Section 4. Connect Your iPod for the First Time


4. Connect Your iPod for the First Time

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

2 Run iTunes for the First Time

3 Select Your iPod's Language


SEE ALSO

42 Transfer Your Music to Your iPod

100 Restore Your iPod to Factory Settings


The first time you plug in your iPod, you're led through a brief setup process that's necessary for the future usability of the iPod's synchronization features. iTunes launches whenever an iPod is plugged in; if iTunes detects that a new iPod has been connected that has not yet been set up, a series of dialog boxes prompts you for a name by which iTunes should address the iPod whenever you connect it in the future. You're also prompted to choose whether the iPod should be automatically synchronized with your iTunes Library , and you're given the chance to register your iPod with Apple for support benefits.

1.
Connect Your iPod Using FireWire or USB2

Using the iPod Dock (if you have one), or a direct USB 2.0 or FireWire cable plugged in at one end to your computer, connect your new iPod at the Dock connector port, located on the bottom edge of the iPod. The iPod wakes from sleep, then immediately switches to the Do Not Disconnect icon, which indicates that it's being mounted as an external device by the computer. Do not disconnect your iPod while this icon is shown because you could damage the data on the iPod. (This doesn't matter with a new and empty iPod, but it's important to follow this rule at all times.)

iTunes launches automatically. When it detects your iPod connected to the computer, it presents a dialog box labeled iPod Setup Assistant . (See step 5 if your iPod is not automatically detected .)

4. Connect Your iPod for the First Time


2.
Name Your iPod

Choose a name for your iPod. For a Mac iPod, this name can be as long as you like (to a practical maximum of 68 characters) and should uniquely identify your iPod so that you can easily see when it's connected in iTunes. The name can contain any special characters except for the colon (:). However, if you have a Windows iPod or an iPod shuffle, because these units use a FAT32 file system instead of the Mac's native HFS+ file system, you must also avoid spaces and special characters such as . " / \ [ ] : ; =, when you name your iPod.

TIP

You can change your iPod's name at any time by renaming it in the Source pane in iTunes or by renaming the volume while it's mounted as an external disk.

3.
Choose to Automatically Synchronize Your Music

The Automatically update songs on my iPod check box is automatically selected. If you leave it this way, all your songs, artists , albums, and playlists will be automatically copied to your iPod and updated each time you connect it so that the contents of your iPod are always in sync with what's in your iTunes Library . If your iPod's capacity is larger than your iTunes Library , it's best to leave this box selected. If your music collection is larger than your iPod, however, disable the check box and refer to 43 Use a Large iTunes Library with a Small iPod for more information on how to make the best use of your iPod.

NOTE

If you have an iPod shuffle, the check box is labeled Automatically choose songs for my iPod . If you enable this check box, iTunes copies a random selection of songs to "autofill" the iPod shuffle. See 44 Autofill Your iPod Shuffle for details.

4.
Register Your iPod

Click Next to apply your chosen name and configuration to the iPod. In the following screen, you can simply click Done to exit the assistant and return to using iTunes. However, before you do that, it's a good idea to click the Register My iPod button to visit the support website where you can provide your iPod's serial number and other information to Apple. Registering your iPod in this way ensures that, in the future, if you have a technical problem with your iPod, Apple's support technicians will be able to quickly find your product's information on file and save time in diagnosing and solving your problem.

When you click Done , iTunes begins synchronizing your iPod's contents and copying all the music in its library to the iPod's hard drive (if you chose to do so in Step 3). If you already have a lot of music in iTunes, this might take several minutes; don't disconnect the iPod until iTunes' display reads iPod update is complete , and the Do not disconnect icon on the iPod disappears and is replaced with the navigation menus . Skip to 42 Transfer Your Music to Your iPod for more information on synchronizing your iPod.

TIP

After loading your iPod with music, let it remain connected to your computer until its battery is fully charged (three hours or so). It's a good idea to leave it in the charger as often as possible. See 51 About the Care and Feeding of Your iPod for more information about battery care.

5.
Troubleshoot Your iPod's Connection

It's possible, for Windows users in particular, that your iPod might not immediately show up in iTunesand might stubbornly refuse to appear no matter what you do or which port you plug it into. This can result from any of a myriad of different hardware issues, and a thorough discussion of all possible things that can go wrong is beyond the scope of this book. However, there are a few things you can try.

Perhaps the most common problem with iPod connectivity is a bad FireWire or USB 2.0 connection. This can be the result of a faulty connector or a bad hub that doesn't properly transfer the complete signal to your operating system. iPods sold for Windows computers are packaged with a USB 2.0 cable. The first thing to check is that your computer supports USB 2.0, because USB 1.1 is not supported except on the iPod shuffle (which is small enough to be filled in a reasonable time by the older and slower USB 1.1).

If your computer doesn't support USB 2.0, or if it does support it but it doesn't seem to be working (make sure that you try the USB cable in every USB port on your computer), try using FireWire instead. Most modern computers have at least one FireWire port, also known as IEEE 1394. Apple sells a separate FireWire cable for your iPod for $19.00. If you don't have any FireWire ports on your computer, you can get a card for your computer with USB 2.0 and FireWire ports for as little as $20 (although, naturally, more money gets you better quality).

If you're using the iPod Dock, try connecting the USB 2.0 or FireWire cable directly to the iPod's Dock connector instead. If this approach fixes the problem, you'll know that the Dock is the culprit and must be replaced.

If neither FireWire nor USB 2.0 work for you, it's possible that you need to update your installation of Windows. Run Windows Update to ensure that all drivers and libraries for FireWire and USB 2.0 are installed on your computer.

Finally, if all else fails, contact Apple Support; you get a year of free service with your new iPod, and Apple's on the hook to make sure that you can get it running properly. It could be that you have a faulty iPod. Perhaps your Dock or cable is bad. Whatever the cause, you've spent a lot of money on that shiny new iPod, and you have the right to Apple's help in getting it clicking away.



iPod + iTunes for Windows and Mac in a Snap
iPod + iTunes for Windows and Mac in a Snap (2nd Edition)
ISBN: 0672328992
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 152
Authors: Brian Tiemann

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