Manual managing of music & iphone restores

hi!
a minor query: i manage my music manually on my iphone, so every time a restore is required it clears all the music and i have to go back and find all the stuff i want to put on there again and move it over. it's a major pain. i'm wondering if there's a way to avoid this happening. backing up doesn't help because it only backs up the stuff i'm syncing.
can anyone help? many thanks in advance.

The main "advantage" of manually managing a traditional iPod is that you can connect it to more than one library, say your computers at home and at work, and selectively add or remove content from the device. A second, though potentially dangerous, advantage is that you can remove items you've synced to the iPod to free up space on your hard drive. Of course this leaves no backup for when the iPod fails as many tales of woe in these forums can attest.
There are two major differences between media management on an iPhone and earlier Apple devices:
1. Media/Apps content on an iPhone can only be managed from a single library, even when "Manually managing" the content.
2. Any content that is already on the device will be removed it there isn't a corresponding file in the local library when you update the device.
Between them these undermine both "advantages" of manual management. It is much easier to create a playlist in iTunes that contains the tracks you want on your device and automatically sync with that. And once you've switched to auto sync you can also take advantage of smart playlists that update themselves, e.g. include your 10/20/30 most recently added/played/updated albums etc. Added to which play counts, dates & ratings now get synced between your library and your device.
BTW, as far as I can tell,
3. The iPhone does not support disk mode.
is an independent fact and is neither a cause or consequence of the two behaviours described above, despite the oft-made assertions in these forums that lack of disk mode "explains" why you can't manaually manage from more than one computer. Disk mode allows Explorer/Finder access to the filing system of the device independently of iTunes, however with or without it iTunes is always able to manage content on the device.
tt2

Similar Messages

  • How do I manually manage the music on my iphone 5 with itunes 11?

    How do I manually manage the music on my iphone 5 with itunes 11? I have managed to get some music on my iphone 5 but can't repeat the process. The add music button in the upper right allows me to edit play lists .

    iTunes 11 for Windows: Set up syncing for iPod, iPhone, or iPad
    Read the section titled
    Sync your device manually

  • HT1535 What all gets erased when you choose to manually manage your music?

    I got a new laptop not long ago and I currently have the newest version of iTunes installed on it. I also just got the iPhone 5 so I wanted to put more (new) music on it that did not upload with iCloud. Except I want to manually manage my music as opposed to automatically syncing. When I choose the option to manually manage, it says that everything will be erased from my iPhone. Can someone just clarify what exactly will be erased, is it just my music and apps or is it basically everything on my phone as if its gettign restored to its factory settings?
    Thanks

    Hi, welcome to Apple Discussions.
    Unlike most of Apple's iPod devices, the iPhone is resticted to holding content from a single library, even when manually managing that content. If a particular file isn't in the local iTunes library when you update the device (e.g. add or remove a single track) it will be deleted. This makes any potential benefit of manual management pointless. Since this restiction is imposed by iTunes you may prefer to look at 3rd party tools to manage media content on your iPhone. Alternatively stick your library on an extenal drive so that you can manage it from any computer avaiable to you.
    tt2

  • I have over 16,000 songs in my iTunes library so I manually manage the music on all my devices. I bought a new iPod to replace an older one. I'd like to transfer all 900 songs to my new device without having to handpick each song. Is there a way to do it?

    I have over 16,000 songs in my iTunes library so I manually manage the music on all my devices. I bought a new iPod to replace an older one. I'd like to transfer all 900 songs to my new device without having to handpick each song from my music library. Is there a way to do it?

    No. I have quite a few more 16,000, so I don't manually manage. Making playlists for each device makes things much easier to organize. You can create regular lists of essential tracks and smart playlists to automatically catch new content, top rated, most played etc. If you'd done it this way all along configuring a new or restored device would be the work of moments.
    tt2

  • When trying to manually manage my music and videos on itunes its telling me that im already signed up to one itunes library and if i apply these setings it will replace my current itunes library. is this safe and would i be able too retrieve my deleted mu

    when trying to manually manage my music and videos on itunes its telling me i am already connected to another itunes library and that if i apply these settings it will delete all of my data and replace it with the current itunes library. will this just delete from the i tunes library or from my i tunes account all together?

    Thanks for your reply. I don't keep all of my music in the iTunes' designated music folder. I don't like the way iTunes reorganizes my songs and I keep all my music in my own self organized music folders as I don't use iTunes as my primary media application. Not to mention allot of my files come from all different corners of my computer's hard drive. It would literally take months to go through over 20 gigs of media files to pick out the songs I have in my iPhone library to rebuild an iTunes library. Like i said, I don't even use iTunes other than to transfer files to my iPhone. I thought the purpose of manually managing the files was so you don't have to sync it with the iTunes library but now it won't give my that option without requiring me to delete everything on my phone I worked so hard on.
    What I don't understand is logically or technically why iTunes HAS to delete all the content off of my iphone. Who's decision in the Apple's software engineering department was to require the one's iPhone to be erased if someone loses their iTunes library? Its frustrating because it makes no sense and I feel as if the software is punishing me for reasons I don't understand by threatening to delete all my content off my phone. Is there absolutely no way to transfer my music to my iPhone without deleting everything currently on and completely rebuilding my music library from scratch?

  • Is there a way to auto sync playlists while manually managing your music?

    I used to use WMP11 before I bought an iPod and used iTunes, and in that I was able to auto sync playlists to my Samsung dap, as well as being able to manually drag tracks/albums to it.
    Since using iTunes, I have found it is not as accessible in this regard. Of course, you can opt to manually manage your music, but if you do this, it does not auto sync any info. This means that if I drag a playlist to my iPod and alter it at a later stage by adding more tracks, it won't alter it on the iPod unless I manually replace it with the amended one. It also means that any ratings that I set on my iPod do NOT get transfered to the tracks in iTunes when connected.
    What I have done is set a playlist called 'iPod Tracks' in iTunes, and have dragged any extra albums to my iPod using that, as well as the smart playlist 'Top Tracks'. But the disadvantage of this is, if I drag a few songs from an album into my 'iPod Tracks' playlist, then later decide I want the whole album and drag that over, I end up with two of the same tracks in the playlist, which makes it look very untidy (although I am aware only one of each track will be on the iPod) so it is not ideal.
    Surely there must be a way to auto sync playlists so that when you amend them in iTunes it does so on the iPod too, as well as manually drag over any extra tracks/albums you want without having a messy playlist work-around like I have done.
    Any help/ideas?
    Thanks in advance.

    There is no way to sync content back to itunes. As you are aware there are a couple of unsupported ways to recover your content, you will need to decide if your content is valuable enough to go down this route.
    If so and you are not comfortable with the procedures, I suggest taking the unit to a data recovery specialist with mac experience.

  • I selected manually manage music for my iTouch yet it keeps trying to sync to my entire music library.  I do not want that as it is taking up too much space.  How can I stop my iTouch from continuing to try and sync so I can manually manage my music?

    How do I get my iTouch to manually manage my music?  I selected manually manage, yet every time I hook my iTouch to my computer, it attempts to sync and load my entire library.  I do not want the entire library as it takes up too much space and I don't want all of those songs on my iTouch.  What am I missing?  What else can I do? 

    Oops, sorry, I think you probably already did what I suggested (turning off auto synch).
    I have the same question - how to synch, say, just one playlist.
    There is an option to synch only things that are checked. But everything (in every playlist and item, is checked and there doesn't appear to be a box to "uncheck all", nor can you check each playlist individually.

  • Manually managing my music doesn't work

    since i installed the last version of itunes, if i set it to manually manage my music, it doesn't work. i try dragging the files over to the ipod, and itunes says it's updating the ipod. the progress bar goes to the end, but the files never get copied. if i disable it, then files in the library copy over fine.
    what gives?
      Windows XP Pro  

    Hello, stashmore94. 
    Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
    Usually the reason for interrupted, stalled or canceled syncing alerts is a result of either security software interference or TCP/IP modifications.  Also, non Apple cables and low powered USB hubs can cause this issue.  Here are a couple resources that I would recommend going through as they may help resolve the issue.
    iTunes: Troubleshooting security software issues
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3125
    Apple software on Windows: May see performance issues and blank iTunes Store
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts4123
    Cheers,
    Jason H.

  • I have searched for solutions to the error 13019, but everyone with the problem doe'st manually manage their music like I do. I really don't want to have to sync and gothrough that mess. Help? solution for manually managing videos and music!!

    I have searched for solutions to the error 13019, but everyone with the problem doesn't manually manage their music like I do. I really don't want to have to sync and go through that mess. Please Help! solution for manually managing videos and music!!

    - Make an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store and hear what they hae to say. It is free.
    Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar                          
    you can turn on Assistive Touch it adds the Power and other buttons to the iPods screen. Settings>General>Accessibility>Assistive Touch

  • Manually managing the music on my ipod with the new itunes

    How can I manually manage the music on my ipod with the new itunes?  I used to be able to do it without any issues, but now I am unable to find how to do it.  Thanks!

    From iTunes' help:

  • How can I delete music from my iPhone 4 (iOS7) when I manually manage the music in iTunes, but it has no affect on my phone's music library?

         I'm attempting to delete music from my iPhone 4 (iOS7). When I connect it to iTunes, and the music shows up, I delete the music from the phone. When I disconnect the phone, the music is still there. The same thing happens if I try to sync the phone before disconnecting. I have "manually manage music" checked. Additionally, when I reconnect my iPhone, the music I "deleted" from it when it was previously connected to iTunes no longer appears, preventing me from trying to delete it again.
    I know I can swipe left on each song to delete it on my phone, and I have been, but that takes a long time when you're trying to delete everything on your iPhone.
    Suggestions?

    https://discussions.apple.com/message/20344222#20344222.

  • I want to manually manage my music on my iPhone, but iTunes 11 won't let me!!! Anyone have suggestions? I just want to be able to delete songs on my iPhone from my computer!!!

    Any help would be great. I have checked the Manually Manage Music, but when I click on the music to see what is on my iPhone the only option it gives me is to sync it and I don't want to sync it, I can't hold that much music on my phone. I HATE HATE HATE this new stupid itunes and I wish they would get rid of it!!!

    Of course you can sync music to the device.
    Connect the device to the computer.
    Select the Music tab.
    Select the content desired to be synced.
    Sync.
    This is covered in the User's Guide, it might be a good idea for you to read it.

  • Itunes wants me to sync my iphone even though I tried to select manual manage my music

    So my computer died right before I got an iphone. My apple ID is set up with my old computer, so all the music I've downloaded have been added to my phone. I'm now sharing my boyfriend's computer, but when I went to add music to my phone is wouldn't allow me. I tried to select manually manage, but to apply it I have to sync my phone with the current library (which it the opposite thing I want when I click manually manage). I looked into it and syncing my phone will delete all the content not backed up on icloud. Is there another way to add music on my phone without deleting everything on it? I dont have any music from my old computer on my phone because my computer died before I could, all my music is from the cloud. Is there a way around syncing? I dont want my boyfriends music on my phone.

    Try to disable autosync and backup manually by right clicking on your phone in the device list in itunes.

  • How do i manually manage my new iphone without erasing everything?

    OK, so i got a new iphone 5 for christmas. i already have an ipod touch so through icloud i restored everything to my new phone. then i went on to my computer to add my cds since you cant do that through icloud, and when i tried i couldnt. then when i tried to set it to manual manage it said you can only sync to one computer at a time, and gave me two options: erase and sync or cancel. i understand this happening if it was a new computer and i previously synced my phone  to another computer, but for me thats not the case, this is the first computer ive used with my new phone. if syncing were to erase only my pictures, songs and videos i wouldnt mind just deleting everything but it will delete all my apps and app info, and there are things i need. is there anyway i can manually manage my new phone without erasing everything????

    You don't manually manage with iCloud, you manually manage with iTunes on your computer. So, if you want to manually manage, get all of the content in your iTunes library on your computer first.
    You can re-download iTunes purchased content:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2519

  • IPod Nano appears on my list of iTunes devices. Summary tab shows 928 manually managed songs; music tab however shows nothing. Where did the songs go?

    I recently undated software all around, reloaded windows 8 and upgraded to windows 8.1.  My iPod Nano (1.0.4) appears on my list of iTunes (11.1.3) devices. The summary tab for my iPod shows 928 manually managed songs (2 of 8 GBs still empty).  However, when I click on the music tab immediately to the right of the summary tab, iTunes no longer shows my songs, playlists or audio books.  Instead iTunes invites me to "sync" my iPod and kiss my contents goodbye. Why won't the songs appear in iTunes anymore?  My iPod still plays the songs and they appear on the tiny iPod screen.   iTunes however won't show them. iTunes still allows me to drag and drop new music and books into my iPod but iTunes won't let me see the particulars.  I want to delete some audio books I've finished but iTunes won't let me to them.  What gives?

    Thanks iPodmaven for showing me how to check the arrow to the right of the device image and convert it into a inverted triangle.  Problem solved!  Thanks

Maybe you are looking for