Under a Gibbous Moon

Last weekend I was over at a friend of my wife’s house, ostensibly to work on a network problem. While there, she mentioned, offhandedly, that while cleaning off her computer she had deleted all of the music from her My Music folder. She said she didn’t need it anymore, since it was all in her iTunes anyway.

“You mean your iPod,” I said, incredulous.

“No, iTunes,” she assured me.

I fired up iTunes and, low and behold, there was nothing there. It’s times like this that I’m glad that people never empty their recycle bins.

Hmm, Empty.

So, I ask here if she does have an iPod, which she does and which, she assures me, contains her entire music collection (they are handy for that). Problem solved. Right?

Wrong?

When I plugged in the iPod and started up iTunes again, it informed me that the iPod was not registered with this copy of iTunes and, in Apple’s infinite, anti-piracy wisdom, that all music from the iPod would be erased so that the two could be linked.

I hit the cancel button.

So, now for a complicated solution to a simple problem.

I downloaded and installed Winamp. Shut down the iPod service process to keep it from launching iTunes as soon as I plugged the iPod back in. Then I started up Winamp and plugged the iPod back in. I when to the media library and selected the device. I clicked on the little button that said “Sync”.

It asked me if I wanted to sync the device to the local library or vice versa. I chose the former. In short order, the music was transferred from the iPod and back into the My Music folder. I again unplugged the iPod.

I then shut down Winamp and restarted iTunes. I added the My Music folder to the iTunes library. I plugged the iPod back in. iTunes again informed me that I was a nasty pirate and that in order to use iTunes I would have to submit to the iPod being scoured clean. With a wry smile on my face, I clicked OK.

iTunes then deleted everything off of the iPod so that it could then recopy it back on.

I’m just glad she didn’t have an iPod touch.

Their databases are encrypted.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Related (maybe) posts:

1. Things could only go down hill from here
2. Something horrible this way comes
3. I need his job
4. Bose says I should pay $99 to fix something I didn’t break
5. Verizon’s incompetent customer service