Help! New ipod user can't get ripped mp3 files to show

March 21, 2016 9:01 PM

My new ipod touch says I have over 2000 songs on it, but it won't show the mp3s that I manually ripped from my CDs.

I'm new to the ipod. I loaded it up with songs, and it says it contains over 2000 of them, but it only shows me the music files that I bought "officially" off of amazon.

I had an Apple CSR help me fix this before once, but the last two people I spoke on the phone with were no help. They both said they would call me back, but they never did.

I have no playlists. Everything is just plopped into "My Music" The songs show as there in itunes, and, like I said, the ipod reports that it has over 2200 songs on it, but I can only see about 50 or so in My Music.

Any ideas, ipod wizard mefites?

posted by InsertNiftyNameHere to Technology (9 answers total)

So you used iTunes to rip the cds and then dragged the files to the iPod? How'd you get your Amazon music on there?
posted by k8t at 9:06 PM on March 21, 2016

You might try converting a couple of songs to AAC in iTunes, then resync and see if they show up.
posted by doctord at 9:22 PM on March 21, 2016

Response by poster: k8t: "So you used iTunes to rip the cds and then dragged the files to the iPod? How'd you get your Amazon music on there?"

Itunes simply found them in the directory they were in and automatically grabbed them. It certainly looks like it found my self-ripped mp3s as well, but it won't display them on the ipod.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:38 PM on March 21, 2016

Response by poster: doctord: "You might try converting a couple of songs to AAC in iTunes, then resync and see if they show up."

I can try that as a last resort, thanks. I've got over 12GB of mp3s, though, and one apple support person was able to magically make them appear after a short support call, so there's gotta be a simple fix. Although the last two support folks I spent hours on the phone with couldn't duplicate that success.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 9:41 PM on March 21, 2016

Newer versions of iTunes are technically pretty darn pissy about transferring older ripped files, mostly because Apple really just wants you to buy that same stuff from them all over again. So if someone has an intelligent solution to this problem, I'm curious to hear it too.
posted by ovvl at 9:42 PM on March 21, 2016 [1 favorite]

I think there has to be more to it than Apple just wanting to make you buy stuff from them. I have songs I ripped in 1997 that iTunes still happily transfers to my iPod Classics. I don't know the solution to this problem, but there has to be something different about those files or the way they're being imported...
posted by primethyme at 9:55 PM on March 21, 2016

What about this solution?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6524063?start=0&tstart=0

http://forums.ilounge.com/ipod-classic-legacy-ipods/190431-some-songs-itunes-wont-sync-ipod-freshly-ripped-commercial-cds.html
posted by atinna at 10:19 PM on March 21, 2016

Response by poster: primethyme: "I think there has to be more to it than Apple just wanting to make you buy stuff from them. I have songs I ripped in 1997 that iTunes still happily transfers to my iPod Classics. I don't know the solution to this problem, but there has to be something different about those files or the way they're being imported..."

Sorry to thread sit, and I'll quit now, but, IIRC, I ripped them from CD via Nero 7 and converted them to mp3s via the LAME encoder. Still, if the one support tech could magically make them appear, there, theoretically, should be a simple solution, I at least I would think so.

Thanks for the help, folks! I'll leave the thread alone for a while now.
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 10:23 PM on March 21, 2016

Response by poster: PROBLEM SOLVED!!!

I just spoke with a knowledgeable Apple support tech, and he solved my problem in 2 seconds.

When in the "My Music" section, the heading listed was "Artist." He had me click that and change it to "Song", and BOOM! everything showed.

As a newb to the Apple ecosystem, I had no idea that option was changeable. I can't believe I spent hours on the phone with two other Apple support people, and they didn't know the "fix" was that simple. Now I can start using this expensive little device.

Thanks to all who replied!
posted by InsertNiftyNameHere at 5:21 PM on March 22, 2016 [2 favorites]