Itunes- cannot read contents of iPhone! HELP!!!

Hello I just synced my 2.1 firmware iPhone with itunes yesterday for the first time and everything went fine. I was trying to copy songs from my iPod to iPhone without individually adding them from my music folders so I downloaded a program called 4media iPod to pc to do the transfer not realizing that it had set my iPhone up as a mac. (I have windows xp media center edition). I closed the program and opened up iTunes and got the message "iTunes cannot read the contents of iPhone. Please click on the preferences tab and restore to factory settings". I went back to the program and deleted the songs from the iPhone and connected back to iTunes but got the same message. I don't want to restore because I didn't create any backup. But now the computer only recognizes the phone as a camera. I read about a iTunes_control folder delete but I don't completely understand it. Can someone please help me with a way that doesn't involve restoring??????? Note: my iphone3g is not jailbroken.

I would do the restore and see if that corrects the issue.

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Itunes cannot read contents of iphone

For some reason, my wife's iPhone will no longer synch w/ iTunes.
When I plug in the phone, I get an error message saying "itunes cannot read contents of <my wife's name>'s iphone". The only apparent solution to this is to "Restore the iPhone software" in iTunes.
I can back up music, Outlook, etc, but I'm worried about the applications and any other customization/settings done on the phone. If I restore the phone, will my apps be intact afterwords? What else, if anything, might get lost?

Hi,
The apps are stored in iTunes. Select Apps under Library on the left side of the iTunes window. Those apps are available to resync under the Apps tab in the iTunes menu between Info and Music.
If you can restore from a backup, then the customized settings may still be intact but no guarantees. Best to make note of those settings before restoring.
You can see if there's a backup available from iTunes / Preferences then select the Devices tab.
Carolyn

Cannot read contents of iPhone.

Updated both iPhone and iTunes and now receive the following message:
iTunes cannot read the contents of the iPhone "************ iPhone". Go to the Summary tab in iPhone preferences and click Restore to restore this iPhone to factory settings.
I don't want to restore to the factory settings. I am afraid of losing everything I have on my iPhone.

In my case at least, I knew it was not a hardware problem because iPhoto opened and read photos off the phone with no problem. This link gave me the hint: <http://modmyi.com/forums/general/729191-itunes-cannot-read-contents-iphone.html>. Using iExplorer or iFunbox, find a file called Media/iTunes_Control/iTunes/iTunesDB or Media/iTunes_Control/iTunes/iTunesCDB. In my case it was the latter, and it was 0 bytes in length. An interrupted or failed sync must have left it there. Deleting it, with iTunes closed of course, allowed iTunes to see the phone and sync normally with it when it was next opened. Hope this helps somebody.
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Itunes cannot read contents of the ipod. go to summary tab in ipod preferences and click restore to restore to factory settings

I plugged in my ipod to install the latest version of itunes on my computer and I got this message: "itunes cannot read contents of the ipod. go to summary tab in ipod preferences and click restore to restore to factory settings". I can't get rid of it and now have zero songs on my ipod but all of my songs are in my library. Help, please.

Sorry, my mistake, the nano has a flash-based drive so most of that post won't apply, although you might see if the DFU restore section works.
Try also suggestions from iPod nano: Error message saying that iPod 'could not be identified properly'
tt2

ITunes cannot read contents & lost iPod content

As an update to an unanswered post last week:
Following the upgrade to iTunes 7, I now get the 'iTunes cannot read contents of iPod' message when I plug in my iPod. The message tells me to 'restore factory settings' but I can't do this (because the iPod isn't recognised) & don't want to do this because I don't want to lose what is on my iPod (it wasn't backed up & isn't in sync with iTunes).
Any suggestions?
In addition, all playlists have disappeared from my iPod menu along with a few thousand tracks. I believe the music is still on there because when I look at it via Windows, all the files seem to still be there.
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Cheers

Hi tc2000,
You'll have better luck at finding the help you need in the appropriate forum.
5th Gen Ipod
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=157
Sorry I can't help.

Itunes cannot read contents of IPOD, please restore to factory settings...

And I'm pretty sure I've done it like... 10 times now.
This is starting to drive me nuts... Im not sure when exactly the problem started, but my IPOD (30gig video) has been working fine since I got up... Up until now. I Believe it was just after updating to the newest version of ITunes, but Im not 100% sure.
Since then, almost every time I plug my IPOD into my laptop, ITunes pops up with this message and asks me to Restore my IPOD using the IPOD Updater. The IPOD is recognized by Windows Explorer every time, and is always recognized by the IPOD Updater.
Every time I Restore it, and rename the IPOD, recopy all my music, etc... It works fine until I use the IPOD for some extended period of time... I've tested it just using it for a few minutes then plugging it back in and it tried to update my music fine, but If I use it for a few hours, the next time I go to plug it in, I get the same ITunes Cannot Read Contents of IPOD error.
I've done the Five R's numerous times, Reinstalled both ITunes and the IPOD Services numerous times... Everything shy of formatting the system to get this to work, but it just keeps happening...
What's also weird is that when I DO Restore it, and set it to Update My Library in ITunes, It says the IPOD is linked to another library and then I have set it to link to mine? Could this have anything to do with it? For the record I have not been switching computers with it or anything lately... so I'm not sure if that has anything to do with it...
Anyone have any idea, or should I take out a Service Order?
Please let me know,
-Stef

I've got a brand new iPod Video 60Gb and i have had this message since the first time i synced it. I think i restored the iPod about 10 times but it's always crashing when i unlupg it. It try to listen to something, the musics are on the iPod but they aren't listed in playlists or under artists or songs.
Then i plug it to iTunes and i got the message: iTunes cannot read the content.
I've bought a Belkin card just for it, the one recommended for iPod USB 2.0. Doesn't change anything. I've tried different USB ports, again, nothing new.
I was just going to try using USB 1.0 but it's sooooooooooooo slow that it will take me like 12 hours to sync the iPod!
I don't know what to do now, as i can't find if it's a computer problem or an iPod problem...

What to do if when trying to sync iPhone to computer you get the message "itunes cant read content of iphone. restore to factory condition"?

what to do if when trying to sync iphone to computer the message appears "itunes cant read content of iphone. restore to factory condition"?

If you're receiving that message, you data are already gone. If you've been using iCloud and backing up your phone as recommended, you should have no data loss. If you have not, well, hard lesson learned. Good luck.

Ipod classic music erased, with "iTunes cannot read contents of iPod"

I went to sync my ipod classic 120GB and before it began, a message popped up telling me that there was a problem with my devices and that they should be scanned and fixed. I went to scan and fix them, but it failed each time. It started syncing but then an error message came up saying, "iTunes cannot read contents of iPod, go to summary tab in iPod preferences and click restore to restore this iPod to factory settings. I took my ipod out of the usb cable and looked to see that my music had all been erased! I went to the preferences tab that it told me to go to and if I restore the iPod to factory settings then all my media will obviously be erased. I have tried a few times since then to re-sync it but it is coming up each time. I had previously had another iPod with this same iTunes account, but it was lost. I bought this new one about 7 months ago and I have had no problem syncing until now. I also had to get a new hard drive for my computer, but that was about a year ago and I illegally saved the music files from my itunes to my new hard drive so I could have all the old music from my ipod on the new one. Is there any way I can get my music back onto my iPod or do I really have to set my itunes back to factory settings and erase all my media?

I've got a brand new iPod Video 60Gb and i have had this message since the first time i synced it. I think i restored the iPod about 10 times but it's always crashing when i unlupg it. It try to listen to something, the musics are on the iPod but they aren't listed in playlists or under artists or songs.
Then i plug it to iTunes and i got the message: iTunes cannot read the content.
I've bought a Belkin card just for it, the one recommended for iPod USB 2.0. Doesn't change anything. I've tried different USB ports, again, nothing new.
I was just going to try using USB 1.0 but it's sooooooooooooo slow that it will take me like 12 hours to sync the iPod!
I don't know what to do now, as i can't find if it's a computer problem or an iPod problem...

Itunes cannot read contents of this phone

I updated my iphone 6 to the ios 8.1.3. it rebooted the phone while still connected to the computer and itunes and now all of a sudden, itunes says "it cannot read contents of this phone" and the only option it's giving me is to restore to factory settings. unfortunately, i didn't back up first before updating. HELP! I'm going nuts here.

This solution worked for me: http://youtu.be/TeHiwRZbcho
Before doing it, though, I updated my Time Machine backup manually, just in case. I also added one step not in the video. The file I was told to delete I first copied to my desktop and confirmed that it could be put back on my device. It literally took one minute. As I type this, my phone is doing its first backup in two months and iTunes didn't give me any heartache.
FYI: I don't know why iTunes doesn't seem to allow multiple backups anymore but once I finished my phone's initial setup I backed it up to the cloud as a safety precaution so I would never have to start from scratch again. I do regular backups to my computer so that if one becomes corrupt, I can turn to the other.
I've had this same problem since the last update (12/15/15 -- almost two months ago) and was hoping this latest would fix it. It didn't. Factory reset was not a viable option. Finally, this morning I did one final search before piecing together what backups I could (photos, exporting from what few apps offer exports, etc) and tried one last search. Using the exact wording in the iTunes warning led me to the video.

ITunes cannot read contents of iPod "New Volume"...

Won a brand new iPod Nano 16GB yesterday. Installed everything and it worked fine until this morning... When I plugged in the iPod, iTunes gave me the following error message:
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So, I followed the instructions to restore the factory settings, but I keep getting the same error message just after the restore process is complete.
I also don't get all the restore options as mentioned on the support pages, and for some reason the iPod name I set up yesterday is now also gone.
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Can anyone please help?

Hello MadHolmes,
And welcome to Apple Discussions! And congrats on winning the iPod.
So your iPod is stuck in sort of a restore loop? It sounds to me like the iPod's drive letter may need to be reassigned. I would at least start there. Instructions on how to change your iPod's drive letter can be found in the Apple support document below.
[Windows confuses iPod with network drive or hard drive and may keep iPod from mounting or songs may seem to disappear|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1493]
Hope this helps.
B-rock

Itunes cannot read contents if the ipod

when plugged in it has windows display a warning that reads "itunes cannot read he contents of the ipod, go to summary tab in ipod preference and click restore to restore to factory settings" i have tried the 4 r's but the 5th r i am unable to do unless itunes can read the ipod right?? how do i restore this thing (nano) if itunes wont read it and allow me to go to ipod preferences???

this happened to me...another way to restore the ipod is to open it in my computer and right click on the drive your ipod is in . then choose "format" in format press start and it will restore your ipod (meaning it will delete everything off of it) once this is done try to connect to itunes...if that does not work, right click on "my computer" click "manage" then select "services and applications", then "services", then select "IPOD service"...if its not already, connect your ipod. press "stop" then "start"....then try it again in itunes.
the end

Another "itunes cannot read contents of ipod" problem

iPod is recognized by computer and has an icon on desktop. iTunes however won't recognize iPod.
I've tried the 5 Rs except for restore as I am unwilling to erase the months of work I spent uploading songs to my iPod.
AND...now when I disconnect the iPod from my computer, a large portion of songs are no longer listed in the menu. They have to be there as they haven't been deleted and were available when I connected to the computer.
Any suggestions? Apple is on the verge of losing a lifelong customer here.

I've got a brand new iPod Video 60Gb and i have had this message since the first time i synced it. I think i restored the iPod about 10 times but it's always crashing when i unlupg it. It try to listen to something, the musics are on the iPod but they aren't listed in playlists or under artists or songs.
Then i plug it to iTunes and i got the message: iTunes cannot read the content.
I've bought a Belkin card just for it, the one recommended for iPod USB 2.0. Doesn't change anything. I've tried different USB ports, again, nothing new.
I was just going to try using USB 1.0 but it's sooooooooooooo slow that it will take me like 12 hours to sync the iPod!
I don't know what to do now, as i can't find if it's a computer problem or an iPod problem...

Itunes cannot read contents on ipod

when i went to go plug my ipod in and update my ipod ..itunes froze for a while then sent me a message saying that itunes cannot read the contents of my ipod...all the songs on my ipod are gone but are still on itunes

hi, yes i also have this problem, i have to keep resetting my pod and uploading tunes again!!!!!! help

ITunes cannot read contents of iPod - all music seems to have dissapeared

Hello,
I've had a 160 GB classic iPod for a bit more than a year (so out of warranty) and hadn't had this problem before until today. When I connect it to my computer iTunes sends a message saying it cannot read its contents and asks to restore it. If I do I loose the 100+ GB music I have on it, if I don't when I disconnect the iPod from the computer, it says there is no music, although the space is occupied (only less than 60 GB free space). I've restored and reloaded my iPod several times, and every time I connect it to iTunes the same thing happens. I should mention that I have iTunes set up in manual mode, and that the problem happens only after I play something on the iPod disconnected from the computer (that is, if I connect it and disconnect it, things are fine, until I try to play something on the iPod).
Can anyone help me? After reloading my iPod with music I'm afraid of connecting it to the computer and losing everything, but I cannot load new stuff on it any other way.
Thanks!

*Check your iPod with Diagnostics Mode*
It's possible that your iPod's hard drive has started to fail. Take your iPod and place your right thumb on the centre SELECT button and your left on the top MENU button. Press down both thumbs for about 6 seconds until your iPod reboots. Immediately move your left thumb around to the rewind button |<< on the left and hold this down together with SELECT for a further 6 seconds. Your iPod should now switch into Diagnostic Boot mode. Press MENU for *Manual Test*, then select *IO > HardDrive > HDSMARTData* to reveal your stats. For comparison here are mine for my 2 year old 6th Generation Classic:
Retracts: 889
Reallocs: 12
Pending Sectors: 0
PowerOn Hours: 2202
Start/Stops: 894
Temp: Current 24c
Temp: Min 10c
Temp: Max 50c
Take a note of your results. When finished press *SELECT & MENU* for 6 seconds to reset the iPod again.
With modern disc drives sectors are no longer marked bad by a disc scan, if the SMART firmware detects a sector it has trouble accessing it will attempt to invisibly reallocate it to a spare area of the disc.
Note that I've only 12 remapped sectors and none pending. To help explain what the numbers mean here is an extract from the Wikipedia S.M.A.R.T. article:
*Reallocated Sectors Count*
Count of reallocated sectors. When the hard drive finds a read/write/verification error, it marks this sector as "reallocated" and transfers data to a special reserved area (spare area). This process is also known as remapping, and "reallocated" sectors are called remaps. This is why, on modern hard disks, "bad blocks" cannot be found while testing the surface – all bad blocks are hidden in reallocated sectors. However, as the number of reallocated sectors increases, the read/write speed tends to decrease. The raw value normally represents a count of the number of bad sectors that have been found and remapped. Thus, the higher the attribute value, the more sectors the drive has had to reallocate.
*Pending sector count*
Number of "unstable" sectors (waiting to be remapped, because of read errors). If an unstable sector is subsequently written or read successfully, this value is decreased and the sector is not remapped. Read errors on a sector will not remap the sector (since it might be readable later); instead, the drive firmware remembers that the sector needs to be remapped, and remaps it the next time it's written.
Large numbers of Reallocs or Pending Sectors would suggest your drive is failing and that you may need to repair or replace your iPod. Check your stats after another attempt to update your iPod. If the numbers increase that again points to hard drive failure. While it won't be good news at least you'll know it isn't some random software problem and you can decide what to do next.
<hr>
If your iPod checks out OK try this tip for rebuilding it...
*Break up large transfers*
In iTunes select the menu item *File... New Smart Playlist*. Change the first drop-down box to Playlist, the next to is and the next to Music or whatever playlist holds the bulk of the content you want on your device. Tick against *Limit to*, type in say 10, then change the drop-down to GB, and set the last drop-down to artist. When you click OK you can enter a name for the playlist, e.g. Transfer. Now sync this playlist to your iPod rather than your entire library. When the sync is complete modify the rule ( *File... Edit playlist* ) to increase the size by your chosen amount, then sync and repeat. You can experiment with different size increments, if it doesn't work just choose something a bit smaller until it works each time. Before long you should have all your music on your iPod. Once that's done you can move on to other media such as podcasts, videos, photos, playlists etc.
tt2

ITunes not reading contents from iPhone on MacBook

Hi, new year greetings !! New year new problem with my apple environment.
1)This is the sequence if events. I had downloaded few music podcasts on my iTunes through my MacBook.
2)When I try To sync the podcast it to my iPhone, it fails, does not copy but gives no error message
3)Some one tells me about transferring podcasts from MacBook to iPhone using third party software.
4) I download the software and started using it.
5)After 5 minutes figured out it was no use so I uninstalled the software
6)i plugged my iPhone to my mac immediately after and iTunes pops this message "iTunes is unable to read contents of this iPhone, goto summary tab in iPhone preferences and click Restore to restore this phone to factory setting"
This has never happened before, it happened after using the software which I have already uninstalled.
Pls help, what am I to do..
And my initial problem how do I copy the podcasts to my iPhone ??
Pls help
Sayeed

Same thing just happened to me. iPhone synced successfully yesterday, but now iTunes wants me to restore the factory settings on my iPhone. Not a cable problem, as I have tried two different USB cables.
What's more, this is not the only iTunes problem of the morning. I was trying to use my iPod (not iPhone) to move my Music library to my son's computer. An error message popped up that my computer (not his) was not authorized to play iTunes purchases, and all purchases would be deleted from my iPod unless I authorized my computer. Even though this computer has been authorized for years, I tried to authorize it as instructed -- only to repeatedly get an error message (-42408), which is apparently a common problem these days.
So I thought, let's see if the iPhone gets the same authorization problem when synced. Well, that didn't work out too well.....
Not too happy with Apple at the moment. What should have been a simple and quick process has now turned into a time-consuming nightmare of multiple problems affecting multiple devices, and apparently these problems are common.

Itunes- cannot read contents of iPhone! HELP!!!

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