How to Delete All Songs From an iPod in Windows

Apple sells music for the iPod though the iTunes Music Store.

A typical iPod can hold thousands of songs and it would take hours to delete each one manually. Fortunately, iTunes offers a quick and easy solution for deleting multiple songs or even all of your music. By deleting only the music on your iPod, you can create free space without removing videos, pictures and other content stored on the device.

Instructions

Deleting Music from a Synced iPod

1. Connect the iPod to your computer with the included USB cable and launch iTunes. The name of the iPod will be displayed on the left side of the iTunes window under "Devices." Click the iPod entry.

2. Look at the "Manually manage music and videos" check box. If the box is checked, skip to Section 2. If the box is empty, continue to Step 3.

3. Click the "Music" tab at the top of the window.

4. Clear the check mark from the "Sync Music" box. A warning will appear advising that this will remove all of your music and playlists from the iPod. Click "Don't Sync Music" and click the "Apply" button.

Deleting Music from a Manually Managed iPod

1. Connect the iPod to your computer using the included USB cable and launch iTunes. Click "Music" under the iPod's name on the left side of the window. A list of all songs stored on the iPod will be displayed.

2. Click any song on the list.

3. Press the "Ctrl" and "A" keys simultaneously. The iTunes app will highlight every song on the list.

4. Press the "Delete" key. A prompt will appear asking if you are sure that you want to remove the selected songs from the iPod. Click the "Remove" button.

Tips & Warnings

• On a manually managed iPod, playlists remain on the device after you delete the songs. To delete the playlist as well, click on the playlist and then press "Delete."

• The process of deleting songs on an iPod cannot be reversed. Before performing this action, make sure that any music you want to keep is saved in the iTunes library on your computer.

References

• Apple: Adding and Deleting Songs and Playlists from Your iPod