How to put music onto ipod touch 2nd gen?

[jnwaco]

Alright, I'm about to pull the rest of my hair out. I received a gift certificate for iTunes two years ago and used it, only to find out that I'm apparently too stupid to make mp3s out of the music I BOUGHT (and no, I'm not going to download eight 3rd part apps to do this). Ergo, I limited my music purchases from itunes.

Fast forward. Wife wants an ipod touch. I get her one. NOW I can't figure out how to even get the mp3s I DO have onto the damn thing. iTunes blows and is so user unfriendly. While attempting to add my current 2,000 mp3s to iTunes, iTunes thinks that they are .wav files and is now, at this very moment, attempting to convert .wav files (really already mp3 files) to... yep... mp3 format, just so it can add these songs to the "library".

But that's not all.... the listing, having three CDs at the beginning, now shows 4 of each of my 2,000 songs in the "library".

Can I just bypass iTunes to get the music somehow onto my wife's iPod Touch? This is ridiculous.

[decksnap]

I would recommend learning how to use iTunes. It is a great app, and not 'ridiculous.' It will make your life very simple.

[TwinCities Dan]

I don't really understand what you're talking about? :confused:

Are you new to iTunes? What do you mean you bought your music from the iTunes store and can't convert them? It does it all automatically, let it convert the .wav files, you don't need to "to download eight 3rd part apps to do this".

iTunes works flawlessly on all of my 8500 songs from all different medias? :confused:

[jnwaco]

I would recommend learning how to use iTunes. It is a great app, and not 'ridiculous.' It will make your life very simple.

That would be great if any of the menu options made sense.

Why is it recognizing my current mp3 files as .wav?
Why is it adding each song to the library 4 times?
Again, how do you get files from the computer to the iPod? I have about 9GB of song files in mp3 format, my wife has another 2GB, and I have about 3CDs in iTunes format.... that's more than the 8GB drive can hold, so I do NOT want to "sync" the device.

I don't really understand what you're talking about? :confused:

Are you new to iTunes? What do you mean you bought your music from the iTunes store and can't convert them? It does it all automatically, let it convert the .wav files, you don't need to "to download eight 3rd part apps to do this".

iTunes works flawlessly on all of my 8500 songs from all different medias? :confused:

It says that it has to convert the files on my computer from .wav to .mp3. They were already .mp3 -

It's converting the songs (already mp3s) to, well, mp3 format, one at a time, and it will take all night at this rate... to do something that does not need to be done.

Look, I'm willing to learn the software, but it is ridiculous that this is going on.

On my old mp3 player, I connect the usb, a folder opens up, and I can drag files over to the mp3 player.... is iTunes not this simple?

[TwinCities Dan]

Again, how do you get files from the computer to the iPod? I have about 9GB of song files in mp3 format, my wife has another 2GB, and I have about 3CDs in iTunes format.... that's more than the 8GB drive can hold, so I do NOT want to "sync" the device.

Really, just let iTunes consolidate your library, it may take a while but once it is done it works beautifully. Then when your library is consolidated on one computer you can use iTunes to navigate you collection and select which songs/items you want to sync. ;)

[jnwaco]

Really, just let iTunes consolidate your library, it may take a while but once it is done it works beautifully. Then when your library is consolidated on one computer you can use iTunes to navigate you collection and select which songs/items you want to sync. ;)

Thanks,

My itunes screen doesn't look like that and it's in the middle of converting songs that don't need to be converted, and there's not even a way to make it stop.

[TwinCities Dan]

Thanks,

My itunes screen doesn't look like that and it's in the middle of converting songs that don't need to be converted, and there's not even a way to make it stop.

That screenshot is the iPod options, on the left side of your iTunes application your iPod should show up when connected. Simply click your iPod to bring up that screen. Like I said, I understand that you are frustrated that iTunes is converting all of those files, but let it go, it only needs to be done once and you're in business. iTunes really is slick once you get it set up, hope this helps. :)

[jnwaco]

That screenshot is the iPod options, on the left side of your iTunes application your iPod should show up when connected. Simply click your iPod to bring up that screen. Like I said, I understand that you are frustrated that iTunes is converting all of those files, but let it go, it only needs to be done once and you're in business. iTunes really is slick once you get it set up, hope this helps. :)

I appreciate your help.... I just shut down iTunes and reopened it. I have 2,000 mp3s that I want iTunes to add to the library WITHOUT converting them to mp3 format (they're ALREADY mp3 format)....

Now... how do I completely clear the library and start over?

I'm sorry I'm short, but I've been waiting on iTunes for two hours before I signed up to post here and I now have HALF of my 2000 songs in iTunes TWICE or THREE or FOUR times each!!!!

And that's NOT ridiculous?

Alright, I selected all and hit delete - this is what I get:

"Do you want to move the selected songs (including those downloaded from the iTunes store) to the Recycle Bin, or keep them in the iTunes music folder?"

W T F!@?!?!?!?!?!?

Clearing the library deletes music that is on my computer and causes me to lose music that I've purchased FROM ITUNES?

[TwinCities Dan]

Alright, I selected all and hit delete - this is what I get:

"Do you want to move the selected songs (including those downloaded from the iTunes store) to the Recycle Bin, or keep them in the iTunes music folder?"

W T F!@?!?!?!?!?!?

Clearing the library deletes music that is on my computer and causes me to lose music that I've purchased FROM ITUNES?

That's what I'm trying to explain to you. iTunes has a "library" where ALL files are stored. When you pop in a CD iTunes imports those songs in to the iTunes library. When you purchase music from iTunes it also gets imported into the iTunes library. When you add anything, Apps, Movies, etc. it all gets consolidated into the iTunes library.

If you delete that library, you ARE deleting EVERYTHING.

[jnwaco]

That's what I'm trying to explain to you. iTunes has a "library" where ALL files are stored. When you pop in a CD iTunes imports those songs in to the iTunes library. When you purchase music from iTunes it also gets imported into the iTunes library. When you add anything, Apps, Movies, etc. it all gets consolidated into the iTunes library.

If you delete that library, you ARE deleting EVERYTHING.

Okay, I have a folder in MY DOCUMENTS with 2,000 mp3s in it that I have ripped over the past 10 years.

I've got them backed up on a flash drive and a second hard drive.

I've purchased 3 CDs from iTunes.

How do I load the library without getting duplicates (that aren't really there!)?

And no, I've had these files on my computer a LONG time before I downloaded iTunes, so the files have to be somewhere else, stored, as well (i.e. MyDocuments/My Music folder, not jus the iTunes folder).

[TwinCities Dan]

Okay, I have a folder in MY DOCUMENTS with 2,000 mp3s in it that I have ripped over the past 10 years.

I've got them backed up on a flash drive and a second hard drive.

I've purchased 3 CDs from iTunes.

How do I load the library without getting duplicates (that aren't really there!)?

And no, I've had these files on my computer a LONG time before I downloaded iTunes, so the files have to be somewhere else, stored, as well (i.e. MyDocuments/My Music folder, not jus the iTunes folder).

If you have everything backed up, go ahead a just let iTunes import from your folder. It will copy them into the iTunes Library. That is part of the beauty of iTunes, it keeps everything together not scattered all over your drive. You can try importing the folder of mp3's by going to File: Add to Library, or just drag your mp3s and drop them in the iTunes screen. Once your mp3's are in the iTunes library you can delete them from where you copied them from. If iTunes is still showing duplicates just delete them, and they will be deleted from the library.

BTW, are you on a PC?

[jnwaco]

If you have everything backed up, go ahead a just let iTunes import from your folder. It will copy them into the iTunes Library. That is part of the beauty of iTunes, it keeps everything together not scattered all over your drive. You can try importing the folder of mp3's by going to File: Add to Library, or just drag your mp3s and drop them in the iTunes screen. Once your mp3's are in the iTunes library you can delete them from where you copied them from. If iTunes is still showing duplicates just delete them, and they will be deleted from the library.

BTW, are you on a PC?

Yeah, I'm on a PC. Thanks again for putting up with my short temper tonight, but this is driving me crazy... I'm going to start over and try importing again.

[TwinCities Dan]

Yeah, I'm on a PC. Thanks again for putting up with my short temper tonight, but this is driving me crazy... I'm going to start over and try importing again.

Well, for what its worth, I should say I have absolutely zero knowledge about windows. But I would assume iTunes for windows has the same structure. Let me know how it goes this time. :)

[Nermal]

You should just be able to drag the MP3s into the iTunes window, and by default it will copy them into the iTunes library (Mac) or create links to them (Windows). You shouldn't need to touch the menus.

[TwinCities Dan]

or create links to them (Windows).

:o, links? Windows does not have an iTunes library?

Maybe I should have asked the PC question earlier... :rolleyes: :o

[balamw]

:o, links? Windows does not have an iTunes library?

Maybe I should have asked the PC question earlier... :rolleyes: :o

iTunes on Windows does just like on the Mac, it copies tracks into its own library by default. Dunno where the links came in.

You can override this behavior file by file by holding down The Command/Apple Key on Macs, and there must be an equivalent on Windows.

I second the "Let iTunes be iTunes" comments, as it works best if you let it work they way it was designed.

If you have properly tagged MP3 files and sufficient disk space, just let iTunes copy the files into its own library by dragging them into the iTunes window.

You can easily select a subset of your iTunes library for syncing to your respective iPods by creating playlists (smart or dumb) and let only your desired playlists sync over. (Again, let iTunes be iTunes).

I suspect that the WAV files being imported are leftovers from your ripping, intermediate files left around by EAC or something else. Either that, or your MP3s are actually unprotected WMA files that actually do need conversion. Take it a step at a time, add only a few files at a time and see how it goes.

B

[Night Spring]

iTunes does create an iTunes library folder in windows, and copies your music to that folder by default. However, you can turn this option off in the settings menu, under the "advanced" tab. When this option is turned off, it just links to the mp3 files in their original location. So that's what I suggest that the OP do. Also, I think iTunes may be converting mp3 to aac, rather than thinking the mp3 files are wav files and trying to unnecessarily convert mp3 to mp3. Disabling the "copy music to iTunes library" option should stop this behavior, but if not, you should change the "CD import settings" to import to mp3. Oh, and in iTunes, the options are called "preferences" and are found in the "Edit" menu, rather than in the "Tools" menu like most other Windows programs.

[balamw]

iTunes does create an iTunes library folder in windows, and copies your music to that folder by default. However, you can turn this option off in the settings menu, under the "advanced" tab. When this option is turned off, it just links to the mp3 files in their original location. So that's what I suggest that the OP do. Also, I think iTunes may be converting mp3 to aac, rather than thinking the mp3 files are wav files and trying to unnecessarily convert mp3 to mp3. Disabling the "copy music to iTunes library" option should stop this behavior, but if not, you should change the "CD import settings" to import to mp3. Oh, and in iTunes, the options are called "preferences" and are found in the "Edit" menu, rather than in the "Tools" menu like most other Windows programs.

As with most apps, I think it is much easier to figure out how it works without changing the default behavior until you understand how it is supposed to work. I've seen many people, particularly on Windows, be frustrated with iTunes until they just let it work they way Apple intended.

iTunes does a great job of applying flexible structure to your media library, but it can't do so if you try to force it to use poorly tagged files and a directory structure that it doesn't like.

EDIT: BTW I'm speaking from experience. At first I didn't "get" iTunes vs. WMP, but ultimately I created a new iTunes Library, got some free tracks via the Pepsi stuff and started migrating my library over to iTunes, bought an iPod, Macs etc... all thanks to giving in to iTunes.

Lastly, iTunes makes it really simple to make MP3s from purchased music if you need to. Burn to an Audio CD and re-rip. Since the racks as in AAC format, you need to transcode going though raw audio anyhow.

B

[jnwaco]

As with most apps, I think it is much easier to figure out how it works without changing the default behavior until you understand how it is supposed to work. I've seen many people, particularly on Windows, be frustrated with iTunes until they just let it work they way Apple intended.

iTunes does a great job of applying flexible structure to your media library, but it can't do so if you try to force it to use poorly tagged files and a directory structure that it doesn't like.

EDIT: BTW I'm speaking from experience. At first I didn't "get" iTunes vs. WMP, but ultimately I created a new iTunes Library, got some free tracks via the Pepsi stuff and started migrating my library over to iTunes, bought an iPod, Macs etc... all thanks to giving in to iTunes.

Lastly, iTunes makes it really simple to make MP3s from purchased music if you need to. Burn to an Audio CD and re-rip. Since the racks as in AAC format, you need to transcode going though raw audio anyhow.

B

Well, I've gone through and as of my last tagging session, had properly tagged all but about 100 of the 2,000 songs. That was a royal pain in the butt.

BTW - update - iTunes stopped working in the middle of the import. Now I really have no idea where it was in the import process, meaning that I will have to restart the process and import ALL of the damned songs again. Now I'll have duplicates of duplicates.

Is there not a way for it to NOT import duplicates? Windows media player finishes the import in less than a minute....

Alrighty, deleted the duplicates, which really deletes all of the instances of one file..... that's a little misleading since "displaying duplicates" should only display duplicates... not both versions.

So now I'm importing again and finally found a button to click to avoid dupes - in the edit/preferences/advanced menu... what a way to bury something that ought be automatic...

[Nermal]

iTunes does create an iTunes library folder in windows, and copies your music to that folder by default. However, you can turn this option off in the settings menu, under the "advanced" tab.

Last time I used iTunes for Windows, that option was off by default. However that was a few years ago and it may be on by default now. Sorry if I've caused any confusion!

[franzmueller]

Hi

I think the problem is not itunes but rather your original music folder , I guess there are lots of duplicates already and probably some badly ripped CD´s which itunes may not recognize .

I know , it´s a pain in the neck but once is done is all good ...

Just be patience , let itunes do the job , clean / delete afterwards your corrupted files , make some playlists for you are your wife and sync her ipod .

I´m sure you wont believe it but , itunes is an excellent platform , not only for your music but podcasts , audio books , apps , tv programs or movies etc.

I know lots of folks that switched to Mac because of itunes ....


Saludos

Franz

[iOwnxD]

LOL, iTunes is one of the most easiest applications ever made.

[balamw]

Alrighty, deleted the duplicates, which really deletes all of the instances of one file..... that's a little misleading since "displaying duplicates" should only display duplicates... not both versions.

You're not thinking like iTunes. Show Duplicates is doing exactly the right thing, even though it's duplicate detection is pretty lame.

e.g. You have Led Zep's "Immigrant Song" in two places Led Zep III and the soundtrack to Shrek the Third. How is it supposed to know which one is the duplicate? Or another example you have a track in MP3 and AAC. Show Duplicates will show them both to you, so (for example) you could delete the MP3 version (or vice versa).

It is lame, since the only thing it does it check for the track title, which ends up showing cover versions as duplicates.

B

[decksnap]

I suggest you start with a smaller sample. I don't know why iTunes would be converting anything, but that's beside the point. Import like 100 songs, play around with iTunes and your iPod, and figure out how it works.

Some people seem to dislike iTunes until the moment when they realize how much better it is than whatever their old method was. People don't like change I guess, but once they catch on they usually don't look back. I would also recommend you don't change those settings mentioned above until you are comfortable with the default behavior.

[jnwaco]

LOL, iTunes is one of the most easiest applications ever made.

iTunes is quitting during the conversion process EVERY TIME. It says it needs to convert the files, then an error occurs and windows shuts iTunes down. I still have 500+ files that won't convert. iTunes breaks while doing it's job. Any clues?

I checked and these files appear to be drm protected files. Is that a problem? Obviously I bought the freaking CDs and ripped them.

WMP plays all of these files, wma or otherwise, so I assumed that they were all mp3 files. iTunes is wanting to convert them, but fails. I was at this for 5 hours last night - starting the import process, removing duplicates, and I'm down to 500 files that apparently WMP ripped as .wma files instead of mp3 (probably another setting under some advanced menu in WMP)....

So, removed dupes, and I have about 1420 songs in iTunes. I have about 560 more songs that iTunes is having trouble "converting".

I do not want to have to rip these CDs again... not even sure if I have them anymore.

[sandman42]

I received a gift certificate for iTunes two years ago and used it, only to find out that I'm apparently too stupid to make mp3s out of the music I BOUGHT (and no, I'm not going to download eight 3rd part apps to do this).

I've purchased 3 CDs from iTunes.

Since no one's mentioned it, songs purchased from the iTunes Music Store aren't really CD's, they're already in a compressed format (Apples AAC format, which is comparable to MP3 but gives somewhat better fidelity relative to the file size). These files are compatible with any iPod and don't require any conversion. Not only would there be no advantage to converting them to MP3, you'd suffer a slight quality loss.

I checked and these files appear to be drm protected files. Is that a problem? Obviously I bought the freaking CDs and ripped them.

WMP plays all of these files, wma or otherwise, so I assumed that they were all mp3 files. iTunes is wanting to convert them, but fails.

Forgive me for asking, but did you buy CD's (physical disks) or digital downloads, and if you bought downloads are you sure you bought them from the iTunes Music Store and not some other on-line source?

Generally, if you buy physical CD's and rip them yourself they won't be DRM-protected (regardless of what you used to rip them), though they may ripped into a format that's not compatible with some players. If you bought digital downloads they may be DRM-protected in such a way that the music can only be used on equipment that's compatible with that particular seller's DRM scheme, or they may be compressed using a format that's only compatible with certain software or players.

Besides DRM issues, there has been a little bit of a 'format war', similar to the old VHS/Beta or HD-DVD/Blu-Ray battles, in the digital music download arena regarding compression formats. MP3 is essentially a 'universal' compression format that any digital media player should be able to play. WMA is Windows' proprietary format, as AAC is Apple's proprietary format. Apple's format, as used on the ITMS, should be compatible with any Apple products, e.g. iTunes (on any computer), or any iPod. I should probably point out here that WMA files are not MP3 files. Some on-line sources other than the ITMS sell their stuff in WMA format, which is not directly compatible with Apple's stuff. I think Wal*Mart and maybe Amazon did that. I believe there are methods of converting WMA files to Apple-compatible formats, but I'm not sure that iTunes can do it. I'm almost certain it won't be able to do it if the WMA file is DRM-protected. There may be third party software that can do this for you though.

In short, if you have AAC files from the ITMS you shouldn't have any troubles with them with either iTunes or your iPod. The same thing goes for actual MP3 files. WMA files will not be directly compatible, especially if they're DRM-protected. I don't have a lot of experience dealing with such files, so others may be able to help you out there.

I'm sorry you're having troubles. Like a lot of people here, I use iTunes exclusively and find that it works very, very well. It sounds like your existing music library is a little bit of a hodge-podge, and may take some cleaning up to run smoothly.

[tsice19]

http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/

[balamw]

WMP plays all of these files, wma or otherwise, so I assumed that they were all mp3 files.

You know what they say about assuming ;). As I suspected you had WMA files and THAT is what needs converting. iPods will not play WMA files, so you will either have to let iTunes convert a few at a time or re-rip. There is no way to get an iPod Touch to play WMA files.

WMP won't play AAC (M4A/M4P files) which are the default format for iTunes. (Which can be set to MP3 another obscure setting mentioned earlier in the thread).

The difference between WMA and AAC is that WMA is proprietary to Microsoft, and AAC is the next generation industry standard replacement for MP3 and is supported as part of the MPEG4 standards. So, ideally you would like to make sure all of your files are in a standard format like MP3.

B