what is idump

It's a 3rd party application. It's not supported by Apple, so you might want to try a google search for it, I'm sure you'll find the users guide as well.

I have never specifically heard of iDump. There are several 3rd party apps that can move iPod>iTunes. Some of them are iPodAgent for Windows, copypod, yamipod, which you can find on versiontracker.com. None of these apps should alter your iPod content. They will simply allow you to copy back to iTunes.

Now, I need to make a suggestion. Once you have your library recovered, you need to start a regular BACKUP program for your music & not depend on your iPod as the library' ONLY backup. Relying on the iPod literally means you are one keystroke away from losing all of your music. What if you have an iPod problem & have to do a restore at the present time? Your music is history!!! I don't mean to lecture, but those of us who post regularly in these forums, literally see dozens of posts per week from folks who are in a similar situation to yours. Computer crashed, they have no backups, don't realize that syncing an iPod is only one way (iTunes>iPod), have docked their iPod to an empty library, & have now lost EVERYTHING. This is not a happy day for any of us, so PLEASE BACKUP your files!

This link will help you get started on a regular backup program. Your other option is to backup to an external hard drive which a lot of people who post in the forums do. Personally, I routinely backup to one EHD, 4x per week, I backup to a second EHD, 2-3x per month, & then I burn data discs about once per month. I figure I am totally covered against most any kind of disaster, short of my house burning down, or a natural disaster.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302392

Message was edited by: StarDeb55