OK, I’ve got a bit of a situation that I know you resourceful music listeners have most certainly worked around. Lets hope you’re up for sharing with me.
Here’s the issue. I’ve got 2 IPODs (a mini and a 30 GB Gen2). I’ve got 2 XP Pro machines, one at work and one at home. I want to use all the devices at once.
Before we get into that, I’ve got a minor issue upfront. My 30GB IPOd is loaded with MP3s, however I just reinstalled my OS and now my rebuilt computer can’t see those existing MP3s. I gather this is an issue with IPODs psuedo-piracy protection, in that it’ll only allow you to sync with one computer. Correct? How can I work around that in order to recover all thos MP3s to my Desktop PC?
After getting that squared away, I’m going to set up my Home Desktop as the primary MP3 archive and I intend to sync 100% of those tunes onto the 30GB IPOD. Then I want to connect that IPOD wth my work computer to play music at work. Also, I want to sync my mini with the home PC to download playlists for the gym and whatnot.
Can this be done? As far as I know, the firmware/software will make this difficult, especially the IPODs shared to multiple PCs. However, I have no doubt that there is software and/or cracks out there that will enable this. A little help?
And, for extra-credit, I have a super-duper wish that I have no idea if I’ll be able to acomplish without destroying my hardware, but…here goes.
I’d love to be able to network my Xbox with my original PC so that I can use it to browse to those MP3s and play them though the home theater system. Thoughts?
I know you puzzle-solvers can really sink your teeth into this one.
Oh, glad you brought that up. I totally forgot to comment on music management software.
I have no media software right now, and am open to suggestions. I however really do not want to use ITunes. As far as I’m concerned it’s a bane on teh existence of man. It totally cost me 70% of my MP3 collection when it decided to delete all my files because it didn’t like being used in conjunction with Musicmatch.
Since I did the OS reinstall, I haven’t added new software yet and I’m hoping the discussion in the thread will point me to it.
That said, you’ll have to a make a really convincing arguement to get me to try using Itunes for the PC again.
Currently, I’m only using Windows Media 10 to play my stuff direct off the PC. I like it and the intergration/interface is nifty, but it doesn’t play well with IPODs. So I guess I either need a patch/plug-in for that if I hope to continue using it with IPOD or I need to find something new.
Apple is notirious for not playing well with other, so I’m a little doubtful that I’ll find much help at their site. I’m guessing in the end I might e saddled with a “unconventional” solution.
Ummm…if you look at the site I linked to, although it’s hosted by Apple…it’s an open forum for all iPod and Windows users…including those not using iTunes
You many need to do some searching, but I wouldn’t dismiss the forum just because it’s hosted by Apple
CopyPod looks like a nifty work around and will at least get the music from my IPOD now onto my PC, which is nice, but it doesn’t sound like the best solution for daily syncing and all.
I’m not sure how well it works with iPods, but i like WinAmp as my desktop mp3 player. It’s interface is as good as iTunes and Musicmatch, but it uses less memory when running, it doesn’t constantly nag me to update to Pro, and there are hundreds of skins available for customizing the look.
Browsing around the forum I found my way to a product called XPlay. Anyone used it, sounds pretty nifty in that it treats the IPOD basically as a plain old external drive. If I install that on the two PCs will it do the trick? Anyone tinkered with this puppy?
I agree, and back in the day I liked Winamp, but I’ve gone on a software app diet after the OS reinstall and I’m really hoping to find some type of singular solution to manage my library, rip, and tag, plus sync with my IPODs. As far as I can tell, Winamp, for all it’s exceedingly loyal users, doesn’t seem quite robust enough to be the full service solution.
I use xplay with a 2nd gen. I had no other choices at the time, since this was before the Windows ipods and iTunes came out.
One of the huge advantages is that is does work as an external drive, and if you’re set to view hidden folders, you can easily find the hidden folders on the ipod where all of your music is stored and copy it back. However, I’m not sure if the ipod must be formatted before using xplay. Also, it syncs seamlessly with lots of management software. I use Media Player, since that’s where all of my playlists already were before the ipod.
I’m starting to cotton to the idea of using XPlay, especially since it seems to allow me to keep using WMP as my default desktop MP3 player and playlist creator.
Noticed any problems doing this good stuff?
I take it all the MP3 management stuff exists outside of Xplay, right? It’s essentially just the sync/copy tool and you set up whatever MP3 software you want as the default? Or does it have some stuff bundled in with it?
I can’t speak for the multiple iPods, but so far I’ve loved it. Plug it in, it syncs and disconnects by default. Or you can uncheck that, and have it sync then leave the iPod connected. Works seamlessly with Win MP 9 & 10 (all I’ve tested on) and you can decide which playlists to sync.
I have XPlay 1, so I can’t really speak for v2, but my copy is just the syncing, no management. It works with tons of software, so I doubt they bundled their own. All you have to do is tell it which program manages your playlists, then pick your lists and away it goes.
