Unknown Error -50?

Read this article about the error -50:
iTunes displays -50 error message when syncing iPod on WindowsXP: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1539

I just got same error but I am using a late 2008 MackBook Pro, OSX only, no windows XP on this machine??

Well after discussing with a Macbook and IPod specialist I did not get very far.

I then watched when the error popped up. It was just as the photos were about to sync. I unchecked syncing of photos and everything else synced properly. I had about 3+ Gb of free space, but had all my photos set to sync which was a large portion of the Ipod 16Gb space (over 4 Gb). I had just uploaded new photos taken today prior to syncing. I then went in and selectively synced certain albums. Again the sync worked as expected.

The Mac specialist said that error 50 was difficult to troubleshoot because as an unknown error it can be caused by many things. If you can try syncing one section at a time you might be able to narrow down the area having difficulty syncing. I had thousands of pictures synced. Possibly one was causing a problem. I will monitor and try to isolate which picture(s) causing the issue, but for now everything working as expected again.

Chances are this may not apply to your error 50.

I was also getting -50 error. iPod Touch with v3.0 software. Mac OS X 10.5.8.
Turned of syncing photos. No more -50 error. Thanks for the suggestion.

I also started getting the Unknown Error -50 message yesterday (20 August) and have found that by not synchronizing my photos I can at least get Calendar and Contacts to sync, so thanks for that solution. However, I restored the iPod Touch yesterday in an attempt to clear the error, and now have no photos on it. I have 3 GB of photos in my iPhoto Library and 10.77 GB of space on the iPod Touch - so there shouldn't be a problem. I cannot select 'Sync selected Albums' - it just doesn't work - and if I try to restrict the sync to any number of recent Events, I get the same -50 Error. How can I get photos back on to my iPod, and does anyone know where this -50 Error came from?

I wonder if there is an Iphoto problem going on here. I had recently upgraded my Iphoto to latest version and all of a sudden have problems with anything to do with linking to Iphoto including this "will not sync error 50" thing - which went away when I unchecked photo syncing.

Don't have time to investigate further now. But maybe someone else does.

Many thanks in advance for your attention.

Maybe this will add some clues as to the mystery:



1. Since I updated to iTunes 8.2.1, I also have had the following bug whenever I try to sync my iPod Touch (2G). "The iPod " " cannot be synced - An unknown error occurred (-50)." pops up.

2. I have a file in iPhoto of just photos for my iPod (instead of the entire - huge - iPhoto Library.) Under iTunes, looking under the Photos Tab, this choice was "selected albums" - which allowed you to pick just one album from one's iPhoto Library to be synced. But this choice, the button, is now greyed out. It is there, so one can no longer select it.

3. ?

4. On top of that, it seems the default checkbox- "Sync All Photos from iPhoto" was automatically selected after the iTunes update. (I think this is the cause for the -50 error). I never intended to have my whole iPhoto library automatically imported by my iPod. I think the poor iPod is overwhelmed by the number of photos it suddenly is called on to import. Or - I have photos in my iPhoto Library - never intended for the iPod - that the iPod cannot import.

4. As others have done here, I turned off "Sync Photos" from iPhoto.

5. Then when I try to sync, no problem, no hitches. No Error prompts. Great.

6. But - this way, I am forever stuck with the photos that are in my iPod now. Adding new photos seems impossible, as the sync Selected Albums button is greyed out. I never would want my whole iPhoto Library in my iPod. I would never want just the Most Recent Photos (another option- which you can choose - but seems to me idiotic).

7. Are we overlooking something? From other posts, it seems this is a bug that is widespread.

there is clearly an iphoto issue going on here. this error started for me after i installed the latest iphoto upgrade which was made available not long ago.

the question is to APPLE: when will you fix this bug as there seems to be no solution?
i have also, as others in this discussion, restored my ipod touch, re-installed itunes, etc. so, my photos from the ipod are gone, and i can't sync with iphoto without getting the error and thus not being able to sync anything else either...

I running all current updates to iTunes, iPhoto, and version 3.0 on my iPod. I, too, have the dreaded -50 error directly tied to the iPhoto sync. The only work around I have found is to select the photos I want on my Touch and export them as jpgs to a folder. Then with the Touch plugged into my computer and iTunes running, select your iPod. Select the Photos tab > Sync photos from: and select Choose a folder... from the pop-down. Navigate to the folder containing your exports and VIOLA!

Not the most convenient way to sync your photos...but it works.

Hey Apple Engineers...get this -50 error thing fixed!! Or, it may be a Blackberry in my future.

I was also getting this error.

Got a tip from elsewhere that it might be malformed xml in the iPhoto Library's AlbumData.xml, from some people who had solved this problem using the command line tool xmllint. So, I ran the following command in Terminal:

*xmllint ~/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library/AlbumData.xml*

This showed up an error:

*/Users/andy/Pictures/iPhoto\ Library/AlbumData.xml:3642: parser error : xmlParseEntityRef: no name*
*ing>/Users/andy/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Foo Fighters/Echoes Silence Patience &*

Aha! That ampersand (&) isn't allowed to be stored like that. I tried correcting it, but iPhoto unhelpfully changed it back. So, as it referred to a song file selected to play with a slideshow, I changed the music for that slideshow in iPhoto.

Bingo! Everything showed up in iTunes, and now syncs fine. So, maybe you have an odd album name, or song title?

I can confirm Andrew's solution. One of my slideshows also contained an ampersand (in the 'Artist' field). Deleting the slideshow from iPhoto allowed photo syncing to work properly again. Thanks!

I can also confirm Andrew's solution. My circus slideshow contained music titled Barnam & Baily Favorites. Deleting the slideshow from iPhoto allowed photo syncing to work properly again. Andrew, thank you so much for your excellent work.

What if you don't have any slideshows?