Phil O'Keefe Posted December 16, 2005 Share Posted December 16, 2005 As many of you may remember, I recently got an iPod Nano. It's really cool, and I'm enjoying it. But I also recently built a new 'puter, and like a dork, I didn't bother backing up my iPod music library and playlists before moving everything over to the new machine. Well, iTunes is part of a HDD backup, but I didn't export any library or playlist info. And when I installed iTunes and connected the iPod to the new computer, I was informed that the iPod was registered to a different computer and asked if I wanted to register it to the new 'puter and update the songs and playlists. Actually, I WOULD like to register to the new machine, but I'd like to send the song library and playlist info that's actually IN the iPod to the new machine. All the MP3's and actual files are already on the new computer, but I'll have to hunt them down (they're in various folders) and re-do all the playlist and song info (artist, album, etc) data... and I'd rather not have to do all that if I can get the info OFF OF the iPod and INTO the computer. Am I out of luck, or is there some trick to do this? I appreciate any suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorePaul Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 RTFM I keed, I keed I havenn't tried that type of switch-over I'd suggest hitting the support forums on the main Apple site - it's a pretty nice setup with a helpful user community that should be able to help you out with the ins and outs of something like that http://discussions.apple.com/index.jspa you can manually nav www.apple.com -> support [tab] --> discussions [2nd level tab] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Here ya go! PodPlus PodPlus - $15 PodPlus replaces iPod Agent and is written by the same developer. If you were looking for iPod Agent, please get PodPlus instead. PodPlus allows you to realize the full potential of your iPod. With PodPlus, you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amplayer Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 I'm sure there's an elegant way to do this, but I haven't RTFM, so I'm not sure.However, a possible workaround is to simply connect the iPod up to the new machine, launch iTunes, and then simply drag the files from iTunes into your chosen directory. I think this should work. One note of caution: If you've purchased AAC files from the iTunes store, they only allow a limited number of total copies/machines, so you'll be using one up once you register them to your new machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 Nope, I have not purchased anything from iTunes yet, so that shouldn't be an issue. BTW, I DID read the manual - such as it is - and there wasn't anything in there that I saw that indicated it was possible to move playlists back the other way - from the iPod to the 'puter. Jeff's solution, while expensive, seems like a good one to me. Thanks Mr Weasel! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe BTW, I DID read the manual - such as it is - and there wasn't anything in there that I saw that indicated it was possible to move playlists back the other way - from the iPod to the 'puter. That's only because there is no way with the standard software to do it... quite purposefully, for obvious reasons (song trading parties, anyone?). Jeff's solution, while expensive, seems like a good one to me. Thanks Mr Weasel! Well, I know you'll have to save up for that $15 smackers, so I hope it's worth it. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Jeff da Weasel That's only because there is no way with the standard software to do it... quite purposefully, for obvious reasons (song trading parties, anyone?). Well, it's not like I wanted to move the actual songs, just the playlists and artist / album data. Well, I know you'll have to save up for that $15 smackers, so I hope it's worth it. - Jeff Hey! Maybe I could get another 14 people together, with everyone pitching in a buck (which I MIGHT be able to scrape together ) and then we can all have a big song trading party! Maybe that's not such a good idea... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kiwiburger Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 This is where the competitors have it all over Apple. And why i'm not likely to buy an iPod for myself or for anyone else in the future. If you have a bunch of mp3's on your PC, it makes little sense to me to be forced into converting them into yet another format, doubling up on disk space. It makes even less sense to not supply software to get them back out again - although I suppose it's not smart to apply lossy compression schemes multiple times anyway. Apple seem to have missed the boat (although it's obviously not hurting them financially yet). But it's early days - I expect people will learn the hard way and buy a better product from a better maker next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Kiwiburger If you have a bunch of mp3's on your PC, it makes little sense to me to be forced into converting them into yet another format, doubling up on disk space. Kiwibuddy... you don't have to do that. I keep most everything as 128kbps MP3s on both my computer and my iPod. I don't use it for critical listening. Those are fine for casual listening. Those MP3s cmoe up in iTunes like any other format, and transfer to my iPod like any other format. You don't "double your disk space" in any aspect. The files sit in one folder and are read by iTunes... that's all. I promise, Apple's not out to get you. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aliengroover Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 As to not highjack the thread or pick on anyone, but I just think it's funny that people blast something when their facts are wrong. Apple doesn't force you to use their format (though I think it's better than mp3), nor does Sony. I hear it all the time, and while I don't hold it against a person, I somewhat attribute it to buying into someone else's rant. Back on subject... Thanks for that link J-Fizzle Da Wizzle! That sounds really good. I'm definitely checking that out. I'm e-mailing my buck to Phil as we speak. J/K Intergalactic File Sharing Police! Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 I was concerned about that too Kiwi, but that's a myth... you can use MP3's, WAV files... lots of stuff. I loaded a lot of 16 bit WAV files into it when I first got it. Not very space efficient, but if you need that level of quality, or prefer MP3's, you can use those in your iPod just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MorePaul Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Jeff da Weasel That's only because there is no way with the standard software to do it... quite purposefully, for obvious reasons (song trading parties, anyone?). wasn't that part of the feature strip circa V4 ? (and hence that kind of forced migration) I seem to remember somthing abt that - but they don't seem to have open change docs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe All the MP3's and actual files are already on the new computer, but I'll have to hunt them down (they're in various folders) and re-do all the playlist and song info (artist, album, etc) data... and I'd rather not have to do all that if I can get the info OFF OF the iPod and INTO the computer. Phil, for shame, for shame. Please organize your file folders. No need to hunt down your files. Do this if you still have the old machine: On the old computer, open iTunes and from the menu choose "consolidate library". This will move all of the files to the iTunes music directory. On the new computer, remove the iTunes music library folder. Now take the iTunes music folder from the old machine, and transfer it to the new one. I just did this for my own 'puter upgrade. There is a bug I found, where if the track names begin with a number (such as "01Running With the Devil" ), the new iTunes library doesn't track them correctly when it loads the first time you open iTunes. The files are in the right place, but for some reason the library doesn't recognize them automatically. I had to spend an hour or so going through the library and cleaning up the unrecognized track names. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff da Weasel Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Billster I had to spend an hour or so going through the library and cleaning up the unrecognized track names. One thing I always do is take the 30 seconds to use a consistent naming convention the moment I import a track. I do that specifically to alleviate the problem you mention, Bill. And yeah, everything stays in one folder. - Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Billster Posted December 16, 2005 Members Share Posted December 16, 2005 Originally posted by Jeff da Weasel One thing I always do is take the 30 seconds to use a consistent naming convention the moment I import a track. I do that specifically to alleviate the problem you mention, Bill. And yeah, everything stays in one folder. - Jeff Yeah, if you don't cleanup the info page as soon as you import, the library becomes a wasteland. Meta-tags people, meta-tags! Don't make me type in your title, artist, and genre info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 16, 2005 Author Share Posted December 16, 2005 Phil, for shame, for shame. Please organize your file folders. :o Yeah, I know. I still have the HDD from the old machine, but it's otherwise dismantled and gone. I think I DID consolodate at one point, so I'll look for that folder and see if that works. Thanks for the suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amplayer Posted December 17, 2005 Members Share Posted December 17, 2005 Originally posted by Phil O'Keefe I was concerned about that too Kiwi, but that's a myth... you can use MP3's, WAV files... lots of stuff. I loaded a lot of 16 bit WAV files into it when I first got it. Not very space efficient, but if you need that level of quality, or prefer MP3's, you can use those in your iPod just fine. iPods don't play WMA files though. For compatibility with MS, it would be nice if iPods supported wma playback. In the end, I don't care too much though. My iPod is loaded up with a HUGE pile of mp3 files, and that suits me just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted December 17, 2005 Author Share Posted December 17, 2005 Originally posted by amplayer iPods don't play WMA files though. For compatibility with MS, it would be nice if iPods supported wma playback. In the end, I don't care too much though. My iPod is loaded up with a HUGE pile of mp3 files, and that suits me just fine. You're correct... they can't directly load / play WMA's, but the iTunes software can convert NON-Protected WMA's and convert them to AAC's, which obviously work fine with an iPod, since it's Apple's "standard". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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