Transfer Music from iPod to PC

Let's say you have got music on your iPod that you don't have on your PC. It could be a situation when you accidentally formated your hard drive, or maybe you deleted some music without backup. You probably don't have the the original source of the music, but you have it on your iPod. What to do to transfer it?

It is better to take care of the matter right away before you lose the music from your iPod as well. The fact is iTunes (program provided by Apple to manage iPod) can manage automatic synchronization of your PC and iPod libraries. It means it can delete all unknown songs in case one of the library misses them. This is the default option when you install iTunes, but you can easily turn it off.

The weak spot of the issue is that iTunes is directed one-way - from your PC onto iPod. The standard transfer of music and video can't be retrieved back.

Getting music off your iPod

Many would call it the Windows down and dirty method, but it seams to work! So, here we are guided by the saying 'choice of the end covers choice of the means'.

It is actually about some kind of advantage Windows has over Mac. If you have a Windows formatted iPod then you can easily copy the files off, you just have to know where to look. The fact is that Windows treats iPod as a removable drive, making it possible for you to go in.

You'll find below a guide to doing impossible: copy data from iPod to your PC.

Trick Number 1.

Step 1. Connect your iPod to PC. Note that if iTunes loads automatically when you plug in your iPod, and the option of automatic synchronization is on, then you are very likely to loose all the non-matching data from the iPod. You can stop the process by quiting the iTunes (hitting the "X" in the upper right corner of the window).

Step 2. Enter My Computer. It will show up your iPod as a 'Mobile Device'. Right click and choose 'Explore'. Another possibility is to go to the Control Panel - Portable Media Devices, and double-click your iPod.

Step 3. Reveal your files. The default setting of Windows is to not show hidden files and folders. To reveal them, find in the Tools menu 'Options' and on the View tab, check "Show Hidden Files and Folders".

Step 4. Find the Music Folder. Usually the music is stored in the directory "\\iPod_Control\\Music". Then select the needed files and drag and drop them to a folder on your hard drive.

Step 5. Configure iTunes. Find the iTunes Preferences, and check "Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized" and "Copy files to iTunes Music Folder when adding to the library", under the Advanced tab.

Step 6. Add Your Files onto iTunes. To add files to iTunes, select File - Add Folder to Library, and then select the folder where you copied the files from your iPod. The same action can be performed alternatively by dragging and dropping this folder onto iTunes.

After you have successfully performed the above, iTunes will sort out the files from the iPod folder structure. To make the files recognizable to iTunes put the artist and album information back from the ID3 tags in the music files.

Warning! You would not be able to get back any metadata that isn't stored in the files themselves, such as ratings, play counts, last played and modified information, etc. Besides, this trick is probably not working with the "new" iTunes data types, such as pictures, video, games, etc.

Trick Number 2: Windows and Mac - Anapod CopyGear

There is a program called Anapod CopyGear which is able to retrieve almost everything from your iPod, including metadata, videos, pictures, TV programs, iTunes Music Store and Audible purchases, etc. It makes it possible to select what files to transfer. It is used for Windows as well as for Mac.

Don't even dream to get the service for free! But again here is a trick to help you. There is a free trial version that will let you retrieve up to 100 items, so the simple trick is to use it several times. If you want to retrieve all in one session then you'll need to purchase Anapod Explorer, which comes with a licensed copy of CopyGear. This product is meant to manage your iPod outside the iTunes.

Note: CopyGear for the Mac runs in OS X 10.2 and higher.

Trick Number 3: Mac OS X - iPodDisk

iPod can actually be opened up like an external disk. You can do it physically but it will cost you time, fuss and warranty. To avoid it be aware of the existence of some workable freeware alternatives.

iPodDisk is a free utility that opens your iPod up in Finder just like a normal drive. Compared to opening iPod in Windows, iPodDisk turns all of the odd file structures into an easy-to-navigate layout. This allows you to sort down through your artists, albums, playlists, etc. You also can drag and drop whatever you want onto iTunes.

iPodDisk is able to open even a Windows-formatted iPod. This makes it a convenient way to shift from a Windows iPod to a Mac formatted one.

Trick Number 4: Mac OS X - Expod

Expod is a simple and free utility designed to open your iPod. It lets you select songs and extract them. Expod works on Power PC and Intel Macs. It requires OS X 10.4 (Tiger), however it's been reported to work under some versions of 10.3.