Ask iLounge 10-24-08

Article

Ask iLounge offers readers the opportunity to get answers to their iPod-, iPhone-, iPad-, iTunes-, or Apple TV-related questions from a member of the iLounge editorial team. We'll answer several questions here each week, and of course, you can always get help with more immediate concerns from the iLounge Discussion Forums. Submit your questions for consideration using our Ask iLounge Submit Form. We reserve the right to edit questions for grammar, spelling, and length.

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And now, for this week's Ask iLounge column:

When I import music into my iTunes library it seems to be getting imported twice and I’m ending up with duplicates. For example, one of my music folders has ten MP3 files and one M3U file. When I drag-and-drop that folder to add it to my iPod touch, it adds the MP3 files twice. I am using Windows Vista. If I remove the this M3U file and drag the same folder, the files are only added once. This just started happening with the latest upgrades to iTunes and it only happens on my Vista machines, not my XP Machine. What is happening and how can I stop iTunes from doing this?

- Fred

An M3U file is actually not a music file itself, but is rather a playlist of your tracks. Depending on what application you may have used to organize your music in the past, M3U files can often get created automatically in each folder to group tracks for other applications. If you open up an M3U file using an application like Notepad and take a look inside you will likely see nothing more than just a listing of your MP3 files.

iTunes does not normally care about M3U files, and will not create them. However, in those cases where you actually want to import them as playlists into your iTunes library, you can do so manually by using the File, Import option on your iTunes menu.

The most likely cause of the problem in this case is that the more recent version of iTunes on the Windows Vista computer is importing your M3U file in addition to the MP3 files whenever you drag them in. Previous versions only imported M3U files if you did so manually, however iTunes 8 appears to collect them alongside your MP3 files during the normal import. The result is that it imports the MP3 file itself directly, and then imports all files referenced in the M3U file. Since the M3U files in each folder likely contain a list of all of the tracks in that folder, you simply do not need to import these files.

The simplest solution would be to go through your music folder structure and delete all of these M3U files unless you are using some other application to manage or play your music that specifically requires them. You can quickly search for and clean out all of the M3U files simply by using the Windows “Search” option to locate files that end in an M3U extension, and then selecting them all and sending them to the Recycle Bin.

If you need to keep your M3U files for some reason, then the other option to avoid importing them into iTunes would simply be to use the Windows “Search” function to locate your MP3 files instead, and then drag those search results into iTunes as a single group of files.

Will a 3G AV composite video cable work with my iPod nano 4G?

- Paul

The short answer is yes. While Apple changed the specifications for the video out connector with the 2007 iPod models, they have not made any further changes to the video interface on the 2008 models beyond removing the ability to charge via FireWire, which is not a charging method used by any of the AV cables that we are aware of. Therefore, any video out cable that was designed for the “3G” iPod nano (with video), the iPod classic, iPhone or iPod touch should continue to work fine with this year’s models.

Note that we strongly recommend purchasing a cable with a reputable brand name from an actual “Made-for-iPod” manufacturer, as there have been some “no-name” cables on the market that claim video compatibility with the newer iPod models but do not actually work. Usually the best tip-off for these types of cables are unknown brand names and low prices. You can expect to pay a minimum of $30 for a good, new set of AV cables, as the licensing and authentication requirements make it virtually impossible for a third-party manufacturer to sell them for any less than this price and still make a profit.

I have bought a new computer and plan to give my old computer to my brother-in-law who wants the disk space cleaned off. I want to transfer my library to my new computer and erase it from the old one. I have backed up my iTunes library using the iTunes “Back up to Disc” feature and have also copied my “My Music” folder directly to a folder on an external hard drive. How should I go about transferring this information to the new computer? Can I “Restore” my library to the new computer from the backup disk? Should I just overwrite the “My Music” from the external drive onto the new computer? Do I have to worry about the new computer not seeing my iPod (“home” computer issues)? Should I set the iPod to sync manually before deleting the library off the old computer? Thanks!

- Alice

If you have a copy of your entire “My Music” folder on an external hard drive and all of your music is stored in the default location under the “My Music” folder (normally “My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music”), then the simplest method is to just copy the entire “iTunes” sub-folder structure right back to the corresponding location on the new computer. If you’ve already run iTunes on the new computer, it will have created this folder structure with an empty library, but you can safely overwrite this unless you’ve already manually imported new music into it.

In this case, since you are restoring the entire library exactly “as-is” with the same database and related files, the version of iTunes on the new computer should basically pick up everything as it was on the old computer, including your playlists, ratings, play counts and your iPod sync settings. iTunes stores information on any associated iPods within the library database itself, so it will simply recognize your iPod normally on the new computer without any reconfiguration required.

The only settings that are not stored in your iTunes library database are most of your iTunes preference settings. You can dig up your iTunes preference files and copy them over separately if you really want to (they’ll be hidden down under your home folder’s “Local Settings\Application Data” on the older computer), but it’s generally far simpler to just pull up your iTunes preferences window and quickly go through them again for any settings that you’re concerned about. Most of these preferences will not affect your library organization or your ability to sync your iPod, but are usually concerned with things like importing CDs, using the iTunes Store and playing back your content on your computer.

The music folder on my hard drive shows a sub-folder for each album. When I added the entire folder to iTunes, they’re listed in the library under one unknown album and not grouped together by artist at all. How do you group the songs back together as albums?

- Doug

The most likely cause of this problem is that your songs do not contain any actual album or artist information within the tracks themselves.

When iTunes imports music, it does not at all care about the name of the folder that it is coming from. Instead, it looks inside the MP3 file headers for something called an “ID3 Tag” which stores information such as artist, album, track name, and so forth. If an MP3 file doesn’t contain any information in a certain field, then iTunes has no way of knowing which album its from and just considers it unknown.

The best way to solve this in your case would be to get the tags filled in before you import your music into iTunes. There are applications which can fill in these tags based on your file and folder names for you automatically as a batch job. Check out either MP3tag or Tag&Rename for a couple of good options to help you with this.

Once the tags are properly sorted out, you can then import your music into iTunes and it should be able to organize the artist and album information properly for you. If any information is still missing at that point, you can fill in the tags via iTunes and it will also write this information back into the files themselves for future reference.

iTunes shows songs in my library, but when it goes through the sync motion the songs don’t appear on my iPod nano. Any ideas why?

- Sean

There are some settings in iTunes that control which songs from your iTunes library are synchronized to your iPod automatically, and depending on how these iPod sync settings are configured will determine whether new songs are added to your iPod automatically or not.

To configure these settings, you must connect your iPod to your computer and then select it from the iTunes “Devices” section at the left-hand side of the screen. This will display the Summary screen for your iPod.

From this screen, ensure that the setting to “Manually manage music and videos” is not selected. When this option is selected, NO music is transferred to your iPod automatically—instead you must transfer tracks to your iPod manually by dragging them from your iTunes library and dropping them onto the iPod icon in the Devices list. If you want to return to synchronizing songs automatically, you will need to uncheck this box and click the “Apply” button in the bottom-right corner of the iTunes window.

If the “Manually manage…” box is not checked, then it is possible that you are instead only synchronizing selected playlists to your iPod. In this case, only tracks that are in those playlists will be transferred to your iPod during an automatic sync. You can check on this by choosing the “Music” tab at the top of the iPod summary screen.

If “Selected Playlists” is chosen on this screen, the only songs that are contained in playlists with a checkbox beside them will be transferred onto your iPod. In this case you must either choose “All songs and playlists” to have iTunes sync your entire library, or ensure that those songs are contained within one of the selected playlists.

Frequently, the “Selected Playlists” setting is used for situations where your music library is larger than your iPod’s capacity. In fact, iTunes itself will offer to create a playlist of music to fit on your iPod when it detects that you have more music in your iTunes library than will fit onto your iPod. If this is the case, then you will not be able to choose “All songs and playlists” as this would try to sync more content than you would be able to fit on your iPod.

Note that you can use Smart Playlists to automatically select content from your library based on search criteria and choose these for synchronization to your iPod as well, however. In fact, iTunes automatically provides a “Recently Added” Smart Playlist which selects tracks added to your iTunes library in the past two weeks by default. If you select this playlist for synchronization to your iPod, then any new tracks you import into your iTunes library will automatically be added to your iPod during the next sync and will remain there for two weeks (the default scope of the “Recently Added” Smart Playlist), after which they will be removed unless you’ve placed them in another playlist which is synced to your iPod.

You can also adjust the “Recently Added” Smart Playlist or create alternative Smart Playlists to automatically include newly-imported tracks for synchronization to your iPod, and even limit them to a certain size to ensure they fit onto your iPod. Use File, New Smart Playlist to create a new Smart Playlist, or select an existing Smart Playlist and choose File, Get Info to edit its settings. For example, the following is a modified version of the “Recently Added” Smart Playlist which excludes videos and podcasts and limits the total size to 1GB of content:

My iTunes library is on an external hard drive that was plugged into an older desktop computer running Windows XP. I just bought a new computer that runs Vista and downloaded iTunes. When I plugged in the external hard drive, I was able to see all the albums, but the playlists had vanished. Also, iTunes on the new Vista computer does not recognize my iPod and tries to synch out the entire library which I do not want. When I plug the HD back into the old desktop, everything is still intact. So my question would be how would I get the new version of iTunes to keep the old playlists, and to recognize that my iPod was synched using that library?

- Mike

Although you may be storing all of your content on the external hard drive, the iTunes library database is still most likely located in your “iTunes” folder under “My Music” on your computer’s C: drive. It is this database that contains information such as playlists, ratings, play counts, and your iPod configuration information.

When you connect your external hard drive to the old computer, it of course reads the original iTunes library database for the information, and simply accesses the media from the external hard drive. On the new computer, a new and different iTunes library database is being used (created when you first started iTunes on that computer), which of course does not contain any information at all by default. Any content listed in that library database on the new computer is most likely a result of iTunes searching out and importing tracks from the external hard drive automatically, as it would do for any new library.

The correct solution here is to copy the iTunes library database over to the new computer. You can accomplish this simply by shutting down iTunes on both computers and then copying the entire “iTunes” folder and everything in it from the “My Music” folder on your old Windows XP computer to the corresponding “My Music” folder on your new Vista machine. You can safely overwrite any folder that is already on the Vista machine, as this simply contains the new library that was created when you first ran iTunes on that computer.

You will also want to ensure that the drive letter used by the external hard drive is the same on both computers, since your iTunes database will have a full path to each media file, including drive letter. While iTunes can sort this out for you if your music was properly organized by iTunes in the first place, it’s generally far simpler to ensure that the drive letters are the same. If your external hard drive is assigned a different drive letter on the new computer, you can change it by going into your Control Panel’s “Administrative Tools” section, choosing “Disk Management” and then right-clicking on the external hard drive and choosing “Assign Drive Letter.”

Once you have copied the iTunes library database over and have the external hard drive connected with the same drive letter that was used on the original computer, you should simply be able to restart iTunes and it will automatically pick up the new library database with all of your playlists and other information intact, and be able to locate the media content on the external hard drive.

More information on how iTunes stores its library database and content when using external hard drives can be found in our iPod 201 article, Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive.

Ask iLounge Archives:

2-3-12: Deleting pictures from Photo Stream, Transferring Apps to a new iTunes library, Apple Universal Dock and iPhone 4S, Getting Track Names after CD Import, Video Playlists on the iPad

11-25-11: Removing music after activating iTunes Match, Smart Playlists and iTunes Match, Backing up data from an iPhone, Syncing MP3s to an iPod nano, Migrating Playlists to a new Computer

11-11-11: Configure Apple IDs on family iOS devices, Recovering lost audiobooks, Unable to disable passcode lock on iOS devices, Buying an iPod for audio-only use, Preventing deleted tracks from coming back from an iOS device

11-4-11: iPhone 4S storage capacity doesn't match, Transferring HD video from iPhone 4S to a computer, Recovering photos from iPod touch, Notification Center and iMessage in iOS 5

10-21-11: Using iCloud's Find My iPhone on older devices, Batch deleting photos in Camera Roll, Using iTunes Gift Cards internationally, Audiobooks and iCloud, Merging contacts from two devices into iCloud

See the rest of the Archives...

10-7-11: iPhone 4S battery life, New features in iPhone 4S, Buying iPhone 4S Unlocked, iPod nano and Nike+ Kit, Purchasing iPhone 4S for use abroad

9-30-11: Opening iTunes library from external hard drive, Moving Playlists to iPod, Downgrading iOS on iPod touch 2G, Playing Playlists in iTunes, Problems with iTunes opening automatically when connecting an iPhone

9-23-11: iOS 5 release and OTA installation, Transferring Purchases to iTunes, iPad and iPhone charger compatibility, iPod touch and regional App Stores, Find My iPhone and Remote Lock/Wipe, Previous iTunes Libraries Folder

9-2-11: Transferring iTunes library from Mac to Windows, Reading ebooks on iPod classic, Recovering lost password on iPod touch, Transferring music from a Windows iPod touch to a Mac, Backing up in iTunes 10.4

8-26-11: Updating playlists when consolidating iTunes files, Migrating from iPod touch to iPad, Buying and listening to music on multiple devices, Updating firmware on 4G iPod, Backing up iPhone without a computer

8-5-11: iCloud and Find My iPhone, Mac app for converting DVDs to iTunes, Clearing Sort Fields in iTunes, Importing MP3 audiobooks into iTunes, Creating iTunes library on external hard drive

7-29-11: Adjusting iPod touch ringer volume, iPod touch and wired networks, Consolidating information from two iPhones, Changing Apple IDs on an iPad, Track information not appearing when importing into iTunes

7-8-11: Using Start and End times with Apple TV, Sending Photos to Apple TV via AirPlay, Track Info greyed out in iTunes, iPhone upgrade eligibility, Downloading Album Artwork

7-1-11: Sharing multiple iTunes libraries on one computer, Burning MP3 CDs, Organizing audiobooks on iPod classic, Identify tracks not in any playlists, Copying content from a Mac-formatted iPod to Windows

6-24-11: FaceTime Edition: Costs for using FaceTime, FaceTime iPod model compatibility, Using FaceTime internationally, Using Multiple FaceTime devices in the same family, Missing FaceTime icon on iPod touch, Receiving FaceTime calls when out of coverage

6-17-11: Importing videos into iMovie for iPad, Switching to a new iPod touch, Transferring iTunes library database, User ID requirements for old iPod classic, Burning a CD from an iPod touch

5-20-11: Connecting an iPod to a stereo, Problems moving an iTunes library, Gifting apps, Problems joining CD tracks, Streaming AirPlay from a line-in source

4-15-11: Problems sending e-mail over Wi-Fi, Syncing iPhone content from different computers, Resetting a used iPod touch, Javascript on the iPad, Renaming an iOS device

4-8-11: Setting up an iTunes Store account for a child, Organizing Music Videos in iTunes, Album art missing on iPod touch purchases, Finding a serial number for a missing iPod, Purchases not syncing to iPod nano

4-1-11: Syncing existing apps to new iPad 2, iPod classic microphone compatibility, Recovering lost iTunes Store purchases, Recovering non-purchased content from iPod, Displaying unique artwork for compilation albums

3-25-11: Apple TV not showing Descriptions, Using a U.S. iPad 2 in other countries, Transferring iPod music to iPad 2, Audiobooks on iPod touch, Using an iPad on Windows

2-25-11: Redeeming iTunes Gifts on iOS, Finding MP3 tracks in iTunes, iPad Camera Connector on iOS 4.2, Backing up iTunes Playlists, iPad Video Formats and Battery Life

2-6-11: Removing playlists from iPod, 2G/3G iPod touch cases, iPod charging cables, Locating Apps folder, Transferring audiobooks to iPod

1-28-11: Car Bluetooth receivers, Editing Contacts on iPod touch, iPod touch shuffles songs, iPad and Bluetooth headsets, iPod touch and external keyboards

1-14-11: Transferring iPod classic from Mac to PC, Cover Flow on 30GB iPod, Transferring iTunes library between two external hard drives, iPod shuffle dock adapters, Connecting iPhone to a new iTunes library

11-19-10: Gifting Apps, Backing up Apps, Cleaning up old folders after moving iTunes library, FaceTime data usage, Storing iTunes videos on a different hard drive

11-12-10: Music videos play audio only, Advanced Smart Playlists, Transferring iTunes to another user account, iPhone 4 Case Program, Restoring a locked iPod touch

10-29-10: Viewing content on iPod from iTunes, Playing iTunes at a party, Viewing available space on iPhone, Recovering content from an iPod nano, Moving an iTunes Library to Windows 7

10-22-10: iTunes Store appears differently on another computer, Using iPod touch with an AV output cable, Transferring apps from iPad to iPod touch, Restoring iTunes from backup, Placing FaceTime calls with one e-mail address

10-15-10: Reorganizing content into a new iTunes library, Moving iPad+iPhone to a new computer, Hiding built-in apps on iPod touch, Missing built-in apps on iPod touch, Using iPod shuffle with older operating systems

10-8-10: Using Apple TV with different iTunes accounts, Setting up Apple TV on a different computer, Streaming content to Apple TV from other sources, Merging iTunes Store accounts, Importing music as audiobooks

10-1-10: iOS Calendar integration, Moving iTunes completely to an external hard drive, Automatically tagging imported movies, Recurring billing on iPad 3G, Transferring data to new iPad

9-24-10: On-The-Go Playlists with iOS 4, Using multiple iPods on one PC, Moving Apps and Artwork folders to external hard drive, Transferring Apps from iPod touch to iPhone, Syncing Genius Mixes to iPhone 4

9-17-10: Using iPhone 4 without cellular service, iPhone screen remains active during calls, Re-downloading Apps, Reset passcode on iPod touch, Copying audiobooks to iPod

9-10-10: Disk Use on iPod nano 6G, Using an iPhone and iPod touch on the same iTunes library, About iPod touch 4G Apps and Battery Life, Moving iTunes Library to a new Windows 7 PC, Upgrading to a new iPod touch

8-27-10: Using iPad 3G GPS without a data plan, Setting up iPod without installation CD, Movie Rental options don't appear in iTunes, iTunes prompts to remove apps from iPod, Recovering content from iPod touch

8-20-10: Accessing Internet Radio from iOS Remote app, Converting an iPod touch from Windows to Mac, Home Screen Wallpaper not available in iOS 4, Transferring non-purchasd content to a new computer, Managing multiple iTunes Libraries with different preferences

8-13-10: Restoring iPod touch onto iPhone, iPhone 3G only plays monaural audio, Corrupt iPod Photo Cache, Sharing Apps between family iPods, Not all songs transfer to iPod, Unknown playlists in iTunes

7-30-10: Transferring playlists from iPod touch to iPhone, Tracking Changes in Word Docs on iPad, Alarm Clock apps for iPhone, Problems connecting to iTunes Store, Transferring video from iPod nano 5G

7-23-10: Upgrading to a new iPhone, Using GPS car kit with Bluetooth stereo, Viewing podcast info on iPod classic, Deleting Apps from iTunes, Cleaning up content on iPod marked Other, Finding a lost iPod touch

7-9-10: Transferring iBookstore purchases between devices, Transferring files manually onto iPod touch, Sending e-mail attachments from iPhone, Transferring apps from iPhone to iPad, Selecting music to sync to iPhone

7-2-10: Accessing iTunes U on iPad, Transferring video from 5G nano to iPad, Compilations and Artist listing on iPod classic, Backing up and erasing iPhone 3G, Downloading podcasts outside of iTunes, iPhone 4 Retina Display apps on iPad

6-11-10: iPod touch prompts for old iTunes password, SMS message storage on iPhone, 3G iPod and iM600 speakers, Adding music from iPod nano to iPhone, Converting tracks in iTunes and iPod, Syncing selected music to iPad

6-4-10: iPad 3G and International use, Extra authorized computers in iTunes, Adding music to multiple iTunes libraries, Adding purchased music to iPod from another computer, Problems playing back CDs burned in iTunes, Large amount of Other content on iPod

5-14-10: Storing iPhone apps in a different folder, Removing games on iPod classic, Transferring videos from iPod nano, Continual iPod charging, Bluetooth A2DP support on iPad, Resetting iPod touch password lockout

4-30-10: Updated ID3 tags in iTunes, Problems downloading free updates from iTunes Store, Transferring Keynote files to iPad, Opening iTunes library from external hard drive, Restoring iPod and content, Syncing iPod to a new computer

4-23-10: Converting lossless tracks for iPod, Repairing corrupted iPod filesystem, Syncing existing apps to a new iPad, Streaming iTunes Radio in the car, iPads and iTunes Store authorization limits

4-16-10: Pairing iPod touch with Bluetooth headsets, Adding lyrics in iTunes for Mac, Restoring playlists on a new computer, Upgrading iPod touch to 3.0, iPod touch shows iTunes logo, Adding playlists to iPhone

4-9-10: Copying text from iBooks, Using iPad without Wi-Fi access, Syncing one iPad to multiple libraries, Setting up an iPad as a gift, Conserving space on iPod, Gifting an iPod touch, Syncing and backup up iPhone Notes

3-19-10: Restoring iPhone from Backup, Sharing Apps on multiple iPhones, Syncing Recently Added playlist, Older iPods and firmware updates, iPad and Remote Desktop control apps, iPhone Sync Cable compatibility

3-12-10: Syncing iPod with new iTunes library, Excluding selected playlists from sync, Sharing iTunes content on multiple iPhones, iPad and iTunes sync options, Shuffle playlists on iPod classic, Creating iPhone ringtones

3-5-10: Running iTunes app on external hard drive, iPod shuffle shows no content, Switching Apple ID in iTunes, External microphones for 5G nano, Removing columns in iTunes, iPod Dock and Remote control solutions

2-26-10: iPad Edition II: Sharing files between apps, iPad font support, Connecting to projectors, Using external storage, Downloading third-party music, iBooks and dictionary support

2-19-10: Checkmarks in iTunes, Storing files on iPhone, Identifying songs not in playlists, Black Dock adapters, Transferring purchased apps from iPod touch, Reformatting iPod for Mac

2-12-10: Using iPod with purchased content in different countries, Playing WMV e-mail attachments on iPhone, Deauthorizing iTunes, iPhone background audio recording, Displaying photos via TV out, Transferring saved photos from iPod touch

2-5-10: Recovering iPod serial number from iTunes, Using apps on new iPod touch, Transferring apps to another iPod touch, iPod touch and apps requiring OS 3.x, iTunes Media Folder path and network drives, Backing up audiobooks to CD

1-29-10: The iPad Edition: Updating Apps for iPad, iPad Accessory compatibility, iPad and iPhone tethering support, AT&T Wi-Fi access, Annotation support in iBooks

1-22-10: Recovering iPhone apps, Joining Audiobook tracks, Cleaning up after iTunes Consolidation, Moving iTunes to an external hard drive, Recovering iTunes onto an external hard drive, Burning CDs from an external hard drive

12-18-09: Audiobook Burn Limits, iPod touch audio quality, Adding a second family iPod to iTunes, Accessing iPod Diagnostics Mode, Track numbers appear in track names, Syncing playlists to iPod

12-11-09: Resetting iTunes authorizations, iPod capacity for audiobooks, iPod docks and line-out, Audio output from iPod shuffle, Resuming playlists on iPod touch, Syncing newer iPods with older versions of iTunes

12-4-09: Syncing iPod with no Internet access, Syncing a replacement iPod, Removing synced photos from iPhone, iPhone and iPod external batteries, Transferring photos from iPod nano to computer, Saving iTunes before an OS reinstall

11-27-09: Identifying purchased tracks in iTunes, iPhone 3GS Airplane Mode requirement, Advanced Smart Playlists in iTunes 9, Restoring iTunes from external hard drive, iTunes Store country restrictions, iPod nano 5G speaker compatibility

11-20-09: Sharing iTunes libraries between two user accounts, Enlarging text on iPhone 3GS, Transferring an iPod to a new user, iPhone shuffles when walking, New 8GB iPod touch models, Transferring purchases from a remote iTunes library

11-13-09: Syncing different contact info with two iPhones on the same computer, iPod shows no content, Syncing music and videos in playlists, Exclamation marks next to tracks in iTunes, Playing podcasts on 3G iPod shuffle.

11-6-09: Storing iPod software updates, Playing an iPod continuously, Transferring play counts to a new iTunes library, iPhone backups, Klipsch S4i earphones

10-30-09: Authorization problems with iPod touch, Changing Grid View background in iTunes, iTunes library and Music Folder are different sizes, Older iPods and firmware updates, Reconciling two different iTunes libraries, Syncing multiple devices to one iTunes library

10-23-09: Using a laptop with an iTunes library on an external hard drive, Transferring YouTube videos to iPod, iPod touch accessibility settings, Disabling Shake to Shuffle on iPod nano, Purchased songs fail to download from iTunes Store, Charging and powering off iPhone

10-16-09: Moving iTunes to a new computer, Transferring contacts from Blackberry to an iPhone, Disabling iPhone Backups, Using AV cables for audio only, Problems syncing photos to iPod touch, Memorex iFlip and iPhone compatibility

10-9-09: iPhone OS and external keyboards, Adjusting ratings in a remote iTunes library, Excluding tracks from Genius Mixes, Moving iTunes library out of My Documents, Playlist folders on iPod touch, Refreshing random Smart Playlists

9-25-09: iTunes 9 and Shopping Cart, Restoring iTunes to an external hard drive, Using an HTTP Proxy over 3G, Problems transferring movies from iTunes to IPhone, iPod touch shuffle mode, Using an iPhone without a SIM card

9-18-09: Recovering unlisted media content from iPod, Repeat and continuous video playback on iPod touch, iPhone 3G vs 3GS, Customizing iTunes sorting, Rebuilding an iTunes library, Removing artwork from iPod in iTunes 9

9-11-09: Genius Mixes and iPod classic, Drag-and-drop content to iPod, Sharing home libraries in iTunes 9, Using an iPod without iTunes, Waking to a playlist on iPod touch, Kensington LiquidAUX, Disabling Geotagging Warnings

8-28-09: Consolidating Multiple iTunes Libraries, iPod touch Bluetooth headset compatibility, iPod holds less than advertised number of songs, Transferring media between iTunes Store accounts

8-21-09: Recover Contact/Calendar info from iPod touch, Connect iPod without automatic sync, Managing On-The-Go playlists, iPhone and Stereo Bluetooth Support, Sharing an iTunes library between multiple users on the same computer, Disabling Shake-to-Shuffle on iPod nano

8-14-09: Syncing iPod touch apps and data with a new iTunes library, Automatically adding media files to multiple iTunes libraries from a network share, Downgrading to iTunes 7, iPod nano and disk mode, Displaying release dates on iPod, Playing iPod through TV USB port

8-7-09: Clean up album artwork in iTunes, Syncing media content and calendar/contact info from different computers, Reorganizing recovered tracks in iTunes, Using multiple iPods and iPhones on one computer

7-31-09: Using an iPod and a Zune, iPod and on-TV menus, Backing up Notes from IPod touch, Sharing an iTunes library between a Mac and a PC, Waterproof earphones, 3G iPod and iPhone Accessory compatibility, Shure earphones

7-24-09: Displaying recent plays on web site, iPhone and car integration, iPod classic TV output, Renaming iPhone, Sound quality on different iPod models, iPod shuffle accessory compatibility

7-17-09: Transferring saved application data to new iPhone, Recovering Content from Mac iPod on Windows, iPhone 3GS and charging accessories, Recreating Recently Added playlist, Restoring old iPod touch, Track sorting on iPod classic

7-10-09: Passwords on iPod touch, iPod headphone jack problems, Tagging tracks imported from CD, Adding chapter markers to audiobooks, first-generation iPhone and stereo Bluetooth, Nike+ shoes

7-3-09: iPhone Recent Calls list and location info, iPod touch Bluetooth audio support, Car interface fails after 3.0 upgrade, iPhone battery life, iPhone stereo audio recording,

6-26-09: Recovering a dead iPod touch after 3.0 update, Battery Percentage Display on iPhone 3.0, Options hidden after 3.0 update, iPhone locked after 3.0 update, Managing videos on iPhone, iPod classic accessory compatibility

6-12-09: Conserving power on iPhone, Syncing iPhone Notes, Syncing Apps on new iPod touch, Block pop-ups in Safari, Syncing new iPhone, Playing multiple albums

5-29-09: Sorting tracks in iTunes, iPhone Bluetooth Headset Dock, Recovering Mac-formatted iPod on Windows, Screen damage on 4G iPod nano, Syncing purchased tracks back to iTunes, Managing a class set of iPods

5-22-09: Syncing iTunes content between computers, Importing music into iTunes, Re-transferring apps from a new iTunes library, New iPods and charging accessories, Using multiple iTunes libraries

5-15-09: Starting out with an external hard drive, Syncing playlists manually, Recovering lost iPod serial number, Music count vs Playlist count, Multiple iTunes Store accounts on the same computer, Optimizing album artwork

5-8-09: Organizing audiobooks, Problems transferring purchased items back to iTunes, Keeping played podcast episodes on iPod, Transferring iTunes library to a new computer, iPod shows no content, Using a new iPod with an existing iTunes library

4-24-09: Playing iTunes purchases on a non-networked computer, Finding iPod manuals online, Sharing an iTunes library between separate user accounts, Equalizer on iPod shuffle, Recovering content from Apple TV, Screenshots on iPod touch

4-17-09: Converting tracks to higher bit-rates, Using iPod with non-iTunes content, Using iTunes with an external hard drive, Expired rentals don't delete on iPod, Using only part of a song, Restoring 4G iPod stuck on AC adapter icon

3-27-09: Transferring iTunes library from XP to Vista, Using iPhone as an alarm clock, Splitting iTunes library across two iPods, Recovering iPod onto a computer with an existing iTunes library, Purchased TV Shows stuck in downloads folder, Tagging tracks as Audiobooks in iTunes 8

3-20-09: Using two iPods on a single computer, iPod shuffle 2G/3G accessory compatibility, Displaying TV Show seasons separately in iTunes, Playing iPod through secondary computer, Stopping iPod playback on iPhone, iPod touch 2G and Dock audio

3-13-09: iPod touch vs iPhone, Storing music only on your iPod, Problems transferring rented content, Managing content manually on iPod shuffle, iPod lyrics display, Playing video out to TV from iPhone

3-6-09: iPhone playback on other computers, Games on iPod classic and 5G, Transferring iTunes tracks to SD cards, Group compilations on iPhone, Transferring your iTunes library, iPhone Car Integration

2-27-09: Problems transferring iTunes content to external hard drives, Using an iTunes library database from an external hard drive, Converting Palm address book for iPod touch, How iTunes organizes music videos, Preventing iPhoto from opening when connecting an iPod touch

2-20-09: Video docks for 5G iPod, Connecting an old iPod to a new iTunes library, Downloading iTunes 8 on another computer, Erasing a used iPod and starting fresh, Recovering photos from an iPod, Tracking purchases in iTunes

2-13-09: Waterproof cases and sound quality, Upgrading to iTunes Plus with a manually managed iPod, Reinstalling games on the iPhone, iPhone 3G Dock options, Fixing album artwork problems, Display iTunes Applications category

2-6-09: iPod nano voice memo format, Buying iPods abroad, Skipping a playlist when shuffling, Adjusting playback speed of music tracks, Not all TV Shows syncing to iPod, Checking and unchecking multiple items in iTunes

1-23-09: Synchronizing contacts to iPod touch, Pairing iPhone Remote app, iPhone call audio via Dock Connector, Recovering iPhone apps, New iPods and charging, Remote control of Windows via iPhone

1-16-09: Creating Smart Playlists based on other playlists, Transferring or syncing an iTunes library between two computers, Converting Mac-formatted iPod to Windows, Using Artist and Sort Artist fields, Using an iPod on more than one computer, Importing audiobook CDs as audiobooks

1-2-09: Parents controls on iPod touch, Running iTunes from an external hard drive, Search feature on 5G iPods, Syncing videos to iPod touch, Safari problems on iPod touch, Other content on iPod shuffle

12-19-08: Keeping podcast episodes, iPod and TV USB inputs, Converting PC-formatted iPod to Mac, iPod touch e-mail accounts, Backing up iTunes to a hard drive, Managing and syncing iPod touch On-The-Go playlists

12-12-08: Classifying videos in iTunes 8, Sharing music between iPods, Sharing apps between iTunes libraries on the same computer, iH9 and iPhone compatibility, Recreating Purchased folder, Locating Music Videos

12-5-08: Creating custom slideshows for Apple TV, Optimal album artwork size, Transferring iPod touch from PC to Mac, Upgrading to a new iPod touch, Authorizing iPod Games on new computer, Managing iPod content manually

11-21-08: iPod keeps resetting, Organizing iPhone apps, iPod touch video accessories, iPod-compatible online music sources, Reordering playlists manually

11-14-08: Cover Flow on 4G iPod nano, Setting up iPod touch without Internet access, Internet radio for iPod touch, Apps button missing on iPod touch, mm50 speakers and new iPod models, Including Year field on iPod

« iPhone Gems: Google Earth, Spin, and Beer Bounce

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Comments

1

Just got an iPod Nano 4G and I’d like to get earbuds to control playback. Wondering if the V-Moda Vibe Duo controls the Nano or any other alternatives to Apple’s still unreleased earbuds, thanks.

Posted by Thomas Ochinero on October 26, 2008 at 3:03 PM (PDT)

2

ALICE: If you have an iTunes account, make sure you de-authorize the old computer before you re-format it.

Posted by otaku on October 27, 2008 at 6:19 AM (PDT)

3

About a year ago I purchased a new computer because my old one crashed. I have about 5 years of music, pictures, movies and other files on my ipod from my old computer. I recently bought a new ipod and am wondering if it is possible to move my songs and data from my old ipod to my new computer/ipod without access to my old computer. thanks!

-Suzie

Posted by Suzie on November 24, 2008 at 9:27 PM (PDT)

4

somehow I have managed to duplicate my itunes library, each duplicate has 1 at the end of the track name

how do I search my itunes folder to identify these duplicates so that i can delete them- i have tries using the xp search facility

Posted by mike b on January 28, 2009 at 4:59 PM (PDT)

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