Authorizing iPod Games on new computer

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Authorizing iPod Games on new computer

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Q: I just bought the game “Phase” again since I got a new computer, but it won’t put the game on my iPod! It says the game could not be copied to my iPod because I am not authorized for it on this computer!

- Matt

A: Often when you purchase content from the iTunes Store for the first time on a new computer, the computer is still not automatically authorized for that iTunes Store account. With music and video content, this authorization frequently happens the first time you play the content, but of course with games that’s not an option, as you can’t “play” them in iTunes—they’re only downloaded for transfer to your iPod.

In this case, you simply need to manually authorize your computer by selecting Store, Authorize Computer from the iTunes menu, and entering your iTunes Store user id and password. Once you have done this, any content purchased with that account should transfer to your iPod without any problems.

As an aside, note that when you buy a new computer you do not need to purchase your iPod Games again unless you cannot recover them from the previous computer at all (ie, you’ve lost the files on the original hard drive). You can simply copy any iPod Games from the iPod Games folder on the original computer (located under your “iTunes” folder) to the new computer, and import them in the same way as you would for any other type of media content. You can also transfer any purchased games that are on your iPod back to your computer by ensuring your computer is authorized for your iTunes Store account (as above) and selecting File, Transfer Purchases from the iTunes menu. This will search your iPod for all content purchased with any iTunes Store account for which your computer is authorized and transfer is all back to your computer, including music, videos, games, and iPod touch or iPhone applications.

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