Recover media from an iPod

Media files on an Apple device are stored in a set of hidden folders with short randomised file names. If you lose access to your iTunes library and have no backup to restore then you can extract these files into a new library.

First make sure you can see hidden files in Windows Explorer or Finder so that you have gain access to files that you want to recover. Put your iPod into Disk Mode and connect it to your computer. The files will be distributed randomly between a number of folders named F00 upwards that are found inside Device > iPod_Control > Music. For iOS devices whose file systems cannot be explored directly with Windows Explorer or Finder try http://www.i-funbox.com/. This should give access to the same set of folders in the device which you can copy out.

To begin the recovery process browse to Device > iPod_Control > Music, select the folders within and copy them with Ctrl+C (Windows) or Cmd+C (Mac OS X). You can ignore any ._F## files you may see. These may show in a Windows formatted device that has been updated on a Mac.

With iTunes closed paste the folders you have copied into your library's Automatically Add to iTunes folder using Ctrl+V (Windows) or Cmd+V (Mac OS X). This folder will normally be inside User's Music > iTunes > iTunes Media.

Next you need to unhide the hidden folders or iTunes will discard them and their contents rather than importing to the library. For Windows select all of the folders you have pasted in, right-click and select Properties, untick the Hidden checkbox and click OK, then confirm that you want to make the changes. There should be a similar process for Mac OS X.

Finally you can launch iTunes and it will import the files in the Automatically Add to iTunes folder, moving them into the media folder and organizing them according to their metadata.

Once the media has been recovered you should backup the library. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suggested approach.

Windows users may also find these two scripts useful:

• ImportDevicePlaylists - Imports regular playlists from an iPod or iOS device into the iTunes library. Can import from a selected playlist, or playlist folder, or all playlists on the device.
• SyncStats- Copies highest play count, skip count, rating and most recent played & skipped date of selected tracks or playlist between iTunes and an iPod or iOS device.

See also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for further advice if you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.