Before I proceed with the main objective of this blog post, I just want to say that being sick just plain sucks. I've been dieting (seriously) for the past week now and have been on track with my workout routine, and suddenly, this bug hits me. It's hard because I'm being forced to skip out on another workout (two days in a row) which I didn't want. I'll probably do another post regarding my workout in detail separately but I just want to express how I feel about being consistent and all. Anyways, read more if you want to find out how I recovered/transferred my music from the iPod to my PC.
The Issue
If you've read my previous post about recovering my OS, I posted how I was forced to restore my OS setup from my old image backup. I'm not going into much details but since the restoration took place, my whole drive was wiped out and was replaced/restored by a brand new, error free OS. This means that my iTunes setup, files, and playlists were also wiped out in the process and the only thing that I have left is what's on my iPod touch. Not knowing what to do, I immediately researched the web looking for a solution of transferring over my MP3's, playlists and such to my iTunes.
The Solution
One solution that I tested was CopyTrans and it does completely what it says and it transfer everything that's stored from your iPod to iTunes (from music to all the playlist with ratings, etc.) I was impressed but the trial only allowed my to transfer 100 songs at a time, so I have to restart and delete all the songs and playlists. The $19.99 price tag is pretty cheap and integrates very well with iTunes since it does all the work for you. The thing is, I'd rather do things the free way. This is when I found SharePod. SharePod is a freeware that allows you to view your iTunes music and playlist and copy it to your computer in an organized manner. When I say organized, it means that it renames your files for you based on however you want it. Since the music on your iPod aren't setup in a folder structure such as what you have on your PC, you will have to rename it or choose to categorize it in folders when it transfers. Either way, it does some powerful things but as not as streamline as CopyTrans.but since it's free, you can't rally complain. If you have $19.99 to spare, I'd suggest just opting for CopyTrans since it makes like easier as far as transferring your iPod music and playlists.
Using SharePod
SharePod doesn't copy your playlists but it allows you to view all your music from your iPod as a whole list or categorically as playlists. If you want to preserve your playlist so that all your music don't just get mixed up with each other, I recommend copying each playlists separately. The first step is to make a music folder where you can place all your music. In that folder, create multiple folders that will be representing each of your playlist. The process can be a little bit slower since you'll be transferring your music, one playlist at a time but it will be worth it since your playlists are preserved. Right-click a playlist and choose, 'copy to PC' then it will let you browse where you want to copy that particular playlist (with all music along with it). From there, you can choose the music folder that you created and the playlist folder where you want it copied. You will have to do the same process for each playlist (assuming that you take the same approach that I did).
After transferring each playlist to each folder, open your iTunes and create each playlist manually. Once that's done, don't transfer your music yet. I found a trick on my own that allows you to copy all your music into each playlist in almost one step process. Instead of dragging each of your playlist folder into the 'Music Library' then copy to each 'Playlists', just drag each Playlist folder directly into your 'Playlist' in iTunes. Since all your music are stored on your PC as separate playlist folders, just drag each of those folder to its corresponding Playlist and you're set. Since you're going to be syncing your iPod with your iTunes in the future anyways, you might want to sync it right away and this process will wipe out your iPod with your existing iTunes files. I know that this is crazy but if you want your iPod and iTunes to sync (1:1), you will have to do this since your old setup and configuration is gone.
Issues and Conclusion
If you encounter anything unusual when starting up or using SharePod, you can refer to its help online. Once again, the process is a little bit more time consuming as oppose to CopyTrans but this is the way to go if you don't want to spend any money just to copy your music collections. Taking the manual route actually even helped me by cleaning up and getting rid of music that I don't listen to anymore. I was able to clear around ~1GB+ of music so I can make room for more music.
- Dennis