SO my laptop was stolen

June 30, 2007 1:22 PM

SO my laptop was stolen...

I've replaced it now, but I have two concerns...

1) How do I get back my iTunes. I've been told that Apple keeps a record and can sign-in, and all the purchased music will load (true?)

2) What back-up systems do people most often recommend. I'll buy an external hard drive, but are there websites where I can sync my computer, thus backing-up my memory (or am I creating science fiction.

posted by anonymous to computers & internet (9 comments total)

Mozy for seamless backup.

Contact Apple. Their official policy is they don't restore your music. The reality is, I have heard numerous stories like yours where they have restored music "Just this once." However, if all your music is on your iPod anyway, there are freeware options to copy it all back to your new Mac.

Good luck! Bummer to ripped off.
posted by The Deej at 1:29 PM on June 30, 2007 [2 favorites]

(add a "be" between "to" and "ripped off.")
posted by The Deej at 1:30 PM on June 30, 2007

Regarding number two, there are about a dozen solutions listed here.
posted by disillusioned at 1:30 PM on June 30, 2007

I like SuperDuper! for backing up to an external drive.
posted by SpecialK at 2:16 PM on June 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Another vote for Mozy. The Windows version is completely seamless and ridiculously easy to set up. I'm sure the Mac version is just as easy.
posted by niles at 2:17 PM on June 30, 2007

Apple will definitely allow you to re-download your purchases. They even went so far as to merge two of my accounts after I realized I'd inadvertently set one up at gmail and the other at a long-disused hotmail account.
posted by feloniousmonk at 4:00 PM on June 30, 2007

About the iTunes restoration, it's unlikely but not impossible that you'll be able to get your songs back, but only the ones purchased via the iTunes store -- if you had other music that you either ripped yourself or downloaded from other places, Apple will not be able to restore this for you.

I further recommend Mozy as an off-site backup solution, and for backing up to an external hard drive, the free version of Syncback has served me very well -- it's Windows only, though, and I wasn't clear from your message what OS you are using. (Though I guess since you have to buy a new laptop anyway, you could take your pick...) For Macs, I use Silverkeeper.
posted by camcgee at 4:05 PM on June 30, 2007 [1 favorite]

Mozy for off-site
Syncback for on-site (though it can FTP)

(I would do both if I was you, since anything that you've only backed up once isn't really backed up)
posted by mysterious1der at 5:47 PM on June 30, 2007

Also, you might want to deauthorize your iTunes-purchased music on your stolen laptop. Apple allows only purchased tunes to play on five (I think) computers.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 3:38 AM on July 1, 2007