More I tunes help please

[Steady Eddie]

Went round to a mates today to try and help him sort his I tunes and I pod set up.
He currently has 1400 songs on his I pod.
When I Tunes is turned on, it shows 399 songs in the Library, and when the I pod is plugged in it says that it's already synced to another Library and starts syncing.

I downloaded Sharepod onto his pc and on that you can see that all the 1400 songs are on his Ipod - we copied them all to a folder on his desktop just in case anything went wrong when looking at I tunes again.
As I can't figure out how to sort this problem, he agreed that we could uninstall I tunes completely from the pc and start again.

So, having done that and uploading I tunes from scratch again - as soon as you plug his Ipod in , it says it's already synced with another Library and starts syncing as per previous install - I thought this wouldn't happen as we were starting anew?

Can anyone help by giving me step by step instructions?

Thanks.

Steve

 

[jkersh1]

When you uninstalled itunes, did you also delete the itune library files: iTunes 4 Music Library.itl,
iTunes 4 Music Library.xml,
iTunes Music Library.xml,
iTunes 4 Music Library Extras.itdb,
iTunes 4 Music Library Genius.itdb ?

If not, even with a re-install, the old library information is retained. I believe you can delete just the .itl file, and force itunes to rebuild its library structure.

 

[Steady Eddie]

Library

When you uninstalled itunes, did you also delete the itune library files: iTunes 4 Music Library.itl,
iTunes 4 Music Library.xml,
iTunes Music Library.xml,
iTunes 4 Music Library Extras.itdb,
iTunes 4 Music Library Genius.itdb ?

If not, even with a re-install, the old library information is retained. I believe you can delete just the .itl file, and force itunes to rebuild its library structure.

Don't think those were deleted.
Will check,
Thanks for the information.

Steve

 

[Billywhizz]

I've been through this before when changing computers and didn't get very far - even with Apple's help. The golden rule seems to be that the device will only synch with one library - you can decide which one, and change them as many times as you want but the computer library always overwrites the device when you change. This is to stop you copying tracks that aren't bought on a device associated with that particular library. You can synch as many devices as you want with the computer library.

I was told by Apple that the library files mirror the data for the tracks in the library - effectively an index. I too tried to copy / delete / move these files and the end result was that the library file didn't mirror the actual files so it didn't work. I don't know if you can rebuild this file as jkersh says - I'll bow to his knowledge if this is the case.

I would imagine the only way around this is to import the missing tracks that make up the difference between the 1400 and the 399 into the library on the computer, then do a resynch. Or if the tracks only exist on the device (ie he's bought them through itunes on the device) then he'll have to use the "transfer purchased items" command to get the tracks onto the computer. You may then have to re-import the 399 that were in the original library. Not much fun either way.......

 

[Dickieboy]

It's a source of constant amazement to me that anyone wants iTunes or a f**king iPod for that matter, there are a good few Mp3/Media players that are so much better and so much simpler to use, Zen, Iriver and Sansa to name but three all which you can just drag and drop individual files or whole playlists onto.

 

[cookie]

It's a source of constant amazement to me that anyone wants iTunes or a f**king iPod for that matter, there are a good few Mp3/Media players that are so much better and so much simpler to use, Zen, Iriver and Sansa to name but three all which you can just drag and drop individual files or whole playlists onto.

you can do that with an ipod too


however, once you understand the concept of syncing, it all becomes much easier to manage a large collection of media.

the OP's problem is that ipods sync with whatever computer they are plugged into, and it's a one way sync - computer to ipod. therefore, whatever you want on the ipod needs to be in the itunes library of the attached computer.

are there songs on the ipod that are on the computer?

if so, as an alternative to adding missing tracks individually, you can add the 1400 songs saved, to the 399 in the library, then use the duplicate finding function in itunes to remove the tracks doubled up.

 

[Taff]

It's a source of constant amazement to me that anyone wants iTunes or a f**king iPod for that matter, there are a good few Mp3/Media players that are so much better and so much simpler to use, Zen, Iriver and Sansa to name but three ...

Morning Dick ...... I've just bought one.

Part of the problem I think is that most people won't have heard of Zen, Iriver or Sansa and like the idea of having a very well recognised brand for support if things go tits up. Eg would you choose a Garmin or a Shittyhahu GPS? I rest my case Mi'lud.

... once you understand the concept of syncing, it all becomes much easier to manage a large collection of media. the OP's problem is that ipods sync with whatever computer they are plugged into, and it's a one way sync - computer to ipod. therefore, whatever you want on the ipod needs to be in the itunes library of the attached computer. are there songs on the ipod that are on the computer?

So from what you're saying, you shouldn't download tunes / apps etc on the iPod itself, but only do it on the computer ... and then download to the iPod. All my tunes have been downloaded from the computer, but I know my boy has downloaded some tunes directly onto his iPod.

 

[Billywhizz]

So from what you're saying, you shouldn't download tunes / apps etc on the iPod itself, but only do it on the computer ... and then download to the iPod. All my tunes have been downloaded from the computer, but I know my boy has downloaded some tunes directly onto his iPod.

Hi Taf,

Not butting in here but you can easily transfer purchases from the device to the computer - itunes prompts you to do this. But it will only go the the library that you're synching with. You'll probably have a similar problem if your lad synchs his now with your computer if he's not done it before buying the tracks on his device.
I was really sceptical about the whole itunes things and resisted it for years but I'm a recent convert and it's actually pretty good (once you understand the twisted logic). Each to their own.....

 

[cookie]

Morning Dick ...... I've just bought one.

Part of the problem I think is that most people won't have heard of Zen, Iriver or Sansa and like the idea of having a very well recognised brand for support if things go tits up. Eg would you choose a Garmin or a Shittyhahu GPS? I rest my case Mi'lud.

So from what you're saying, you shouldn't download tunes / apps etc on the iPod itself, but only do it on the computer ... and then download to the iPod. All my tunes have been downloaded from the computer, but I know my boy has downloaded some tunes directly onto his iPod.

sorry, my mistake. purchases made on the device will sync back to the computer library.
i excuse my oversight by saying i don't buy much on itunes

i expect that such syncing will only happen on computers that have "authorized" that particular device with apple (it's in itunes).

 

[Billywhizz]

Just a general kind of note and not wishing to reliven another old debate about Apple vs PC's. I've just binned my PC in favour of a Mac for a host of reasons but the one thing I'm sure of is that the Itunes experience is way better on the Mac (I guess it would be, wouldn't it?). In fact, it's so much better that I wouldn't consider using it on a PC again.....

 

[cookie]

Just a general kind of note and not wishing to reliven another old debate about Apple vs PC's. I've just binned my PC in favour of a Mac for a host of reasons but the one thing I'm sure of is that the Itunes experience is way better on the Mac (I guess it would be, wouldn't it?). In fact, it's so much better that I wouldn't consider using it on a PC again.....

that has been my experience too.