itunes says 'the ipod cannot be synced A duplicate file name was specified?

The solution i found to this problem is have windows hard drive recovery tool scan and repair the hard drive on you ipod. To do this, you need to configure itunes so it does not open when you plug in you ipod. Next, plug in your ipod, for windows 7 user a pop up should come up asking to scan and fix device. click yes and give it some time. after the tool in complete unplug you ipod, open itunes, plug your ipod in. if you still get the message, click restore, and start this process on more time. If you do not have windows seven or this pop-up does not appear manually go to you hard recover tool and have it scan your ipod. then follow the rest of the process.

Same here , but it happened to me when I upgrade my iTunes to 9.2 version. Please, does anybody hs an idea of this?... I have found solution for iPhone , but for iPod there is nothing. Is very annoying!!!

I'm having the same exact problem. I have a 4th generation nano and it'll connect but it says "cannot be synched" what duplicate file name? do i need to erase something. is there a way to go back to just itunes 9.2?

I ran into this as well.. cleared off my IPOD, but that didn't seem to work as well!
What did finally work is I clicked the "restore" button (to restore to original settings)... this finally seemed to clear up the error (still what a pain in the ___ )

Thanks, but i've tried restore & now just have a blank ipod..... i've seen one final thing I can try on yahoo that said someone fixed it by changing the usb lead from the ipod to the computer. Well i can try that with my new ipad lead i guess. But mega fed up as no support / guidance from apple

Amdodge, Dude you Rock! I did what you said and it worked great. Because I don't have Windows 7 I had to go to My Computer, then right click on the ipod. Go to properties then tools then click "Check Now" on Error-checking. Checked both boxes and it scaned and fixed the problem. Thanks !!!!

the last restore which should work is to reset and restore it to factory settings. just make sure to backup everything you have on the nano before you do it because this will erase everything on the ipod.
here is a good tutorial video i found on how to do it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfevoNqFoyc

I'm facing a similar problem, and I have just got my iphone for a month.

I had problems with my disappearing library at first, as I am currently using a VAIO laptop. I then proceeded to disable all my VAIO softwares, and had successfully recovered my library. However, this problem had then surfaced, and despite following all the steps mentioned here, I still could not sync my iphone 3GS!

I had uninstalled all apple components, and had also searched for itoner or whatever it was, and I do not have it at all. Moreover, I did not check "sync notes".

Had been trying for the past few days, please help me! Thanks!

I'm having the same problem worked fine until it updated to itunes 10 since then total disaster, cannot sync anything music or films. Deleted half a dozen time restored the ipod even downloaded an older version of itunes still nothing. Contacted customer service they only interested in the fact that it was out of warranty, and told me to "google" the problem. I have even run msconfig and turned off everything except itunes still the same, I have now tried it with my laptop and yes the problem is still with me.

I had the same error message, running under Windows Vista, with my iPod nano and after an update to iTunes 10.1.1.

There was nothing I could do to get iTunes to sync, and it instead just removed all the content from the iPod.

My resolution was the same as the others above - allowing windows to Scan and Fix the iPod when attached as a USB drive.

It found 8 or so corrupt files (iTunes library data files).

It would appear that once the FAT file system gets messed up on the device (in my case the iPod) and iTunes is unable to modify some of its data files, it reports this as a "duplicate file name".

I restored my at least 6 times, changed cables, changed usb ports. Mine is an i pod classic 9th generation. Now finally I can get some music on it sometimes. I wish like a few of my friends that I never let i tunes update. I didn't have this problem until i updated to i tunes 10.1.

Message was edited by: wish there was something else

I did this 4 times. I ended up with 50 GB of hardrive space that was un-assessable. I still needed to restore my i pod 5 more times. I restored it at least 6 times. After a week of wasting endless amounts of time on this I finally have close to my whole music library on my i pod. I still can't get the last thousand or so songs on it. This is really making me reconsider ever buying another i pod again. Unfortunately there aren't many options out there with high storage capacity. My friends with zunes seem a lot more satisfied with their players. I would also very disappointed at not being able to find a solution on a support site.

I had the same problem. This is how I resolved it. I have a Dell computer and Windows XP OS
1. I used a genuine Apple cable. I had tried one from Belkin and one I got from AT&T, but I could not get my IPod to sync properly.
2. Close ITunes.
3. Keep your IPod plugged in. Right Click on "My Computer".
4. Locate the image of your IPod and right click on same.
5. Go to properties.
6. Go to Tools
7. Click on "Check Now" on Error- Checking
8. There are a couple of boxes just below that you will need to check. It should start scanning.
9. Mine started scanning and then I received a message telling me the scan cannot be completed until I reboot my computer.
10. Keep your I Pod plugged in and reboot your computer.
11. Once the reboot comes up, the scanning of your I Pod will start. This will take a while depending on the size of your I Pod (I have an 8 GB, it took about an hour)and the number of errors on your I Pod's hard drive.
12. Once the scanning is done, disconnect your I POD
13. Open I-Tunes.
14. Hook up your I Pod. When your I Pod appears in ITunes, click on the I Pod icon and select Restore.
15. Go through the restore program and you should have your IPod working properly again.
16. Good luck.

Message was edited by: jerrodsdad.

Your music should be restored since it sits in a file out on your hard drive. When you go through the restore process, it should upload all the music you had originally. You can then resync to get any new music added.