importing directly to ipod

[toryf]

hi there. just got my new 40gb ipod and am windows user. part of the reason i got an ipod was that i didnt want to store all my mp3s on my computer hard drive. I have mp3s on cds that I want to put directly onto my ipod (preferably drag and drop as importing takes a while). Is there any way that I can just put the songs onto the ipod without having to add them to the library first? Also rather stupidly I converted a lot of my cds to mp3s in anticipation of getting my ipod and when I do import a folder it only lets me do one at a time. Can you import multiple folders? Thanks heaps folks, I'll appreciate any help you can give. :confused:

[dmt1]

Quick answer: no. Once you have them on your ipod though, you can delete them from your HD. Just make sure you use manual synch from here to eternity though. And I'd strongly recommend you back up your mp3's to a disc before deleting them from your HD.

For your other problem, you could put all your mp3's in a single folder relatively quickly, then import that folder into Itunes.

[toryf]

forgive me but how do i manually synch please and what does it mean exactly?
:eek:

[AndyH]

Originally posted by toryf
forgive me but how do i manually synch please and what does it mean exactly?
:eek:
From Apple's website:
Manual Mode option
Prefer to manage your music directly or keep music on different computers? iTunes 4 gives you the option to control the contents of your iPod by dragging individual songs to create your own custom playlists. This lets you decide when you want to update your iPod. To switch to Manual Mode, connect the iPod to your Mac or PC, click on the iPod Options button and select ?Manually manage songs and playlists?.

[toryf]

i feel so stupid being such a newbie with this but then what? What i want to do is be able to get my old mp3 cds that I have an then import them directly onto the ipod. I dont even want the songs to show on the itunes program under the source library. I need to be able to import onto the ipod and then delete all the songs from my computer hard disc and all reference to them from the itunes library as the songs won't be on the computer anymore.
my fear is that i'll delete the library listing and the next time i update my ipod, it'll delete all the songs off it as there is no longer any reference to them on the pc. i'll have a play and i am so appreciative of any helps or tips you can give me.

[Shadow]

You can't transfer songs directly from a CD to your iPod. They must first be brought into iTunes. When you use manual update mode (as described in AndyH's post above), iTunes will not delete anything off your iPod with it setup in manual update mode. Here are the steps you need to do:


Set iPod to manual update mode (see AndyH's post above)
Import your songs into iTunes
Manually drag the songs onto your iPod from within iTunes
Delete the songs from your iTunes library from within iTunes

That's it. From then on, whever you connect your iPod, iTunes won't do anything. If you have more songs you want to add, you'd just follow the same steps again (import new songs into iTunes, drag them onto your iPod, delete from iTunes library). If you ever want to remove songs from your iPod, connect it to your PC and launch iTunes, select your iPod and manually delete the songs.

[YT1300]

Methinks he's wondering what the difference between manual sync and auto sync...

Nutshell version:

Auto sync will automatically compare the libraries on your PC and iPod when you plug the iPod in, and any files added or deleted since the last connection between your PC iTunes music library and your iPod will result in the files on the iPod being changed accordingly. So, if you all of a sudden put a lot of new files in the iTunes library on your PC, the next time you plug in your iPod, the iPod will upload all of the files. Similarly, if you delete files from your PC list, those files will disappear from the iPod.

Manual sync doesn't do any of this. Basically, you have to manually drag files into your iTunes playlist before you can upload them to your iPod. Similarly, no files will be added or deleted to your iPod unless you manually do this. It's basically a safe and easy way to ensure that your iPod has only what you want it to have on it.

[kgirlsbug]

How can I put iTunes into manual mode? I had erased the library from my PC before finding this thread...and I don't want to reload cds the next time I plug in the iPod.

[toryf]

when you put your ipod into its cradle itunes should show a ipod logo down the bottom right hand side, if you click on it it should display options for the player. from there you can select manual mode :)