BECAUSE MY IPOD has to carry work files along with sound files, I occasionally confuse its file structure when I undock it from my PC. This can result in losing access to sound tracks on the iPod. And when that happens, I have nothing for my earbuds when walking the dog, hanging at FL 350 or traveling on public transport. Then there's the sinking feeling when you leave your iPod behind somewhere. The only way to retain your sanity when you have hours of worthwhile material is to back up your iPod. If your iPod use is diverse, you will have much more on your iPod than stuff from iTunes. You won't be able to depend upon iTunes for backup. Actually, I don't recommend using iTunes as your back-up process because that ties you to hard drive meltdown scenarios. I can strongly recommend Anapod Explorer for the PC crowd.
My preferred iPod tool is Anapod Explorer. There are others.
- CopyPod backup iPod Music from iPod to computer, playlists. It's fully Vista-ready (but I haven't test it.). It works with iTunes 7.1, Nano and 5G Video iPod fully compatible. Check this out: you can directly import playlists and ratings into iTunes.
- Senuti - Download for Mac OS X.
- iPod Access for Windows. iPod Access sees the iPod's internal database so that it can display your iPod's contents almost instantly. This includes tag information from protected AAC files that have been purchased from the iTunes Music Store and all Playlist information. iPod Access also provides one button full sequential music backups. By pressing "Backup" in the toolbar you can speed up the process of regular backups. iPod Access will by default only copy new songs added to your iPod so you don't have to remember what you have added.
- Tune Transfer for iPod. Buy it on Amazon for $10.
- xTremSoft.com : xPort : Backup your iPod, copy, recover and transfer all iPod music on Mac or PC. The Mac interface is a lot of fun.
Susi Weaver -- "The Day the iPod Died"
Laura Moncur -- "Make sure you have a backup of your iPod"
