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iPod cuts off songs

I posted this a whole back but it's still persisting, hopefully someone might have an idea about what's going on...

I'm having problems with my 30 gig 3G iPod cutting off some songs. The odd thing is, it only does this for a handful of songs, usually all songs off one album. The source doesn't seem to matter (some are CD rips, some are purchased mp3s), nor the playback format (mp3, AAC...). One record, for example, cuts off the last 18 seconds of every song. Deleting it and re-transferring it onto the iPod does nothing. However, whenever I restore the iPod, those songs all work just fine. However, now a whole new crop of songs will be cut off at some seemingly arbitrary spot.

All of these tracks play just fine through iTunes. I don't use crossfade, soundcheck, or the like, nor do I have anything checked under song properties that would indicate a new ending time. Any ideas?

Dell XPS, Windows Vista, iTunes 8.1

Posted on Apr 8, 2009 2:07 PM

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jmp1717

Level 1

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Posted on Jul 28, 2009 10:20 PM

I have the same exact problem, and maybe the solution?
I have a brand new 120 GB, 6G iPod Classic, (fully updated) less than a month old I put all my music on it (I have about 22 gigs worth) and I started using it. I mostly play music via playlist and shuffle. In the MIDDLE (or end, the point is, the song would be playing fine) of a playing a song in a playlist it would decided to skip to the next song (no pattern to when or which song it would skip, it was just random) The first time it happened, I was like okay, weird, skipped back, and it played the same song all the way through with no problems. Then a few songs later it would do the same thing. Again, completely random.
I started researching like crazy over the past week, and discovered it was a pretty common problem. I read a number of possible explanations, it was a hardware defect, it was a software defect, there was a problem with the new iTunes transferring songs. I decided to pursue the latter. I read into it some, a lot of people seemed to be convinced there is a problem with the new iTunes and transferring a large quantity of music. I read someone recommend a program called Mp3 Validator that scans music files and fixes and problems that may cause them to skip. (presumably why the songs worked fine in iTunes but skip randomly once transferred to the iPod)
Anyway, to make a long story longer, I tried the program, scanned the music files directly off my iPod music directory--it fixed a couple hundred problem files. I had it going today, just playing through the playlist, got through 10-12 songs without any skipping. Granted, it wasn't an extended listening session, but I'm holding on to hope.
I can't say for sure that this fixed the problem, or if it even WAS the problem (for all I know it COULD be a hardware defect). But if you are getting REALLY frustrated by the random skipping, you could give it a try.
I'll definitely be having an extended play session with it this weekend, so I can give you an update on whether it is a surefire solution or not.

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32 replies

thicks

Level 2

395 points

Aug 5, 2009 12:21 PM in response to rwstarkey

You're mistaken. The problem, in my case, IS iTunes. Not everyone is experiencing the same issue.

In my case, iTunes inserts a small gap into occasional files as it transfers music to the iPod. When the iPod reaches this gap, it perceives it as the end of file, despite the fact that the tags at the beginning of the file indicate a longer song. The song will ALWAYS end early at the same location, but if I press the select button and scrub 45 seconds or more past the point where the song cuts off, it will then play until the end (depending on how close that point is to the end of the song).

The solution was to collect the songs which ended early in a playlist and then make iTunes send the iPod a fresh copy of those songs. I did it a little at a time. Now all of the songs on my iPod play without glitch.

Disclaimer: If you can press "back" and the song will play, not ending prematurely at the same spot where it ended early at first, then your problem isn't the same as mine, the cause isn't the same as mine, and the solution isn't the same. For all I know, your iPod may be defective. Mine isn't -- it works perfectly (it can't help it if iTunes has problems).

Wichie1

Level 1

0 points

Aug 5, 2009 3:17 PM in response to lennyb8000

I bought a 120G Classic about a month ago, and, like many of you, got a bit of a shock when it started skipping at random moments during random numbers. Doesn't matter in which way I'm playing the files; during a playlist, shuffle mode or just playing all music as sorted under "numbers", it just happens.
Same experience again, that when I go (directly) back to the number it plays it through all the way without any glitch.
(Had a 2nd generation nano before, and never had this (or any other) problems with it.....)

Although a workaround was posted, I hope someone else/Apple(!) comes up with a solution, because about 100G of my 120G is music... so going through all of them to delete and replace the files is not really something I want to start with....

Additionally, due to the randomness and inconsistency of the skipping I'm not really convinced that it would be worth the effort anyway... - To clarify, I have some playlists of about 50 songs which I play through on a regular basis for at least the first 25, and it happens in those cases, but with different songs at different run times.... - eg, song 5 will skip on monday, but on tuesday it'll be song 11 etc, eventhough the Ipod has not been connected to a computer or anything in the time in between, ie the files are unchanged.

And the bottom line, at least for me, is: we bought some expensive equipment, which should just work. Glitches occur, but the seller has his/her responsibility to solve this kind of thing.

So hoping for a workable solution (soon!), and untill then just living with it......

jmp1717

Level 1

0 points

Aug 14, 2009 3:08 PM in response to iPod froze

Okay, I called Apple Tech a while back, the lady told me it was a problem she experienced herself and the best solution is to reformat the iPod and reload all your music. I did this, and it seemed to cure the random skipping, at least for the hour and a half I listened through a playlist. Of course, later that day my iPod was stolen (go figure) and I finally bought a new one recently, but haven't really had a chance to see if it has this same skipping problem.
For those of you freaking out about having to reload all your music--especially if you're like me and don't keep much music on your pc. There are programs that allow you to copy music FROM your iPod to your pc/external hard drive. ("iDump" for one) Once you do this, you simply drag all your music back to your iPod. You can do this all at once, the lady told me there is no limit to how many songs iTunes can handle at once, so grab every artist, drag & drop, and walk away for a half hour. The worst thing is that you can't save your playlists, sorry. Hope this helps everyone out.

Sep 4, 2009 5:28 PM in response to ocampom

Did you ever get a solution to this problem? I am having exactly the same problem and its a real problem. I use the Ipod to lead exercise classes and the songs randomly cut off short. Let me know - thanks

Sep 4, 2009 5:41 PM in response to jmp1717

Don't like this solution - I have a LARGE number of play lists that I use to lead classes... would take days to recreate them. Plus your solution may require me to purchase a new iPod... since you really didn't get to test it very much prior to being stolen (sorry to hear that). Soooo does anyone at Apple monitor this? Can you get me a solution? I have an 80GB ipod and use in class with either a Bose portable docking station of a Samson Expedition Pro XPL300.

Sep 14, 2009 9:47 AM in response to lennyb8000

I'm having this same issue. I've got a 160gb ipod and never had this problem until recently. I took the ipod to the apple store and they replaced it but I'm still having the same thing happen. Songs play fine in my itunes library but skip on my ipod - the same songs, the same spot every time. I've tried restoring my ipod twice (once after the latest itunes update) and it didn't help. Any new ideas?

Bone823

Level 1

0 points

Sep 26, 2009 11:42 AM in response to lennyb8000

I have had this problem since I purchased my 80 GB iPod Classic in August '08, with no resolution or workaround. I have tried restoring multiple times, the same "problem" MP3's fail.

This month I purchased a new 120 GB classic for my wife. Every single MP3 that has been a problem on my iPod plays just fine on my wife's. The same MP3's play without issue on my older iPods as well.

I can only conclude that the problem has been my iPod all along, or some strange alchemy between my particular iPod and many of my MP3's. It's very frustrating, especially as this has affected so many of us and Apple has never addressed this issue (to my knowledge).

Takski

Level 1

0 points

Sep 28, 2009 2:07 PM in response to Bone823

I've started to notice newly imported tracks occasionally have this problem on my 80GB iPod classic...I think the problems started since I upgraded to iTunes 9. The end of some songs don't play back on the iPod, always at the same point as if it has been edited abruptly. Older imports not affected, just new rips from CDs, but not every case.

They seem to be OK on the MacBook and once I re-import the tracks into iTunes, the problem tracks seem to play back as normal. But it's all very frustrating and I'm not sure how to proceed in future - do I rip MP3s in alternative software to iTunes, or is it to do with the transfer onto the iPod via iTunes?

Sep 29, 2009 11:38 AM in response to lennyb8000

This is the solution that worked for me: Reset, Restore, UNPLUG ALL USB DEVICES(except for mouse & keyboard) and then sync iTunes library. Also prior to these steps, in device manager, relabel iPod as Drive:(X). This solution solved a four month long nightmare for me. I had help from an Apple tech with this.

DaneelJ

Level 1

0 points

Oct 5, 2009 1:28 PM in response to BroadBrush

I'm quite keen to try this advice, so has anybody else tried it? I have only one problem: My music library lives on a portable USB drive, so I won't be able to restore all my music without plugging it in... So I won't have only the ipod plugged in. Any thoughts?

This is a massively irritating problem - and mine started more or less when I started adding album art and when the ipod started running out of space (which happened at the same time). Is it worth upgrading from itunes 8 to 9?

alige1bd

Level 1

0 points

Oct 5, 2009 2:48 PM in response to lennyb8000

I've been using my ipod for almost 4 years already and suddenly the songs get cut off randomly. I hope apple would have a fix at this. It's greatly inconvenient to delete and import songs repeatedly.

--
Amoxicillin 500mg

Dec 27, 2009 10:34 AM in response to Takski

I have an iPod Classic 30 that has been great for five years. I travel a lot and listen to audio books constantly - but not in the audiobook section - in the playlist section because the iPod audiobook section is incompatible with my Alpine stereo.

Ever since I upgraded to iTunes 9 the last 2 seconds of each audio track has been cut off. This is most annoying since this is where the cliff-hangers are. Sometimes it cuts off the first second of the next track but that is more unusual.
Is there a way to go back to iTunes 8? Where can you get that from?

Dec 27, 2009 10:41 AM in response to thicks

Time consuming is not the word. I listen to audio books on my iPod and one book can have up to 2,400 tracks. And yes, many of them get cut off. My solution has been to 'JOIN' the tracks before importing. This causes new problems but solves most cut-off issues.

May 27, 2009 9:38 AM in response to dave90

I have the exact same problem, it's really annoying... Does anyone have any idea what this is????

Jul 30, 2009 7:57 PM in response to lennyb8000

On both of my ipods, it's mostly songs from compilation albums that cut off in the middle. I just delete the skipping songs on the ipod, and sync the song again, and it usually works.

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iPod cuts off songs