Switching between Mac and Windows

[janismch2]

My IPod is formatted for Mac, but I want to also be able to use it to get music from a Windows PC. When I plug in to the windows PC it asks me to reformat. If I do this, will I be able to get my music back from my Mac after I take what I want from the Windows PC?

[Shane1]

sorry no, when you format a player for a different platform it wipes all of the songs, thus when you take it to your mac u will have to format the ipod again, starting a horrible cycle.

i do however think there is a way round this, just not the way your thinking of

[jr74]

ive got the same question

just got an ipod (new 60GB) and getting a message that i cant use it on mine because its formatted to mac??? (my partners got a mac and formatted it on that first)

can this be true?
if so, my respect for macs has dropped to that of windows, ie barely there!
hoping that im wrong...

[rowjenny]

so i know that reformatting will wipe out my music collection and that is the last thing i want to do. but i have a MAC formatted ipod with all of my music on it and am getting a PC. unfortunately, i do not have access to a MAC at the moment. how do i get all the music from my ipod onto my PC? then i could reformat the ipod and shift the music back onto the ipod, right?

help!

[jr74]

if we were to re format to PC, would we then be able to manually update with both the PC and the Mac without synching and losing the library each time?

it would be much easier if we didnt have to double up our iTunes libraries on both computers too!!

[LukeA]

Format the iPod as FAT32 and it will work on both Mac and Windows. Make sure Manually manage songs and playlists is selected on all computers, and you should be good to go.

The library on each computer can be different.

[jr74]

Originally posted by LukeA
Format the iPod as FAT32 and it will work on both Mac and Windows.

ok, is 'FAT32' a specific option/choice?

we reformatted the ipod to PC using ipod updater (the window popped up and gave us the option) but the eMac doesnt seem to want to recognise the ipod as anything more than a storgae device and asks us if we want to 'update' the ipod (presumably to reformat to mac)

and the eMac itunes doesnt register the ipod as an ipod.

any idea where we might be going wrong?!

[uncleba]

I bought a used iPod that was formatted for a Mac. I want to format it for my PC and don't care about the songs that are on it, however, itunes will not recognize it for me to update and format it. I read on Apple.com NOT to format using anything but their software BUT if itunes won't recognize it, I can't use their software to format it. Am I missing something? Thanks in advance for your help!

[mjmoonwalker]

Actually, here's how it works.

WINDOWS formatted iPods can be read on Windows computers AS WELL AS Macs.

MACINTOSH formatted iPods can be read on Macs ONLY.

Format it to Windows after backing up your music and then it can be used interchangably between both platforms.

[rowjenny]

Originally Posted by LukeA

Format the iPod as FAT32 and it will work on both Mac and Windows.

will this work for me too? again, i have a mac formatted ipod but just got a PC. i do not want to lose the music on the ipod as its not backed up anywhere, but i'd like to be able to connect the ipod to the PC from here on in.

thanks!

[honeybee1236]

You should have removed the music from the iPod on windows first. Otherwise you will lose the music.

One day all of you will learn to back up your music and you won't have this problem. The iPod is not a device in which you can store your music collection w/o having it backed up using another option.

uncleba - I bought a used iPod that was formatted for a Mac. I want to format it for my PC and don't care about the songs that are on it, however, itunes will not recognize it for me to update and format it. I read on Apple.com NOT to format using anything but their software BUT if itunes won't recognize it, I can't use their software to format it. Am I missing something? Thanks in advance for your help!

Use the Updater to format the iPod for windows not iTunes.

jr74 - ok, is 'FAT32' a specific option/choice?

we reformatted the ipod to PC using ipod updater (the window popped up and gave us the option) but the eMac doesnt seem to want to recognise the ipod as anything more than a storgae device and asks us if we want to 'update' the ipod (presumably to reformat to mac)
and the eMac itunes doesnt register the ipod as an ipod. any idea where we might be going wrong?!

Set the iPod to manually manage songs/playlists under preferences on windows. Make sure the software on your Mac is updated and you have the Updater installed on the Mac. It has the iPod drivers needed for it to be recognized.

[jr74]

Originally Posted by honeybee1236

Set the iPod to manually manage songs/playlists under preferences on windows. Make sure the software on your Mac is updated and you have the Updater installed on the Mac. It has the iPod drivers needed for it to be recognized.

yep, its definitely already to manually manage songs.
the mac only seemed to recognise it as a usb drive, and itunes on the mac didnt bring up the ipod...

we'll check to see if the mac has the right software, though pretty sure we went through that already!
thanks... watch this space