iTunes/iPod conversion - temp file?

August 26, 2008 7:52 PM

Help me solve an iTunes problem I hope I won't have. My poor little Dell has been working hard all day, processing a .M4V file using the "Convert Selection for iPod" feature in iTunes. After 12 hours it's about 75 percent done, but it's raining here. Our power has a bad habit of going out during storms, and I'll be really depressed if I lose this in-process file if/when the computer reboots.

I can't find a temp file in any of the logical places to look, even though I assume (?) iTunes creates a second file when it converts. I guess I don't know exactly what iTunes is doing right now. But I am basically screwed if the power goes out? Will I have to start over from square one, or is there any chance the process could pick up where it left off? If so, what do I need to do?

Bonus points if you can explain why I'm having to convert this file, in spite of using Handbrake's iPod presets.

Rain, rain GO AWAY.

posted by Sweetie Darling to computers & internet (9 comments total)

If losing power is really a concern and your computer supports it you can put the computer in hibernate mode for the duration of the storm and it will continue where it left off when you un-hibernate.

But otherwise I don't believe you can pause and continue a conversion in iTunes. There is likely a temp file somewhere, but iTunes will not let you use it to continue a conversion.

And if you lose power often you should really have your computer hooked through a UPS.
posted by Ookseer at 8:19 PM on August 26, 2008

You might not be able to salvage the file, but you might save time/effort/processing power by using a standalone converter. I use the free Videora iPod Converter. I find it much faster and more reliable than iTunes, you can cue up multiple files to convert, and it lets you can convert more file types, including avi, divx, xvid, flv, vob, YouTube vids, and even DVD's.
posted by prinado at 9:04 PM on August 26, 2008

I second the Videora iPod Converter. I think the version I have (which may not be very recent) tries to show me ads of some sort as it goes along, but I didn't give it a firewall exception and ended up with a very excellent, free, converter with some blank spaces in the GUI (and no ads).
posted by tiamat at 9:49 PM on August 26, 2008

Thanks, all. We dodged the bullet last night and the conversion finished at some point in the wee hours. Great suggestions about the UPS and Videora - I had downloaded it over the weekend but haven't used it yet. Definitely will next time. I appreciate the advice!
posted by Sweetie Darling at 4:00 AM on August 27, 2008

I doubt very highly that hibernating a notebook in the middle of encoding video will work.
posted by dozo at 7:50 AM on August 27, 2008

Bonus points if you can explain why I'm having to convert this file, in spite of using Handbrake's iPod presets.

HandBrake's "iPod High-Rez" and "iPod Low-Rez" presets should always transfer to an iPod without having to be re-encoded. If you mail me an activity log of the encode, I can tell you what happened.
posted by jbrjake at 7:59 AM on August 27, 2008

jbrjake, thank you so much for that nice offer. I'm trying another DVD as we speak, and hopefully I did it right this time. If not, I'll definitely MeFi mail you. I saw your thread about Handbrake from a few weeks ago and almost contacted you over the weekend during a fit of frustration, but then I thought it might be tacky and decided against it. It's a fantastic program and I'm thrilled to have found it.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 11:00 AM on August 27, 2008

I've had problems with the Videora converter. Half the videos I converted with it didn't get accepted by iTunes. So, I started using WinFF, and it works like a charm on everything.
posted by Citrus at 12:08 PM on August 27, 2008

jbrjake, same conversion issue... (no storms today, though). Handbrake log in your MeFi mail. Thanks again.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 3:41 PM on August 30, 2008