iLounge iPad 2 Buyers' Guide

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Ask iLounge 8-9-07

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By Jesse Hollington

Applications Editor, iLounge
Published: Thursday, August 9, 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.

The most asked question at iLounge.com:

How do I copy content from my iPod/iPhone onto my computer?

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

Converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and more:

The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Win)

Best Speakers?

Best Headphones?

Best Case?

Best In-Car Solution?

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Find more answers in the latest publications in our Library. Free downloads developed by the editors of iLounge!

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

Each week we receive numerous inquiries asking the same very common questions such as “How Do I Copy Music From My iPod Back to My Computer? and “How Do I Put DVDs on my iPod video?” 

Although we have had tutorials on these subjects for some time, over the past few days we’ve been updating and revising these tutorials to ensure that we have included all of the current tips and tricks and the various software tools that are available.

If you’re looking to copy content from your iPod back to your computer, including music, movies, and even games and photos, be sure to check out:

Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide

For converting DVDs, web video, TV shows and home movies to your iPod, iPhone or Apple TV, we now have a three-part series outlining the best formats, settings, and various tools to use for converting all types of video content for use on these devices.

Part 1: The Complete Guide to iPod, Apple TV and iPhone Video Formats

Part 2: The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Mac)

Part 3: The Complete Guide to iPod, iPhone and Apple TV Video Conversion (Windows)

Q:

I download a weekly podcast that comes in 7 segments each about 40 minutes long. When playing them, my iPod nano stops after each track. Is there any way to configure all seven to play in sequence like the songs from a music CD so when part 1 ends, it automatically starts playing part 2 and so on?

- Larry

A:

Although you cannot make podcast entries play sequentially from within the normal podcast playback menu, you can do this simply by creating a playlist of the podcast episodes you would like to listen to, listed in the order that you would like to listen to them in.

You can do this with a standard playlist simply by creating a new playlist and dragging and dropping the Podcast episodes into it, or you can use a Smart Playlist to automatically select all unplayed episodes of a particular podcast, or perhaps even limited to only recent episodes:

Note that there are a couple of things to keep in mind about how recent versions of iTunes and the iPod firmware now handle podcasts, however:  As of iTunes 7, new podcast episodes are automatically marked as “Skip when Shuffling” in their track properties. When Shuffle mode is enabled on recent model iPods, tracks marked as “Skip when Shuffling” will not play unless they are specifically selected from a track listing. This means that if you create a playlist of podcast episodes and leave the shuffle setting enabled, these will still only play one at a time and stop.

The solution to this problem is to either ensure that you always set Shuffle to Off on the iPod (under Settings, Shuffle) before listening to your podcast playlists, or change the tracks themselves in iTunes to disable the “Skip when Shuffling” setting. The latter approach is not as practical for podcasts, however, as each and every new episode will still carry this setting by default, and there is currently no way to change this for new episodes as they are downloaded.

Q:

Is it possible to record radio on iTunes?

- Michael

A:

While it is not possible to record radio from directly within iTunes, there are a couple of options that are designed to do this specifically with iTunes in mind.

If you are looking to record Internet radio streams, such as the radio stations that are listed in iTunes itself, Griffin Technology provides a software package called iFill ($20, iLounge rating: A-) that will allow you to record content from Internet radio stations on a scheduled basis, automatically saving and individually tagging content for your iTunes library, ready to be listened to through iTunes or transferred to an iPod, iPhone, or Apple TV.

On the other hand, if you want to record over-the-air AM/FM radio stations, a hardware device will be required to allow your computer to receive these radio stations. Again, Griffin Technology provides the solution for this as well with their radio SHARK 2 ($50, iLounge rating: A-), a USB hardware device that you connect to your Mac or PC which streams radio stations for recording on your computer and automatically adding the results into your iTunes library. Think of it as TiVo for radio.

Q:

I bought an iPod nano recently, and this morning I charged it until it was finished. When I turned it on, I saw there were already 223 songs on it. I never downloaded anything onto it yet. Also, the iPod is brand new. When I try to play the songs, they wont load. I cant seem to listen to any of them.

- Becky

A:

Depending upon where you purchased the iPod, the likely situation is that this was actually a used unit that was returned by the original purchaser and repackaged. No iPod models normally come with any content pre-installed on them - even special edition models such as the U2 iPod that come bundled with music do so in the form of an iTunes Store coupon to allow you to download the included content for yourself.

It is not uncommon for retailers to take a returned product and repackage it for resale as new, and in many cases such resellers do not properly check or reinitialize the device prior to repackaging it. Depending upon the condition that the iPod is otherwise in, and the terms of sale from where you bought it, you may want to consider returning it in exchange for a new one.

The problem that you are finding with this particular unit is likely just the result of user error and/or computer problems from the previous owner, although this may also be the reason why it may have been returned by the previous owner.

Should you decide to keep this unit, the first thing you should do after connecting it to your iTunes library is to find the “Restore” button, which appears in the iTunes “Summary” tab. This will reformat the iPod, returning it to its factory settings, and erasing everything on it. You can then proceed to load it with your own content. Should you experience similar problems after reloading it yourself, it is much more likely the unit itself truly is defective and should be returned.

Q:

Is there a way to find out what 5 computers I have authorized to share music from iTunes? I believe I only authorized 4, but I always receive the error message that I already have 5 computers authorized.

- Kristi

A:

Unfortunately, iTunes does not offer the ability to get a listing of which computers have been previously authorized. Once you reach the limit of five computers, however, Apple does permit you to reset all of your authorizations once per year, which will essentially de-authorize all of your existing computers and reset your authorization count to zero.

To do this, simply log into your iTunes Store account page, by selecting the iTunes Store, and then clicking on your iTunes Store username where it appears in the top-right corner of the Store window.

Note that the “Deauthorize All” button will only appear once you have reached five authorized computers.

Once you have done this. You can then go through and RE-authorize some or all of your previously-authorized computers by selecting Store, Authorize Computer on each one, or trying to play any purchased audio or video track.

Also keep in mind that if you make a serious hardware change to a computer that’s already been authorized (changing the main system board for instance), or you reinstall your computer’s operating system, you will actually lose one authorization, since iTunes will see the new hardware or software configuration as a new computer. It is always a good idea to DEauthorize your iTunes Store account (by selecting Store, Deauthorize Computer) before sending your computer in for service, or reinstalling your operating system yourself.

Q:

My daughter’s desktop computer died, so I bought her a new laptop and couldn’t de-authorize the old desktop due to its sudden death. Now the new laptop says her iPod is synced with another library. Do I have to de- authorize the dead computer (impossible) to get the new laptop to be the library that her iPod is synced with?

- Peggy

A:

The authorization process actually has nothing to do with which library an iPod is associated with. Authorization only affects which computers are permitted to play music purchased with a given iTunes Store account. There is no way to deauthorize a specific computer once it is no longer available, however iTunes allows you to have up to five (5) computers authorized, and to reset your authorizations once a year after you’ve reached the five-computer limit. Therefore, there should be no reason to be concerned about the lost authorization from the old desktop computer.

In terms of automatically syncing content, this is a separate issue from authorizing a computer. In automatic mode, an iPod can only be linked with one iTunes library at a time, since the iPod is essentially a mirror of the content in its associated iTunes library. Connecting an iPod to a new iTunes library and automatically synchronizing it would normally result in all of the content on the iPod being replaced with the content in the new library. If the new library is empty, then the content on the iPod would be replaced (remember that the iPod mirrors what is on the computer, not the other way around).

To prevent this, iTunes keeps track of which library an iPod has been synchronized to, and warns you if you try to connect the iPod to a different iTunes library:

If your daughter’s content is located only on her iPod, and has not yet been transferred to the new laptop, you obviously do not want to select “Erase and Sync” until you have actually setup the iTunes library on the new laptop to match what is on the iPod.

If you have a backup of the iTunes library from the desktop computer, you can simply restore this to the laptop, and you should be ready to proceed. Otherwise, if the music exists nowhere except on the iPod, you will need to recover the otherwise lost content from the iPod itself.

Although iTunes doesn’t provide any built-in methods for recovering non-iTunes-purchased content from an iPod back to your computer, there are a number of third-party tools that can be easily used to rebuild your entire computer’s iTunes library from your iPod. These are discussed in detail in our iPod 101 tutorial, Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide.

Once the iTunes library has been setup with all of your daughter’s music and playlists, you can then connect the iPod, and choose “Erase and Sync” from the warning dialog box. This will erase everything on the iPod, replacing it with the content in the iTunes library (which should be everything that you copied back from the iPod). Once this has been done the first time, the iPod will then automatically sync with that new iTunes library from that point on.

Q:

I have a Windows formatted iPod and I recently bought a MacBook. I want to move my music from my PC (running XP). Do I need to reformat my iPod before running software on the MacBook? Is the reformatting is necessary for the software and iTunes to run properly?

- Joni

A:

When moving from a Windows computer to a Mac, it is not necessary to reformat the iPod, as Mac OS X will happily read a Windows-formatted disk. In this case, you should be able to simply connect the iPod to your MacBook and proceed with whatever third-party recovery software that you would use to transfer your music back from your iPod to your computer.

Once you have recovered your content from your iPod and rebuilt your iTunes library on the MacBook, you can then either leave the iPod formatted for Windows, or choose to reformat it for Mac OS X.

Leaving it formatted for Windows will offer the advantage of compatibility with both platforms (so you could use any free space to use it as a portable storage device between both operating systems). However, it should be noted that using a Windows-formatted iPod on Mac OS X is not technically a supported configuration as far as Apple is concerned, and there have been odd problems in the past that have been related to this configuration. Further, a Windows-formatted iPod cannot be updated to newer firmware versions from a Mac.

Since rebuilding your iTunes library on your MacBook will ultimately result in the iPod being erased and reloaded from your new iTunes library (even though the content will be the same), doing a full “Restore” on the device from within iTunes will not take any longer than it would to simply reload the iPod from the MacBook as a Windows-formatted device.

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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...

« Ask iLounge 8-16-07

First Impressions: iPhone and .Mac Web Gallery »

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Comments

1

hello someone has told me that i there is a progtame in which i can extend the gb of my ipod nano and have more songs put onto it is this true.

Posted by jwbirch on August 10, 2007 at 2:55 PM (PDT)

2

how to transver songs from ipod to computer

Posted by saggy on August 14, 2007 at 12:48 AM (PDT)

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