Syncing a Classic Ipod to a MacBook Pro 13

[richardfinegold]

Is this all a pack of lies then?

http://store.apple.com/uk/ipod?afid=p238%7CZqztJpIl-dc_mtid_187079nc38483_pcrid_5920259657_&cid=aos-uk-kwb-ipod

I understood the iPod Classic had been discontinued, but the Touch and Nano models seem to be alive and kicking.

The ad does seem a bit dated

[Dave2002]

I don't understand folks who complain about how Apple won't "allow" you to use other software or hardware? I have 3 mac computers and most of the time (apart from the OS) don't use Apple software at all.

I think it's tricky with the Classic iPods. Certainly for a while the way that downloads to the iPods were done was by a cable, and using iTunes, even if it was from a Windows PC.

One other possible problem might be the firmware. The recommendation (a few msgs back) to download new firmware may be good advice, but on the other hand it might prove to be the final nail in the coffin for our OP's device. Perhaps the Apple "experts" do mean well, but often enough they don't really know enough the systems, particularly "older" ones which are more than a couple of years old, to always give good advice. If an attempt is made to install new firmware, I'd strongly recommend being able to revert if necessary. I do think that there is a backup procedure which "should" work - but I'm not absolutely holding my breath on that.

The other "problem" with the Classic iPod is that it is/was a decent enough and well made piece of kit, and moderately expensive, so not a throw away item. If, on the other hand, it were a cheap as chips item, then perhaps nobody would care if one went wrong, and couldn't be fixed, and the sofware became incompatible. I have a couple of cheap mp3 players, bought specifically for travel to locations where I thought my iPod would be damaged or stolen. S*d's law has it that those two devices, which are not great, are still working quite well and I still have them. It wouldn't be a disaster if they died or were lost permanently. Their combined cost was still half that of my iPad.

[MrGongGong]

Lots of folks used to use Rockbox firmware for the iRiver machines
and it looks like a possible solution for the iPod

http://www.rockbox.org/wiki/IpodFAQ

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

The ad does seem a bit dated

A whole week!

[muzzer]

There is an irony to the ipod classic being discontinued, when you think what a revolution it was being able to store so much music in something the size of a fag packet. These days [!] everything is either stored in The Cloud or streamed, which of course is how They want it. You don't have to be very old to find that at least a little creepy. I love my ipod but with each new itunes update apple annoy me more and more - with the last one it was the way they've made it harder to add playlists. I manage the storage etc all manually. Let's hope none of my external drives fail, eh.

[MrGongGong]

There is an irony to the ipod classic being discontinued, when you think what a revolution it was being able to store so much music in something the size of a fag packet. .

Indeed
but the iPod wasn't the first (or even best) device to do this
It's a classic example of how clever marketing makes people believe a version of history

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I love my ipod but with each new itunes update apple annoy me more and more -

Quite so. You buy something because you like the way it is. After you've bought it, they then change it to something you don't like.

Long live CDs.

[Flay]

I have a Classic which has been a handy companion for some years, but I fear the day when I drop it as I doubt if replacement drives will still be available.

I don't understand why Conchis wants to "sync" the iPod. If I understand correctly this means wiping it and replacing the content with whatever library you have connected it to. As Caliban says, it is better to set iTunes to "Manually Manage Music and Videos." Then items can be added or removed individually with safety.

But I agree that iTunes gets less user-friendly with each update.

[MrGongGong]

I have a Classic which has been a handy companion for some years, but I fear the day when I drop it as I doubt if replacement drives will still be available.

You should be able to replace the HD with a solid state one
I'm sure i've seen that somewhere

[Anastasius]

Before we all go chasing hairs let's just take a step back and ask a few basic questions.

Conchis...what version of iOS are you running on your iPod? On the back of it in very tiny letters will be a code - usually a letter followed by four digits. What is it? Once we have this basic information then we can start to analyse the problem.

[Flay]

You should be able to replace the HD with a solid state one
I'm sure i've seen that somewhere

It appears so. Interesting for when the time comes.

I was also worried because I have music, plays etc from various sources - some old - stored on the one ipod, and not all is backed up as it should be. A downside to an iPod is the difficulty in extracting files; no doubt this was intentional to reduce sharing.

[Dave2002]

It appears so. Interesting for when the time comes.

I was also worried because I have music, plays etc from various sources - some old - stored on the one ipod, and not all is backed up as it should be. A downside to an iPod is the difficulty in extracting files; no doubt this was intentional to reduce sharing.

I'll mention this again - http://www.xilisoft.com/ipad-magic-p...creenshot.html

[Pulcinella]

Technologically challenged here, but would like to keep my classic iPod and add to what's on it.
Concerned about losing everything if I plug it into my Mac, running Yosemite, but found this:

http://www.techisky.com/how-to/transfer-music-from-ipod-to-mac-yosemite.html

Anybody any experience of it?
Will it really do the business (i.e., work both ways)?
All suggestions welcomed.
Thanks.

[Dave2002]

Technologically challenged here, but would like to keep my classic iPod and add to what's on it.
Concerned about losing everything if I plug it into my Mac, running Yosemite, but found this:

http://www.techisky.com/how-to/transfer-music-from-ipod-to-mac-yosemite.html

Anybody any experience of it?
Will it really do the business (i.e., work both ways)?
All suggestions welcomed.
Thanks.

Do you only have one machine, running Yosemite?

That kind of software can work, so it may be as good as the description suggests. One thing to avoid is any form of automatic sync which may undermine your efforts. As I dimly recall the scary bit with the Xilisoft tool I mentioned was plugging in the iPod as that may activate iTunes. However I did succeed and back up the files and after that I was less bothered about losing anything, as once everything is backed up the reset option on the iPod should allow a clean reinstall of all the files, even using iTunes.

These issues are perhaps less problematic now than they once were, though can stiil be a nuisance. Having to rerip CD tracks which get lost can be a pain, but if you still have fhe CDs is not always a great loss. Where I had a problem was with some download files from sites where I no longer had the right to download the tracks again - example emusic. Other sites such as Amazon and iTunes seem quite good these days at allowing repeat downloads, though sometimes music gets deliisted from their catalogues. There may be other tracks from other sources which cannot be regenerated, for example if you've made any personal recordings.

I'd suggest that you assess the risks to you before trying anything like this, and what it would mean to you if there's a failure.

My feeling is that the software will probably work, and you won't lose anything, but I won't accept responsibility if it doesn't!

The Xilisoft tool worked for me.

If you do try the Yosemite tool please let us know how well it works. You may want it for a slightly different resson from me. I wanted to recover files, but was otherwise not too worried about continuing with iTunes. You may want to replace iTunes completely, so the user interface will be important for you.

Good luck!

[MrGongGong]

That kind of software can work, so it may be as good as the description suggests.

I would hope their software is better than their English grammar ! (not that mine good is any)