iStink at iPod
September 19, 2009 4:09 AM
Just got a new iPod and I need a little help.
Years ago I bought an iPod that worked for about a year before it started acting wacky. Their tech dept was no help, so I swore to never buy another one. Now that I have broken down and finally bought another one, I want to make sure that whatever happened doesn't happen again. So....
Question 1: What are some common mistakes that are made that can mess up an iPod or iTunes.
Question 2: I used to have an iTunes account on another computer, long since gone. Is my account still there after five years? I bought a lot of music through them!
Question 3: Should there be only one computer dedicated to my iPod and iTunes? Can I use a computer at work and then one at work?
Thanks all!
Years ago I bought an iPod that worked for about a year before it started acting wacky. Their tech dept was no help, so I swore to never buy another one. Now that I have broken down and finally bought another one, I want to make sure that whatever happened doesn't happen again. So....
Question 1: What are some common mistakes that are made that can mess up an iPod or iTunes.
Question 2: I used to have an iTunes account on another computer, long since gone. Is my account still there after five years? I bought a lot of music through them!
Question 3: Should there be only one computer dedicated to my iPod and iTunes? Can I use a computer at work and then one at work?
Thanks all!
1) ?? Hoping others will chime in.
2) I don't know how long iTunes accounts last unattended, but you should be able to install iTunes, log in, and download all your old music.
3) You are allowed to have 5 computers accessing your music. You might have computers still 'Authorized' so you should de-authorize all computers (only allowed to do this once a year) and then reallow (authorize, log in, etc) your home computer and your work computer.
That said, Synching with more than one computer is a problem, as surburbanrobot points out. I would: choose one computer to be the main one. I suggest your home computer. Use your home computer to buy and download music, and then synch to your iPod for the commute, plug your iPod in at work to charge up, perhaps, and use iTunes on your work computer, but don't let it "synch" to your iPod. Synching an empty iTunes library to a full iPod = empty iPod.
Getting tunes (ie ripped CDs, or so you don't have to download songs twice) from the iPod isn't something Apple is very friendly about, but you can use a 3rd party app like Senuti (for mac only, I think) to get the tracks off your iPod.
posted by titanium_geek at 4:28 AM on September 19, 2009
2) I don't know how long iTunes accounts last unattended, but you should be able to install iTunes, log in, and download all your old music.
3) You are allowed to have 5 computers accessing your music. You might have computers still 'Authorized' so you should de-authorize all computers (only allowed to do this once a year) and then reallow (authorize, log in, etc) your home computer and your work computer.
That said, Synching with more than one computer is a problem, as surburbanrobot points out. I would: choose one computer to be the main one. I suggest your home computer. Use your home computer to buy and download music, and then synch to your iPod for the commute, plug your iPod in at work to charge up, perhaps, and use iTunes on your work computer, but don't let it "synch" to your iPod. Synching an empty iTunes library to a full iPod = empty iPod.
Getting tunes (ie ripped CDs, or so you don't have to download songs twice) from the iPod isn't something Apple is very friendly about, but you can use a 3rd party app like Senuti (for mac only, I think) to get the tracks off your iPod.
posted by titanium_geek at 4:28 AM on September 19, 2009
but you should be able to install iTunes, log in, and download all your old music.
nope. Apple doesn't support repeat downloads unless they've changed that policy since last I've checked. Apple ~was~ offering new downloads via upgrades to DRM-less for a nominal fee ("Upgrade My Library") earlier this year, but I don't see that option now.
Can I use a computer at work and then one at work?
I do this all the time.
For the work machine, you can just go with the defaults and copy over your music and let iTunes manage the library. You'll have to log into iTunes if you try to play DRMd music, but you can be logged into 5 machines at a time so this is no big deal.
iTunes/iPod are really designed to just work off of one computer.
For my home machine, the important thing for me is to turn off iTunes management of the music (in Prefererences > Advanced, uncheck "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" and uncheck "Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library"). I keep my music collection somewhere else (/Stuff/Music Library/) so I know that anything that appears in ~/Music/iTunes hasn't been backed up yet. If you are using Windows, this advice doesn't really apply to you.
The iPod works fine with multiple machines as long as you've enabled "Manually manage music and videos" in the Devices > Summary screen of the UI.
posted by Palamedes at 5:14 AM on September 19, 2009
nope. Apple doesn't support repeat downloads unless they've changed that policy since last I've checked. Apple ~was~ offering new downloads via upgrades to DRM-less for a nominal fee ("Upgrade My Library") earlier this year, but I don't see that option now.
Can I use a computer at work and then one at work?
I do this all the time.
For the work machine, you can just go with the defaults and copy over your music and let iTunes manage the library. You'll have to log into iTunes if you try to play DRMd music, but you can be logged into 5 machines at a time so this is no big deal.
iTunes/iPod are really designed to just work off of one computer.
For my home machine, the important thing for me is to turn off iTunes management of the music (in Prefererences > Advanced, uncheck "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" and uncheck "Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library"). I keep my music collection somewhere else (/Stuff/Music Library/) so I know that anything that appears in ~/Music/iTunes hasn't been backed up yet. If you are using Windows, this advice doesn't really apply to you.
The iPod works fine with multiple machines as long as you've enabled "Manually manage music and videos" in the Devices > Summary screen of the UI.
posted by Palamedes at 5:14 AM on September 19, 2009
I disagree (slightly) about not being able to hook your ipod up to more than one computer. You should be able to authorize the ipod to the same computers you authorize iTunes to, unless this has changed with more recent versions. I haven't had any problems connecting my ipod to any of the 3 computers I've authorized.
What you do want to do is disable the automatic syncing of your ipod and iTunes in Preferences. (since your libraries on each computer are likely to be different). Then when you synch you can add just the extra songs you like without conflicts, or without losing any existing music.
But you'd still want to have a 'main' computer, I would think, with all your music instead of spreading it out, or managing your music could get very confusing.
posted by Caravantea at 5:19 AM on September 19, 2009
What you do want to do is disable the automatic syncing of your ipod and iTunes in Preferences. (since your libraries on each computer are likely to be different). Then when you synch you can add just the extra songs you like without conflicts, or without losing any existing music.
But you'd still want to have a 'main' computer, I would think, with all your music instead of spreading it out, or managing your music could get very confusing.
posted by Caravantea at 5:19 AM on September 19, 2009
o.k., I just went back on to check and see if they had my old downloaded music, and they have a list of my previous purchases...hundreds of songs. But they only downloaded one of them onto my new iTunes. I followed their process for recovering previous purchases and it doesn't seem to work. I get a message saying that I have already downloaded all of my previous purchases, which is not true. Palamedes seems to be right about them no letting me get my old songs. But why doesn't it say that somewhere! Grrr! Has anyone found a way around this or had this issue before. Thanks again.
posted by boots77 at 5:22 AM on September 19, 2009
posted by boots77 at 5:22 AM on September 19, 2009
From Apple's support site:
Purchased songs, videos, iPod Games, and albums can be downloaded only once
Introduction
When you buy a song, video, iPod Game, or album from the iTunes Store, you are entitled to download it only once.
Note: Some content types are not available in some iTunes Store countries.
How To
When you buy a song, video, iPod Game, or album from the iTunes Store you are entitled to download it a single time. If you want to download it again, you must purchase it again. You can copy downloaded content between authorized computers.
Important: Make a backup of the content you purchase.
Has anyone found a way around this or had this issue before.
I've heard of Apple customer service re-allowing DLs upon hearing sob stories like divorce and whatnot. Couldn't hurt to ask, they do have over $30B in the bank.
posted by Palamedes at 5:31 AM on September 19, 2009
Purchased songs, videos, iPod Games, and albums can be downloaded only once
Introduction
When you buy a song, video, iPod Game, or album from the iTunes Store, you are entitled to download it only once.
Note: Some content types are not available in some iTunes Store countries.
How To
When you buy a song, video, iPod Game, or album from the iTunes Store you are entitled to download it a single time. If you want to download it again, you must purchase it again. You can copy downloaded content between authorized computers.
Important: Make a backup of the content you purchase.
Has anyone found a way around this or had this issue before.
I've heard of Apple customer service re-allowing DLs upon hearing sob stories like divorce and whatnot. Couldn't hurt to ask, they do have over $30B in the bank.
posted by Palamedes at 5:31 AM on September 19, 2009
The message saying that you have "already downloaded" your old music is referring to the FIRST time you downloaded it-- when you bought it. I would be doubtful about your chances persuading Apple to let you re-download. If you didn't have some catastrophic fire or similar event, then your case isn't too special, frankly. You're responsible for backing up your own music.
You might be able to torrent your collection. You won't be legally in the clear, of course, but ethically it's certainly more justifiable than if you hadn't bought it in the first place.
If your home and work computers are both macs or both PCs, you should be able to connect your iPod and listen to music from the iPod on the computer. Just be sure to disable syncing so that the computers don't fight each other.
disclaimer: I'm a mac tech, but I don't work for Apple and have no familiarity with the iTunes Store internals
posted by aaronbeekay at 6:18 AM on September 19, 2009
You might be able to torrent your collection. You won't be legally in the clear, of course, but ethically it's certainly more justifiable than if you hadn't bought it in the first place.
If your home and work computers are both macs or both PCs, you should be able to connect your iPod and listen to music from the iPod on the computer. Just be sure to disable syncing so that the computers don't fight each other.
disclaimer: I'm a mac tech, but I don't work for Apple and have no familiarity with the iTunes Store internals
posted by aaronbeekay at 6:18 AM on September 19, 2009
Jeez, what's with the anti-Apple snarking? Seems to be especially popular these days.
1. No, you can't re-download your music. But you kept backups of the precious music that you paid for, right? Recover your music from the backup, and you can re-import it into iTunes, where it will continue to play after you have authorised with the iTunes Store. Yes, your account will still exist.
2. All new music purchased is DRM-free, so you don't even need to authorise to play it. Yes, it will play outside iTunes, yes, it will play on other music players. But you still need to back it up. (And everything else on your computer, like you're already doing, right?)
3. For a nominal fee, you can upgrade your old iTunes music to the new DRM-free format. After importing your old music, the option will appear on the front page of the iTunes Store.
posted by Mwongozi at 6:24 AM on September 19, 2009
1. No, you can't re-download your music. But you kept backups of the precious music that you paid for, right? Recover your music from the backup, and you can re-import it into iTunes, where it will continue to play after you have authorised with the iTunes Store. Yes, your account will still exist.
2. All new music purchased is DRM-free, so you don't even need to authorise to play it. Yes, it will play outside iTunes, yes, it will play on other music players. But you still need to back it up. (And everything else on your computer, like you're already doing, right?)
3. For a nominal fee, you can upgrade your old iTunes music to the new DRM-free format. After importing your old music, the option will appear on the front page of the iTunes Store.
posted by Mwongozi at 6:24 AM on September 19, 2009
My daughter was able to re-download after a true teenage sob story including blaming her father for upgrading a family used pc after a hard drive crash. With only mild pressure, they came through with about 85% of her songs.
I wold tell them your story and how you are a returning customer who really wants to make it work this time. I would even go so far as to bet they will come through for you in a more than small way.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:59 AM on September 19, 2009
I wold tell them your story and how you are a returning customer who really wants to make it work this time. I would even go so far as to bet they will come through for you in a more than small way.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 8:59 AM on September 19, 2009
My iPod went a little wacky once, right after the warranty ran out. Made a loud beeping noise, blacked out, wouldn't recharge. I was pretty sure it was dead. So I googled around for a week or so, figured out what was up, and now it works perfectly. Turns out I just needed to put it in disk mode, let the battery drain fully, then plug it in, let it charge up fully, then put it back in regular mode. Or something like that. And wouldn't you know it, on the fifth or sixth try, it worked!
It's all so obvious! Gah.
So, really, you might want to just make sure the old iPod is really, actually fucked up. Google the symptoms and look for fixes.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:34 AM on September 19, 2009
It's all so obvious! Gah.
So, really, you might want to just make sure the old iPod is really, actually fucked up. Google the symptoms and look for fixes.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:34 AM on September 19, 2009
3. iTunes/iPod are really designed to just work off of one computer. There are other music players that are much better for usage on multiple computers if you really need to go that direction. All of the syncing back and forth will get to be a huge pain in the ass w/ iTunes.
Um, it's not difficult to turn off auto-sync in iTunes. In iTunes, click on your iPod. On the info page for your iPod, uncheck the box that says "automatically sync this iPod" or whatever. Ta-da. Now you're good for any number of computers.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:39 AM on September 19, 2009
Um, it's not difficult to turn off auto-sync in iTunes. In iTunes, click on your iPod. On the info page for your iPod, uncheck the box that says "automatically sync this iPod" or whatever. Ta-da. Now you're good for any number of computers.
posted by Sys Rq at 11:39 AM on September 19, 2009
1: There is nothing you can do in software that will ever make your iPod unusable. No matter what, there is always "Reset to Factory". The only ways to harm it are as other suggest above: freeze it, drop it, soak it in water, etc. Same as a cell phone.
2: The account will be there but no re-downloading of music. You can re-download apps from the App store forever, though, from what I can tell. Annoying. I guess this is why iTunes has a "back up to CD" option right there in the menus.
3: You can use up to five computers without hassle. If you wish to use automatic syncing, though, you need to choose just one computer for that. But if you're dragging songs on and off manually, it doesn't matter.
posted by rokusan at 11:50 AM on September 19, 2009
2: The account will be there but no re-downloading of music. You can re-download apps from the App store forever, though, from what I can tell. Annoying. I guess this is why iTunes has a "back up to CD" option right there in the menus.
3: You can use up to five computers without hassle. If you wish to use automatic syncing, though, you need to choose just one computer for that. But if you're dragging songs on and off manually, it doesn't matter.
posted by rokusan at 11:50 AM on September 19, 2009
For some mysterious reason all my Elliot Smith downloads disappeared and I asked iTunes support about it and they allowed me to redownload the songs.
I would talk to them and let them know, and see what they offer. It's just bandwidth to them, you own the license to the digital music now.
posted by visual mechanic at 8:15 PM on September 19, 2009
I would talk to them and let them know, and see what they offer. It's just bandwidth to them, you own the license to the digital music now.
posted by visual mechanic at 8:15 PM on September 19, 2009
Mwongozi,
Apple snark? I don't know. I just bought another iPod, so I guess I have some faith in them. But to be honest, I'm not sure why. I was in a room of forty people a couple of days ago and told them that I was waiting for my new iPod to arrive. I asked them how many of them had one. Every hand went up. I told them that my other one went berserk and that despite my techie friends best efforts, they could not fix the problem. I asked the room how many of them were on a second iPod because the first one went berserk and thirty plus hands went up. How many other overpriced items could have such a huge failure rate and still persuade people like me to repurchase their item? Apple is brilliant. I only hope that my faith will be restored this time. I hope they worked out the kinks that made my last experience miserable.
And to your point about not backing up music. Five years ago, when I had a first gen iPod, I couldn't even move my music from one computer to another even without downloading some other software that Apple disapproved of. It was crazy. Hopefully it is different now. Sounds like you still have faith, and through their marketing ability, I now have restored faith. I only hope my experience bears Apple out as a reformed company because they used to really stink.
posted by boots77 at 4:37 AM on September 20, 2009
Apple snark? I don't know. I just bought another iPod, so I guess I have some faith in them. But to be honest, I'm not sure why. I was in a room of forty people a couple of days ago and told them that I was waiting for my new iPod to arrive. I asked them how many of them had one. Every hand went up. I told them that my other one went berserk and that despite my techie friends best efforts, they could not fix the problem. I asked the room how many of them were on a second iPod because the first one went berserk and thirty plus hands went up. How many other overpriced items could have such a huge failure rate and still persuade people like me to repurchase their item? Apple is brilliant. I only hope that my faith will be restored this time. I hope they worked out the kinks that made my last experience miserable.
And to your point about not backing up music. Five years ago, when I had a first gen iPod, I couldn't even move my music from one computer to another even without downloading some other software that Apple disapproved of. It was crazy. Hopefully it is different now. Sounds like you still have faith, and through their marketing ability, I now have restored faith. I only hope my experience bears Apple out as a reformed company because they used to really stink.
posted by boots77 at 4:37 AM on September 20, 2009
How many other overpriced items could have such a huge failure rate and still persuade people like me to repurchase their item? Apple is brilliant.
You're talking about an object designed to have a few-years lifespan that gets used every day and often in hard conditions: hot, cold, running, dropping, wet, dry... I'm sort of shocked that they stay working as long as they do, all things considering. Mine have lasted longer than cell phones, anyway.
(The iPhone, now there's a question. 15 months and counting...)
posted by rokusan at 10:19 AM on September 20, 2009
You're talking about an object designed to have a few-years lifespan that gets used every day and often in hard conditions: hot, cold, running, dropping, wet, dry... I'm sort of shocked that they stay working as long as they do, all things considering. Mine have lasted longer than cell phones, anyway.
(The iPhone, now there's a question. 15 months and counting...)
posted by rokusan at 10:19 AM on September 20, 2009
This thread is closed to new comments.
2. No reason why it wouldn't be, especially if you bought music. Never heard of Apple arbitrarily deleting accounts, no matter how old. Now whether or not you can remember your username/password is another matter altogether... :)
3. iTunes/iPod are really designed to just work off of one computer. There are other music players that are much better for usage on multiple computers if you really need to go that direction. All of the syncing back and forth will get to be a huge pain in the ass w/ iTunes.
posted by suburbanrobot at 4:19 AM on September 19, 2009