How to back up songs....

[casa~la~rocka]

Can someone please drop me a link or direct me to the thread that will explain how I can back up my songs in case my computer hard drive crashes, or whatever else it is that will cause any songs i have on my ipod to disappear?

[jhollington]

You can probably find a number of answers by searching the forums for the word "backup" but in a nutshell, the simplest way to do this is to use iTunes to burn your tracks to a data CD or DVD.

Basically, just go into iTunes preferences and select your burning format to "Data CD" (see iTunes->Preferences->Burning), and then select your entire library and use the normal iTunes burn function to burn it to CD or DVD. Depending on the size of your library, several disks may be required, however this is probably the best way to make a permanent off-line copy.

Alternatively, you could also purchase an external USB/FireWire hard drive and copy your iTunes library to that. In this case, just use the normal operating system copy function to transfer the entire content of your iTunes Music Folder to the external drive.

[~tl]

You might want to use CD-RW/DVD-RW disks to save waste if you are planning on keeping your archive up to date.

TOM

[casa~la~rocka]

Originally posted by jhollington
You can probably find a number of answers by searching the forums for the word "backup" but in a nutshell, the simplest way to do this is to use iTunes to burn your tracks to a data CD or DVD.

Basically, just go into iTunes preferences and select your burning format to "Data CD" (see iTunes->Preferences->Burning), and then select your entire library and use the normal iTunes burn function to burn it to CD or DVD. Depending on the size of your library, several disks may be required, however this is probably the best way to make a permanent off-line copy.

Alternatively, you could also purchase an external USB/FireWire hard drive and copy your iTunes library to that. In this case, just use the normal operating system copy function to transfer the entire content of your iTunes Music Folder to the external drive.

Do you have any idea how much that external FireWire hard drive retails for? I guess i can purchase it from Apple Store or Best Buy? Whatever is the cheapest. I'm trying to save $$$ without compromising on quality.

[jhollington]

Actually, any external USB or FireWire hard drive would be fine, and they're not overly expensive. Generally you can get them for the price of a normal internal hard drive plus around $40-50 for the fact that it's external.

[~tl]

Depends on what size you are wanting, and whether you want to put one together yourself. You can get a ready made 120GB external hard drive for around $150, while a drive and a case would set you back around $120. Though these prices are just estimates from a quick Froogle, so it pays to shop around to find the best deal. I'd say stay away from Apple or Best Buy if you are looking for low prices.

TOM

[casa~la~rocka]

I'm more likely to buy one since i don't have a head for constructing hard drives. I'm not a "techie" person so that is most definitely out of the question.

What's 'Froogle'? Maybe i'm thinking of Google...?

[~tl]

Originally posted by casa~la~rocka
I'm more likely to buy one since i don't have a head for constructing hard drives. I'm not a "techie" person so that is most definitely out of the question.

What's 'Froogle'? Maybe i'm thinking of Google...?
http://froogle.google.com/

^ It's Google's shopping search... rather useful for quick price quotes!

As for building a drive, it really is a case of plugging in two cables and screwing it together, very simple even for a non "techie" ;)

TOM

[casa~la~rocka]

Originally posted by tomlevens
http://froogle.google.com/

^ It's Google's shopping search... rather useful for quick price quotes!

As for building a drive, it really is a case of plugging in two cables and screwing it together, very simple even for a non "techie" ;)

TOM

Thanks for your help. As long as i'm here, mind if i ask another question? (don't wanna start a new thread)

What's the most common format for songs on ipod? Mp3 or AAC? I use the AAC format and i'm concered about how many songs my 20gig pod will hold with it. If it holds less with that format than the Mp3, i need to know how i can make a switch without screwing my songs up. If this sounds stupid, just remember i don't really know what i'm talking about half the time. :p

[studogvetmed]

make sure you back up the library file from the iTunes folder along with the music so you can retain playlists, playcounts, etc when you repopulate the library after a crash.

You may want to keep your eye out for any posts by honeybee on the lounge, she has a link to a thread on "How to prevent iTunes from deleting your music library" that gives lots of great suggestions for preventing iTunes data loss.

Check out the digital music formats forum under music for peoples opinions on the bitrate/format of songs. It's all personal preference. To get the nearest to apples advertised storage capacity you need to rip at their tested 128 AAC. There capacity is based off of songs ripped at 128 AAC and aproximately 4 minutes long. The bitrate is the thing that dictates amount of space on the iPod that you can fit music on.

[casa~la~rocka]

Cool. Thanks for the info.

[skruggie]

I would suggest buying a hard drive from Dell - if you use google you can find whatever coupons are available, and I got a 500gig hard drive from them for about $300. Totally worth the price, I'll be able to grow with it as my music collection expands.