ARRG!!! Can't transfer songs to iPod!

[motulist]

My friend gave me an old iPod and each time I play with it I remember why I still use my mp3 cd player. I open up itunes. I drag an mp3 from the library on to the ipod icon and... nothing. No green "+" plus icon. No feedback. No warning. No dialog box. So I use the ipod software to restore it to factory settings and it still acts the same. It just won't send any songs from my hard disk over and it won't tell me why. I've tried lots of different mp3's on my hard disk, all act the same. When I try to drag to the ipod icon, it does nothing. If I newly rip an mp3 from a cd that is not already on my hard disk then it will let me transfer it without a problem. What's the heck is the deal here?

Powerbook g4 AlBook
os 10.3.9

 

[iSaint]

Check compatibility with the iPod (what model is it?) and the current version of iTunes. I'm sure it doesn't matter, but you never know. When your iPod is connected, go to Preferences>iPod and see what option is checked: manual update or automatic update? I assume you're able to play your tunes via iTunes, but I'm not so sure about drag and drop features. There will be other, better suggestions on this thread I hope.

 

[motulist]

Check compatibility with the iPod (what model is it?) and the current version of iTunes. I'm sure it doesn't matter, but you never know. When your iPod is connected, go to Preferences>iPod and see what option is checked: manual update or automatic update? I assume you're able to play your tunes via iTunes, but I'm not so sure about drag and drop features. There will be other, better suggestions on this thread I hope.

- I can play the tunes I'm trying to transfer in itunes.
- I can transfer freshly ripped mp3's to the ipod with no problem.
- I have manual manage selected.

What other ideas do you have?

P.S. As an experience, it's the complete lack of feedback that I find most frustrating. If it gave me any feedback at all I'd have no problem trouble shooting.

Here you can see I can transfer a newly ripped mp3 with no problem. The "+" plus icon doesn't show up in the screen shot, but it was there and you can see the ipod highlighted.

 

[motulist]

Here you see I can NOT transfer an old mp3 from my hard disk. The green "+" plus icon does NOT appear the ipod name is NOT highlighted.

I tried the update automatically option and it finally gave me some feedback, but it's pretty useless feedback. This is just an mp3 file I'm trying to send. It's not an ogg file or something else and it plays just fine from within itunes.

Is this some authorized computer thing or what? I'm about ready to chuck this thing out the window and not get my dad an iPod for his birthday like I was thinking.

You can see here, freshly ripped mp3's transfer just fine to the ipod.

 

[motulist]

I just totally deleted and reinstalled itunes and this changed nothing.

 

[cwedl]

I had the same problem with loads of songs, I just converted them to AAC again (which I thought they were), and they then went onto my iPod, may that will work?

 

[mad jew]

Unfortunately not all mp3s were created equal. I had the same problem in that I could play them in iTunes but not rip them to the iPod and the only solution I could come up with was to convert them again using the Advanced menu.

 

[motulist]

Unfortunately not all mp3s were created equal. I had the same problem in that I could play them in iTunes but not rip them to the iPod and the only solution I could come up with was to convert them again using the Advanced menu.

But it won't transfer ANY, and I do literally mean not ANY, mp3s from anywhere else. When I played around with it in the past I had no trouble transferring mp3s to it. So something has changed. And thanks for the suggestion but there's no way I'm gonna re-encode my entire mp3 library. This is driving me nuts!

 

[mad jew]

I thought it worked with freshly ripped mp3s though.

 

[motulist]

I thought it worked with freshly ripped mp3s though.

It does. Which sentence was I confusing in? I'll clarify anything I miswrote.

 

[mad jew]

Oh, and maybe try creating a new account and transferring from there so we might be able to then tell if it's an iPod problem or a computer problem.

 

[motulist]

Oh, and maybe try creating a new account and transferring from there so we might be able to then tell if it's an iPod problem or a computer problem.

Ok, I just tried that. Same thing. What else ya got?

 

[motulist]

Hmmm, does anybody have a version of itunes older than 4.9 they could send me? Since the time that I had no trouble transferring files I've upgraded itunes several times.

 

[mad jew]

Damn, that was quick. I was hoping it'd buy me a bit more time to think this over.

It's a big worry that you reset the iPod yet it still didn't warn you that it wasn't transferring songs. Maybe try deleting the com.iPod.apple.plist file in Library/Preferences and Users/motulist/Library/Preferences. I doubt this second one will do anything since the new account has the same problems, but the first preference file might reset your computer's opinion of the iPod... Hopefully...

Oh, and it probably wouldn't hurt to then immediately restore the iPod again.

I hope this works, but I don't have a good feeling about it. I'm not finding anything promising on Apple's own support forums.

Old iTunes.

 

[motulist]

Damn, that was quick. I was hoping it'd buy me a bit more time to think this over.

It's a big worry that you reset the iPod yet it still didn't warn you that it wasn't transferring songs. Maybe try deleting the com.iPod.apple.plist file in Library/Preferences and Users/motulist/Library/Preferences. I doubt this second one will do anything since the new account has the same problems, but the first preference file might reset your computer's opinion of the iPod... Hopefully...

Oh, and it probably wouldn't hurt to then immediately restore the iPod again.

I hope this works, but I don't have a good feeling about it. I'm not finding anything promising on Apple's own support forums.

Old iTunes.

The link returned the error "Sorry, but access to this feature is restricted to Internode Customers." I'm about to delete the ipod plist and see what happens.

 

[mad jew]

The link returned the error "Sorry, but access to this feature is restricted to Internode Customers." I'm about to delete the ipod plist and see what happens.

Sorry 'bout that, here's iTunes 4.8 from Apple's site. If you have to go back even earlier, just search through the OSX Downloads section.

 

[motulist]

I just did a find file for and trashed every file with "itunes" or "ipod". I restarted, redownloaded the ipod software, restored it to factory settings, redownloaded itunes 4.9 and... I was going to joke and say it worked, but that'd be too cruel. No change, transfer of old mp3s is still broken and newly ripped mp3s still work. However, out of the 20 or so old albums I've tested along the way, I found 1 old album that will transfer over.

 

[motulist]

Sorry 'bout that, here's iTunes 4.8 from Apple's site. If you have to go back even earlier, just search through the OSX Downloads section.

When you go to download from that page it still bounces you to the 4.9 download. And maybe I'm daft, but no matter how I try to search the apple sites (like restrict to downloads, etc.) it always returns whatever the heck it feels like returning. I'm a huge Apple fan and I really do want to love the iPod, but, I think my opinion is solidifying that the ipod w. itunes solution is a heap of doo doo. In fact, lots of Apple stuff has been disappointing me over the past couple of years. I'm not saying I'm switching to Windows as the Mac OS is still light years ahead, but... I don't know. Maybe I'll just become Amish.

 

[mad jew]

Bugger. Well, would you mind converting just one song and trying to rip it across for me please? I've got a bad feeling it'll work.

As for iTunes, sorry about the dodgy links. I'm scanning the 'net as we speak but coming up with nothing. I can try to email you pretty much any version from that Internode link but they're all about 11MB so I'm not positive it'll work. PM me with your email address if you want me to try it though.

 

[motulist]

Bugger. Well, would you mind converting just one song and trying to rip it across for me please? I've got a bad feeling it'll work.

As for iTunes, sorry about the dodgy links. I'm scanning the 'net as we speak but coming up with nothing. I can try to email you pretty much any version from that Internode link but they're all about 11MB so I'm not positive it'll work. PM me with your email address if you want me to try it though.

You're tha man. You've really tried to help, and I appreciate it. But I think I'm done with it. At least for the moment. I owe you one though. If you ever need any help just message me. Maybe if I go away and come back I'll be less frustrated and willing to try again. If I do try again I'll be sure to tell you about it! Thanks again.

 

[mad jew]

No worries. It's a bastard of a problem and having just spent the last week trying to get my own iPod to work properly, I ca fully empathise with the crap situation. Just PM me if you want an iTunes DMG emailed to you.

Best of luck, I see the people at Apple's discussions still haven't said anything, which unfortunately isn't very promising.

 

[motulist]

Best of luck, I see the people at Apple's discussions still haven't said anything, which unfortunately isn't very promising.

Well if you look at the apple discusion groups, they aren't very active and often take a couple of days to respond. And that's if anyone ever replies there at all, often no one does.

 

[mad jew]

Well if you look at the apple discusion groups, they aren't very active and often take a couple of days to respond. And that's if anyone ever replies there at all, often no one does.

True. But they've got some pretty savvy people there. Hopefully they'll come up with something...


...eventually....