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Buying an iPod

T

TGF

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 10, 2004
7
0
Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help... you will probably all groan with boredom as I have a feeling that this is probably a really really simple question!

OK, here goes. I am a windows Xp user with a Dell PC, 1.9Ghz. I would like to buy an iPod, probably 20gb, possibly 15gb. However, I am confused with the sytem requirements. The Apple website says that I need a USB 2.0 port, what device manager says I have is an:

"Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2442"

and

"Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2444"

and USB root hub.


Is this what I need to run an iPod on my PC, or do I need to buy something else?

Also, is the software which you need to run an iPod included when you buy it?

Thank you! (and apologies for being completely ignorant!)

Tim
 
as far as I know the ipod works alongside itunes, which you can download from the apple website. as far as what type of usb your pc has, I'm not sure.

hope that helps.

edit: now that I think of it usb 2.0 is backwards compatible with usb 1.0 so either way I think you're safe, though keep in mind if you do indeed have usb1.0 will slow down the transfer rate.
 
TGF said:
OK, here goes. I am a windows Xp user with a Dell PC, 1.9Ghz. I would like to buy an iPod, probably 20gb, possibly 15gb. However, I am confused with the sytem requirements. The Apple website says that I need a USB 2.0 port, what device manager says I have is an:

"Intel(r) 82801BA/BAM USB Universal Host Controller - 2442"
[...]
Click to expand...

I don't think this is too ignorant a question. There seems to be a lot of confusion about USB 1.0/1.1/2.0. USB 2.0 is a high-speed version of USB, roughly comparable to firewire. I'm assuming your Dell d/n have firewire (I think mostly only Sony's have FW on the PC front?). USB 2.0 is backwards compatible with 1.1/1.0 in the sense that you can use old peripherals with the new port (they look identical).

1.0/1.1 are not fully *forward compatible*, in the sense that you cannot generally plug all 2.0 devices into 1.1/1.0 ports. Also the speed difference is about a factor of 20. Practically speaking, it took about 20-30 minutes for my iPod to initialize and load all the songs in when I first got it (~12 GB at that time), so running it on USB 1.0 would be scary slow, if it worked at all.

But, I do not think the iPod will work at all with 1.0/1.1.

That being said, if you have a 1.9 GHz PC, it sounds like the kinda vintage that ought to have 2.0. I found this on the Intel website:

"Intel released chipsets in May 2002 which integrate Hi-Speed USB 2.0 in the I/O Controller Hub (ICH4). These are the Intel® 845E, 845G and 845G"

Do you know if you have one of these main chipsets? Alternatively, you should be able to find out on the Dell website or by calling Dell, I think.

If you have USB 2.0, you don't need to buy anything else to use the iPod. There are some programs out there that are shareware, besides iTunes (free), that PC users seem to really like, such as "Anapod Explorer," which lets you screw around with a bunch of features on the iPod that iTunes doesn't support, I think, such as pulling music off an iPod *onto* a computer. On macs, at least, it seems like the majority of users get by fine with iTunes and their iPod.

One more thing, although I love my iPod dearly, I have heard and seen that some PC users have a terrible time with iTunes being unstable. I would try downloading it and ripping a few songs and playing around with it. If it works fine, then great, but if it has trouble, better to know before you get an iPod. :(
 
If you don't have USB 2.0, consider getting a Firewire card, rather than a USB 2.0 one. The iPod will only charge via Firewire, not via USB. Also, the iPod does not come with a USB cable, only a Firewire one. You would have to buy a USB lead from Apple for $19/£15.
I use iTunes on PC and Mac, and have had no problems at all.
 
sparky76 said:
If you don't have USB 2.0, consider getting a Firewire card, rather than a USB 2.0 one. The iPod will only charge via Firewire, not via USB. Also, the iPod does not come with a USB cable, only a Firewire one. You would have to buy a USB lead from Apple for $19/£15.
I use iTunes on PC and Mac, and have had no problems at all.
Click to expand...

Good points! I believe only the iPod Mini comes with a USB2 cable.
 
i'm pretty sure the iPod will work under USB1.1 it will just be slow and won't charge the ipod you'll probably want to buy a FW card to speed up transfers and charge your ipod
i bought a FW card for around $15 on pricewatch.com
 
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