• Quick note - the problem with Youtube videos not embedding on the forum appears to have been fixed, thanks to ZiprHead. If you do still see problems let me know.

How do I use an iPOD?

Soapy Sam

Penultimate Amazing
S
Joined
Oct 23, 2002
Messages
28,769
A work colleague here in Kazakhstan just got a 120GB iPOD.
Having loaded some mp3 files onto it from her pc, she is unable even to find them on the beast. She asked me for help, but I know nothing of iPODs or Apple hardware of any sort.

I know there is software named iTunes, which seems to act as an OS / advertising agent / sales agent for apple gadgets. Surely this is already installed on a new iPOD? If so, we couldn't find it.

Do these things play any music files like mp3 or wav- or must it have a proprietary Apple format?

There seems to be no manual with the thing, either printed or electronic.
Is all Apple hardware this user-hostile?

Anyone out there with some basic help for two total iPOD virgins?
 
Err, how did she "load some mp3s"?

I ask because the normal way is to use iTunes, which is an application that resides on the PC, not the iPod. Since you mention not finding iTunes, I wonder how she loaded the mp3s. There is a way to treat the iPod as a disk from your PC. If she did that, and just dragged the mp3s over, then no, you won't see the music files.

The basic technique:
1. Run iTunes on your PC.
2. one way or the other, get some mp3 files into iTunes (buy them from the apple store, rip a CD, or import from an mp3 file you already have).
3. Plug your iPod into the computer. iTunes will detect it, and "sync" the iPod - copy all music and videos that iTunes knows about onto the iPod. Essentially, iTunes is a database management system for you that runs on the PC. You import new songs, rip CDs, buy things on the apple store, and subscribe to podcasts using iTunes on your PC. All this data is stored on your hard drive. When you plug in the iPod, that database is copied over to the iPod. If you delete something from iTunes, the next time you plug in your iPod it will delete it from your iPod as well.

4. To find the music on the iPod, select the "music" menu selection. From there you can browse to find the song/album that you want to listen to. This menu will contain all the music you 'synced' from iTunes when you plugged it in.
 
I understand the problem. I loaded an mp3 which was being discussed on the Forum onto my iPod and then couldn't find the file - still haven't. I'm in a bit of a muddle with iTunes as well, but I know that's my fault for not paying attention (compounded by the fact that iTunes doesn't really seem friendly to people who want to play classical music, with all the buzz-words being pop-music oriented).

Roger, what you described does not work if the user has simply copied an mp3 file to the iPod from the computer. There's something else you have to do before the software will let you see that file.

The manual is probably what you want, but someone gave me a link to an excellent Q&A web page that had a lot of good answers on it too - does anyone have the link?

Rolfe.
 
Yes, indeed. It's the unintuitive nature of it that I'm having trouble with. Once you've figured out what the hell it's doing, things get simpler. But then they update the software and I'm back to square 1.

Rolfe.
 
I found itunes very user unfriendly, being used to drag and drop. I am a member of an AV forum and asked the question over there a while ago and got nothing but a few snotty answers, unlike here, so decided to spend a few hours mucking around with it. Once I got my head around what one is supposed to do I actually found it pretty straight forward.

Put music into specific folder, add music to itune library and then sync ipod to library. That's how I do it, it maybe right maybe wrong bit at least I can get music on and off it now.
 
Last edited:
Thanks folks.
We can't access the official Apple sites because this is a company computer (and a customer's at that!) and has innumerable (and illogical) blocks set. Most commercial sites are out.
We did get iTunes though and loaded that on a stand-alone PC and she has found her files, so she's happy.
She was worried that she was a lot stupider than she had believed, but I told her if something confuses Rolfe, she's in pretty smart company.

And so to bed. Alone again, naturally. (Sigh).
 
Rolfe said:
Roger, what you described does not work if the user has simply copied an mp3 file to the iPod from the computer. There's something else you have to do before the software will let you see that file.
Click to expand...
What I described involves copying the data over using iTunes. I'm aware of no way to see the files on the iPod if you "simply" copy them over.

This thread is a wonderful companion thread to the apple products thread currently running, filled with testimonies to how intuitive and easy Apple products are. I'm with the posters on this thread - it's not easy, the linked manuals are a abomination (tell us how to play music before telling us how to get music on the iPod!?!?!?!!! Kind of backwards, ain't it?)
 
roger said:
What I described involves copying the data over using iTunes. I'm aware of no way to see the files on the iPod if you "simply" copy them over.
Click to expand...
I'm not aware of any way to just transfer files to an iPod that doesn't involve hacking it first. But I'm only familiar with the iPod Touch and the iPhone. (I hate that about my iPhone. There's no (legal) way to use it as a USB memory stick).
 
Fredrik said:
I'm not aware of any way to just transfer files to an iPod that doesn't involve hacking it first. But I'm only familiar with the iPod Touch and the iPhone. (I hate that about my iPhone. There's no (legal) way to use it as a USB memory stick).
Click to expand...
I've only used the classic. When you first plug it in it gives you the choice to access it as a disk.
 
iTunes sucks, and I say that as someone who by and large likes and admires Apple products. I'm sad that gtkpod doesn't work with my iPhone.
 
A couple years back I got an iPod for Xmas.
It was preloaded with a lot of stuff from my nephew's experiences in the Marine Corps.
Going on line to register it, the registration procedure DELETED all that stuff!
I haven't touched it since.
 
Just to be clear:

1) You can use iPods as USB memory sticks. It's called "Enable Disk Use". However, you cannot use it to transfer media files (which are not part of the iTunes library) onto it.

2) You can use drag'n'drop to transfer media files onto the iPod within iTunes. It's called "Manage Music Manually".

3) If you connect an iPod with pre-loaded media to an iTunes which does not have those media files in its library, the media will be deleted. However, iTunes asks BEFORE this deletion to transfer the media back into iTunes (though it may be confusing since the question only refers to "Purchased" files).
 
Last edited:
My husband and I each have our own iPod, but I agree with the majority that iTunes is nothing but a necessary evil. For listening to music on my laptop (with an Internet connection), Pandora is very nice.
 
Fredrik said:
I'm not aware of any way to just transfer files to an iPod that doesn't involve hacking it first. But I'm only familiar with the iPod Touch and the iPhone. (I hate that about my iPhone. There's no (legal) way to use it as a USB memory stick).
Click to expand...


Huh? It appears in "My Computer" just like any other external disc drive and you can drag and drop anything you like onto it. I quite often use mine as a memory stick if I've forgotten the actual memory stick, and I have an iPod with a dud screen that's good for little else. I wish I'd known about that way to use it when my last computer HD was toasting and I thought I didn't have any backup medium.

Clearly that was the mistake I made with the mp3 - I just dragged and dropped. I still haven't figured out how to listen to it.

Rolfe.
 
Rolfe said:
Huh? It appears in "My Computer" just like any other external disc drive
Click to expand...
Thanks, I wasn't aware of that.

Rolfe said:
and you can drag and drop anything you like onto it.
Click to expand...
I just tried to drag a text file onto it, and nothing happened. I tried to "copy" the file intending to "paste" it, but the "paste" item was grayed out on the right-click menu. There is a file there already (a photo of my couch :)) and I can view it just fine, so it's like the file system is read only.
 
Rolfe said:
Huh? It appears in "My Computer" just like any other external disc drive and you can drag and drop anything you like onto it. I quite often use mine as a memory stick if I've forgotten the actual memory stick, and I have an iPod with a dud screen that's good for little else. I wish I'd known about that way to use it when my last computer HD was toasting and I thought I didn't have any backup medium.

Clearly that was the mistake I made with the mp3 - I just dragged and dropped. I still haven't figured out how to listen to it.

Rolfe.
Click to expand...

It is a very expensive memory stick. In iTunes if you click on the iPod device there are several tick boxes at the bottom of the page. The last one is Enable Disc use. If this is ticked then it will appear in My Computers and will behave as described.

Also check out the tabs at the top of the page. They allow you to copy your photos, movies, etc.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom