ripping ipod media to windows programs

[sledneck07]

ok so i have a vista and need to rip my music off my ipod to my computer, anyone have any suggestions for a good program, my buddy told me to try senuti but hes a mac guy and it almost seems to be a mac only program, so any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance

 

[srteach]

If you mean to pull the non iTunes purchased music from iPod to iTunes, Pod to PC is the program I use. If you mean to pull the music from the iPod to a different format on the pc, I cannot think of a program that will do that in one step.

The problem is that the database on the iPod and in iTunes has separate files for the metadata and the music. Other formats combine the two.

PM me if you need clarification.

 

[AllanD]

There is a common basic misunderstanding about iTunes and Windows media player (And other programs)

they are "playback" and cataloging programs, the files for the music are just basically data files.



Windows Media Player 11 (a far better program than most people will give it a chance to demonstrate itself to be) natively plays m4a (iTunes unprotected) files.

WMP12 (windows 7) plays the mp4 (video files as well

All you really need to do is "tell" WMP where to find those files

As for music on an iPod, an iPod is seen by windows as an external storage device
and it's literally as simple as cutting & pasting those files from the iPod to another storage location in your computer. (this isn't "Rocket Surgery")

Converting between different compressed audio codecs causes further quality loss.

But since my XP, Vista and Windows7 machines all playback m4a files there is no need.

My Sony head unit in my truck plays mp3 and wma files but not itunes files

But as I usually have a laptop with me and my head unit has a front panel aux....


As for actually converting files there are several programs that will do this.
The one I use is NCH File converter (look for it as a download on Cnet)
It's commercial software that comes with a 30day trial before it reverts
to it's free version (the free version does all I need/want it to do)

AD

 

[fastpakr]

Allan, unless something has changed since the last time I piddled with an iPod (and admittedly, it's been a while), the file structure on them doesn't store the music in any kind of structure that's designed to be logical to a human. You do need software to handle the interface between you and the iPod so you can locate the media and pull it off intact. That changes if you're running RockBox or something like that, but I seriously doubt that's the case here.

 

[sledneck07]

ok i guess i should clarify a little, my buddy put some music on my i pod and i want to add it to my i tunes libary to expand it, how do i do that, i just want to have all my music backed up

 

[smokey]

Download a program called sharepod then you can move the Ipod files over to your pc

 

[AllanD]

Allan, unless something has changed since the last time I piddled with an iPod (and admittedly, it's been a while), the file structure on them doesn't store the music in any kind of structure that's designed to be logical to a human. You do need software to handle the interface between you and the iPod so you can locate the media and pull it off intact. That changes if you're running RockBox or something like that, but I seriously doubt that's the case here.

Ahhh... let me explain the deeper mysteries of file management software.

If the files are there a rational directory structure can be created

Do you really think I use the native windows Userdocuments\music
setup?

What bothers me most about apple file systems are not the directory names but the voids in the apple file tags (id3)

a friend just bought a used nano from a pawn shop, 8gb of music in a directory structure that is
a list of folders with five digit numerals and files named with five digit numerals.

one pass with a tagging program and the files are all named, "artist - album - track#- track.m4a

After they are moved to folders named " Artist\Album\filename.extension " (or m4a as the case may be)
I rename them (in bulk again) to a 001 Trac.mp3

Doing that last re-naming step takes me 45seconds (max) on groups of less than 1000 files.

 

[sledneck07]

thanks for the info guys, ill give it a try here when we get settled in, the joys of moving , try and get back and let you know what works