How to transfer songs from iPod to Computer in 2 minutes

Apple has always been known for going through movements to prevent *piracy*, so again they tried to prevent it here. They do not want you to be able to copy songs from iPod to PC, but there is a quick and easy way. This 2 minute tutorial will show you how to access your songs outside of iTunes and how to then back up your iPod onto your computer, assuming you are running Windows.

The iPod has simply “hidden” the songs from you, so all you have to do is to “unhide” the folders.
To view the songs on your iPod:

1. Connect your iPod and open My Computer
2. Click on the iPod in the “removable devices” section
3. At the top navigation bar, choose Tools > Folder Options > select tab “View” > Scroll down until you find “hidden
4. Show hidden folders

Here, you are viewing the iPods song archive. Since the iPod has a different file system, it will be unorganized.
To back up, access, or play the songs:

1. Copy all folders in the music directory (The folder names should be something like F1, F23, etc)
2. Open another My Computer session and create a folder somewhere on your hard drive. A good example folder is C:/Johns_iPod_Backup_4-17-07/
3. Paste all of the folders to this directory (now you have a complete backup of your iPod)
4. Since these are very unorganized, the only way to get all these songs organized is to open iTunes, go to File > Add Folder to Library and select C:/Johns_iPod_Backup_4-17-07/

This is a very useful technique if you want to back up your iPod in one place, instead of having it scattered around throughout your hard drive. Also, this way you can copy songs to other computers just like you can when you use it as an external hard drive. The only downside is that some of the songs in iTunes AAC format may not work on the second computer.

March 31st, 2007

Entry Filed under: Hardware, Music Technology, all posts