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How to get iTunes to recognize an iPod drive

My iPod classic (60GB, model A1136) broke. It's unrepairable, but the drive is still healthy. I bought a USB drive enclosure and plugged it into my Mac, and was able to copy the entire drive onto my desktop. I was planning on just importing the music into iTunes and syncing to a new iPod. But...


Turns out the music files have encrypted names on the ipod drive. I assume there's an index file somewhere. My question is:


1. How can I fool iTunes into thinking the copied drive files, or the USB enclosure, are an actual iPod, and syncing the music off?


2. If this is not possible, how else can I extract the songs from the iPod file system?


3. Finally, if all else fails, I was thinking of buying the same model iPod off Ebay, popping it open, putting the old drive into it. Does anyone know if that would work?


Thanks much for any help.


David

Mac mini, Mac OS X (10.7.3), Mac Mini Server

Posted on Jan 27, 2015 9:14 PM

Reply
3 replies

Jan 29, 2015 1:31 AM in response to goldbren

  1. Not possible as far as I know. Anyway iTunes would only import purchases from the device if you could.
  2. You should be able to configure Finder so that it will display hidden files and folders. With the copy of the drive on your desktop locate the folder /iPod_Control/Music which contains a number of folders of the form F##. Each of these should contain files made up of four letter names and a file extension. Unhide everything within /iPod_Control/Music. Copy this into your iTunes/iTunes/Automatically Add to iTunes folder. Every file that contains tag information will be organized properly within your library. If you have any .wav files they will end up in Unknown Artist/Unknown Album with their four letter names and will need to be updated by hand.
  3. Might work, but you'd still want to extract all the content as in 2. above so that you had it in a proper library, so seems unnecessary.


tt2

How to get iTunes to recognize an iPod drive

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