Syncing to 2 computers

GO TO ADMIN PANEL > ADD-ONS AND INSTALL VERTIFORO SIDEBAR TO SEE FORUMS AND SIDEBAR

nsanders

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
12
Points
0
My iTunes account is authorized on two computers: home computer & work computer. I recently built a playlist on my home computer, but it will not sync to my iPod. Is this because I sync my iPod to both computers? If so, how can I avoid this in the future?
 

cjmnews

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
10,061
Points
63
Location
Arizona
You really can't automatically sync with 2 computers with different libraries.

You can automatically sync with 1 computer, and manually sync with the second, but when you sync with the first all the content from the second will be removed.

IF you had a duplicate copy of your library on 2 computers the iPod should be able to sync to both libraries, but there is not really a point to that because the content is the same on both. You would need to copy the iTunes Library from the home PC and put it onto the Work PC (delete the old library that was there). Anytime you add content to the home PC, you would need to add the same content to the work PC manually. This would allow you to sync to both.

Unless you want a duplicate library at work, you'll need to make your iPod manually sync with the work PC and drag and drop content onto the iPod from the work PC, knowing it will be erased when you sync at home.
 

nsanders

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
12
Points
0
Thank you for your thorough reply. I manually sync to each computer for very different reasons: music for casual listening vs music for my dance group (I edit music and build playlists for my dance company at work ... ssshhhh). It never occurred to me that it would be a problem.

It isn't really feasible for me to have my complete library on my work computer (it is pretty large), but I think I have figured out a way around my problem. I will simply copy any song editing to a flashdrive to load on my home computer, organize the playlists on a spreadsheet at work, and build the actual playlist at home.

Thank you for your help.
 

nsanders

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
12
Points
0
Follow up question ...

I would like to keep the music on my iPod that I have synchronized from my home computer (a ton). I can copy the music from my work computer to a flashdrive, take it home, and add it to my home computer library. How can I force my home computer to sync without deleting all of the music that is currently on my iPod?
 

cjmnews

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
10,061
Points
63
Location
Arizona
Manually sync is not really clear what you are doing. You can either Sync or Manually Manage.

Sync is where iTunes copies updated files to the iPod and selected playlists and their changes. It is pretty automated, plug in the iPod and magic happens.
Manually Manage is where you drag and drop songs or playlists to the iPod.

If you are using Sync, you can only do 1. If you are doing manually manage, then you can do both, if they use the same Apple ID.

Now to your follow up question - Since you synchronize with your home PC, then the music should not be erased. Assuming synchronize is Sync as defined above.
 

nsanders

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
12
Points
0
Sorry, sometimes I am unsure of the correct terminology ... I manually manage on both computers. However (back to my original post), when I drag and drop a playlist that I just made (on my home computer), only some of the songs were transferred to my iPod.
 

cjmnews

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
10,061
Points
63
Location
Arizona
That sounds like:
- You have songs in your library that are from a different Apple ID and may not play or transfer. Play them in iTunes, log in with the Apple ID and password when prompted.
- Your iPod is not associated with this library, possibly with a library that uses a different Apple ID. You will have to automatically sync with this library, forcing an erase and sync to recover from this.
- You have songs in your library that have been moved with a file management tool like Windows Explorer. Play them in iTunes and it will prompt you to locate the file. Find the new location and click on the file to re-link it and they will transfer again.
- There may not be enough space for all the music you selected. Reduce the amount stored on the iPod, then copy again.
 

nsanders

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
12
Points
0
I appreciate all of your suggestions. This is what I know:

A. I only have one Apple ID, and I use it on both computers. As far as I know, none of the songs in my library are associated with a different Apple ID. Are you saying if I have added a file or folder to my iTunes library but I have never played it, it may not be associated with my Apple ID?

B. My iPod has been associated with this library and Apple ID since I bought it.

C. All of the songs in my iTunes library have been added using "Add File to Library" or "Add Folder to Library."

D. There is plenty of space on my iPod at this time.
 

cjmnews

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
10,061
Points
63
Location
Arizona
I am saying the songs that don't sync to the iPod may be in iTunes, but you can't play it due to Apple ID issue, or location issue.

You should try playing the tracks that don't sync and see if iTunes complains about it.
 

nsanders

New member
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
12
Points
0
UPDATE:

Over the weekend, I deleted all of the songs from my iPod that I thought I had synced (manually managed) from my work computer. And, I deleted the new playlist that I had added to my iPod (that wasn't syncing properly). Then, I added (dragged/dropped) the playlist to my iPod, and it synced perfectly. I also brought the songs from my work computer home via flashdrive. I was able to add them to iTunes on my home computer and sync (manually manage) the songs to my iPod. So far so good.

Thank you so much for your helpful advice. It never occurred to me that I could not sync (manually manage) from two computers. Which leads me to this (rhetorical) question ... why does Apple allow you to authorize your Apple ID on multiple computers if syncing/manually managing the songs messes everything up? Oh, well ... lesson learned.
 

cjmnews

Moderator
Staff member
Moderator
Joined
Apr 26, 2006
Messages
10,061
Points
63
Location
Arizona
You can authorize on multiple computers to share libraries at home. That way if you had a PC with a library and you had a Macbook Air, you can have the same Apple ID on both and stream the music to the laptop, or download it to the laptop to take it on the go.

Multi-computer syncing was never supported. If you think that is bad, try using iTunes with multiple logins on the same computer. That gets really ugly.
 
Top