johnb3859

Q: ipod 5.5 does not show "on this pod" in itunes

i have 2 ipods

a 5.5 and a 7th gen.

when i plug in the 7th gen to itunes and hit the ipod tab it shows "on this ipod" -- from here i can view the tracks on the ipod and delete tracks.(right click-delete)

however when i plug in the 5.5 and hit the ipod tab there is NO "on this ipod" tab available.

so how to i delete songs from this ipod??

i've found the hidden folder method and can find all the tracks (in the f00 folders etc).

but as most of my music is loaded manually (not synced) and i keep itunes library empty how on earth do i locate the tracks on my ipod 5.5 to delete unwanted tracks?

the f00 etc folders only contain the 4 letter codes.

Posted on May 14, 2016 5:21 PM

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Q: ipod 5.5 does not show "on this pod" in itunes

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  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe May 14, 2016 5:49 PM in response to johnb3859
    Level 8 (38,406 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 14, 2016 5:49 PM in response to johnb3859

    Are you using the current version of iTunes?  In current iTunes, selecting iPod in iTunes looks like this...

    64GB 4th gen iPod.png

    The iPod's sidebar (along left side) has a section for Settings and a section for On My Device.  This is how that sidebar is organized for all iPods (except 1st and 2nd gen iPod shuffle).  If the iPod is set to Manually manage music [and videos], you click Music under On My Device to show the iPod's current song list to the right, and manually delete songs from that list.  If the iPod is set to use automatic syncing, you can still click Music under On My Device to show the iPod's current song list, but you cannot make manual changes to that list directly.

    i've found the hidden folder method and can find all the tracks (in the f00 folders etc).

    That's not a "hidden method."  That's just how iTunes stores media on the iPod when syncing, to optimize how the iPod operates.  If you manually mess with those files, you'll corrupt the iPod and it will require a Restore (to erase it), followed by a re-sync.

    i keep itunes library empty...

    Why?  That's risky.  You can easily break your iPod or lose it, or it may become corrupted and need a Restore.  Then, you've lost all of the songs on that iPod, because they are not in your iTunes library.  You don't need your iTunes library to be empty to use manual loading.  Just load you iPods manually AND keep all of the songs in your iTunes library.  If something happens to your iPod, the songs are skill there in your iTunes library.  AND, back up your iTunes library on your computer (along with the rest of your user data) in case your computer (or its drive) fails.

     

    If you want tips on off-loading songs from your iPods, please post back.  You'll need to use a third-party method or utility to do it.

  • by johnb3859,

    johnb3859 johnb3859 May 14, 2016 6:26 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPod
    May 14, 2016 6:26 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    thanks for the quick reply ..

    the itunes i have is not the latest 12.?

    i have not updated it, so on screen it does not look like the one you show .. ie there is no sidebar on the left.

     

    quick question about the library please..

    if i fill the itunes library does it use up space on my pc disk?

    and do i need the music files to be stored on my pc also? - (which will use up space heavily (as i load wavs onto the pod).

     

    i'm new to owning ipods (only got them a couple of months ago), so i'm not very tech savvy on how to use itunes.

    i have all the tracks on my old mp3 player on a micro sd card so if the pods broke i still have the music safely there.

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe May 14, 2016 7:36 PM in response to johnb3859
    Level 8 (38,406 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 14, 2016 7:36 PM in response to johnb3859

    I have a older version of iTunes (11) on a different computer, so I just reminded myself how it looks...

     

    From your previous (original) post

    however when i plug in the 5.5 and hit the ipod tab there is NO "on this ipod" tab available.

    The On This iPod tab is only visible when the iTunes window has its sidebar (along left side of window) hidden.  When the sidebar is visible, the iPod appears in the sidebar, under DEVICES.  To show what is "on this iPod," click the small triangle to the left of the iPod's name (in the sidebar), to drop down its content list (indented below the iPod).  Click Music there.  What you see to the right is the equivalent to clicking the On This iPod tab (and selecting Music), when the sidebar is hidden.

     

    If the iTunes sidebar IS currently hidden, and you don't see the On This iPod tab for the 5.5 gen iPod, I don't know why...  What happens when you DO make the sidebar visible, and select Music on the iPod's content list (in the sidebar)?

    if i fill the itunes library does it use up space on my pc disk?

    Yes.  The song files are stored on your computer's drive.  Take a look in iTunes preferences Advanced pane.  There are TWO checkboxes there for Keep iTunes Media folder organized AND Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library.  Since your computer's library is currently empty, if you start adding songs to the library, my suggestion is to keep those two boxes BOTH checked.  The iTunes Media folder is designated at the top of that preference pane, where it says iTunes Media folder location.  You can change that location.  For example, it can be on an external drive.  By checking both boxes, you are telling iTunes to make a copy of song files and store them at that location, organized into sub-folders by media type, artists, and album.

     

    It's up to you, but iPods that use a hard drive for storage (both of your iPods) are somewhat fragile.  The iPod in my previous screenshot had its 20GB hard drive replaced by a 64GB compact flash card (on an adapter), which is sturdier.  But I still store all of my songs in my iTunes library, with iTunes Media folder location set to use an external drive.  My Mac is a desktop (not laptop), so that external drive is always connected and turned ON (when my Mac is running).  And my complete user data is backed up to another VERY LARGE external drive, using a built-in automated backup feature called Time Machine.

    i have all the tracks on my old mp3 player on a micro sd card so if the pods broke i still have the music safely there.

    That's good.  Having the songs in your iTunes library makes it easier to Restore the iPod (or set up another iPod the same way), because the songs are already there in your library.  If you have playlists set up, the playlists are there too.  If you use automatic syncing, it takes just a few mouse click to set it up for syncing again.  Then click Apply and let iTunes do its thing automatically.  You don't have to reload the iPod manually.  So, it's a matter of convenience.

  • by johnb3859,

    johnb3859 johnb3859 May 15, 2016 5:51 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPod
    May 15, 2016 5:51 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    excellent .. thanks very much kenichi

    i found the sidebar in the "view" tab and everything is working fine and i have deleted the unwanted tracks from the 5.5

    thank you so much ...