Ipod as portable disk

It's a pity that (it seems) you cannot use your ipod as a portable disk between PC's and Macs...only between Macs or between PCs (if the software is present). It should be possible to bypass the software requirements (and iPod formatting) and use it as a portable disk. If I am wrong about this -can someone enlighten me -please

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
This is possible. The iPod needs to be formatted for use with Windows though. You will need to go on a Windows computer and restore the iPod...
Restore the iPod
Then you can load all the songs onto it from your mac and enable it for disk use. It will not be recognized by macs and pcs. Mac-formatted iPods cannot be read by Windows, but it works the other way around.
The only downside to this is that you cannot update the iPod's software from the mac (if another software update is released). Any software updates will have to be done on a PC. If you want to do it on a Mac, you will need to restore the iPod on a mac, preventing it from being able to be used on a PC.
btabz

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No music on ipod but in disk mode I can play the files from the ipod

My company now requires our laptops to be encrypted. So we have this Utimaco Safeware stuff installed. Ever since it was installed my ipod no longer can play music. Odd thing is I can put the ipod into enable disk use and the songs are there and I can play them in quicktime. After I disconnnect the ipod the ipod tells me there is no music.

Odd thing is I can put the ipod into enable disk use and the songs are there and I can play them in quicktime. After I disconnnect the ipod the ipod tells me there is no music.
If the files were placed on the iPod outside of iTunes or another iPod manager, the iPod will not recognize them as songs. Those transferred to the iPod through iTunes will not normally be visible as files on it.
(33750)

MSSGE attempting to copy to disk "Ipod" failed the disk could not be read..

What is going on with this alert message " Attempting to copy to the disk " Ipod" failed the disk could not be read from or written to." I down loaded a song from Itunes and all of the sudden I get this message and Itunes went crazy, it wouldn't eject my Ipod, I took it to apple and they restored my Ipod saying it was fine, then I get home and I can't put alot of songs in my library back on it, itunes keeps repeating that message. I had no problem putting them on before. I have uninstalled both Itunes and Ipod updater numerous times to no avail HELP!

See if any of the troubleshooting steps in this article help: "Disk cannot be read from or written to" when syncing iPod or "Firmware update failure" error when updating or restoring iPod

" Attempting to copy to disk "---- ipod" failed.The disk could not be.... ?

hello every one and happy holidays.
" Attempting to copy to disk "---- ipod" failed.The disk could not be read from or written to. "
I have this problem and I can find a solution
I had try every possible tip
including.
- reset many times
- restore
- diskwarrior
- disk utility
- erase disk
- erase disk Zero out data
- erase disk 7-Pass Erase
- iPod Updater 2005-03-23
- iPod Updater 2005-09-06
- iPod Updater 2005-09-23
- MacOSXUpdateCombo10.4.3
- iTunes6.0.1 reinstall
the ipod works just fine and operates properly
it just does NOT whant to sync with itunes
I know I'm not the only one with this issue
there are many post in regard of this problem
I believe that this is a software issue and not a hardware
please comment and give any tip for me and the other people with this problem
thank you
sam
dual 800 G4 Mac OS X (10.4.3)

I had the same problem. And to think I actually HESITATED at installing the update. Oh wait... this happened AFTER the update. Funny how often that happens, eh? But I digress...
Anyway, I had two errors- initially the iPod stated my music library was somewhere else, and did I want to sync to that library. When I said yes, it reverted then to the "attempting to copy to disk"error. Further, iTunes showed that my iPod on the iTunes was EMPTY. However, my actual iPod hadn't lost any data. Confused yet? So am I.
*Last ditch effort- I went back in, and updated all my permissions, did a permission repair and then a permission verify.
* Also did a disk verify on the iPod to make sure it wasn't sick.
*I also drug a new song into my library.
*Changed from the USB plugin to the firewire. (Although I did this earlier in the day, and hadn't seen a noticeble change)
* Opened the bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. (should have done that a few hours ago)
When my first pop up asked about did I want to sync to the mystery persons library, I said yes. (At the worst, I have all my music and could reimport all 30G of it, if necessary.) And immediately, the sync began, and began appropriately. However, it IS re-syncing every single song I had on the iPod to begin with.
I suspect something nasty happened in the iTunes update, ever since the intel thing happened, the updates have been a bit sketchy. I really like Apple products, but I've gone through 3 iPods due to software meltdowns, and it's a bit frustrating.
Good luck!
iMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) iPod scroll wheel,
iMac G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9) 3rd generation I think...

Using ipod as hard disk

I use my ipod's hard disk to transfer music from my office pc to my home pc. I decided not to delete the iTunes Music Folder from the ipod's hd in case my PC's hd crashed. Is this recommended? I only have 6GB of music downloaded so space is not an issue (for now).
Also, I like to know if using ipod during flights is ok? I know that using cellphones are not allowed but how abt ipod?

Hi Larien,
Im sorry im not going to answer your question as i dont know the answer!! But, im in a similar situatio to yourself, i want to transfer my i-tunes from my parents desk top to my new laptop and was wondering if its an easy process to do? as iv got over 1000 songs in my i-tunes and dont want to risk losing them all!!!
Pete.

Using iPod as a disk (and only a disk)

I've got an iPod 4G, connected to Leopard. I want to use this as an ordinary external usb drive. I'm positive I've done this before (used to to beta test Leopard actually).
Anyway, I'm having some trouble doing it again. In Disk Utility I've selected my iPod's drive and tried either partitioning it (to 1 new partition) or erasing it (and thereby reformatting it) and both times I get an "I/O Error". I've tried all three options for partition type (GUID/MBR/etc) but same thing every time.
The iPod is in disk mode (forced), and I've quit iTunes (and iTunesHelper), to make sure it's not interfering.
Any ideas?

You can't sync or drag your music back directly from an iPod to iTunes, the transfer of music is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there is a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs but not playlists back to iTunes on Windows posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward.
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
iGadget Windows Only

Using ipod as a disk

I just got an iPod classic 160 to replace a broken one. This one seems to work a little differently than the old one (I guess it's newer thinner model). I used to use the old one as a disk to move files from my laptop to my iMac. The iPod is syched to my iMac. When I plug it into my laptop it comes up but then says you can now disconnect before I have a chance to copy the files. With the old one it would come up on the desktop of the laptop and I would double click the iPod icon to open it up, drag the files into the window and it would copy. Then I would eject the iPod from iTunes (where it did not sync) and plug it into the iMac and drag the files onto the desktop of the iMac, and they would copy. Then drag them out of the iPod window and empty the trash and all was fine. What changed or what am I doing wrong?
Thanks for any help.
Another question. Does using the iPod as a disk shorten the life of the iPod? I'm moving about 16 gigs of data (I leave enough space on the iPod so I can do this).

Does the iPod still appear on your laptops Desktop (or in Computer if it's a PC) as an externally mounted drive?
Does using the iPod as a disk shorten the life of the iPod?
No.
B-rock

How to restore ipod via itunes while ipod is in disk mode?

I am trying to restore my ipod via itunes. My ipod is corrupted and I can only connect it to the computer while the ipod is in disk mode. After ipod is connected and in disk mode, the first stage of restore via itunes begins, the bar appears, fills up and then disappears. Then my ipod seems to disconnect from the computer and begin an infinite reset loop algorithm. How do I successfully restore my ipod while it is in disk mode?

I have the same problem, but my ipod stays in disk mode all the time. Won't show in iTunes.tried Apples suggestion to restore in disk utility, but no dice! I have tried everything and now I will give up, maybe it's too old?

HT1363 how to put ipod touch into disk mode

Hello,
Does anyone know how to put an ipod touch in disk mode? I don't have the box in itunes to enable disk use!
Thanks,
Don

This article doesn't mention it being possible with a Touch.
Using your iPod as a storage drive - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1478

How to set the ipod touch to disk drive

How can I set the ipod touch into disk drive?

You cannot. This is not a feature of the ipod touch.

Ipod nano in disk mode (yes i already read the other one)

my ipod is in disk mode just wondering how else to get it out or how many times i should repeat the hold menu then hold the middle button?

got it

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I have to place my ipod nano in disk mode for itunes (or Windows for that matter) to find it. In disk mode Windows and Itunes see the ipod and it passes all the diagnostic tests save for the sync test where it can no longer see the ipod and apparently a file is also not found. I'm ready to just reset it, but am unable to make that happen.
This problem began when I downloaded some songs from Amazon and fumbled the job purchasing and downloading some of them twice. Not very smart, but it was late. Anyway, I also downloaded their Cloud player and had it pass the songs to itunes. It was in itunes that I saw the duplicate copies of the songs. Itunes and the cloud player proceeded to butt heads, I deleted the the extra song copies and also uninstalled the Amazon cloud player. Then itunes went into the state I've described above.
I'd appreciate any help.

Hi GChild6,
If your iPod is being recognized as a disk, you may find the following article helpful:
iPod: Appears in Windows but not in iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1363
Regards,
- Brenden

HT1378 i am unable to put my ipod classic into disk mode. what do i do to reset/restore it?

i am unable to put my ipod classic into disk mode. what do i do to get the red x tto go away and restore my ipod?

imlockedoutofmyiphone wrote:
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There is no icloud on an iphone 3, because you need IOS 5.0 or higher, the highest IOS is 4.2.1

How to make itunes recognize ipod when in disk mode

my ipod classic was in a reboot loop and after reading up about it i put my ipod into disk mode and connected it to my pc to restore it to factory settings. However when i connected it itunes hasnt recognized it despite it appearing in my computor folder. i'm really stuck for ideas so any help at all would be very much appreciated

I have the same problem, but my ipod stays in disk mode all the time. Won't show in iTunes.tried Apples suggestion to restore in disk utility, but no dice! I have tried everything and now I will give up, maybe it's too old?

Move library to a portable disk

My laptop is out of disk. how can i move my itunes library to a portable disk and use it from there without losing any configurations?

I have exactly the same question for a MacOS X (10.4.8) machine. Help!
My laptop is out of disk. how can i move my itunes
library to a portable disk and use it from there
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Ipod as portable disk

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