Windows -> Mac

[Joe]

I have a 15GB iPod, and currently use a windows machine. I have decided to go for a new Macintosh. What will I have to do to get my iPod working on the Mac? I want the full Mac iPod expirience, and do not have any need for windows compatibility.

What needs to be done to move to Mac, but keep all my songs. Thx.

[c.c.r.]

Just plug it in. It should work.

However, Windows iPods have disabled firmware features that work on a Mac. I suggest you convert it to a MacPod if you want no PC involvement at all.

Plug it into a Mac. Download, install, and run the Mac software updater. This will format the drive and install the Mac firmware.

This will delete all of the music from your iPod.

This will also enable all features that have been disabled on your Windows iPod.

This is what I suggest. It's not that tough to re-populate your iPod; especially with iTunes on OS X.

[Joe]

When I plug it in to the Mac and launch iTunes, will my collection be automatically downloaded to the Mac? I don't want to loose any songs. Thanks much!

[c.c.r.]

Originally posted by Joe
When I plug it in to the Mac and launch iTunes, will my collection be automatically downloaded to the Mac? I don't want to loose any songs. Thanks much!

No, your songs will not be downloaded into the Mac. As a matter of fact, if you're not careful, iTunes will delete all of your music the first time you plug it in.

Be sure to select the "I want to manage my music manually" option when you plug it into the Mac. If you don't iTunes will synchronize your music library with your iPod. And if your music library is empty, your iPod will be empty when it's done.

[Joe]

NO!!!!!

OK... let me write this down on a sticky note attached to my iPod... plug in iPod, select "I want to manage my music manually", and I'll be OK.

[Bakerman]

I started with a winpod, and bought a mac after because of how great the iPod was. You will be happy with the switch, I sure am!

[AptMunich]

wouldn't it be cool to have an iPod painted like joe's!!??


plug in iPod, select "I want to manage my music manually", and I'll be OK.


I would first open itunes, then select 'i want to manage music manually' and THEN plug in iPod,....


That is if iTunes is anything as bossy and determined as every MS programme on the planet!
But just to be on the safe side I'd do it like that!

[TheDaddy]

I too am considering making the change and have a hardware question.

I will be looking for a cheap eMac so that I can also let my twin toddlers loose on it without fear of them destroying an expensive piece of kit. We'll look to upgrade in a couple of years when they understand that grubby fingers don't go on my shiny iMac (or equivalent).

What is the minimum spec I would have to look for in a second hand PC?

It will really only be used for ADSL internet access, storage for my ripped CD collection and simple home use. I use CDex ripper and ephPOD.

I am kind of thinking that I need at least a 40gb HDD to match my 30gb iPod and a powered 6-pin Firewire connection to get over the frustration of using my (work supplied) Laptop with an unpowered 4-pin port.

Also any ideas where I might find either a dealer shifting old stock; refurbished or ex-demo machine in the UK?
I don't really fancy a second-hand one off eBay.

Its probably been explored elsewhere but has anyone bulk converted MP3 to AAC? I'd be interested to hear of any quality issues.

Many thanks.

[TomWoozle]

Originally posted by TheDaddy
It will really only be used for ADSL internet access, storage for my ripped CD collection and simple home use. I use CDex ripper and ephPOD.

I am kind of thinking that I need at least a 40gb HDD to match my 30gb iPod and a powered 6-pin Firewire connection to get over the frustration of using my (work supplied) Laptop with an unpowered 4-pin port.

Any of the eMac range should do fine for this.

Also any ideas where I might find either a dealer shifting old stock; refurbished or ex-demo machine in the UK?
I don't really fancy a second-hand one off eBay.

Apple themselves refurbish machines, and sell them:

http://promo.euro.apple.com/promo/refurb/uk/

I cannot see there current listing - as it is only open on Wednesdays in the UK, but they may have eMacs there. I brought a refurbished iBook for my girlfriend from the US store -- and it was as good as a new one.

Good luck!!

[selcouth]

i have a question abt this too.. because i want to do the same as above but i want it to work with windows when i plug in to a windows machine.. so i'm gonna want it to be fat32 formatted.. so i'm gonna miss out on the "whole mac experience" ? :(

[Joe]

No. Leave it mac formatted, then use ephPod + MacOpener to read/write the files. It will cost $30.oo US, though.

[selcouth]

no.. i want the ipod to be recognized by any windows machine i go to.. which means i don't want to use macopener.. :/

[Gonzo Lagonda]

OK I've just got a new 30GB iPod and have yet to connect it to a computer.

I have a big fast powerful G4 with loads of hardrives for music production. However, this is not (and cannot be) connected to the internet.

I also have a notebook PC which has firewire, can easily be connected to the internet, but it has very little disc space.

As well as storing music, I would very much like to be able to take my professional music software, samples and files from my Mac with me when travelling using the space in the iPod.

What to do? Which computer should I connect the iPod to first? Can I successfully use both computers with it? Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Gonzo

[jcroft]

Originally posted by Gonzo Lagonda
OK I've just got a new 30GB iPod and have yet to connect it to a computer.

I have a big fast powerful G4 with loads of hardrives for music production. However, this is not (and cannot be) connected to the internet.

I also have a notebook PC which has firewire, can easily be connected to the internet, but it has very little disc space.

As well as storing music, I would very much like to be able to take my professional music software, samples and files from my Mac with me when travelling using the space in the iPod.

What to do? Which computer should I connect the iPod to first? Can I successfully use both computers with it? Any thoughts greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Gonzo

This is my exact situation, and I very much want the same answer. I haven't got a certain one yet. It SEEM that formatting your iPod to FAT32 would allow it to work on both Macs and PCs, but I really don't know. I've already got 24+ GB of music on my (Mac-formatted) iPod and would really like to know if the reformat will work for me before I commit to re-importing all this music. What I would REALLY like is this:

- An iPod that woks well with iTunes on my Mac, as this is where I plan to organize my music collection.

- An ipod that works great as a firewire drive on any Mac or PC.

I don't really care about organizing music on the PC. I just want the firewire drive on the PC.

Anyone have any tips?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

[c.c.r.]

jcroft

In light of your most recent post, I suggest that you purchase a copy of MacDrive or MacOpener. These are programs that will allow you to use an HFS+ volume on Windows.

I only reccomend formatting your iPod FAT32 via use of the Windows Software Updater program itself. Don't just plug into a computer and format the drive via Windows. Please. Don't. The firmware will be expecting HFS+, and it'll "kinda" work with FAT32. The end result is that you will be annoyed with the entire process.

If you use the Windows Software Updater, you will be running the Windows firmware. This includes disabled features that you can't use on your Mac anymore. You don't want this. Therefore, I recommend that you leave your iPod formatted to HFS+.

Since I recommend that you leave your iPod formatted HFS+, I must then also recommend MacDrive or MacOpener. These programs work very very well in doing the exact job that you've described above. I think that the $40 or so it'll cost you will be well worth the ability to use your iPod as a hard drive across both platforms, while still running the fully-enabled Mac firmware.

[jcroft]

Originally posted by c.c.r.
jcroft

In light of your most recent post, I suggest that you purchase a copy of MacDrive or MacOpener. These are programs that will allow you to use an HFS+ volume on Windows.

I only reccomend formatting your iPod FAT32 via use of the Windows Software Updater program itself. Don't just plug into a computer and format the drive via Windows. Please. Don't. The firmware will be expecting HFS+, and it'll "kinda" work with FAT32. The end result is that you will be annoyed with the entire process.

If you use the Windows Software Updater, you will be running the Windows firmware. This includes disabled features that you can't use on your Mac anymore. You don't want this. Therefore, I recommend that you leave your iPod formatted to HFS+.

Since I recommend that you leave your iPod formatted HFS+, I must then also recommend MacDrive or MacOpener. These programs work very very well in doing the exact job that you've described above. I think that the $40 or so it'll cost you will be well worth the ability to use your iPod as a hard drive across both platforms, while still running the fully-enabled Mac firmware.

Thanks for the advice, CCR. While getting MacOpener would allow me to use the ipod on my laptop, it wouldn't help me when i'm at my folks house, or my girlfriends, or anywhere else. It may be the best I can do, but it's not exaclty what I want. I really want it to work on ANY PC. We all want the world, huh? :D

Do you happen to know specfically what the Mac-only firmware features are?

Thanks again for the advice...while it's not the perfect solution, I realize it may be the best I can do without losing functionality.

Thanks again!

Jeff

[selcouth]

see that's all great and stuff.. but i want to be able to take my iPod to a friend's house and.. OH NO! emergency! i need to bring a 800mb movie home w/me! if it was fat 32 i could just plug right in.. but since it's HFS+ i have to install mac opener or whatever.. it just makes the iPod not as universal as i'd like it to be.. what firmware features am i giving up with mac vs win iPod?

[c.c.r.]

Yes. Dig it. If you use the Windows Software Updater to make your MacPod into a WinniePod, the following features will not work on your mac:

Sound Check -might- work, but I don't expect it to.

The Windows firmware will not keep track of the music you play, thus, it will not report play counts and last-played-dates to iTunes upon synchronization.

On-The-Fly Ratings will be lost when you connect to your mac; the Windows firmware does not keep track of them. (v2.0 only)

However, I would love to know if I'm wrong about any of these things. So if you want to go ahead and do it, go for it and let us know what iTunes can see when you plug in your iPod.

Oh yeah... a FAT32 iPod doesn't have a pretty desktop icon in OS X (if I remember correctly, that is)... it looks like a normal mounted disk. :)

[jcroft]

Originally posted by c.c.r.
Yes. Dig it. If you use the Windows Software Updater to make your MacPod into a WinniePod, the following features will not work on your mac:

Sound Check -might- work, but I don't expect it to.

The Windows firmware will not keep track of the music you play, thus, it will not report play counts and last-played-dates to iTunes upon synchronization.

On-The-Fly Ratings will be lost when you connect to your mac; the Windows firmware does not keep track of them. (v2.0 only)

However, I would love to know if I'm wrong about any of these things. So if you want to go ahead and do it, go for it and let us know what iTunes can see when you plug in your iPod.

Oh yeah... a FAT32 iPod doesn't have a pretty desktop icon in OS X (if I remember correctly, that is)... it looks like a normal mounted disk. :)

Thanks! That's a hefty list of features i'd lose, but honestly, not ones that I care about TOO much. I may give it a try -- but not right now. Given the fact that it take s a while to trasfer my 24GB of music from computer to iPod, and the fact that I'd just have to do that AGAIN if I didn't like, I'll save this project for a weekend when i have LTOS of time on my hands. :)

Thanks for the tips...I may give it a try at some point.

Jeff

[Gonzo Lagonda]

Well I've just spent the evening experimenting with my new 30Gig and it seems the Windows format is the way to go for me. Using the dock with both my Mac and my PC I was able to use Musicmatch to put an MP3 onto the iPod which then happily showed up in iTunes on my Mac when the iPod was connected. On the Mac I transferred a file outside iTunes which then appeared in Windows Explorer when 'Disk Mode' was activated on the PC iPod settings with no problems.

However, as a separate and unrelated issue, iTunes 4.0.1 doesn't seem too happy on my Mac; when hitting play, it just sits there and I get the rainbow disc rotating forever, whether it is trying to play a CD or an MP3. And my Superdrive (1x speed DVD writing) never seems happy with Audio CDs, often refusing to eject them....

[jcroft]

Originally posted by Gonzo Lagonda
Well I've just spent the evening experimenting with my new 30Gig and it seems the Windows format is the way to go for me. Using the dock with both my Mac and my PC I was able to use Musicmatch to put an MP3 onto the iPod which then happily showed up in iTunes on my Mac when the iPod was connected. On the Mac I transferred a file outside iTunes which then appeared in Windows Explorer when 'Disk Mode' was activated on the PC iPod settings with no problems.

However, as a separate and unrelated issue, iTunes 4.0.1 doesn't seem too happy on my Mac; when hitting play, it just sits there and I get the rainbow disc rotating forever, whether it is trying to play a CD or an MP3. And my Superdrive (1x speed DVD writing) never seems happy with Audio CDs, often refusing to eject them....

Great! Thanks so much for the report. can you confirm, then, that you DID lose the Mac firmware features that c.c.r. mentioned (on the fly rating, play counts, etc.)?

Thanks again...I have a tough decision to make. :D

[Gonzo Lagonda]

Not sure what 'on the fly ratings' or 'play counts' are, but I'm still trying to work out if I can use the Mac to send AAC files which seems like the way to go (I presume there is no way yet to use a Windows machine to AAC encode?!)

[jcroft]

Originally posted by Gonzo Lagonda
Not sure what 'on the fly ratings' or 'play counts' are, but I'm still trying to work out if I can use the Mac to send AAC files which seems like the way to go (I presume there is no way yet to use a Windows machine to AAC encode?!)

On Mac, and apparently ONLY on Mac, when you sync your iPod any ratings you've entered on the iPod get transfered over to the Mac. Likewise, when you play songs on the iPod and then sync, the play counts for those songs get updated on the computer, too. Apparently these features are not available on a Windows formattted iPod.

Jeff

[c.c.r.]

Aye, playcounts and last-played dates will not work on a Windows-Firmware-Using iPod. Here's why:

There's a file in your iPod_control\iTunes folder called "Play Counts". When you play a song on your iPod, this file is appended with the information about which songs you played and when you last played them.

In the Windows version of the firmware, this file is created but NEVER grows. It is always 0kb. This makes me believe that it has been disabled in the firmware.

I would LOVE to be proven wrong, though.

If, after playing music on your WinniePod and synching it up with your mac... if the play count data is transferred to your iTunes library... PLEASE send me a PM immediately.

I predict that it won't work, however.

[Gonzo Lagonda]

haven't played anything on my iPod yet, but err, play counts, who cares?!

[Gonzo Lagonda]

Now, having sorted it all out, I'm thinking it's a bit of a bummer if I can't use the new AAC format with my PC laptop. I can of course use the Mac to rip the CDs in AAC form, but without an internet connection on the Mac it'd be very boring typing all the titles in... What are the prospects for some AAC-iPod Windows software? Anyone?

[c.c.r.]

Originally posted by Gonzo Lagonda
haven't played anything on my iPod yet, but err, play counts, who cares?!

I do! That's for sure!

One of my favorite smartlists is my "Top Hits" smartlist. It keeps track of the music that I play the most, sorted from most-to-least played. It's awesome!

The only problem is that it only takes into account music that I play on my home computer. Music that I play on my iPod isn't factored in because Apple has disabled this feature in the firmware of my WinniePod.

If I owned a mac and used iTunes, my "Top Hits" smartlist would be updated with the playcounts of the music that I played at home AND on the go! How cool would that be!? VERY cool!

But alas.

[jcroft]

Originally posted by Gonzo Lagonda
Now, having sorted it all out, I'm thinking it's a bit of a bummer if I can't use the new AAC format with my PC laptop. I can of course use the Mac to rip the CDs in AAC form, but without an internet connection on the Mac it'd be very boring typing all the titles in... What are the prospects for some AAC-iPod Windows software? Anyone?

Do a search. i asked this queston earlier and got a good answer...you can play them. Just do a quick search for the thread. :)

[jcroft]

Originally posted by c.c.r.
I do! That's for sure!

One of my favorite smartlists is my "Top Hits" smartlist. It keeps track of the music that I play the most, sorted from most-to-least played. It's awesome!

The only problem is that it only takes into account music that I play on my home computer. Music that I play on my iPod isn't factored in because Apple has disabled this feature in the firmware of my WinniePod.

If I owned a mac and used iTunes, my "Top Hits" smartlist would be updated with the playcounts of the music that I played at home AND on the go! How cool would that be!? VERY cool!

But alas.

It is a cool feature, no doubt. I'm not sure yet if it outweighs my desire to have my firewire disk (iPod) on any PC. But, it's defenitly cool.

I do a "50 Most Played" playlist, and also a "50 Least Played." This way, I can always access my favorite stuff quickly, but I can also find the stuff I haven't listened to much -- often causing me to discover (or rediscover) a gem in my collection.

[c.c.r.]

Originally posted by jcroft
It is a cool feature, no doubt. I'm not sure yet if it outweighs my desire to have my firewire disk (iPod) on any PC. But, it's defenitly cool.

I do a "50 Most Played" playlist, and also a "50 Least Played." This way, I can always access my favorite stuff quickly, but I can also find the stuff I haven't listened to much -- often causing me to discover (or rediscover) a gem in my collection.

Aye, jcroft, that's the ticket! With a WinniePod, only the songs you play on your mac will count towards those two playlists. If you have a MacPod, songs you play on your iPod will be counted for those playlists.

I don't know about you guys, but I listen to music on my iPod a LOT more than I do at home... and to different things as well! If my iPod's playcounts were factored in, my "Top Hits" and "Never heard" playlists would be MUCH different!

I wish that MacDrive would have been a better option for you. You're right, it can't overcome the "I want to be able to plug in anywhere" obstacle; you'd have to install it everywhere you went, :(

[Gonzo Lagonda]

Originally posted by jcroft
Do a search. i asked this queston earlier and got a good answer...you can play them. Just do a quick search for the thread. :)

I know you can play them on Windows, but you can't (as far as I can make out) rip CDs, encode them as AAC, get the names from CDDB and stuff them across to your iPod using a Windows machine... Or am I missing something? XPlay certainly doesn't support AAC yet according to their forum at mediafour.com.

[jcroft]

Originally posted by c.c.r.
Aye, jcroft, that's the ticket! With a WinniePod, only the songs you play on your mac will count towards those two playlists. If you have a MacPod, songs you play on your iPod will be counted for those playlists.

I don't know about you guys, but I listen to music on my iPod a LOT more than I do at home... and to different things as well! If my iPod's playcounts were factored in, my "Top Hits" and "Never heard" playlists would be MUCH different!

I wish that MacDrive would have been a better option for you. You're right, it can't overcome the "I want to be able to plug in anywhere" obstacle; you'd have to install it everywhere you went, :(

I think I'm just going to leave my iPod as it is (Mac-formatted) for a few weeks and see how many times I'm in a situation where I think, "####! If only my iPod would mount on this Windows machine here at work (or wherever)." If it happens often, I'll reformat Win32-style. If not, I'll just leave it Mac-formatted. :D