Q: After a recent sync with my Treo 650 went awry, I lost all the contacts in my computer’s Address Book. Is there any way to recover them from my iPod’s database, since it has them still?
– Anonymous
A: Sure, and it’s easy. First, connect your iPod to your computer while holding down Control and Alt (Mac: Command + Option).
Hold them down until the iPod appears in iTunes. This will prevent the iPod from syncing with iTunes after you do so, so your contacts don’t get erased now that they’re gone from your PC. Then, make sure “Disc Use” is enabled in iTunes, and browse to the iPod’s “Contacts” folder in Windows Explorer or the Mac’s Finder.
All contacts on the iPod will be stored in a single industry-standard vCard file. Simply import these into your address book program, and you’ve recovered your data.
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