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Have multiple computers and want to back up your iPod on some of them? This simple guide will show you how, completely free. It also works great for copying your friends' music off their iPod too.

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Steps

  1. 1
    Have the "View Hidden Files and Folders" option enabled. To view them go to my documents and then tools>folder options>view. Then click the "Show hidden files and folders" under the "Hidden files and folders" section. (You will not have to scroll down the list to see it)
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  2. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 2.jpg
    2
    Plug the iPod into the computer that you wish to back it up on.
  3. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 3.jpg
    3
    Open up a Windows Explorer Window, from the accessories folder of the programs listing.
  4. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 4.jpg
    4
    Navigate to the "My Computer" icon.
  5. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 5.jpg
    5
    Expand the folder, and find the drive that has the name of your iPod.
  6. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 6.jpg
    6
    Expand your iPod's folder, and find the folder: "iPod Control".
  7. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 7.jpg
    7
    Expand "iPod Control" and find the folder "Music".
  8. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 8.jpg
    8
    Look for a series of folders with strange names.
  9. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 9.jpg
    9
    Select all of the files. Do this by going to: Edit>Select All>. Alternatively, you may hold the Control key and click all of the folders.
  10. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 10.jpg
    10
    Copy all of the folders, by going to Edit>Copy or by right clicking one of the selected folders and clicking copy. This will copy all of the folders.
  11. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 11.jpg
    11
    Paste the music in the desired folder by using Edit>Paste.
  12. 12
    Open each folder, and copy the MP3 files into the desired folder, or you can leave them where they are. The music will have non understandable names, like "EDCI" and "DLXE", 4 letter names are normal.
  13. Back Up an iPod on Two Different Computers Step 13.jpg
    13
    Open the music up in the music player of your choice if you wish. Do this when all of the music has been extracted from the original iPod folders.
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Tips

  • This can be used to copy friend's music.
  • The copying of the music takes some time.
  • This works on both PCs and Macs, but these instructions are for PCs. Mac computers work similarly to this.
  • Get a good MP3-Tagger-Program e.g. mp3tag (freeware) and automatically rename the files if you want to use them on your PC
  • Most music player programs can decode the names into the original names, and artists.

Warnings

  • Do NOT mess around with any other file(s) on the iPod
  • Do not remove any songs from the list.
  • Do not try and manually rename each song.

Things You'll Need

  • A click wheel iPod such as an iPod Classic, iPod Nano etc. If you have an iPod Touch or an iPhone, you will need third party software such as TouchDrive to put your device into disk use mode or TouchCopy to copy your music straight into iTunes.
  • A computer.
  • A USB connector for your iPod

Related wikiHows

How to
Back Up an iPad

How to
Fix a Broken iPod

How to
Clean Your iPod

How to
Lock iPod Controls

How to
Install iPod Software

Article Info

Categories: Hacks

In other languages:

Español: Cómo hacer un respaldo de tu iPod en dos PCs diferentes, Italiano: Come Eseguire il Backup di un iPod su Due Computer Differenti, Русский: выполнить резервное копирование iPod на два компьютера, Português: Como Fazer o Backup de um iPod em Diferentes Computadores

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