How do I load songs onto an iPod?

[_harmony]

I have an iPod Shuffle and loading it is a pain, since I refuse to pay a buck a song from the iPod site. But I figured it out. Are you trying to load from a CD or from a download?

[_Aristotle Smith]

Shades,

If you are still having problems, the best program on Linux for managing songs on an iPod is gtkpod. I use the latest Kubuntu to sync my ipod nano. As long as the iPod mounts correctly, gtkpod should be able to manage the songs.

On my system my nano mounts under /mnt/<ipod name>. If the iPod has not been initialized you will need to plug it into a Windows box (with iTunes) to initialize and name it (that's the name that show's up in the /mnt directory). After that you won't need to use Windows again. Good luck.

[_RockSlider]

sell ipod, buy a real mp3 player that does not require proprietary software to load songs to it.

[_Dr. Shades]

Aristotle Smith:

What's the website where I can download that "gtkpod" program of which you speak?

Also, I guess the /mnt/ folder will be in my c:/ drive, right? As opposed to you talking about some strange Linux command line?

RockSlider:

I have an mp3 player that holds 2 gb worth of songs, but the thing only plays in order or in shuffle. It doesn't let me select which songs, albums, etc. that I want to listen to if I'm in a particular mood.

I'm guessing they have more advanced models now that allow you to select only certain albums or songs to play at any given time? If so, I wish I could find someone who'd be willing to buy this iPod from me or, better yet, trade it for an equivalent capacity mp3 player.

[_cinepro]

If you decide to move on from the Ipod, I highly recommend the Sansa mp3 players. I have several (and my kids use them too), and they are incredibly easy to use and very high quality.


For an Ipod on Linux, check out the Linux compatible programs from this article:

http://www.simplehelp.net/2007/07/08/10 ... your-ipod/

[_RockSlider]

I have an mp3 player that holds 2 gb worth of songs, but the thing only plays in order or in shuffle. It doesn't let me select which songs, albums, etc. that I want to listen to if I'm in a particular mood.

I'm guessing they have more advanced models now that allow you to select only certain albums or songs to play at any given time? If so, I wish I could find someone who'd be willing to buy this iPod from me or, better yet, trade it for an equivalent capacity mp3 player.

I bought a 120gig model several years back ... I love my multi-media player. Having come from an era of free napster downloads, mine is full - 30k some odd tunes, name a band from the 70's to 2000 and I likely have most of their tunes on it.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolverine-Portabl ... B000NDZ0KO

of course my droid has a pretty decent player and 16 someodd gig of space for tunes as well.

[_Aristotle Smith]

Aristotle Smith:

What's the website where I can download that "gtkpod" program of which you speak?

Also, I guess the /mnt/ folder will be in my c:/ drive, right? As opposed to you talking about some strange Linux command line?

The site for gtkpod is http://www.gtkpod.org/. However it's down right now and I wouldn't recommend trying to install it from there. I don't know how much you know about Linux, but I generally find all the software I need using the Software Management tools that come with your Linux distribution. For Kubuntu this mean click K Icon (Start Menu) -> Applications -> System -> Software Management. That brings up a screen which allows you to search for software the system supports automagically. Type in gtkpod, hit enter, and it brings up a list of matching software packages. I just click on "gtkpod" and then click "Apply" and it downloads and installs the gtkpod software. All distributions will do this slightly differently, but the main idea should be the same.

As for C:/ drive, linux doesn't use drive letters. All drives get aggregated into one virtual drive which is called "/" the "/mnt" will be the mnt folder in that virtual drive. Hopefully gtkpod will just detect that it's there and automatically use it to manage the ipod data.

[_Dr. Shades]

Well, I downloaded "gtkpod" and installed it.

The problem is, when I run the program, I try every combination of "Load iPod," "Copy Folder," "Copy Files," etc., and NOTHING works.

Strangely, it DID copy my "Ace of Base" and "A Flock of Seagulls." It simply REFUSED to load my "2 Live Crew." WTF??

Now, I have NO IDEA how I managed to load those two things. I was frustrated and was clicking menu options randomly by this time, so now I can't remember what I did or what I clicked.

Aristotle Smith, I even tried to copy and paste files, folders, etc. from the hard drive whereon my music is stored to that /mnt/ folder you mentioned, but it wouldn't let me do it. It said that I didn't have permission to copy files to that folder. It's my computer, I'm GIVING myself permission to copy files, goddamn it!

The church may hate Linux, but I hate it many, many times more.

In other news, I figured out that you turn the iPod on just by touching that circular pad, but how in the name of God do you turn the goddamned thing OFF?

God, I utterly hate this thing. I never thought it was possible to hate a piece of miniaturized computerized hardware, but there it is.

[_Yoda]

Never had a problem with i tunes or the ipod. But I do not give good instructions over the phone. Have and Ipad now and it is cool too.

Go to an Apple store if there is one near you and get some help there.

Jason makes an excellent suggestion. Go to an Apple store in your area. It has to be a true Apple store, not just a Best Buy or somewhere that sells Apple products.

Make an appointment with their Genius Bar. Bring your computer and your iPod to the store with you. They will walk you through everything and they won't charge you a dime.

I was freaking out over an issue with my MacBook last week and the Genius Bar folks saved my life! They are very nice, and don't make you feel stupid. Apple stands by their products. The kind of service you will get free at the Genius Bar will cost you $150 minimum anywhere else.

And, Jason, I am so jealous you have an iPad. I'm saving up for one...hope to get one by Christmas. LOL

Good luck, Shades! I really think going to the Apple Store genius bar is the best option for you.

I have an iPod Touch, so I haven't really worked much with the classic. The touch is a lot easier to work in my opinion.

[_Dr. Shades]

UPDATE:

I'm back to using Windows. I have iTunes loaded.

I suppose I'm a step or two closer to getting this resolved, but I'm still having problems. When I had it synch my iPod, it only loaded about half of my songs. So I chose the "Configure manually" option, but it doesn't have any controls to actually, you know, let me configure it manually. Damn this thing!

I have a storage disk drive with all of my songs, videos, etc. that I want to transfer to my iPod, but if I plug it in and then drag-and-drop the files using Windows Explorer, the iPod doesn't detect them and thus doesn't allow me to play them. Again, damn this thing!

Can anyone help me?