The iPod/iTunes FAQ

I run a Yahoo! mailing list dedicated to the iPod and iTunes. (You can find out more about the list here.) On this list, new members often come with questions that have been asked and answered, so this FAQ (frequently asked questions) is designed to help provide quick answers to the most common questions.

Since this is a work-in-progress, I’ll be updating it from time to time, and will re-post it as a new story every time I make changes. However, you can bookmark this page, since the URL will not change.

BUYING AN IPOD AND ACCESSORIES

Q: Which iPod is right for me?

A: There are two factors that should influence your choice: (1) whether you want simply to listen to music and/or audiobooks, or whether you want to watch videos as well; and (2) whether you want a small iPod, which is better for exercising, or whether you want lots of space on your iPod.

The iPod nano is small; very small. Its capacity, however, goes up to 8 GB; not much if you have a lot of music. It displays photos and video as well. The iPod classic is much larger (both in size and capacity), with 80 GB and 160 GB models. If you want to watch videos on your iPod, this is your only choice. (And you should probably buy the 160 GB model, because it’ll fill up faster than you expect.) Then there is theiPod touch, which is a much different animal. With smaller capacity than the classic (only 8 or 16 GB), its advantage is its larger screen, which is much better for watching videos, and wifi access, so you can surf the web. However, you really only want this if you want to do those extra activities with your iPod; otherwise, it’s expensive for just listening to music.

See this slightly outdated article for more on the different iPod models.

A: Buying a used iPod is as risky as buying a used computer. Personally, I’d never buy used hardware from someone I don’t know, unless it is from a hardware dealer that offers a guarantee on the device. You can find cheap deals on eBay, but you don’t know how many times the iPods have been dropped, how intensively their batteries have been used, etc.

A refurbished iPod is one that Apple has taken for repairs, and restored to a new state. They may have changed the hard drive, flash memory, battery or display, but they offer the same guarantee on refurbished iPods as they do on new iPods. Go to the online Apple Store, scroll down the page, and look for the SAVE icon. (This display may be different, so if there’s no such icon, look for anything that talks about refurbished products.) If you buy a refurbished iPod, you can apply an AppleCare extended warranty to it.

A: It all depends… (I’m good at answers like that, you’ll see.) Obviously, it depends on the iPod you have and the way you use it. An AppleCare extended warranty costs less than $60, and increases your coverage to two years. If you buy a 60 GB iPod video, the cost of the extended warranty will not be a big percentage of the total price of the iPod; however, it costs a lot compared to the price of an iPod nano. In some cases this will be a good deal–if you use your iPod a lot, and the battery runs out in less than two years, you’re covered.

But in other cases, if you’re more conservative about using your iPod, it might not be worthwhile. Other stores may offer extended warranties at different prices, so check around before you decide. It buys you some additional peace of mind, and may save you a nice chunk of change if you have a problem after the one-year warranty runs out.

A: The best place to go is iLounge, which has honest, frank reviews of the entire range of iPod products.

A: Yes, you can use any brand of earbuds, or any headphones, as long as they have the appropriate sized jack (1/8″). If you have headphones with a larger jack, designed for home stereos, you can get an adapter that will allow you to plug them into your iPod. However, such headphones are usually large and unwieldy, and you’d probably be better off with lighter headphones.

Personally, I have no problems with the Apple earbuds, but many users find that earbuds such as these Sony earbuds, or these Shure in-ear earbuds, or these isolating earbuds from Etymotics are excellent, as are these , more specifically designed for portable music players.

Personally, I recently got a set of Sennheiser PX 100 open headphones, which have great sound. But when I listen at home, I prefer my Sennheiser HD 580s, which are among the best value in full-sized headphones you can get.

LINKS TO APPLE SUPPORT PAGES AND DOWNLOADS

Q: Where is Apple’s iPod Support web page?

A: Here. You’ll find answers to many technical Questions, and lots of tutorials as well.

A: Here. As of iTunes 7, the latest version of the program, iPod updaters are included in the program, and will most likely be downloaded directly into iTunes in the future.

A: If you use a Mac, open System Preferences (from the Apple menu), click Software Update, then Check Now to see if there are any updates to iTunes or to Mac OS X. If you use Windows, select Advanced > Check for Updates, or go here. As I write on September 13, iTunes 7 has just been released. See this article for an overview of new features in iTunes 7.

A: See this page on Apple’s web site: Identifying different iPod models.

A: See this page on Apple’s web site: Accurately determine your iPod battery life.

TROUBLESHOOTING

A: Apple has a technical document here explaining how to reset a blocked iPod, and giving instructions for the many different iPod models that have been manufactured.

A: iTunes 7 for Windows has a built-in diagnostic feature. This document explains how to use this feature, and what the results mean. Not that this does not test the iPod, but only the ability for iTunes to recognize the iPod when connected to a Windows computer.

A: Another troubleshooting task, after you’ve tried reseting a blocked iPod (see above) is to “restore” the iPod to factory settings. This wipes the iPod completely, re-formats the drive, and re-installs the software the device needs to run. You can find out how to do this here. If you’re using iTunes 7, you can run this Restore function directly from within iTunes. Plug your iPod into your computer, then click its icon–you’ll see the Restore button in the middle of the iTunes window.

Note: make sure you have a backup of your music and any files you store on your iPod (see below for more on backups); this process deletes everything on your iPod!

A: Yes, you should always back up your music. In a perfect world, this would not be necessary, but when computers are involved, things always go wrong. First, you may have a hardware crash, wiping out all your music. Second, you may need to re-install your operating system (this is more common with Windows), and this re-installation may require you to erase your hard drive. If you forget to back up your music, you may be out of luck.

Not only should you back up any music you have purchased from the iTunes Music Store or other on-line digital music services, but you should also back up the music you’ve imported or ripped from your CDs. Think how much time it will take to re-import all that music…

To back up your music files, buy an external hard disk sufficiently large for your music collection multiplied by two. (Because your collection will grow, trust me…) Then, either manually copy your iTunes folder (in your Music folder on a Mac, or your My Music folder on a PC) or get backup software that can do this automatically. The advantage of the latter is that it will only copy new or changed files, whereas a manual copy will recopy everything. I recommend Intego Personal Backup for Mac, or Roxio BackUp MyPC for Windows.

Backup software is always good to have, since if you back up your important documents, you’ll never have to worry about losing them in case of a software or hardware problem, or, for you Windows users, a virus attack.

You can also use iTunes to create data CDs or DVDs (containing your music files) that you can use as backups. For many users, one or two DVDs will be enough. If you’re using iTunes 7, select File > Back Up to Disc and follow the instructions to back up your music to CD or DVD. If you’re using an earlier version of iTunes, see an article I wrote for iLounge explaining how to do this.

A: Sigh… I told you to back up your music. :-)

This article will tell you simple ways to do this, on either Mac or Windows, with no third-party software: Copying Music Files from your iPod to your Computer.

You can also use third-party software that greatly simplifies this task. For Mac, Senuti works with an iTunes-like interface, making it extremely simple to restore all or some of your music. On Windows, you can use TK.

A: iPod batteries last about two to three years, depending on usage. Apple has excellent information on battery life and extending the life of your iPod battery here. You can find more information about iPod batteries, together with links to other resources, at the iPod Battery FAQ.

A: The short answer is yes. The slightly longer answer is that it depends on how comfortable you are with opening electronic devices, fiddling with wires, and moving around tiny components. For the most recent iPod models, changing the battery is not rocket science, but it’s not as simple as, say, adding memory to a computer. Even some of my tech-savvy friends were a bit worried when changing batteries in their iPods. (As for me, I’ve never done it yet…)

Before you leap, why not look. Other World Computing has a page full of videos showing the entire process. Watch the video for your model and see if you feel comfortable making the switch. You can buy new batteries from OWC, which come with the necessary tools, or you can send your iPod to them and have their pros replace it for you. For some models, this change is a bit more difficult; I wouldn’t recommend changing the battery on an iPod mini, for example, unless you’re really comfortable with cracking open hardware!

A: Here are some suggestions: What to do with a dead iPod.

WORKING WITH ITUNES

A: When you connect your iPod to a new computer, iTunes will try to replace all the music on the iPod with the contents of its library. If that library is empty (if you haven’t yet transferred your music files to the new computer), it will erase all the music from your iPod. See below for information on copying your music from one computer to another.

A: The easiest way to do this is to connect your computers over a network and copy your iTunes folder (in your Music folder on a Mac, or your My Music folder on a PC) to the same location on your new computer. If, however, you don’t have a network, or don’t know how to set one up, you can use your iPod as a hard disk to copy your music. Apple has a tutorial here: How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer.

iTunes offers the following formats: AAC, MP3, WAV, AIFF and Apple Lossless. The format you choose depends in part on the quality you want for your music, as well as its portability. AAC, which is the default format (and which Apple uses for music it sells from the iTunes Music Store) is an excellent compression format, and generally sounds better than MP3 files at similar bit rates (at least for lower bit rates). However, not many programs or devices play back AAC files. If you’re sure you’re only going to be using an iPod and iTunes, then this is probably the best way to go.

MP3 is more portable, in the sense that it can be played by software on any platform, and by all portable players. If you plan to listen to your music on other devices, or with other software, this is your best bet.

WAV and AIFF are uncompressed formats; they are the same exact files as audio CDs contain (with some extra data so they can be read by computers). You’ll probably never need to rip music in these formats, unless you’re importing a CD to make a copy; in this case, you can use WAV or AIFF files to burn to another CD. Apple Lossless is, as its name suggests, a lossless compression format; its quality is identical to that of WAV or AIFF. You can use Apple Lossless if you’re an audiophile (though few indeed are those who can hear the difference between a lossless file and a good AAC or MP3 file at a high bit rate), or to use as a source when you want to copy a CD.

A: Here’s an article on finding podcasts, subscribing to them, managing them and listening to them on your iPod.

A: See this article about importing audiobooks into iTunes, for a complete how-to and tips for listening to audiobooks.

A: I’ve got an article about just that here: Getting the Most out of Classical Music with iTunes and the iPod. It also links to some other articles I’ve written about classical music and the iPod.

A: Here’s an article that looks at large iTunes libraries, and tells you how to work with lots of files, or files that fill your hard disk.

A: Read this article which discusses all of iTunes’ printing features.

A: Levi Wallach’s excellent A Beginner’s Guide to Video for the iPod and Converting Video for the Video iPod tutorials will tell you everything you need to know about converting videos for the iPod, both for Mac and Windows.

A: Check out this article which gives you several strategies for dealing with large iTunes libraries.

MISCELLANEOUS

A: Sure is. Read this article to learn more. Apple explains how to limit volume on recent iPods here.

A: This is a work in progress, and I’ll be adding more questions and answers in the future. If you have a question, you can either join the Apple iPod mailing list (you can find out more about the list here) or send a message to me. Ask Kirk! You can also post your question as a comment to this story.

A: For some reason, a list member seems to have forwarded his list mail to a Blogger account, which refuses the messages. If you post a message to the mailing list, you’ll get one of these in return. The moderators have tried to figure out which member is guilty of this, to no avail. All I can recommend is that, if you have any spam blocking features in your e-mail program, or a dedicated spam-blocking program, you add the address these messages comes from as spam. Sorry, there’s nothing else we can do about it.

A: If you click on any of the Amazon.com links on this page, or on any other pages on my site, then purchase anything at Amazon.com, Kirkville will receive a small percentage (about 6%) of your purchase. This doesn’t cost you anything extra; Amazon simply pays it as a referral fee. It also applies to all purchases you make (until you click on someone else’s affiliate link), not only the items I have linked to. This helps pay for my time, my hosting costs, and my book and CD habit. Thanks in advance for any purchases you make at Amazon.com after clicking through from my site.

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