IPod and iTunes on Several Computers

Question

Having given in to my son and bought him an iPod Classic I have already fallen foul of Apple software and before I lose any more hair please can someone confirm my understanding of how iTunes works. Once an account is set up on a PC (in this case my son's) and it has reset the music libary into its format making all previous links across the home network invalid, new files including photos can only be added from this PC and account? Does it really meant that any music or pictures created on another computer on the home network have to be transfered to his computer before they can be synched onto his iPod? Can the iPod be made to recognise photos dropped into the photo folder using Windows Explorer or does Apple use a format other than jpg?
Wish I had stuck to my guns and bought him a Creative Zen like mine (heresy on an Apple forum no doubt) but ease of use is clearly not on Apple's menu.

Answer 1

I suspect part of your problem may stem from letting iTunes reorganise or "Consolidate" the library. iTunes can be made to play nice by leaving music wherever it started - you can import tracks into the library from multiple locations either on the same computer or across a network.
In theory, if you do import into the iTunes Music folders it should copy those files in rather than moving them, so your original files as used by, for example, Windows Media Player, should still be there.
These options are at Edit > Preferences > Advanced > General:
- Keep iTunes Music folder organised
- Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to the library
The normal location for an iTunes library under Windows XP is at *C:\Documents and Settings\<User Name>\My Documents\My Music\iTunes>*. Did you move the default Windows *My Music* & *My Pictures* folders into the iTunes library?
My personal preference is to have both of these options disabled as I prefer to have control over the organisation of my files. If iTunes had to convert any WMA files to make them compatible, the orginals should remain, and the AAC/MP3 copies will be in the iTunes Music folder as will any tracks downloaded from the iTunes Store.
Protected purchased music & videos can be played on any of your computers (up to 5 at any one time) provided you install iTunes on the machine and authorise it for the account. For example I have iTunes on 3 of my home computers & one at work and happily play my music on any of these machines.
I'm a bit confused over your problems with photos. As far as I'm aware iTunes can be set to sync photos from a selected folder (& sub-folders) to the iPod. It doesn't move or alter the photos, but will add a folder called *iPod Photo Cache* into the top level folder. Rather than try to sync all my photos I have created a sub-folder of my iTunes folder called *iPod Photos* and in there I copy selected folders of pictures that I want to have on my various iPods.
Unlike Windows Media Player, iTunes doesn't automatically search for new music added into either it's own folder or other locations. If you add music to your network using other tools then these files will need to be manually imported into iTunes in order to enable them to be synced to the iPod. (Or you can download a tool called iTunes Folder Watch). For photos, however, they just need to be dropped into the selected photo sync folder.
These guides may bee of help:
See The New User's Guide for iTunes and The iPod Classic Features Guide.
tt2