How to Copy Music Off Your iPod

It's easy enough to put music onto your iPod. It's easy pretty easy to transfer the music from an old computer to a new one. Getting the music off your iPod, however, takes a little maneuvering. Once you have the process figured out, though, it's pretty intuitive to copy music off your iPod. You can approach it either with the help of a third-party application or simply by navigating your way around your computer. Read on to learn how to copy music off your iPod.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• iPod
• PC/Mac
• Free disk space
• Third-party application (optional)

Copy Music Off Your iPod in Windows

1. Plug in your iPod and launch iTunes if it doesn't begin automatically. When it opens, click on your iPod and, in the main window, check the "Enable Disk Mode" box.
2. Eject your iPod and close iTunes. Disconnect your iPod from your computer.
3. Reconnect your iPod and close iTunes if it opens automatically. You should still be able to see the iPod on "My Computer" as an external drive device.
4. Click on the drive letter that represents your iPod (it will probably be E: or F:).
5. Navigate to Tools-> Folder Options and click on the "View" tab.
6. Choose the "Show Hidden Files and Folders" option and click "OK."
7. Look for the "iPod Control" folder and open it. Click on "Music" in that folder. There should be a number of other folders here, named F00, F01, F02 and so forth. These are your music files. They are not organized in a any particular fashion within these folders, you'll have to organize them later.
8. Copy the contents of the folder to your hard drive or whatever other device you choose. You can either select the entire folder or pick and choose through the MP3s. You should be able to see the file names as you mouse over each individual file.

Copy Music Off Your iPod on a Mac

9. Enable the Disk Mode of your iPod the same way you would in Windows.
10. Launch a terminal window in order to enable hidden folders in the Finder. Go to Applications->Utilities and double-click "Terminal.app."
11. Enable hidden files, using the following code: "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUEkillall Finder"
12. Follow the same steps for copying music as you would in Windows, beginning with clicking on your iPod and navigating to the Tools menu.

Copy Music Using a Third-Party Application

13. Download and install a third-party application. These programs, when run, will "rip" the music off your iPod. There are numerous programs, some are free and some are not. Popular versions to download includeiGadget, Music Rescue (formerly known as PodUtil) and YamiPod, which is a free program. See the Resources section below for a link.
14. Create a folder for your iPod music files. This can be on your hard drive or on an external drive device.
15. Run the third-party application, following the particular program's directions as to how to rip the music. Designate the folder you created as the default location to which music will be copied.
16. Import the music into iTunes, if necessary, by choosing "Add New Folder to Library."

Tips & Warnings

• Some third-party applications have a trial version available. Before using one, make sure you know whether there are limitation placed on the functionalities during the trial period.
• To make the hidden folders disappear on your Mac, open a terminal and run this code: "defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles FALSEkillall Finder"

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