Q: I used to have the first colour iPod (the photo one) and the battery has recently given up, so I have upgraded to a new 160GB iPod classic. I need to know how to get all my iTunes songs onto my new one. Is it as simple as plugging it in and the computer will do the work or is there something I have to do? Please help, I need a working iPod! thanks
– Dan
A: It pretty much is as simple as plugging the new iPod into your computer, although there are a couple of important points to keep in mind.
Firstly, you will need to ensure that you are running a recent version of iTunes. Each new release of the iPod is only supported in the version of iTunes that accompanied its release. For the current-model 160GB iPod classic, this basically means that iTunes 9 or later is required.
The second thing to keep in mind is that iTunes will see your new 160GB iPod classic as a brand new iPod, meaning that it will run the iPod Setup Assistant and prompt you for some initial settings. If you choose automatic synchronization, iTunes will sync all of your music and photos to your iPod by default; if you were only syncing selected playlists or photo albums with your iPod photo and want to use the same configuration with your new iPod then you will need to go into the sync settings for your new iPod classic and adjust your preferences accordingly.