Recovering Songs from an iPod
From Mac Guides
In the event that you accidentally delete your music from your computer, it is possible to recover your songs from your iPod. Note that none of these steps (yet) work with the iPod Touch or the iPhone.
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Using the Terminal
The iPod songs are hidden away on your iPod in an invisible folder, ie one that the Finder won't display normally. It is possible to let the Finder display hidden files as outlined in this guide or with 3rd Party Software. Otherwise you can follow the below instructions.
All songs are stored in this location:
/Volumes/[YouriPodName]/iPod_Control/iTunes/Music
In this folder are a number of folders usually labelled from F00 to F49 or higher. The songs are actually stored in these folders with obscure names that are usually not relevant to the song.
To copy these songs using the Terminal, follow these steps:
- Launch Terminal which is located at /Applications/Utilities/Terminal
- Type in (replacing [YouriPodName] with the name of your iPod)
cd /Volumes/[YouriPodName]/iPod_Control/iTunes
- To copy the music to your Desktop, type in
cp Music ~/Desktop
- Once the copy has completed, drag the Music folder on your Desktop onto the iTunes icon on the Dock or in Finder
- Wait while iTunes imports all the songs
N.B. This method does not recover your playlists, ratings or play count.
On Windows
On Windows it is easier to view hidden files. Follow the following steps.
- Load the Start Menu
- Choose Control Panel
- Enable Classic Mode (if not already enabled)
- Choose Folder Options
- Select the View Tab
- Under the Hidden files and folders section select the radio button labeled Show hidden files and folders.
- Press Apply and then OK, then close the control panel.
Using Third Party Software
Several third party applications exist to facilitate the task of importing your songs and playlists from your iPod. Some of these are linked to in the links section below.
External Links
- iPodRip - Popular shareware recovery tool [Mac]
- PodWorks - The first application of its type [Mac]
- Senuti - Open source alternative to the above [Mac]
- iPodDisk - Open source tool with tight Finder integration [Mac]
- Anapod Explorer - Commercial software with tight integration into Windows Explorer [Windows]
- PodWorks - A simple, easy-to-use app for transferring music from your iPod [Mac]
- SharePod - A simple application to copy music from your iPod, often requires extra windows files (linked from the page) [Windows]
- CopyPod - A commercial application to backup iPod music from iPod to PC with playlists [Windows]
- iPod Copy Expert - A shareware tool that imports music, playlists, ratings and play counts from iPods to iTunes [Windows]
See Also
Disclaimer
The methods listed above are not supported by Apple, possibly due to potential conflicts of interest with the iTunes Music Store. Support personnel do however recommend some software solutions listed in links.
