Restore iPod after hard drive format

I just formatted my computer and imported my iTunes library back. However, whenever I connect my iPod Touch 4G to it, iTunes says that it will erase the iPod. I tried restoring it to factory then restoring from iCloud, but it still wants to erase my stuff and replace it with the "authorized" copies on my computer. How do I avoid this? And if I do have to erase everything, will my settings on iCloud be intact so I can just sync them to the new apps?

To the best of my knowledge, iCloud stores the app data but not the apps themselves.
If your library has been wiped out, you're not totally out of luck but it will be a nuisance. Apps, TV shows and movies can be downloaded multiple times without being charged. In the past, music could not be downloaded again without charge but that may have changed.

Similar Messages

Restore Library after hard drive format

I had to reformat my Windows hard drive and, of course, then I had to restore my Itunes Library. My music files are stored in a different HD so, I didnt have to back them up. I restored my library using the method described in this page article http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93313.
It worked fine, but now all my play counts are gone. How can I have them back? I have all my playlists, even the song ratings, but no play counts. Did I do something wrong? I haven't sync'ed my iPod yet, som I still have my play counts in it.
Thanks for your help.

Our hard drive crashed completely and we installed a completely new hard drive. My sister and I both shared the same library for our Videos. She plugged her's into the computer and all the music was erased almost immediately. How can I plug my ipod in with out having the music and other files erased??? Is there any way I can transfer music from my ipod onto her's??

How Do I Restore iPod after Hard Drive Failure?

I have an iMac G4 desktop that is 3 years old. 1 week ago I had a serious hard drive and had to replace the hard drive.
I have an iPod and when I tried to move music from the iPod into the new drive, the iMusic program said that the program only supported the previously registered iPod.
I think my iPod can't recognize the new hard drive (or vice versa.
How do I restore music from the iPod to the new hard drive? I have read iPod support article 300173 about moving music to a new computer. It doesn't help me because I can't do the first step of connecting to the old computer (hard drive) since its dead.
Also the iPod is a 30 GB unit and I have 9.81 GB of space left.

Try Senuti.
It's a program that transfers music from iPod to iTunes on a Mac.

Syncing ipod after hard drive repair

I recently had a major problem with my computer and had to have a new hard drive installed, losing itunes in the process. I have downloaded the itunes software but when I insert my ipod, hoping to transfer the files on it to my itunes library, I get the message "This ipod is synced with another itunes library". Is there a way around this or another way to import the files on my ipod into my itunes library?

Connect your iPod to your computer. When you get the message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual and use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Also when using a lot of the utilities your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button: Managing content manually on iPod
Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. If you have any iTMS purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. A paragraph on it has been added to this article: Transfer iTunes Store purchases using iPod
The transfer of non iTMS content such as songs imported from CD 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 back to iTunes on Windows. The procedure is a bit involved and was written long before iTunes 7 so it requires a little adaptation, also it won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's 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, you'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, they are generally quite straightforward. You can also read reviews of some of them here: Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
iGadget Windows Only
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
TuneJack Windows Only
CopyPod Windows Only
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync. I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up in case you have problems again. External drives are comparatively inexpensive these days and you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay.

Importing Songs from iPod after hard drive failed

My hard drive failed. Fortunately all of my songs were backed up on my iPod. Got a new computer and can't figure out how to get the songs from my iPod back to my computer. Some songs were purchased from iTunes, some from CDs. I tried the import function and all it does is bring the titles into my library but cannot find them when I try to play them on my computer. The songs are still on my iPod.
iPod 40g and Nano Windows XP

The transfer of music is designed to be one way by default - from iTunes to iPod, however there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the files from your iPod. This is just a selection.
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
PodPlus Windows Only
Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these and pick one you are happy with, they are generally quite straightforward.
There is also a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
You may already be using the iPod in manual update mode in which case you can ignore the rest of this post. In manual mode, your iPod is safe from being accidentally erased. However if you are getting a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, click *No*. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list. Change the update setting in Preferences>iPod to "manually manage songs and playlists" Managing Your Songs Manually
You can also use a keyboard command to prevent your iPod auto-syncing with iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer on a Mac hold down the Option and Command (⌥ and ⌘) keys, on Windows, hold down Shift + Ctrl. This will stop the iPod from auto-syncing with iTunes and the iPod will appear in the source list. Wait until you are sure the iPod has mounted, and that it will not auto sync and then you can let the keys go. This may take between 3 and 30 seconds depending on your computer. Then go to Preferences>iPod and check the "Manually manage songs and playlists" box.
Keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again.

How to restore playlists and ratings after hard drive format

Several people have reported problems restoring paylists and ratings after reformating a hard drive. Here is what worked for me and what did not.
I had to reformat my hard drive. Before doing that I exported my playlists from itunes to another hard drive as an xml file. I also copied the folder with all my songs to another drive. (Also of course had it backed up on DVDs.)Then I copied the itunes library files (see url http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732) to anoher drive.
After reformating my hard drive and installing the lastest verion of ITunes, I copied the actual songs back into a subfolder in my music folder. I then told iTunes to import the subfolder with the actual music. That resulted in a restored library that lacked playlists and ratings.
Don't do this
I purchased Anapod ($30.00) because its web page said (http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/):
"Anapod CopyGear is an easy-to-use, compact utility for copying music tracks, playlists, podcasts, photos, and videos from your iPod back to your PC."
Well, I did transfer 104 playlists back to my iTunes library through the Anapod backup function. However, the transfer also put more than 20 gigs of duplicate songs into the library. All of the songs listed in the playlists were duplicated in iTunes. I could find no way in Anapod to simply copy the ratings and the playlists. Anapod documentation was outdated. For example the online help pages said that playlists could not be backed up. This was confusing because I had just done that.
"In a future release we will be adding the ability to backup your iPod playlists. This will allow you to generate backup files of your iPod playlists on the computer. These files will not be usable on your computer though. They can only be used to restore playlists at a later time on your iPod (assuming it still carries all the audio files referred to in that playlist)." This text is from url http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/support/tome/tx2pc.php#5.1.2
I sent requests to Anapod for help today, but they have not been answered yet. Docs truly did not seem to help. Would have been good if there was a pdf file rather than just an online help html file that seemed outdated.
This worked for me:
I ended up having iTunes wipe out the entire library because of all the dups Anapod made. (Made sure that iTunes only wiped out library and did not delete actual songs from hard drive. Then I had iTunes import my subfolder with songs again. That brought me back to where I was before wasting money and much time on Anapod.
After I had my iTunes library up (without ratings and playlists and after finding Anapod did not meet my needs.
1. I imported the xml file to which I had exported playlists before reformating hard drive. That gave me the playlists back although an error message said some items not copied because the music tracks listed in playlists were not in my iTunes library. --Possibly I deleted songs after playlists were downloaded some time ago to iPod. Importing the xml file is probably not necessary because of what I did below.
2. Quit iTunes
3. Because my song ratings were still missing, I then moved the iTunes library files made by the new version of iTunes into a different folder.
4. Then I put my old version 4 library files into the place where the library files should be.
5. Then I crossed my fingers and restarted iTunes. It took awhile to start and said it was updating my library files. Now I have back most or all of my playlists and ratings.
If problems develop, I will probably wipe out iTunes library and use Anapod to move everything from my iPod into a folder and tell iTunes to import that folder. That approach might avoid the dups that Anapod makes when restoring playlists to iTunes.
So my message is keep your actual songs backed up somewhere (such as DVD's and anotehr hard drive) and keep a duplicate copy of your library files somewhere not on your hard drive. With these items you should be able to restore iTunes library to its former status.
Sorry for the length of this message. Hope it helps someone.

The simple version of above:
iTunes Files to Backup (anytime you make additions or changes to the Music or Library that you want to retain)
1) All music files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
3) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
4) Any XML playlist files created for Playlist retention
5) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
6) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”

Restoring Data after Hard Drive Replacement

My hard drive just passed away (luckily 2 weeks before my applecare ran out) and am unsure the best way to restore my data. I made a carbon copy clone of my hard drive before I took it in and thought I could just boot from that and copy over my data but I can't seem to select the drive as a bootable option (its a western digital 120g firewire and usb drive. Do i need to go through the initial os x set up before I can do this. Also I am debating using this as an chance to do some house keeping. If I decide not to reclone my hard drive can I just copy over old apps like word or do I need to reinstall them. And if my user name and nickname are the same as before will it cause any problems if I decide later to restore my hard drive from the clone copy?
Thank you for any help

Jonathan:
1. First, you must format and zero out the new HDD. This spares out bad blocks, and preparest your HDD for installation.
2. Then I suggest doing a fresh install of the system software.
3. You can then restore your Users Folder.
4. And, finally, some applications can be copied by drag and drop. I think Word is one of those.
1. Formatting, Partitioning Zeroing a Hard Disk Drive
Warning! This procedure will destroy all data on your Hard Disk Drive. Be sure you have an up-to-date, tested backup of at least your Users folder and any third party applications you do not want to re-install before attempting this procedure.
Boot from the install CD holding down the "C" key.
Select language
Go to the Utilities menu (Tiger) Installer menu (Panther & earlier) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in left side bar.
Select Partition tab in main panel. (You are about to create a single partition volume.)
Select number of partition in pull-down menu above Volume diagram.
(Note: 1 partition is normally better for an internal HDD.)
Type in name in Name field (usually Macintosh HD)
Select Volume Format as Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Click Partition button at bottom of panel.
Select Erase tab
Select the a volume under Manufacturer ID (usually Macintosh HD).
Check to be sure your Volume Name and Volume Format are correct.
Select on Security Options button (Tiger) Options button (Panther & earlier).
Select Zero all data. (This process will map out bad blocks on your HDD. However, it could take several hours. If you want a quicker method, don't go to Security Options and just click the Erase button.)
Click OK.
Click Erase button
Quit Disk Utility.
2. Install System Software
Open installer and begin installation process.
Choose to Customize and deselect Foreign Language Translations and Additional Printer drivers.
Check box to install X11.
Proceed with installation.
After installation computer will restart for setup.
After setup, reboot computer.
Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in left side bar.
Select First Aid in main panel.
Click Repair Disk Permissions.
Connect to Internet.
Go to Apple Menu > Software Update.
Install all updates.
Computer will restart after updates.
Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in left side bar.
Select First Aid in main panel.
Click Repair Disk Permissions.
3. Copying Over an Account to a different Volume
Copying an Account directly by dragging or by cloning will not change the NetInfo information needed for the Account to be properly recognized.
To properly set up NetInfo
*Go to Apple Menu > System Preferences > Accounts
*Click on padlock and authenticate
*Click on plus sign under Login Options to add a new account.
*Set up an account and check box to allow user to administer.
*Log out of current account and log in to new Admin account
*Connect computer (Host) to computer with account to be transferred.
*If you are able boot into Firewire you can do that and use SuperDuper to clone only the Users Folder, or FW or USB go to next step
* Drag Home folder from backup drive to Users Folder on new drive and rename it. (If you get an error message about permissions when doing the copy, click button to Authenticate and enter your password; alternatively, you can turn permissions off for the source disk in the Get Info window.)
*Switch names between copied Folder and Home Folder (with house icon) by putting 2 after Home Folder name, and naming newly copied Folder with account name (original home folder name).
*To see that copied folder is owned by the account that is logged in select folder and Get Info (Command + i), then go to Ownership & Permissions.
*Log out of account by going to the Apple Menu and selecting Log out Account Name (Command + Shift + Q)
*Log back in to account.
*If the account was successfully copied, you may uncheck Allow User to Administer option in Apple Menu/System Preferences/Accounts if you so choose.
adapted from a solution by Niel
Please post back with further questions, comments or update.
Good luck.
cornelius

How to restore itunes after hard drive crash

How do you restore your itunes library after my PC hard drive crashed?

Hi Toboggan,
If you are looking to restore your iTunes data from a backup, you may find the following article useful (while it is focused on moving between computers, many of the steps should also apply to your situation):
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Regards,
- Brenden

How to restore library after hard drive reformat?

Hello, I am going to reformat my Mac Pro's boot drive, and I want to make sure my iTunes library remains intact (I'm using iTunes 12).
I keep my iTunes music files on a 2nd internal hard drive, in a folder that I titled "iTunes Folder". I also plan to reformat this internal hard drive.
I have backups of both drives on an external hard drive. I'm assuming that in order to restore my iTunes library, playlists, etc., to their current state, I simply need to a) restore the user/Music/iTunes folder to its current state and b) restore the "iTunes Folder" to my 2nd internal drive. Is that correct? Or is there a different way that it should be done?
Thanks.

Our hard drive crashed completely and we installed a completely new hard drive. My sister and I both shared the same library for our Videos. She plugged her's into the computer and all the music was erased almost immediately. How can I plug my ipod in with out having the music and other files erased??? Is there any way I can transfer music from my ipod onto her's??

Restoring Photos after Hard Drive Crash

I had upgraded my standard 80 GB hard drive to an aftermarket 120 GB hard drive in Feb. The new hard drive just crashed, but fortunately a week after I had run Backup so I'm ok. The hard drive is under warranty, but in the meantime I'm restoring as much as I can to my old 80 GB hard drive.
iTunes is working great but my problem is with iPhoto. I restored the photos from Feb-Dec to the iPhoto Library on my old/current hard drive, but none of those photos (post Feb) are showing up in iPhoto 6. The photos are there, I can see them if I navigate to them in finder. Is there a way to tell iPhoto to refresh or something???

Doug
It does sound like your db is corrupted.
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums back.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Roll and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Roll Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Regards
TD

Keys not responding on MBP after hard drive format

I formatted the hard drive on my Late 2011 17" Unibody MBP so I could give it to someone. When I turned it back on and booted it from the recovery partition to reinstall Lion, many keys are not working. For example, the a, b, t, 1, 2, ~, Tab, Backspace, and other keys are not working. Sometime, if I repeatedly press a single key a random string of characters will appear. The string is neither consistent in length, nor in the characters that appear, for example, pressing "t" several times may result in "IOUY" one time and "asfgh" another time.
No liquids have been spilled on the laptop, and until I formated the regular partition it was working properly. Any ideas?

I'm having the same exact problem (ironically, also due to a Toshiba) and I would love it if anyone with any information would post something. Even if it's just about how to actually contact tech support or something. I would appreciate anything at this point.
I have a 20gb iPod with click wheel and the latest version of iTunes if that helps at all...

Can't sync new songs to iPod after hard drive replacement.

A few months ago, I had my hard drive replaced on my Windows Vista laptop. So I backed up all my files including iTunes to an external drive. When the new hard drive was installed I restored the iTunes library back. Yesterday was the first time since the restore that I purchased new music from the iTunes store. I bought 6 new songs. I can see the new songs in the iTunes library but when I sync the iPod the new songs do not transfer over to the iPod. Any ideas on how I can fix this problem? Thanks.

I found the link below and it worked. I added the songs manually.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1351
All set now.

Magically Restored Files after Hard Drive Replacement? Confused...

Ok so I don't really need help, but I'm confused as to how this is possible.
Okay, so my backyard got struck by lightning a week ago. My Macbook Pro was working fine after the strike until like 2 days later when it started kernel panicking on start up and wouldn't boot OS X. Took it to the genius bar, they said they probably needed to replace the logic board. 5 days later, I go to pick it up and they said they had to replace the logic board, hard drive, superdrive, and some other cables inside. I asked if my data was lost, and they said they tried to restore it but they couldn't and recommended to go to an outside tech person to try to recover it if it was really important but didn't recommend it because it would be very expensive because they would have to essentially rebuild the hard drive. I was upset because they said they would call me if they had to replace the hard drive and I was never notified. The guy felt bad for me, so they let me keep my old hard drive instead of sending it back to apple for investigation or whatever. So I leave the Apple store, and turn on my computer to make sure it works and lo and behold all my stuff is there. I checked to make sure documents worked and all my music and photo files opened correctly.
So I am happy that I didn't lose anything, but very confused as to how a replaced hard drive contains my old data when the Apple store said they couldn't get it back. And I still don't know what is on the hard drive they gave me. I'm pretty sure they actually did the replacement because I signed a sheet stating that they did so.
So could the apple store have just been confused? i've been trying to figure it out and can't understand how all my stuff is magically back. and i don't know what to do with the hard drive that they gave me. any thoughts on my magically reappearing files?

Hi r,
I suspect neuro is correct, but if you're still curious, one more thing you could do is purchase a connector or enclosure for the HD they said is your old one, and see if it will mount when connected to another Mac. If so, open it and check it out to see if it really is.

Restore iPhoto after hard drive has been wiped?

My Macbook Pro Hard Drive recently failed and the Apple store wiped it clean. I had a number of important photos on iPhoto and I am wondering if there is any way to retrieve these? Being that they were added recently to my computer via my iPhone (they were deleted from the iPhone after they were imported), they are not backed up to any hard drive. I have iCloud on both the computer and the iPhone, but I am unable to retrieve images from that on the phone or the mac. For some reason photo stream was not working when I synced my phone to iCloud last.
Is there any way to retrieve photos from iPhoto or the iPhone (after they have been deleted?).
This is critical because I have recently left a rental and the pictures were taken before I moved in and after I left and now the land lord is attempting to accuse me of ruining the place.
Thanks.

There is a extreme possibility you can recover deleted files from the hard drive provided:
1: The Apple folks did a quick format, which they likely did as a Zero erase would take hours.
2: Where the old files were located on the drive hasn't been overwritten yet with new data.
3: Your competant in spending $100 for Data Rescue and install OS X on a external boot drive (blank)
Create a data recovery, undelete boot drive
The Apple folks shouldn't hae erased your drive without allowing you the opportunity to perform data recovery efforts, since they don't perform this function you should have consulted here first or got more info and not allow them ot erase your drive.
A local PC/Mac computer fix-it could have recovered the data first, then you could have taken it to Apple if you did't have a backup yet.
Most commonly used backup methods

Cannot sync iPod after hard drive crash

Hard drive crashed last week so reinstalled new from Dell. Data all backed up. Since new drive in cannot sync iPod. USB cable OK, iTunes "sees" iPod name and can download to iTunes but no sync. Do not get any kind of error msg that iPod registered on "another" computer (which it was). Still under warranty.

Try restoring the iPod in itunes. This should assure that it sync with the current computer it's hooked up to.

Restore iPod after hard drive format

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for