How do i transfer photos and music from ipod to computer?

Question

Hi everyone,
a couple of weeks ago my computer crashed and i lost everything, i don't know how to put the music and photos that are on my ipod back onto my computer, can anyone help me? i am especially bothered about the photos, as they are the only copy of them that i have (the other copy was on my computer) and they are quite sentimental, i really don't want to lose them! I have seen other people say to plug in the ipod, go to my computer and unhide the music and photos, i think i have found the music but it's all under weird names and my computer won't let me open it. With the photos, all that i can find is two folders called 'photo database' and 'thumbs', but again, i can't open them, i just get a message up saying 'windows cannot open this file' and 'windows needs to know where this file was made before it can open it.' if anybody can help me then it would be much appriciated, i really don't want to lose my stuff. many thanks in advance x

Answer 1

These links will give you several methods of recovering whatever songs remain on your iPod; some free, some third-party software, some more comprehensive for restoring Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, etc. Read them and their associated links before deciding on a strategy that works for you. There are many various third-party software programs that will offer a more robust process, or an easier GUI. Do a Google search for them if the links below leave you wanting…
Don King Resurrected: Deleted files from hard drive (free user steps – music recovery only)
MacMuse: Computer Crashed (free user steps – music recovery only)
Copying music from iPod to computer (a primer on various methods and software)
Copying Songs from Your iPod to a Mac or PC (resource for 3rd party software)
iPodRip Software
PodUtil Software
YamiPod Software (Mac & Windows)
PodPlus Software (Windows)
TuneJack Software (Windows)
Senuti (Mac OS X v10.3 or higher Recovery Utility)
XPlay (Windows software For Music Recovery &/or Cross-Platform Functionality)
XPlay Photo Browser (For recovering Photos)
Extremely Simple Method: (just to recover the song files – may not work on a Mac)
1 - Open iTunes
2 - Edit=>Preferences=>’Advanced/General’ tab
2a --- Select ‘Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library’: checked
2b --- Select ‘Keep iTunes Music folder organized’: checked
2c --- Click OK to store changes
3 - Attach your iPod to the PC and hold down the ‘Shift+Ctrl’ keys until the iPod is fully recognized (this will defeat the auto-sync process)
4 - If you get a dialog box to link the Library, decline this option
5 - Within iTunes: Edit=>Preferences=>’iPod’ tab: switch iPod to manual transfer – click ‘OK’
6 – File=>Add Folder
7 - Browse to and open ‘My Computer’ (click on the ‘+’) and select the iPod
8 - Click OK
9 - The music files should start to transfer back into iTunes
9a –- This will take some time depending on your PC and the amount of songs on the iPod
No Playlists, or Ratings, Last Played, & Play Count attributes will be transferred from the iPod to iTunes using this method.
If you have problems with seeing the iPod within 'My Computer', try switching your update method to 'manual' , detach the iPod, then reconnect the iPod to the PC.
After recovering your song files, strongly consider developing a thorough backup strategy for just this type of situation (and many other potential disasters).
You need at least two full sets of your music, not including what is on the iPod:
-- One full set on the PC within iTunes (on internal HD or ExHD)
-- One full set on an separate external backup medium (CD/DVD/ExHD/other)
-- One (full or partial) set on the iPod
Music files on just the iPod and only one other medium is not considered having any backup.
If you cannot store your complete music files on the computer’s internal HD, then create and maintain at least two external sets (any multiple combinations of ExHDs, DVDs, CDs).
Backup both the music files and the Library database file (iTunes Library.itl). What are the iTunes Library files?
Here is a post on developing a thorough backup strategy:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1583994#1583994