Dumping your entire music collection onto an iPod is a simple, one-click process.
But what about getting your music off an iPod? You’ll find that’s not so easy. Apple’s iTunes software only lets you put the music onto the player, and not the other way around. The iPod/iTunes combo was designed with this restriction built in to prevent piracy and illicit trading. However, there are a number of legitimate reasons you might need to transfer songs from your iPod to your hard drive. For instance, if that fateful day arrives and your PC hard drive crashes, you can restore your music collection without re-ripping dozens of CDs.
Fortunately, there are many applications you can use to get your tunes off your iPod. Some of them are even free, so they won’t cost you a thing.
Step 1: What You’ll Need
1. An iPod (obviously)
2. Either a Windows or Mac machine.
The simplest method for grabbing tunes off of your iPod is also the geekiest. Just enable the “Disk Mode” feature of the iPod from within iTunes, which will allow you to mount the iPod as a hard drive. Then, you can browse the disk using Windows Explorer or the Mac’s Finder.
Step 2: How To (Mac)
On a Mac, you’ll need to enable hidden folders in the Finder.
1. Launch the Terminal by going to Applications > Utilities and double-clicking on Terminal.app.
2. Paste in these lines of code:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles TRUE
killall Finder
3. If you ever want to make the hidden folders disappear again, just run the code again, but change TRUE to FALSE.
Step 3: How To (Windows)
Similarly, you can copy songs from an iPod onto a Windows PC by enabling hidden folders to be viewed. Here’s how.
1. Open your My Computer directory.
2. Double click on your iPod.
3. Go to Tools > Folder Options > View.
4. In the Advanced Settings list, under Hidden files and folders, check the radio button for Show hidden files and folders. Then click OK.
5. Go to iPod_Cont
Step 4: Third Party Apps
While these slightly inconvenient methods work, there are plenty of software apps that make the process of browsing and copying files much easier.
Step 5: Congratulations!
Congratulations. You're done and now you have music off your iPod. Sit back and relax!
