iPod iPod as mass storage device for file transfer PC>Mac: do i need to format?

[SteveMcQ]

Apologies if this has been answered, but hopefully someone can help me out here.

I'm looking to transfer all my songs from my PC to my Mac. I plugged the iPod into the PC and it recognizes it, but I need to reformat it. Will this cause any problems later on?

Or would it be easier to do that through iTunes. Pull up all my music in that program, transfer it to my iPod and then onto iTunes on my Mac? Only thing is that iTunes on PC doesn't seem to recognize my iPod so I can't switch it between a PC and Mac right?

My main goal is to have all my music on my Mac right now since I'll have that with me on my trip and I want to be able to pull up everything on my iPod while I'm travelling. Thanks for your help.

Edit: I'm reading that I'm gonna need a program on my PC to use the iPod (which I want to use primarily w/ my PowerBook) as a storage device. A program called Xplay? Is that correct?

I'm just looking for an easier way of transferring all my music and pictures from my PC to Mac short of backing up on discs and saving, or doing the networking setup.

 

[MacAficionado]

Yes

O.k. You can format the iPod in Windows, and the Mac will see it. If you format the iPod in the Mac, Windows won't see it. But there is no issue in reformatting the iPod to do whatever you need to do. Use the iPod as an external HD to transfer the music and pictures and then restore it with the Mac. No issue whatsoever.

 

[mad jew]

When you reformat, you lose all your data on the iPod. I just keep mine formatted for Windows because it's universal. It's only limited by the capabilities of FAT32 which basically means the only problem is transferring files larger than 4GB in size.