPod
   

5. When the copy completes open iTunes.
6. Select iPod on the left side of the iTunes window.
7. Click the Eject button to the right of the iPod icon (or choose Controls > Eject iPod).
8. Disconnect iPod from the computer when the “Do not disconnect” message no longer appears on the iPod screen.

Get iTunes ready on your new computer

To get iTunes ready to accept all your music on your new computer:

1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes.
2. Open iTunes on your new computer. If this is your first time to open iTunes on your new computer you will need to choose your options in the iTunes Setup Assistant.
3. Connect iPod to your new computer.

Back up any music that’s already on your new computer

Do you already have some music showing up in your Library in iTunes on the new computer? If so follow these steps to make sure this music gets saved (You can see how to add it back into iTunes in the Adding music on new computer back in section below). If not you can skip down to the Copy music to new computer section.

1. Open iTunes Preferences Mac OS X:
   Choose iTunes > Preferences.
   Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
2. Click the Advanced tab.
3. Click the Reset button next to iTunes Media folder location.
4. Click OK.
5. Choose File > Library > Consolidate Library. An alert message appears: “Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes music folder. This cannot be undone.”
6. Click Consolidate.
7. Quit iTunes.

Copy music to new computer

To copy all your music files (including the library file that holds all your playlists and other settings) to your new computer:

1. Locate your Music folder (Mac OS X) or your My Music folder (Windows) on your new computer:
   Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
   Windows: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
2. Drag the iTunes folder in this location out to the desktop.From the Music folder to the Desktop on your new Mac
   

   
   From the My Music folder to the Desktop on your new PC

3. Locate the iPod on the new computer:
   Mac OS X: On the desktop.
   Windows: In My Computer.
4. Double-click on the iPod icon to open it.
5. Drag the iTunes folder from the iPod to the Music folder (Mac OS X) or My Music Folder (Windows) on your new computer. This can take a while if you have a lot of songs.From the iPod to the Music folder on your new Mac

   From the iPod to the My Music folder on your new PC
   

6. Open iTunes.

There you go. All your music, playlists, and other information like play counts and ratings have all been moved from your old computer to your new one.

Add existing music on new computer back in

If you already had some music on your new computer, and you want to incorporate it into the music you just moved from your old computer:

1. Choose File > Add to Library (Mac OS X) or Add Folder to Library (Windows).
2. Navigate to the iTunes folder on your Desktop.
3. Click Choose (Mac OS X) or OK (Windows).

Note: Information like ratings and play count are not preserved for these songs.

Free up room on the iPod

To free up room on your iPod so iTunes can put all your music back on it:

1. Quit iTunes.
2. Drag the iTunes folder out of the iPod to the Trash (Mac OS X) or Recycle Bin (Windows).
   Mac OS X: Choose File > Empty Trash.
   Windows: A Confirm Folder Delete window appears. Click Yes.

Switch the iPod back to automatic update

To set up your iPod to be updated with all your music from iTunes on your new computer:

1. Open iTunes.
2. Select  iPod on the left side of the iTunes window and click the Music tab in the iPod Settings.
3. Click the “Sync music” option, and the “All songs and playlists” option. An alert message appears:
   

   “Are you sure you want to enable automatic updating? All existing songs and playlist on the iPod “ipod name” will be replaced with songs and playlists from the iTunes music library.”

   Optional: Uncheck the Enable disk use checkbox in the Summary tab if you don’t want to use the iPod as a disk. If you leave this option checked you need to eject your iPod from iTunes before you disconnect the iPod from your computer.

4. Click Apply.

The iPod update begins. All your music is now on your new computer, and after the update completes it will be on your iPod again too.

To make the move as easy as possible, it’s important to make sure all of the items in your library are in one place.

1. Open iTunes Preferences:
   Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
   Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Make sure the option to “Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library” is selected.
4. Click OK.

   Note: After you click OK, iTunes copies any files that are added that weren’t already in the iTunes Media folder and places the copies in the folder. The original files are left in their original locations. To save space on your hard disk, you might want to delete the original files after confirming import.

5. Choose File > Library > Organize Library.
6. Select the option to “Consolidate files.”  Note: If you recently updated to iTunes 9, you might want to consider selecting the option to “Upgrade to iTunes Media organization.” This updates the file organization of your iTunes Media folder.
   
7. Click OK.

To copy all the items in your iTunes library (including the iTunes Library file that holds all your playlists, playcounts, ratings, and other data) to your external hard drive, follow these steps:

1. Quit iTunes.
2. Locate your external hard drive.
   Mac: On the desktop or Finder sidebar.
   Windows: In My Computer
3. Locate your iTunes folder:
   By default, the iTunes folder is located in:
   Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
   Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
   Windows Vista or Windows 7: \Users\username\My Music\
4. If the iTunes folder is not in the default location listed above then you can find where the iTunes folder is located by following these instructions:
   1. Open your iTunes Preferences:
      Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
      Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
   2. Click Advanced.
   3. The location of your iTunes folder will be listed in iTunes Media folder location box, as pictured below.
5. Drag the iTunes folder to your external hard drive. This can take a while if you have a lot of items.
6. When the transfer is complete, your iTunes Library will have been successfully copied to your external hard drive.

When you need to restore your backed up iTunes Library from your external hard drive to your computer, follow these steps:

1. Quit iTunes.
2. Locate your external hard drive.
   Mac: On the Desktop or Finder sidebar.
   Windows: In My Computer
3. Drag the iTunes folder (backed up earlier) from your external hard drive to whatever location you desire on your internal hard drive. It is recommended that you choose the default location for the iTunes folder, which is:
   Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
   Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
   Windows Vista or Windows 7: \Users\username\My Music\
4. Open iTunes while holding down the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows).
5. In the resulting dialog, click the Choose Library button.
   
6. Select the iTunes folder you just moved to the internal hard drive.
7. Click Choose (Mac OS X) or Open (Windows) and then choose the iTunes Library file inside .

After following these steps, iTunes will open and your iTunes Library will be restored.

If your iTunes Store account is associated with a MobileMe membership that has expired

Note: These instructions will show you how to update the email address that is associated with your iTunes Store account. Since your iTunes Store account is associated with a MobileMe account, you will not be able to change your Apple ID name.

1. Go to the Apple ID website.
2. Choose Change Language if the page is not in your preferred language.
3. Select Manage your account.
4. Enter your MobileMe member name and password, then click the Sign In button.
5. Click Name and Email Address on the left side of the webpage.
6. Enter your new email address twice.
7. Click the Save Changes button.
8. Click Sign Out in the upper right corner of the webpage.

When you sign in to the iTunes Store, you will still use your MobileMe member name. Even though your membership has expired, the Apple ID associated with it is still valid.

If your iTunes Store account is associated with an AOL account that has expired

1. Open iTunes.
2. Click iTunes Store on the left side of the screen.
   Note: If you are signed in to the iTunes Store, choose Store > Sign Out.
3. Click the Sign In button in the upper-right corner of the iTunes Store homepage.
4. Select the AOL radio button.
5. Enter your AOL screen name and password, then click the Sign In button.
6. You should be shown an alert that states “The AOL screen name you entered couldn’t be found or your password was incorrect. Please try again.” Try again two more times. After the third attempt, you will be asked if you would like to create an Apple account.
   Note: If your AOL account has not yet expired and you want to change your email address, you will need to enter a random incorrect password three times.
7. Click the Create Apple Account button.
8. Answer the security question and select your birth date from the menu or enter your full billing details for the account, then click Done.
9. Enter your new email address and password, as well as any other information that is not already populated, then click Continue.
10. Enter your preferred payment method and billing address, then click Done.

When you click Done, your account will be converted into an Apple ID for your iTunes Store account.