How to Put Songs on an iPod Onto iTunes

If you have recently formatted your computer's hard drive or purchased a new computer, the iTunes software on the computer will not contain the songs that are saved on your iPod. This can be extremely frustrating if you wish to remove any of the files from your iPod, as you won't have those songs saved on your computer. By using the My Computer option on your computer, you can add the songs on an iPod to the iTunes Library.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

On PC

1. Plug the iPod into the computer.

2. Click "Start" in the taskbar. Select "My Computer" and a window will open.

3. Click "Tools" and several different options will appear. Choose "Folder Options" and a second window will open. Click on the "View" tab in that window and a list of different options will show up in the middle of the window. Select "Show hidden files and folders." Then, click "OK" to go back to the My Computer window.

4. Double click the icon for your iPod listed underneath the "Devices with Removable Storage"

5. Open the "iPod_Control" folder.

6. Right click the "Music" folder. Choose "Copy." Then, paste the Music folder on your computer's desktop.

7. Open iTunes.

8. Click "File." Then, select "Add Folder to Library." Search for and locate the Music folder mentioned in step 6. Click "OK" and the songs from the iPod will be added to the iTunes Library.

On Mac

9. Download and install iPodRip.

10. Plug your iPod into the computer and launch iPodRip.

11. Select "Manual Import." Then, click "Continue." A list of the songs on that iPod will then show up in iPodRip.

12. Choose the songs on the iPod that you want to put onto iTunes.

13. Click "Import." Those files will be added to iTunes.

Tips & Warnings

• Since computers recognize an iTouch or iPhone as a camera in My Computer, you cannot transfer songs from these devices onto iTunes using the steps in Section 1. iPodRip, however, is compatible with all versions of the iPhone and iTouch. iPodRip is only free to use for the first 100 songs. After that, you will need to purchase the program.

Resources

• iTunes
• iPodRip