Article
Ask iLounge 5-24-07
By Jesse Hollington
Applications Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, May 24, 2007
Category: Ask iLounge
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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Q:
I have all of my iTunes files on an external hard drive connected to my laptop. However, all of my album artwork is being stored on my actual laptop hard drive. How do I change this? How can I transfer all of my artwork from my laptop hard drive to my external hard drive without confusing all the files? How can I make the default place for my artwork to be stored be on my external hard drive?
- Brandon
A:Although iTunes does create an “album artwork” folder in the same location as your iTunes library database, this is not necessarily the only place where album artwork is stored. Rather, this functions as a cache for any artwork you manually add, as well as the location for album artwork that is automatically downloaded through iTunes’ “Get Artwork” function.
Artwork that you manually add to the tracks themselves is actually placed in a tag within each track file. This means that no matter where you copy the song file, the artwork itself will always be available within the track. Even if you were to import these tracks into a brand new iTunes library, the artwork will be included.
For manually added artwork, iTunes does cache the artwork within the “album artwork” folder, in a subdirectory called “local.” This cache is intended to improve performance for artwork-intensive features like the new iTunes 7 “Coverflow” feature.
Note that this also applies to artwork that you download through third-party applications such as iArt. These applications use the same functions that you would if you were adding the artwork manually, and therefore the artwork will be stored within the tracks.
On the other hand, artwork that you download automatically through iTunes 7’s new “Get Artwork” feature is not embedded in the tracks themselves, but rather only stored in the “album artwork” folder, under the “download” sub-folder. Tracks with automatically downloaded artwork will not maintain this artwork if moved to a different iTunes library, since the artwork isn’t in the MP3/M4A file itself. However, since the artwork was downloaded automatically, iTunes can easily re-retrieve the artwork as required, which at least partially eliminates the need to store the artwork within the track.
Note that if you’re using a Mac, you can embed all of your downloaded artwork into your track files by using the Embed Artwork AppleScript, which can be found at Doug’s AppleScripts site.
Embedding the artwork is the best way to preserve it for backup purposes, but if you do want to move the artwork directory to conserve disk space or maintain your iTunes data completely on the external hard drive, this is done by moving the entire iTunes library folder. Unfortunately there’s no way to move just the album artwork folder—you need to move the entire “iTunes” folder and all other associated files to the external hard drive in the process.
To do this, simply shut down iTunes and copy your “iTunes” folder (from directly under your “My Music” folder in Windows or your “Music” folder on a Mac) to a location on the external hard drive. Once you’ve done this, hold down the SHIFT key (Windows) or OPT key (Mac) while starting iTunes. You should be prompted with a dialog box similar to the following:

Simply select “Choose Library…” and then browse to the location that you copied the “iTunes” folder to on the external hard drive. From this point on, iTunes will continue to use this new path for it’s library database and other related data such as album artwork unless you manually change it to another location by using the same procedure again.
Does the Nike+ kit work when running on a tread mill?
- Barbara
A:Although the Nike+iPod is not specifically recommended for use on a treadmill, our own experiences have demonstrated that it will work on traditional treadmills—that is the ones with a conveyor belt that simulate actual walking motion.
Although the Nike+iPod does work well for most people out of the box, if you plan to use it on a treadmill, it’s strongly recommended that you follow the included calibration instructions to ensure that it’s measuring your pace and distance as accurately as possible.
It is also important to note that if you frequently switch between using your Nike+ kit with a treadmill and using it for normal walking, you may find that the calibration for each is somewhat different. This is due to the fact that most people’s running or walking gait and/or pace differs between treadmills and normal walking. A simple test of the calibration can determine whether this is a significant problem or not. Further, as the Nike+iPod allows for separate calibrations for running and walking, this should be taken into consideration based on your normal activity patterns as well.
The key point to remember is that the Nike+iPod is designed to track the movements that are normally associated with walking. It uses a piezoelectric sensor to detect the movement of you foot up and down from a surface. Therefore, the sensor will work reasonably well with any activity that closely resembles normal walking or running, but will not work with other activities such as cycling. Further, for the same reason the Nike+iPod kit will not work properly on exercise devices such as elliptical trainers. Unlike traditional treadmills, elliptical trainers do not accurately simulate the normal foot movements of walking, and therefore will not produce accurate results.
I’ve had the extreme misfortune of losing my iPod nano, and have purchased a new one of the same model. Can I use the same library with the new nano? How do I set this up?
- Erin
A:Absolutely, and setting it up is truly as simple as just connecting your new iPod nano to your iTunes library.
iTunes will detect this as a brand new iPod and take you through the same setup wizard that you encountered when you hooked up your first iPod nano. If your library is smaller than the capacity of your Nano, you can simply choose to use automatic synchronization and iTunes will simply go ahead and transfer all of your music and playlists to your new iPod nano, and you’ll be ready to go.
If you do have a library that is larger than your iPod nano, then you can either let iTunes choose a selection of music to put on your Nano, you can setup and choose your own iTunes playlists to transfer to your Nano, or you can choose to simply manage the content on your Nano manually.
To let iTunes choose a selection of music automatically, simply choose the automatic synchronization mode as you normally would, and iTunes will advise you that your library is too large to fit on your Nano and will offer to choose a selection of music for you.

Selecting “Yes” will tell iTunes to create a standard playlist containing enough music to fill your iPod, and set that playlist to automatically sync to your iPod. You can change what is placed on your iPod simply by changing the content of that particular playlist, and you can even choose additional playlists to sync to your iPod from within the iPod preferences in iTunes.
On the other hand, if you prefer to either manage your music manually or set up your own playlists to sync to your iPod, then the simplest solution is to DEselect the option to automatically sync music during the setup wizard process. This will basically leave the iPod in manual mode, and not load any specific content onto it. You can then either drag-and-drop any music or playlists yourself from your iTunes library, or go into your iPod preferences and select specific playlists to automatically sync to your iPod.
Does the iPod have a “snooze” function?
- Ed
A:While the iPod does include both an alarm and sleep timer function, there is no specific “snooze” function to postpone an alarm once it has sounded.
The iPod does include the ability to set multiple alarms, however, so depending upon your specific requirements this could be used in place of a snooze feature. In this case, you could simply setup one alarm to trigger at 6:45 in the morning, and a second alarm to trigger at 7:00 in the morning. You can then pause the iPod playback (or stop the beeping alarm) when the first one goes off, and wait for the second one.
You can even have different playlists for the different alarms, so your early alarm could be some more relaxing music (such as some smooth jazz) and then the second alarm could be something intended to get you out of bed.
To set up multiple alarms on the iPod, you basically need to set up multiple clocks. Each clock gets its own alarm settings. To do this, simply go into the Extras, Clocks menu, and add an additional clock, making sure that it’s set to the same time zone as your existing clock. You can then go into the new clock and set an additional alarm to go off at the appropriate time.
While this work-around may be fine for some applications, if you’re looking for a more ad-hoc solution, or simply want the satisfaction of having an actual snooze button to whack on those more difficult mornings, you may want to take a look at one of the many third-party iPod clock radio accessories that are available, such as the Philips AJ300D (iLounge rating: A-), XtremeMac Luna (iLounge rating: A-) or iHome iH8 (iLounge rating: B+). These accessories offer alarm settings that are independent of the alarm feature on the iPod itself, including most features found on standard clock-radios such as snooze and FM radio functions.
I’ve had a sad run of bad luck with my computer hard drives resulting and several reformats, a new computer, another reformat and then yet another new hard disc! Now I find that iTunes will only copy a few of my songs to my iPod even though there is plenty of spare capacity. I suspect that there is some sort of copyright rule coming into play. Can I fix this without reloading hundreds of CDs?
- Warrick
A:This likely isn’t the result of a “copyright rule” per se, although if you have purchased tracks from the iTunes Store it is possible that you haven’t “authorized” your new computer to play those tracks. This is the most common cause of tracks failing to transfer to the iPod after reinstalling iTunes onto a new computer system.
Note that iTunes will normally provide a warning message when tracks cannot be copied to the iPod for this reason or any other reason. If you are not seeing any warning messages, try right-clicking on your iPod in iTunes and choosing the “Reset Warnings” menu item.

Once this has been done, simply sync your iPod again. If there are any problems preventing tracks from being transferred, iTunes should notify you of this.
If the issue is with transferring purchased tracks, this likely indicates that you will need to authorize your computer. iTunes will not transfer any purchased tracks to a connected iPod unless the computer that you are using has been authorized to play these tracks. This normally occurs the first time you attempt to play a purchased track. If you have moved to a new computer, however, your authorization keys will not necessarily be restored as part of your iTunes library.
To re-authorize your computer, either try playing one of the purchased tracks, or go to the Store menu in iTunes 7 and select Authorize Computer. In either case, you will be prompted to enter your Apple user id and password for the iTunes Store. iTunes will then download the necessary authorization keys to allow your computer to play these tracks and transfer them to your iPod.
If there are no warning messages coming up, you may want to review your iPod sync settings to ensure that you do in fact have all of the items that you expect to be transferred onto your iPod selected for synchronization. If iTunes is set to sync only selected playlists to your iPod, you may need to ensure those items are in the appropriate playlists, or select the additional playlists you would like to synchronize.
I have an active playlist in my iTunes library that includes both purchased music and uploaded music for my old iPod nano. I recently plugged in a new 5G iPod and was successful in setting up a different user account, however the new iPod synched music on the new iPod that I don’t want. Question is: How do I delete the songs from the new iPod but not remove them from my music library folder?
- Diana
A:There are a couple of ways that you can prevent songs in your iTunes library from transferring to your iPod in automatic synchronization mode.
If there are only a few tracks or specific categories of music you want to exclude (holiday music is a common example of this), then you can use the checkmarks that appear beside each song, and simply tell iTunes to only synchronize those songs that have a checkmark beside them.
To do this, simply connect your iPod, and select it from the iTunes source list on the left-hand side. You should be presented with a screen similar to the following, from which you can simply choose the “Only sync checked items” setting, and hit the “Apply” button.

You can then go back to your iTunes library and simply UNcheck any tracks that you don’t want to have placed on your iPod. You can also UNcheck ALL displayed tracks at once by holding down the CTRL key (Windows) or CMD key (Mac) while clicking on a check box. This can be useful if you wanted to deselect all tracks within a specified playlist or a specified genre—simply filter the iTunes display using the browser or search box to show only the tracks that you want to select or deselect, and then CTRL/CMD click on one of the checkboxes to select or deselect ALL displayed tracks.
This method of using checked items works best if you simply want to exclude a few specific tracks from synchronization. If on the other hand, you would prefer to only sync a sub-set of your library, you can do this by telling iTunes to sync only selected playlists to your iPod. To do this, select the iPod in the iTunes source pane, and choose the “Music” tab:

You can then change the option to only synchronize “Selected playlists” and choose the specific playlists that you want to transfer to your iPod. Only tracks that are in these playlists will be transferred, and you can either use a combination of both standard playlists that will let you specifically add the tracks you would like, and smart playlists to automatically select music matching certain criteria that you specify.
In either case, since the iPod operates in automatic synchronization mode, mirroring the changes you make in the iTunes library, those tracks that are excluded from synchronization will be removed from your iPod on the next synchronization.
Will I lose everything I have on my iPod when the battery is changed? Also, I received an 80g iPod for Christmas; is this a 4th or 5th generation? How do you tell?
- Venita
A:No, changing the battery does not result in any of the data on the iPod being lost. The full-size iPod models use an internal hard disk, similar to the one found in your computer, which is a permanent storage device. In the same way that your computer retains data when it’s unplugged, so does the iPod itself.
Likewise, although the iPod nano does not have a hard drive, it uses persistent flash memory, which also does not require a power source to maintain its content.
Changing the battery will result in some of the memory-based settings being reset (such as backlight timer and shuffle mode), but these are merely configuration options that can be easily reset.
To answer your second question, an 80GB iPod would be a fifth-generation iPod, as the fourth-generation units were not made in that capacity (60GB was the largest fourth-generation iPod model). Further, the fourth-generation iPods did not support video playback capabilities.
There have actually been two different releases of the fifth-generation iPod: The original 5G iPods were released in October, 2005, and came in 30GB and 60GB capacities. In September, 2006, Apple introduced an “enhanced” fifth-generation iPod (sometimes also referred to as the “5.5G” iPod), in 30GB and 80GB capacities. At the same time, a firmware update was released for the older 5G iPods, providing many of the 5.5G features to the older models. The only difference between the older 5G and newer 5.5G iPods is the brighter screen on the newer models, slightly improved battery life, and a “Search” feature that can be found under the “Music” menu on the iPod.
Original 5G and Enhanced 5.5G iPods can also be identified by the packaging. The orignal 5G iPod shows a picture of Bono from U2 on one side, and the song “Feel Good, Inc” by Gorillaz is shown on the “Now Playing” screen on the reverse side. The enhanced 5.5G iPod shows a picture of Johnny Depp from Pirates of the Caribbean on one side, and the song “Dani California” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the “Now Playing” screen.
You can find a comprehensive list of the various iPod models and differences between them in our Frequently Asked Questions section, under the heading What are the differences between all the iPod models?
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
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1
hello, i just would like to know how do i download my music from the itunes library onto my ipod nano.
Posted by kenya on May 25, 2007 at 5:36 AM (PDT)
2
Everytime I try to plug in artwork into my 80GB Video Ipod, the Itunes is telling me that the artwork is not modifiable. Any suggestions on what to do?
Posted by Sir Crunch on May 11, 2008 at 6:12 PM (PDT)
3
i bought an ipod from my friend, and when i plug it in, it doesnt let me uncheck or delete any of the previous files because its’ not hooked up to its’ original library, how do i make my laptop the original library.?
Posted by emilee on July 28, 2009 at 7:04 PM (PDT)