Using an iPod to Move Your Music Collection from One Computer to Another

In this book, I encourage people to write to me, which they do. There is one question I am asked much more than any other, and that is, "How do I move my music from an iPod to my computer?" My answer is that using iTunes, you can't. iTunes is designed for one-way transfer, from the computer to an iPod. I suspect this is to help protect the copyright of purchased and other music.

caution

Don't use these applications to copy your music for people who aren't entitled to it. Just because an application can do this doesn't mean it is something you should do.

If your iPod has enough disk space to store the music you have imported onto it and all the music files in your iTunes Library, you can mount your iPod as a hard disk, copy your iTunes folder from your computer onto the iPod, connect the iPod to another computer, copy the iTunes folder onto that computer, and import the music files into the iTunes Library on the second computer.

There are two issues with this approach, though. One is that you have to have enough room on your iPod for two versions of all your songs. The other is that it is a pain to import all that music into another iTunes Library.

note

If you read Chapter 10, you should remember iPod Agent because this is the application I recommended for Windows users who are going to use their iPods as PDAs with a Windows computer.

Applications are available that will enable you to move music from your iPod to a computer and provide lots of other features.

If you use a Windows computer, several applications can recover the music on your iPod and copy it to a computer. One example is iPod Agent, available at www.ipodsoft.com.

After you launch iPod Agent and get into the main interface, you will see the iPods connected to your computer (see Figure 11.17). You can then move the music on the iPod onto your computer.

Figure 11.17. You can use iPod Agent to copy music from an iPod onto a computer among many other tasks.

If you use a Macintosh computer, you can download iPod Rip from www.thelittleappfactory.com. When you install and open the application, you can work with the iPods connected to your computer (see Figure 11.18). You can use the Recover iPod feature to restore an iPod's music on your Mac.

Figure 11.18. iPod Rip enables you to transfer music from an iPod onto a Macintosh.

Providing detailed steps for these applications is beyond the scope of this book, but both are relatively simple to use and include help systems if you have questions about how they work.

One of the nice things about these applications is that they, in effect, turn your iPod into a backup system for your music (assuming your entire iTunes Library fits on your iPod, of course). Should anything happen to your iTunes Library, you can move the music from the iPod back onto your computer to restore it. I still recommend that you back up on disc, though.

As the makers of iPod Agent warn you when you launch the application, iTunes will delete any music on your iPod that isn't in its Library if you have enabled your iPod to sync automatically. When you connect the iPod to your computer and iTunes begins to open, hold down the Shift+Ctrl keys until the iPod appears on the Source list. This will prevent iTunes from performing an update.

The Absolute Minimum

As you can see, the iPod is much more than just the world's best portable music player. As you live with your iPod, you'll likely come to appreciate its other uses, which include the following:

• Putting podcasts on your iPod enables you to listen to radio-like programs of your choice at any time and in any location.

• Using your iPod as a portable hard drive or flash drive just might be one of the best reasons to have an iPod. The ability to carry gigabytes of data on a device the size of a deck of playing cards is very useful indeed.

• You can use an iPod with more than one computer; just be aware of the update option you use. Otherwise, you might find the contents of your iPod being replaced when you didn't intend them to be.

• Adding a voice recorder to an iPod is a great way to use it to record sounds, such as voice memos or reminders.

• You can move music from an iPod onto a computer, but without an additional application, it isn't the easiest task in the world. Fortunately, there are applications designed to do just this for both Windows and Macintosh computers.