My iPod and My laptop! how to get them together?

Question

Hi - can download songs from iTunes to my laptop but can't play the songs on my iPod which ive downloaded on my desktop.- it shows the songs OK but they are greyed out. This is very frustrating. Pls help
viao   Windows XP  

Answer 1

Grey text when you look at the content and lock symbol at the bottom of the iTunes screen simply shows that your iPod is set to "automatically update songs and playlists". If you want to access your iPod directly, play it through your iTunes, connect it to a second computer etc. you just need to change the update method to "Manually manage songs and Playlists" in the iPod preferences. Managing Your Songs Manually
One thing to remember about manually updating though is that the iPod also has to be manually ejected before the "Do Not Disconnect" message will go away.Safely disconnect iPod
For info: iPod 101
The iPod offers three ways to transfer music from your computer. You can select one of the following update modes from the iPod Preferences menu in iTunes (Edit=>Preferences=>'iPod' tab):
1) Automatically update all songs and playlists. This is the default mode, in which your entire music library, including playlists, is automatically synced to your iPod. If the music library on your computer exceeds the iPod storage capacity, you are prompted to select a different update method.
2) Automatically update selected playlists only. With this option, iTunes automatically copies the playlists you have selected to the iPod when you connect it to the computer.
3) Manually manage songs and playlists. You can also choose to transfer music to the iPod manually. This allows you to drag and drop individual songs and playlists from iTunes to the iPod.