HOW-TO: Get music OFF your iPod
Never did we think we'd need to do a How-To on something which should be part of the basic functionality of a portable music player, but once you put your tunes on an iPod unfortunately it's a one-way sync unless you know the tricks for getting them off. There are already a lot of different ways to copy music off of an iPod, Apple is just choosing to spend a lot of time and resources to make it hard to do. In this How-To we show you several different ways of getting the music off of your iPod and onto both Macs and PCs, all with free tools.
Why do we need to get our files off our iPod?
It would be a wonderful thing to know we'll never have a hard drive failure, a system crash with data loss or our
computer stolen, but that's not reality. In our world, those things happen and once you've spent the time, money and
effort to put music on your iPod, there isn't any reason it should be locked away. We've needed to do a fresh install
of the operating system for every computer we have ever owned (yes, including Macs), and sooner or later plenty of
users will need to do the same, either because of a physical defect which requires new hardware, or to eliminate any of
the spyware, viruses, and other exploits which are part of the computing experience these days. Back-ups are great, but
we can't always back-up our entire library of music. And besides, why should we, it's our music on our iPod?
Last week we posted our observation that the new new
version of iTunes 4.7 disabled a popular and useful utility called "iPod Download" which lets you drag and drop files
from the iPod to anywhere you choose. Apple added some blocking code to stop the plug-in from working, and later in
this How-To we'll show you how to enable "iPod Download" with a HexEditor in the Mac section.
All that said, Cory Doctorow from BoingBoing made a couple posts about the current vibe he's getting from Apple, and
we echo the same thoughts (check out his thoughts
here and
here). Cory also suggested a tool for Macs
to get files off, we'll have that in the Mac section of this How-To as well.
We wanted to explain all of this, since we received more than than a few emails and a lot of instant messages
from people discovering they couldn't just get their stuff off their iPod.
We're also hopeful Apple might consider not spending engineering time and lawyer fees on chasing after applications and
developers who just want to give folks an obvious feature that's being left out only to appease the RIAA. At the end of
the day, Apple needs to know that we're their customers, too.
On with the How-To. We picked a couple of free tools that help you get your music off your iPod, there might be better
ones that we missed, so feel free to post them up in the comments.
Get the tunes off with a PC
On the PC side we picked like the full-featured (and free) ephPod. ephPod can
download news, get Outlook contacts, edit your calendar, add songs and few dozen other useful things—but for us, the
best feature is a simple file export to get your songs off your iPod. The PC does not need to be the authorized machine
for your iPod.
Download and install ephPod.
Open the application, Start > Programs > ephPod.
Make sure your iPod is plugged in and select the drive in the pull down list that your iPod appears as.
Once the application has seen your iPod, double click "songs"—this will bring up a list of all the songs on your iPod.
When you see the song(s) you wish to copy off your iPod, select and "right click" and choose "Copy Songs to Directory" on the song or press Ctril+Alt+C. For our example we're taking our Engadget Podcast off of our iPod and putting it on another computer.
ephPod will ask where to save the file, we choose our desktop.
ephPod will then create a new folder along with the file you selected.
Click OK and that's it!
Get the tunes off with a Mac
Our favorite was to get our files off our iPod on our Mac "was" iPod Download, but since iTunes 4.7 came out, Apple
disabled it (we'll show you how to fix that at the end of the How-To). iPod Download was also pulled after Apple's
legal team went after the site hosting the application, so here's another application that does the same thing and is
free. The Mac does not need to be the authorized machine for your iPod.
We like iLinkPod, simple quick and released under the terms of the GNU General
Public License. After installing, iLinkPod checks your iPod, displays the results and when complete, a new folder with
pop up and you can then see all the hidden goodness, which is your stuff. From there you can drag-and-drop the files
off your iPod to your Mac.
After installing double click the application.
Click "Choose" to select your iPod.
Choose the volume or iPod name. Click "Choose".
iLinkPod will detect if you selected your iPod, then click "Link!".
iLinkPod will now scan your iPod and you'll see a new finder window with folders called f00, f01, f02, etc..You'll also have a folder called "iLinkPodFolder" on your desktop.
From here you can download all your songs or just browse through the folders to find the songs you want to copy to your Mac. In our example again we move the Engadget Podcast over to our other Mac. If you just select the song, you can also play the song directly off the iPod.
That's it! You songs are now back where you want them!
Once we realized that Apple killed our favorite app iPod Download, we started to poke around with a HexEdit tool to
see what they changed. HexEdit can be
downloaded here for free at SourceForge.
Now HexEditing a file can really mess things up, so only do this if you're comfortable with these types of
tools.
As we were looking through the latest iTunes, the French site
HardMac uncovered exactly what we were
looking for. It's simple, Apple looks for the name "iPod Download" all you need to do is change it to something with
the same number of characters.
So here's how:
The following assumes you had "iPod Download" already installed and then iTunes killed it.
Download and install HexEdit from
SourceForge.
It might be a good idea to make a copy of iTunes and putting in another folder, just in case (File >
Duplicate).
Run HexEdit and browse to iTunes (File > Open).
Keep browsing to Contents > MacOS > iTunes. Which is an Executable. Click Open.
Once open, you'll see a ton of numbers and random characters. Choose Find > Find and Replace. Type iPod Download. Click Find Next.
Here's what it will find.
Now, change the name from iPod Download to something else, just make sure to keep the same number of characters. For
example, we typed in "iown thisipod" without the quotes. bite mesteveb also works.
Exit the application, HexEdit > Quit HexEdit, you'll then be prompted to save, click Save.
Now Open up iTunes and iPod download is back!
From here, we're back to where we were and will enjoy getting our files off our iPod, until the next Apple update or
cease and desist letter comes your way.
Your turn
There are lots of way to liberate your files from your iPod, we just picked a couple free and simple tools. Please
feel free to post up your favorites in the comments.
Lastly, if you're still thirsty for more iPod hacking, check out our new iPod
Hacks section over on Hack a Day!
Phillip Torrone can be reached via his personal website http://www.flashenabled.com
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 5)
someguy @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
so now that they both (sorta) work, which would you suggest?
Justin @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
For $8, PodWorks is the best!
http://www.scifihifi.com/podworks/
jps @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I was considering purchasing an ipod with the idea that it would be a good place to offload my music from my hard drive (as it currently takes up 25 gigs of my tibook's 40 gig hard drive). I wasn't aware until yesterday that I wouldn't be able to get the music back OFF the thing.
fixed something I didn't even know was broken. now to find 350$...
Gareth @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I use a nifty (and donationware) applescript that will let you copy tracks from your iPod to your desktop (or another folder) from the applescript menu in iTunes.
Works like a charm (i haven't tested in 4.7 yet though)
http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/as/ipodtracks2.html
raul gutierrez @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
The original site no longer hosts it....
Matthew Cipriano @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Seems like either Apple got to them or so many of us have been trying to log on that the site is down... Anyone know a back up site for iLinkPod.com?
Brian McBride @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I used their software for the creative line of MP3 players and felt that it is well worth the $25. It fully supports the iPod and also has some cool extras, like streaming.
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/
Ben @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
go here: http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15957
ah, that magic of Google
Oh, that the whole HexEdit thing was brilliant. Thanks!
Twist @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
This used to work but I am not sure if it still does.
You can use TinkerTool or a similar utility to set the Mac OS X Finder to show hidden files and then you should be able to navigate to the Music folder hidden on your iPod to copy whatever you want off of it. If you prefer to leave show hidden items off then after you have found the folder you can make an alias to it. Also once you know the path to the folder you can use the Go to Folder command in the Finder to go to /Volumes/iPodName/path/to/music/folder.
Cuprohastes @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Great!
Now how do I get files off my iRiver? Or get Windows Media Player to recognise it?
R S @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I just used a program called Copypod for windows. It could not have been any easier. Easiest way to go.
Kristen Leep @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Simple, quick, and FREE- use Senuti. It pulls off your music in artist folders, not in the F1, F2 folders like the iPod uses. You can pull songs off by playlist and sort your music by artists or song title. plus, it's FREE and really elegant.
http://wbyoung.ambitiouslemon.com/senuti/
Casey Marshall @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I found Apple's drivers and software to be an unreliable, buggy layer of crapware over what is essentially a simple USB drive that just wants to play my tunes. I would not recommend installing it at all on a PC.
EphPod, while a little funky in the user interface, works very well for me, I highly recommend it. And it has saved my music library before when I did have to reinstall my OS.
Also, if you use a PC, you pretty much have to get a USB2.0 split cable, b/c the iPod will drain its battery *fast* while it is syncing... unless your fireware port provides power pins.
Erol @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
iPod.iTunes for OS X is great. Not just copying but synchronizes songs and playlists to iTunes.
http://www.crispsofties.com
Mike Robson @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Well of course they don't want you to get your music OFF the iPod... that's how people steal/share music...
*rolls eyes
jim @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
i have a 2nd gen pod and i was wondering if i can download software to use my pod with the new bose speaker dock?
Greg @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
After going through all of them iPod Works was the easiest to use, to get all of the iTunes meta data, and integrate the songs right back into iTunes. No sense moving stuff from the iPod if you lose data or have to reimport it all over again.
Jon @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
OmniWeb! (Mac only)
Just drag your iPod onto the Omniweb icon and it you can view the folders of music within as hypertext links. Find the song, right-click and "Save Linked File As".
Not great for transferring alot of music - finding a particular song takes patience - but it works in a pinch.
MIke C @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I have a windows machine and a windows formatted iPod. I will be receiving my first Mac in a week. Is there an easy way to transfer my library from my windows machine to my Mac by use of my iPod or any other way? How should I do it?
Matt Eastburn @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
check out this FREE software for your ipod.
http://www.ipodsoft.com/
highly recomended, especially for what it can do.
Matt E
Tristan Krautz @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Also .... send feedback to Apple ... just maybe they might get the message
Danny @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
iPod Download fix didn't work for me. I did the Hexedit and replaced ipod download with iown thisipod. Launched iTunes and the iPod updated and iPod Download said reading module and I then saw iPod Download in the menu, but when the updating was completed, iPod Dowload disappeared.
jim @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Does anyone know how to get "iPod Agent" type functions (eg, news, rss, weather) on a mac ??
thx,
jim
None @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
No need to change every new iTunes version, just change the iPod Download plugin.
Do this:
- get iPod Download from some place posted here,
- get HexEditor as mentioned in above article,
- install iPod Download as usual
- launch HexEditor,
- open the installed iPod Download Plugin from "/Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins"
- search for string "iPod" and change to something else; i.e. "iPud"
- save and launch iTunes.. voila!
Have Phun.
None
andy @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I would like to swap my music on a iRiver mp3,
anyone have any advice on software? Thanks
Latoya Vernon @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I have a problem with my Ipod, My son dropped it and from then on I cant open it... all i see on the displace screen is a file folder and then an animated iopd with an unhappy face.. what could be the problem and how do I fix it
Wondering @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Is there any way to get the files from a Mac formatted iPod onto a Windows Machine? Do I need to use a combination of MacOpener(which is expensive 60$) and EPHPod to get my files?
josh @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
once again engadget comes to the rescue. I've been eyeing new laptops to replace my current one that is host to itunes. My laptop only has the mini firewire connection, so no recharging while i transfer songs, doh. I go buy a usb cable and what do you know, usb 1.0, so again no recharging, double doh. Ideally i'll get a new laptop with a fullsize firewire connection, but its great to know that i can salvage all my songs once i begin using a new itunes library. Thanks for solving my problems engadget.
JJ @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Why do you even need to add an app to take music off on a Windows iPod? If you show hidden folders in Explorer, you can just go into the iPod Control folder, and within there is a folder that holds all the music, just like any drive. Add Artist, Genre, etc as columns and you can find anything...
Joe @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Is this still available? I haven't had much luck finding a copy.
annie niemous @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
1: create a new folder. for simplicity we'll just put it on the desktop and name it newMusic.
2: open up the terminal (/Applications/Utilities/Terminal)
3: in Terminal type:
cd /Volumes [hit return]
ls [hit return]
3b: look for the name of your iPod, then select and copy the name
3c: in Terminal type:
cd [paste iPod name here]/iPodControl/Music [hit return]
pwd [hit enter, make sure that you're in the music folder before you proceed]
3d: Music might be music instead... this makes a difference.
4: in terminal type:
cp -R * ~/Desktop/newMusic [hit return]
5: This will take a while. You'll know it's done when you get a new line in the terminal.
6: drag the newMusic folder onto your itunes library. You'll notice that the contents of that folder are not organized in any logical way. Doing this iTunes bit will re-arrange them by artist/album/song so you can find everything.
7: OPTIONAL: before step 1, create a new user so you have a fresh iTunes to work with. Perform steps 1-6 as that user. When you're done with 6, quit iTunes and drag the new user's /User/newUser/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder to /Users/Shared. You now have a neatly organized music directory that your normal user can access so you can cherry pick what you drag into your own iTunes library.
Oyvind @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Its free, and presents your music in a much nicer way than the one described above.
=)
Oyvind @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Its free, and presents your music in a much nicer way than the one described above.
=)
Brent @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
For getting your music off the iPod on windows you can't beat this program (http://www25.brinkster.com/carmagt/SharePod/). The executable is run from the ipod so no software needs to be installed anywhere and it goes where ever the iPod goes.
Markus @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Not having iPodDownload, I can't try this, but I'm wondering if you need to hack iTunes itself. If iTunes is looking for the item by name, can you not simply rename it in the Finder? I'm guessing that has been tried and does not work, possibly because it's looking at the executable name, or the bundle name inside the info.plist file.
My thought is this: Edit the info.plist file, changing the name of the executable item (CFBundleExecutable item) and then change the name of the executable itself. Then see if it works.
nobody! @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
http://www.geocities.com/turgon1375/ipoddownload.sit
if the link does die.. email me 'nuff said.
Stephen @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
What is all this nonsense - my iPod has always shown up as an external drive under windows XP. If I want to get my music off of it I just browse it like any other drive. Sure, not everything is organised into nice iTunes folders but I can search it if I need something particular.
I personally cannot wait for an open source iTunes project with open source iPod software. Then maybe finally we will have cue points and album art - even on our old 1st gen iPods.
The iPod is great hardware but we need to take back the software.
Bryan @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
what about using the same iPod between Mac and Windows? I didn't see an answer to Wonder's question and I have the same dilemma.
Caroline @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Yea, the hex edit and ipod download worked perfectly. I also am a fan of the Senuti software that shows you the album file.
Thank you so much!
Jonathan Jacobs @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
HELP: I downloaded the ephpod2, followed the instructions exactly, but when I try to copy the songs to my directory I get an error msg that says, "Source file not found." Does anyone know what to do? Thanks
mike @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
at ipodlounge.com downloads: podutil
very easy to use and lots of other stuff de ipod...
Ben Russell @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Thanks a million, I tried the apple's web page and it stated " there no way to copy songs from your ipod to your pc". But then I used google, and your site came up!
honeybhun @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I have downloaded senuti but the copy select button is unavailable to me. Its there but not functional. Is this because my music isnt in my itunes library...any ideas how to activate??
pnak @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
you guys should also check out anapod
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/
http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/featpw.php
Claus Junker @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
I had a bad expierince with you software, but only somthing went wrong.I think my frends PC didend show PT(J:)on the screen for his harddrive . It deladet many songs from my iPot and I needed to restor and load every thing .I'm really intrested to manage loading and anloading songs from my iPot on difrent computers . But houw can I do it with out loosing songs ?
ganster @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
in ipod agent i used the movie show times,on the ipod what does the times in bracket mean
Oleg @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
Search musical system on mp3, music for mobile.
will dempsey @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
hay
i downloaded eph pod and i followed the instructions but when it came to importing it back on to itunes it didnt read the songs so it didnt add any of the files
what should i do
thank you
Chrismol @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
"Mac iPod to Windows?"
Did anyone respond to "Wondering" about transferring files from a Mac iPod to a Windows drive? Is it possbile? Any suggestions on doing it?
BTW, this linear "comment" format is wonky. I cannot respond directly to a particular post and I cannot find direct responses to particular posts. So, I leave here with nothing. Have you considered a bulletin board application for your comment strings? phpbb is a good place to start.
Thanks,
Chrismol
Chrismol @ Dec 19th 2005 2:26AM
"Mac iPod to Windows?"
Did anyone respond to "Wondering" about transferring files from a Mac iPod to a Windows drive? Is it possbile? Any suggestions on doing it?
BTW, this linear "comment" format is wonky. I cannot respond directly to a particular post and I cannot find direct responses to particular posts. So, I leave here with nothing. Have you considered a bulletin board application for your comment strings? phpbb is a good place to start.
Thanks,
Chrismol