How to Sync Your iPod With a Different Computer

If set up properly, the iPod can download music from several computers.

Because they can hold hundreds, if not thousands, of songs, filling an iPod to its full capacity can be quite difficult and expensive. Fortunately, if your iPod's settings are correct, you can add music to it from not only your computer, but also the computers of your friends, family members and coworkers. This will save you some money, and also give you the opportunity to experience some new music along with your own personal favorites.

Things You'll Need

• PC or Mac computer
• USB to dock connector iPod cable (supplied with iPod)
• ITunes 9 or better

Instructions

Setting Your iPod Up for Manual Management

1. Connect the USB end of the supplied iPod cable to a USB 2.0 port on your computer.

2. Insert the dock connector end of the supplied iPod cable into the dock connector on the bottom of your iPod.

3. Open iTunes on your computer. When your computer recognizes that your iPod is connected, an iPod icon will appear in the "Device" section of iTunes, which is located on the left-hand side of the screen, below the "Library" tab.

4. Click on the iPod icon in the device list.

5. Select the "Manually manage music and videos" option. Doing this will allow you to add music from another computer without deleting the music you've added from your own computer.

6. Click "Apply" to save the change to manual management.

How to Add Music to Your iPod From Another Computer

1. Use the supplied dock connector to USB cable to attach your iPod to the other computer.

2. Open iTunes on the computer. When the computer begins reading your iPod, an iPod icon will show up in the "Device" list, which is located on the left-hand side of the iTunes interface.

3. Click on "Music" below the "Library" tab in the upper left-hand corner of the iTunes interface to bring up a list of all of the music in the iTunes library on the computer.

4. Slide the scroll bar on the far right-hand side of iTunes up and down to view the music that is in the library

5. Click on the song you want to sync to your iPod so that it is highlighted and then drag the song to the iPod icon in the device list. When that icon becomes highlighted, release the mouse to sync the song to your iPod.

Tips & Warnings

• At any given time your iPod can only be set up to support music from a Mac or from a PC. It can't support music from both types of computer at the same time. This means that when you sync music from another computer it must be the same type of computer from which you've already added music.

• It is important that you have your iPod set up for manual management before you connect it to another computer. If not, your iPod will automatically sync with the library on the other computer and will delete the music that is already on your iPod.

References

• Apple.com: iPod nano (5th generation)--User Guide