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DaneGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 15, 2008
250
0
I'm trying to sync up my movies but when I do iTunes asks if I'm sure I want to delete all my apps from my pad. WTH?
 

r0k

macrumors 68040
Mar 3, 2008
3,611
75
Detroit
I'm trying to sync up my movies but when I do iTunes asks if I'm sure I want to delete all my apps from my pad. WTH?

Yeah, this is dumb. I have never sync'd for this reason. I simply connect to iTunes and back up my apps using "transfer purchases". I don't see the whole point of having to have a computer "mother ship" for an iPad in the first place. I suppose I could do the recommended Apple procedure but I'm just too darn busy. If you're interested, you should switch ON sync apps to AVOID DELETING THEM. Intuitive isn't it? But wait, there's more. If you have multiple iThings, to avoid having all your apps forcefed to your iPad, you have to spend some low quality time in iTunes checking little boxes for which apps will stay on your iPad and which will not. Lame. Lame. Lame. But if you want to sync, you will have to either cross this bridge or scream at AppleCare until they come up with a less idiotic way to manage apps.
 

xraydoc

Contributor
Oct 9, 2005
10,741
5,171
192.168.1.1
I'm sorry to say this is a user problem, not an iTunes problem.
(not being rude, just stating a theory)

It sounds like you may have two different iTunes accounts under which some or all of your apps have been downloaded but is not the same one that iTunes itself is logged in as, or that you've synced with two different computers at one point and now iTunes doesn't know which account the iPad is registered to.

While just because I've never had this problem doesn't mean it's not real, I can say that this is NOT the way iTunes is designed. The fact that you're having this problem sounds like there's multiple account conflict with some app or media on your iPad that's not on your computer.

In my household he have 16 various devices -- iPods, iPads, iPhones, Apple TVs -- that sync to iTunes and I've had this problem on exactly none of them. However, we use only one iTunes account for everything and everything gets synced to one machine (the household iTunes server).

If you've managed to get all the apps, videos, songs, etc., synced to your computer, go through and look at the info of each item and see if you can find one that may be registered under a different iTunes account.
 

dXTC

macrumors 68020
Oct 30, 2006
2,033
50
Up, up in my studio, studio
I agree with xraydoc, in a roundabout way.

Many users tend to think of their iPhone/iPod touch/iPad as the "core" of their media consumption system, since that's what they use most, and iTunes is just a backup of what's on the iDevice.

This is an incorrect understanding of the iTunes ecosystem, IMHO. The "core" is the iTunes Library on the user's computer, be it Mac or PC. iDevices are essentially physical extensions of that library. Over the past couple of years, that line has become blurred somewhat with the advent of the iTunes store and App Store directly on the devices. The basic design still stands, however.
 

DaneGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 15, 2008
250
0
Thanks for the replies. Some more info. All of the apps were downloaded and installed on the pad so iTunes didn't have them. I've only synced the pad on one computer although tunes thinks I have 4 authorized computers (don't know how to delete the others). I only have one account though.

I'm sure it is user error. I just need to figure how to work with tunes. I swear it shouldn't be this hard. :confused:
 

MRU

macrumors Penryn
Aug 23, 2005
25,368
8,948
a better place
I've only synced the pad on one computer although tunes thinks I have 4 authorized computers (don't know how to delete the others). I only have one account though.


You can de-authorize the entire lot in one go, and then simply re-authorize your current machines.


You should be able to transfer purchases from the iPad to iTunes. When connected, cancel the auto-sync. Then right click on the ipad in devices, and choose 'transfer purchases'.

Hope that helps.
 

avaloncourt

macrumors 65816
Oct 18, 2007
1,315
0
Thanks for the replies. Some more info. All of the apps were downloaded and installed on the pad so iTunes didn't have them. I've only synced the pad on one computer although tunes thinks I have 4 authorized computers (don't know how to delete the others). I only have one account though.

This is about more than the iPad though. Do you have any iPhones or iPods that you've ever tied to iTunes running on any computer and your iTunes account? Every instance of a computer with iTunes connecting with your iTunes account (whether you connected a device to it or not) counts and one instance. You get a maximum of five. When you hit the limit the only options are to deauthorize any iTunes installation from iTunes itself on a particular computer or, if you uninstalled/sold/reformatted/etc. a particular computer you can deauthorize all computers from within your iTunes account and start over.

In the end, if any copy of iTunes located on any computer was ever attached to your iTunes account it counts as one. This isn't devices, it's about software.
 

DaneGuy

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jul 15, 2008
250
0
Ok thanks. I'll deauthorize all and start over. Will this mess up my iPhone and iPod stuff?
 

dread

macrumors 6502a
Jun 16, 2009
735
4
I had the same issue it turns out my iPad did not sync properly the first time I set it up. Just resync the apps and you will be fine after that
 

silverblack

macrumors 68030
Nov 27, 2007
2,680
840
You get a maximum of five. When you hit the limit the only options are to deauthorize ... you can deauthorize all computers from within your iTunes account and start over.

It want to clarify this. When you hit the max of 5 authorized computers, you do have the option of deauthorizing all at once. But you can only do that once every 12 months.

The proper way is to go back to each authorized computer and deauthorize them one by one:
iTunes > Store > Deauthorize Computer
Formatting a computer won't automatically deauthorize it, as the authorization is store up in the cloud with Apple. I always have to remind myself to do this deauthorization whenever I sell a computer.
 

elmnt

macrumors newbie
Nov 9, 2003
6
0
CA
iTunes control

This is not a "user" problem, it's an outdated, "dumbed-down" method of iTunes master control over the way you use your media. Five years ago, when iTunes on your machine was your music "source," and a click-wheel iPoad that you connected was a device you used to listed to SOME of that music... then it made sense. Not on a new iPad.

The iPad is a self-contained computer, and it should not be linked to an iTunes mother ship by default. for ANY of its content, unless I specifically set a preference to synch. There's no logical reason I'd want iTunes to control the backup of my Apps. Tighter synch control makes sense on an iPod. It's just an external hard drive. This is a stupid option, targeted to the low-hanging fruit of the Apple consumer audience that knows where the play button is, and little else.

It would be like me "plugging in" my iMac to my PowerBook, and expecting all my apps to synch on those two machines. No reason for it whatsoever.
 

Crosbie

macrumors 6502a
May 26, 2010
613
12
Brighton, UK
This is not a "user" problem, it's an outdated, "dumbed-down" method of iTunes master control over the way you use your media. Five years ago, when iTunes on your machine was your music "source," and a click-wheel iPoad that you connected was a device you used to listed to SOME of that music... then it made sense. Not on a new iPad.

The iPad is a self-contained computer, and it should not be linked to an iTunes mother ship by default. for ANY of its content, unless I specifically set a preference to synch. There's no logical reason I'd want iTunes to control the backup of my Apps. Tighter synch control makes sense on an iPod. It's just an external hard drive. This is a stupid option, targeted to the low-hanging fruit of the Apple consumer audience that knows where the play button is, and little else.

It would be like me "plugging in" my iMac to my PowerBook, and expecting all my apps to synch on those two machines. No reason for it whatsoever.

Well, actually this is your opinion of how you think it should work. And you're probably right. But the iPad isn't a self-contained computer as far as Apple is concerned; it's a sub-computer - large and capable, but very much requiring a 'mothership'.

I got an iPad for my mother to 'replace' her ageing desktop. It more or less does - and she uses it considerably more than she ever did the desktop itself. But occasionally she has to sync it, and occasionally she has to print formatted stuff the iPad won't do yet. The iPad then is an 'extension' of the hub computer - a (non-dumb but 'thin'ish) terminal that gets the majority of use.

I'm hoping that just this generation of iPad - and I expect probably the next too - will be seen as 'transitional' computers, semi-independent.

I hope that in two years' time, say, your model for iPad as a potentially independent device with the option to back up on a PC/Mac will indeed be the new model.
 

newdeal

macrumors 68030
Oct 21, 2009
2,509
1,769
...

Are they legit apps or install0us apps is the first question that needs answering
 

elmnt

macrumors newbie
Nov 9, 2003
6
0
CA
Well, actually this is your opinion of how you think it should work. And you're probably right. But the iPad isn't a self-contained computer as far as Apple is concerned; it's a sub-computer - large and capable, but very much requiring a 'mothership'.

I got an iPad for my mother to 'replace' her ageing desktop. It more or less does - and she uses it considerably more than she ever did the desktop itself. But occasionally she has to sync it, and occasionally she has to print formatted stuff the iPad won't do yet. The iPad then is an 'extension' of the hub computer - a (non-dumb but 'thin'ish) terminal that gets the majority of use.

I'm hoping that just this generation of iPad - and I expect probably the next too - will be seen as 'transitional' computers, semi-independent.

I hope that in two years' time, say, your model for iPad as a potentially independent device with the option to back up on a PC/Mac will indeed be the new model.


Yeah, that's true Crosbie... it's just frustrating anytime an app makes decisions for me, when I think they should be manual. But too many people would screw something up. The main thing that bothers me is the logic of backing up iOS apps to my MacBook Pro. Files and content, yes. Apps... I just don't need that.

Not THAT big of a deal. Just annoying when, as an advanced user, my machine says "Nope, we'll do it this way." It's not what I'm used to on a Mac.
 

elmnt

macrumors newbie
Nov 9, 2003
6
0
CA
I think the basic rule is:

1. Synch you iPad as soon as you turn it on for the first time
2. In iTunes > Preferences > Devices... CHECK "Prevent [devices] from synching automatically" (so you have as much control as possible)
3. When your iPad is connected, make sure you ALWAYS have the option CHECKED to synch your apps... then, in addition, CHECK whatever other content you want to synch, podcasts, music, movies, etc., etc.

But it seems that keeping the Apps synch option checked is a necessity to prevent this confusion. At most, you're going to take up 1GB or 2GB of space on your computer (ideally, on the external drive that holds your music).

Synching and un-synching music, podcasts, etc. shouldn't matter, as your computer's version of iTunes will always make the iPad reflect what's IN iTunes. And if you Apps are not IN iTunes (not backed up, or CHECKED to synch), iTunes will want to make them NOT be on the iPad either, to reflect this setting.
 

windmill83

macrumors member
Sep 11, 2010
45
4
This is not a "user" problem, it's an outdated, "dumbed-down" method of iTunes master control over the way you use your media. Five years ago, when iTunes on your machine was your music "source," and a click-wheel iPoad that you connected was a device you used to listed to SOME of that music... then it made sense. Not on a new iPad.

The iPad is a self-contained computer, and it should not be linked to an iTunes mother ship by default. for ANY of its content, unless I specifically set a preference to synch. There's no logical reason I'd want iTunes to control the backup of my Apps. Tighter synch control makes sense on an iPod. It's just an external hard drive. This is a stupid option, targeted to the low-hanging fruit of the Apple consumer audience that knows where the play button is, and little else.

It would be like me "plugging in" my iMac to my PowerBook, and expecting all my apps to synch on those two machines. No reason for it whatsoever.
I don't uderstand this approach either. If I replace my old laptop with a new one, I need to wipe out everything on my iPad and start over when I sync? What's that about? Who thinks that is a good idea?
 

elmnt

macrumors newbie
Nov 9, 2003
6
0
CA
If I replace my old laptop with a new one, I need to wipe out everything on my iPad and start over when I sync? What's that about?

It's Apple's approach to DRM (digital rights management) that causes this issue. A long time ago, when Shawn Fanning was in court over Napster, I'm sure Steve Jobs had a "lightbulb over the head" moment. All music is going digital, so if you can control it, and (mostly) control illicit use of it = gold mine.

So your iPod isn't set up to be THE MAIN PLACE you should have your music. It's set up to connect to iTunes (where all your legally purchased music resides), and then act as a device that "borrows" some of that music so you can listen to it on-the-go. And THAT is, of course, how iTunes and the iPad are working together as well. Hence my issue with the Apps synching process.

So when you connect a full iPod to a new computer with no music in iTunes, iTunes is thinking "That's not MY music on that thing." When you get a new machine, you want all your music from your existing machine to be IN iTunes before attaching an iPod. This is why it's best to have all of your music on a cheap external drive. I have about 100GB of music. It's on a 250GB drive that I paid about $60 for.

The, if you get a new computer, connect the external drive, open iTunes, tell it where your music is, and you're all set. So when you plug in your iPod to the NEW machine, iTunes is going to say "Oh, look, you have some copies of some of MY music. Cool. What do you want me to do now?"

...and you're in control of the synching, and so on...
 

Don Kosak

macrumors 6502a
Mar 12, 2010
860
4
Hilo, Hawaii
If I replace my old laptop with a new one, I need to wipe out everything on my iPad and start over when I sync? What's that about? Who thinks that is a good idea?

Well, when you get your new laptop, you just copy over your entire /iTunes/* directory, then log into iTunes.

It will remember your devices, settings, backups, etc.

Do I think it's a good idea? Frankly, no. I would rather have all of my data stored up in the cloud triple encrypted, and geographically redundant on multiple continents in case of earth quakes, flooding, volcanos, tornados, tidal wave, typhoons, or meteors. ;)

My local gear: servers, desktops, laptops, phones, media players, tablets, etc. would hold cached copies of the cloud data and keep everything in sync silently in the background.

When I die, my "Data Will" would specify which sections of my data would be partitioned and copied to my heirs cloud store. Any DRM or crypto codes would be re-applied to allow my heir to access the data. (If I die right now, I can bequeath my Books, CD collection, or DVD collection to an heir legally -- why can't I do this with my iTunes Books, Songs, Movies, and Apps?)

Anyway, that's the way I think it should work!
 

anjinha

macrumors 604
Oct 21, 2006
7,324
205
San Francisco, CA
It's Apple's approach to DRM (digital rights management) that causes this issue. A long time ago, when Shawn Fanning was in court over Napster, I'm sure Steve Jobs had a "lightbulb over the head" moment. All music is going digital, so if you can control it, and (mostly) control illicit use of it = gold mine.

Not true. Steve Jobs never wanted any DRM in the music but the record labels did and that was the only way they would allow it in the iTunes Store. Nowadays NONE of the music in iTunes has DRM.
 

windmill83

macrumors member
Sep 11, 2010
45
4
Well, when you get your new laptop, you just copy over your entire /iTunes/* directory, then log into iTunes.

It will remember your devices, settings, backups, etc.

Do I think it's a good idea? Frankly, no. I would rather have all of my data stored up in the cloud triple encrypted, and geographically redundant on multiple continents in case of earth quakes, flooding, volcanos, tornados, tidal wave, typhoons, or meteors. ;)

My local gear: servers, desktops, laptops, phones, media players, tablets, etc. would hold cached copies of the cloud data and keep everything in sync silently in the background.

When I die, my "Data Will" would specify which sections of my data would be partitioned and copied to my heirs cloud store. Any DRM or crypto codes would be re-applied to allow my heir to access the data. (If I die right now, I can bequeath my Books, CD collection, or DVD collection to an heir legally -- why can't I do this with my iTunes Books, Songs, Movies, and Apps?)

Anyway, that's the way I think it should work!
The solution seems simple: offer the option to sync from the iPad to the PC instead of just from the PC to the iPad. What's so difficult for Apple to do that?
 

sabrinna9689

macrumors newbie
Apr 12, 2011
1
0
Here is the solution

HERE IS THE SOLUTION!

After looking on this post last night and not finding a solution I called Mac help this morning and got it fixed.

If you are using more than one mac product with your iTunes account (iPad, iPod, iPhone, ect.) there may be an issue with your apps.

__________________________________________________________

Step 1) Open iTunes

Step 2) File > Transfer Purchases from "iPad"

TRY TO APPLY AGAIN (If that doesn't work move on to Step 3)

Step 3) On the left side menu select "iPad"

Step 4) On the upper option menu select Apps

Step 5) Check Sync Apps (Make sure ALL apps are selected, including those that are on your other devices)

Step 6) Apply

Step 7) Select another tab (Music, Books, ect) and apply whatever files you want to put on your iPad

VOILAS! It should be fixed!

_______________________________________________________

If all else fails you can try to do this.
1) Store > Deauthorize This Computer
2) Store > Authorize Computer

Good luck, and I hope this helps!
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
17,916
9,418
Atlanta, GA
I don't uderstand this approach either. If I replace my old laptop with a new one, I need to wipe out everything on my iPad and start over when I sync? What's that about? Who thinks that is a good idea?

Not necessarily. If you backup your user folder then all you have to do is copy all iTunes related files/folders to the new one. As far as iTunes is concerned everything will work as you had it and all your backups will be intact. You can also tell iTunes not to automatically copy new apps over.
 

thunderbunny

macrumors 6502a
Jul 15, 2010
617
0
Cheshire, UK
If you have apps purchased via a different account it will do this. Log in to each account on iTunes, authorise the computer, log out and onto the next one. Will sync fine then, may ask you for account passwords now and again, but won't scrub your apps.
 

guyilo

macrumors newbie
May 25, 2011
2
0
Apps deleted

Searched with similar problem and found this post. I have been syncing my ipod's podcasts for couple of years on 1 computer. I received an iPad for my birthday and synced it to same computer as new device. Now when I connected my ipod itunes wanted to sync all my stuff so I deselected everything except the podcasts (because all won't fit on ipod). When I went to sync, itunes asked if I wanted to delete all my apps in itunes. That is totally rediculous! I just want to sync podcasts, ignore everything else. How hard can that be?
 

camray

macrumors newbie
Dec 6, 2011
1
0
remove sync between iphone and itunes

That's all I want to do. When I sync'ed the above, most all of my apps were disabled. I don't want it sync'ed at all.

Please help. I'm hoping I can get an answer that will tell me how do to the steps.

Thank you.
 
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