Ok, This is a question that has been asked many times so I thought I would just clarify the ways you can move your songs back to your computer from your iPod. You may want to do this for a variety of reasons, ie computer change, backup purposes etc~


Before you do anything, make sure automatic updating of the iTunes library is disabled. This is very important to ensure that you do not update your iPod automatically and lose the songs that are on there.

To Turn off automatic updating ~

Upon connecting your iPod to your PC, press & hold Shift + Ctrl. This will stop the iPod from auto synchronizing and your iPod will appear in the source list. [This process will take anything between 3 and 30 seconds depending on the performance of your PC.]

Then you can right click on the iPod icon in the Source Menu and select iPod Options, then check the Manually manage songs and playlists box. You can now manage your library without losing any songs on the iPod. :-)


You are now ready To Begin ~

The first two things I will show you are softwares which are proven to work in easily managing the music on your iPod

1. Sharepod
-Free software

Here's how you get started.

Firstly, Download sharepod here ~ http://www.sturm.net.nz/website.php?Section=iPod+Programs&Page=Sh...

Then,

a) Hook Up your iPod to your pc via usb/firewire

b) The iPod drive appears in My Computer when you have the iPod plugged in to your PC.

c) Once you see the iPod's drive, copy the SharePod.exe onto it. Open the SharePod.exe and after a few seconds the main window will appear. If a window appears saying you need to download a file for SharePod to run, simply follow the instructions.

d) When the main window opens, it displays a list of playlists on your iPods. Double-click on a playlist to view its songs. You can either select songs or playlists to copy to your PC.

e) If you want to copy all songs on the iPod to your PC, select the playlist and hit the 'Copy to PC' button at the top of the screen. It will ask you where you want the music to go (eg. c:/music) and how you want the music to be formatted (eg Artist/Album/Song.mp3). Once you have set both of these hit the Transfer button and sharepod transfer your desired music to the location which you have selected.

f) From there, simply import your songs into iTunes in the usual manner of File -> Import.


2. Copypod
-Free to try, $19.90 to buy

This is an excellent program designed to help the n00bs in the iPod backup world.

It has a wonderful iTunes interface and is incredibly easy to use. I would highly recommend it. The only downside is that you only get a 14 day trial and after that you have to pay. But it is great if you only plan on backing up once.

A flash demo with screenshots which shows you how yo use it can be found here ~ http://www.copypod.net/demo.php

The Free trial download can be found here ~ http://www.copypod.net/download.php


3. The Traditional way of managing your music (Minus downloading any external software - for those who don't like downloading software)

*Note, This Method only works with iPods with colour display..

Finally, I thought I would show you a basic, arguably more fiddly way in which to back up/transfer your music back to your pc.

a) Hook your iPod up to your PC once again.

b) Go to 'My computer' and locate your iPod drive.

c) Double click on your iPod drive and go to Tools----->Folder options... And you will be presented with a menu, like this one...

Picture 1


d) Then click on the View Tab and make sure you check the 'show hidden files & folders option'. (Picture 1)

e) Then, you double click iPod_Control, and double click Music

-you will see a lot of folders labelled F00, F01, F02 etc. If you double click one of these folders, you will see that the 'Artist, Album' etc tags are all still intact.

f) Copy all of these folders 'F00, F01, F02....etc..' into a folder you would like to keep them on your computer

~This copying process can take a long time depending on the amount of music you have on your iPod~

Once this is done, you can simply import as normal.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Others To Try

Mac OS and Windows compatible:

iPodRip Free to try, $15 to buy
iPodRip supports recovering your songs and playlists, playback of audio files and much more. iPodRip is compatible with Mac OS X 10.2 and later, and Windows XP and 2000. iPodRip is shareware and will run without limitation for 10 sessions before registration is required.
homepage: http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=iPodRip

PodUtil Free to try, GBP 8 to buy
PodUtil is a shareware utility for copying songs from your iPod to your computer. PodUtil is compatible with Mac OS X and 9.x, and Windows XP and 2000.
homepage: http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/software/podutil.php

iPod Music Liberator Free to try, $24.99 to buy
The iPod Music Liberator is a full-featured music-management utility that allows you to copy music from your iPod to a Mac or PC. It supports Mac OS X and Windows XP, 2000, NT and 98.
homepage: www.zeleksoftware.com/products.htm

iPod Access Free to try, GBP 9.20 to buy
iPod Access allows you to copy music from your iPod to a Mac or PC. It supports Mac OS X 10.1 or later and Windows XP or 2000.
homepage: http://www.drewfindley.com/findleydesigns/ipodaccess/

Mac OS only:

PodWorks Free to try, $8 to buy
PodWorks allows you to copy songs from any Mac iPod to any Mac running OS X 10.2 or later. A free trial version (30 day time limit, 250 song copy limit) is available.
homepage: http://www.scifihifi.com/podworks/

Windows PC only:

Xplay Free to try, $29.95 to buy
XPlay provides a powerful Explorer-integrated drag-and-drop interface that makes transferring music to and from the iPod quick and simple. XPlay enables Windows users to use both Windows- and Mac-formatted iPods. XPlay requires Windows XP, 2000, ME or 98SE.
homepage: http://www.mediafour.com/products/xplay/

iPod Agent Free to try, $15 to buy
iPod Agent is a utility for managing contacts, appointments, mail, notes, tasks, RSS feeds, weather and more. It is not a music manager but works alongside iTunes to enable you to transfer songs from your iPod to a PC. iPod Agent requires Windows XP, 2000, or 98 and Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1.
homepage: http://www.ipodsoft.com/index.php?/software/ipodagent

~Any questions or queries, post and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!

Enjoy!

~Lethal

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