The iPod "____" cannot be updated. The required file is locked.

I get this when I attempted to sync some photos to my iPod. I have seen numerous threads elsewhere about this simalar problem. I know that I could simply refresh it but I don't have the bandwidth (read: Dialup) to download the FW again, or the HD space to backup other files that I have on there.

apparentially something set the folders as "read-only" but I was unaware of this change.

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Sync problem: "The iPod cannot be updated. The required file is locked."

Hi,
I upgraded to iTunes 7.0. First thing I did with it was to upgrade the firmware of the iPod to 1.2.1. The model is a MA079NF (20GB, iPod Photo, color screen), have used it problem free for about year now.
After that I wanted to sync my Library and a popup showed "The iPod "mypod" cannot be updated. The required file is locked." After clicking ok (only option) the syncing continues, but in the end the iPod contains 2174 files (~10GB out of 20GB free space), while my library holds 2187 checked files. Also none of my photos are copied to the iPod.
After that, upgrading iTunes to 7.0.1.8 did not help either. The problem is the same. Resetting the iPod to factory defaults and subsequent re-syncing did not help either, only helped me waste an hour .
The error message is silly, it leaves me only with questions:
Which file is locked, where is it locked (on my PC or on the iPod), in what way is it locked, why is it locked, by whom is it locked and how do I unlock it?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
Best wishes,
Henk.
Dell Dimension 5150c Windows XP

Hi,
After the exceptional help of the Apple people (i.e. nothing, nada, zero, null, no reaction, silence and so on, and so forth) I decided to take matters in my own hands again. Using the superb FileMon tool of sysinternals.com I found out the syncing of my iPod stopped while traversing my photo cache.
The solution was simple: Remove the directory "\iPod Photo Cache" completely (I made a backup, of course).
After that, iTunes built the cache from scratch and syncing was working properly again.
<sarcasm> Apple, thanks again for all your support. </sarcasm>
Best wishes nonetheless,
Henk van der Laak

"iPod cannot be synced. The required file is locked."

I'm sure there are several threads about this, but none have produced an answer that works for me.
I have an iPod Touch 1G and iTunes 8.0.1.11, though I don't think that matters. I should probably ask this on a Windows XP website, but I thought maybe I could get some results here.
Basically my deal is, when I plug in my Touch and let it try to sync (or hit sync manually), I get the error message "The iPod (iPod name) cannot be synced. The required file is locked."
Ex: http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/8393/20901666.png
(Also, manually drag-and-drop method of music in the library freezes iTunes.)
Now, people say to go to your iTunes music folder, usually the one under "My Music", right click and uncheck the "read only" box. I've done that, hit OK, and brought up the Properties again, and it has been re-checked without my doing.
Could this be iTunes's doing? Or am I doing something wrong? Or should I go ask Windows users?
Another little bit of info: This only started happening today. I have done nothing different than I have before.

Alright,
How did upgrading to the latest version of iTunes go? Did it help any? No, dang! sorry getting ahead of myself I don't even know if it has or not. I have been racking my brain trying to recreate this issue but am having no luck. I did however find a computer running xp sp2 to do some test and such on it.
Here are some more ideas that my wife and I came up with for you to try,
1. In iTunes go to (Help)/(Run Diagnostics) in the menu bar (In my opinion you don't need to do the test for (cd/dvd) or (network) but that is up to you. After which I request that you copy and past the report like so:
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 3 (Build 2600)
Gateway W3107
iTunes 8.0.2.20
QuickTime 7.6
FairPlay 1.1.11
CD Driver 2.0.7.5
CD Driver DLL 2.1.1.1
Apple Mobile Device 2.1.2.7
Bonjour 1.0.6.2 (118.5)
iTunes Serial Number ######
Current user is an administrator.
The current local date and time is 2009-03-01 20:47:13.
iTunes is not running in safe mode.
Video Display Information
NVIDIA GeForce 6100
** External Plug-ins Information **
No external plug-ins installed.
** iPod/iPhone Connectivity Tests **
iPodService 8.0.2.20 is currently running.
iTunesHelper is currently not running.
Apple Mobile Device service 2.12.33.0 is currently running.
Universal Serial Bus Controllers:
Standard OpenHCD USB Host Controller. Device is working properly.
Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller. Device is working properly.
No FireWire (IEEE 1394) Host Controller found.
Connected Device Information:
Jarvis, running firmware version 2.2.1
Serial Number: #####
** iPhone/iPod Touch Sync Tests **
Sync tests completed successfully.
Just to see what it comes up with, I don't know if the diag. will fix any issues, since I've never needed to use it but it looks like it will give you a good report of whats going on. Go Apple! *and yes with the report feel free to block out any information you don't want to share.
2. I was reading around on the internet and I've found that a lot of the times its something simple to fix some of these issues like the one about the time getting messed up when windows xp goes to sleep. So Here is a simple idea to see if it helps.
Go to (edit)/(preferences) in the menu bar Click on the (Devices) tab and try clicking (Reset Sync History) button. Then try Syncing again. Don't know if it will help but hey worth a shot right?
3. My wife was looking around on the internet and she found a bunch of info on files that are corrupt not being able to sync, since I don't have a corrupt file and am at a lost in how to make one. I was unable to test this theory.
However, the information suggested that it may be related to a picture file. so I would look into the (photos) tab in the iPod touch's Summery page and un-check one picture folder at a time and sync to see if it is related to a particular image folder.
Also beside of the image folder it was noted that some errors are accruing with outlook syncing, so you might also look into the syncing of your contacts and emails in the (info) tab of the iPod Touch's Summery page.
After those too I would look into music that you have just stared to try and sync and try eliminated one at a time again to see if there is one particular file to be the error.
*In note of that it is suggested to only do one at a time, since its always best to do a process of elimination.
4. And last have you tried backing it up in iTunes and then Restoring it. To see if a hard reset like this fixes the issue?
Here is Apple's knowledge base article on it: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414
*Sorry that its such a long post I just want to save you time waiting for me to get back to you.

"ipod cannot be synced the required file is lock"What the ****!

Itunes just keep popping up"Ipod cannot be synced the required file is lock"
but I got nothing to sync in my library, the whole library is empty ,no music , pictures , movie , podcasts , Nothing. I only listen music from my ipod ,not from the actual laptop hard disk.So what's the problem.This is getting really annoying.Help me please
Also I have reinstall Itunes for 7 times.

IF UR USING WINDOWS)
try this
go to my computer,
click on the disk drive of ur iPod, (e.g: f:Administrator)
some folders here are hidden so you must unhide them first
go to the folder options, then view tab, then look for show hidden files and folders...
after you done that... right click the iPod_Control then if the read Only is checked, unchecked it... or if its highlighted, unhighlighted it...
that works on me... so try it...

Phone cannot be synced. "The required file is locked" - Please help!

Since I downloaded the new version if iTunes, my phone will not sync properly. I've narrowed it down to a issue specifically with syncing photos.
I've restarted the phone, restarted the computer, checked for additional upgrades. I have a PC, not a Mac, so no iPhotos. iTunes worked great before, with no syncing issues.
Now, when I try to sync -- it syncs everything but pictures. The error message says "The iPhone cannot be synced. The required file is locked". I've tried different picture folders, I've tried removing "read only" protection on the photos, I've tried renaming the photo files so there are no spaces or other symbols like underscores. I've tried removing all pictures from the phone, but now, no pictures will sync, even the very same picture folders that were previously on the phone.
I've searched topics, and so far, haven't found anything similar. Can someone please help me? or advise what else I can do? or who I can contact???
Thank you!
Tabitha

As a side note -- it appears that it may be an issue because my music and photo files are all saved on an external hard drive.
I copied a photo file and put it on my desktop - and the photos synced.
However -- the music files were on the external hard drive and those synced fine with no errors. Pictures on the external hard drive, did not.
Prior to the iTunes upgrade, everything synced fine from my external hard drive.
Anyone?

ITunes error: The required file is locked.

I'm getting an iTunes popup error message:
'The iPod "Mark's iPod" cannot be synced. The required file is locked.'
Any ideas on clearing this guys? I've tried uninstalling iTunes, reseting the iPod, checking file permissions in the iTunes Music folder, everything. No dice.
On a positive note, it DOES still seem to sync, but it leaves iTunes in a messy state that needs a logout to shut down properly.

Hello marktjeffrey,
Do you have your iPod set up to sync photos or anything other than music? If so, try disabling those, and see if that allows your iPod to sync error free. That way you know the problem lies with something other than the music.
Many others who have ran into this situation, found that the problem dealt with
incorrect file permissions on photos they were trying to sync to their iPod. I would double check permissions and such on everything you are trying to sync to your iPod.
Hope this helps.
B-rock

IPod cannot be updated. Required file is in use.

After I upgraded to iTunes 7, whenever I plug my iPod into the computer to sync, I get this error message, "iPod cannot be updated. The required file is in use."
What is this ,a nd how do i correct it? Any clues?
Thanks!

After upgrading to iTunes 7, I too, am getting the error message: "ipod cannot be updated. The required file is in use."
I get this message when I plug my ipod into my Mac (don't use a PC) to sync updated podcasts. Strangely, the updated podcasts DO appear on my ipod, but most of the time, when I try to play them on my ipod, the ipod shuts down.
This is the second time I've had a major problem with my ipod after downloading iTunes upgrades. Very frustrating. And annoying.
Has anyone discovered a fix for this problem?
powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

"Songs on the iPod "____" cannot be updated because all of the playlists...

"Songs on the iPod "Harold Kim's iPod" cannot be updated because all of the playlists selected for updating no longer exist."
Im not sure what this means or how to fix it. any sort of advice or help would be greatly appreciated.

You get this problem when the option 'Sync Music - Selected playlists' is being used to sync your iPod. If the playlist selected is deleted from iTunes the iPod no longer has a location to sync from and you get an error. (Syncing selected playlists by the way is a useful setting to use when the iPod is smaller than the iTunes library). However you can make a new one or make use of an existing one.
Open iTunes and create a playlist to update your iPod from, call it -My iPod for example (the dash will position it at the top of the playlists in Sources). You can make it a smart playlist that picks the songs for you or just a normal one and drag whatever content you want to have into the playlist. If you are making a smart playlist limit it to just less than the size of your iPod (for example 3700MB for a 4G iPod Nano. Now connect your iPod and when it appears in the Source list click on the iPod icon to bring up the preference tabs in the main pane. Go to the Music tab and choose Sync Music and the Selected playlists radio button. Choose the playlist you just made from the selection and click Apply. You can also sync from any existing playlists by choosing the same setting, you just need to make sure that the size of the playlists don't exceed the capacity of your iPod:
How to create a Smart Playlist with iTunes
Syncing Music to iPod
To make a random playlist go to File>New Smart Playlist.
Uncheck "Match the following rule"
Check "Limit to" put "3700" in the number box, choose "MB" from the first list box, choose "Random" from the next list box. Check "Live Updating"
When you want to change the selection in the smart playlist just delete everything in it and it will add a new selection. When you want to change the normal playlist just delete out what you don't want and drag in a new selection.
Syncing selected playlists is just like syncing your whole library only on a smaller scale and more "selectively". When your iPod is is set to sync selected playlists it automatically picks up any changes you made to that playlist in iTunes since you last connected. Anything you added to the playlist will be added to the iPod, anything you deleted from it will be deleted from the iPod. In other words the iTunes playlist and the iPod are kept "in sync".

IPod Cannot be update,required file is locked?

Help, Getting this message when I connect 8GB Nano(2Gen)to windows xp system running itunes 7. Has worked fine for many months. What file are they talking about,where is it,how did it get locked and how do I unlock it. Found nothing on this in discussions or on web search. Appreciate any help.
Jack
8GB Nano(2Gen) Windows XP

This worked for me.
Re: Sync problem: "The iPod cannot be updated. The required file is locked"
Posted: Oct 22, 2006 3:25 PM in response to: allydon Reply Email
Hi,
Connect your iPod to the PC and start the iTunes application (most likely it will start automatically when you connect the iPod).
In the left column you will see a heading "DEVICES". Below that is a small icon that represents your iPod. It might take a few seconds to appear, though.
Click on the icon, on the right a pane will appear with 5 headings (Summary, Music, Podcasts, Photos, Contacts).
Click on Photos. A page will appear with on the top line something like: "Sync photos from:" with a box beside it that displays the directory name of your photos.
Click on that box and select "Choose Folder"
A dialog willappear with a directory tree, your photo folder is highlighted. Expand that folder by clickin on the "+" sign next to it.
The expanded list will contain an item "iPod Photo Cache".
Right click that item and select "Delete".
Windows asks whether you're sure. Click YES if you are.
After the deletion, click "OK" to close the dialog.
Right click on the iPod icon again and select "Sync". You're photo cache will be rebuilt for you. This takes a few minutes, depending on the amount of photos you have.
That's it.
Hope it works for you. I have assumed you use English for both Windows and iTunes.
Regards,
Henk.
Dell Dimension 5150c Windows XP

What is the required file for update?

I've recently (and unfortunately) installed the new iPod update 1.2. When I try to update the songs on my iPod, I get a message that tells me the iPod can't be updated because the required file is locked. Any idea what file that may be and how I can unlock it?
Dell Dimension 8400 Windows XP 30G Video iPod

This link should help:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Mac-Printing-and-Scanning/OS-X-10-9-Mavericks-Incor rect-output-using-HP-Scan/td-p/3069079

**Required File is Locked** - help!

Hello everyone!
Help needed please!
Have a new laptop and have installed the new Itunes. However i cant use my ipod as everytime i connect it says the following:
"cant update JP tunes - the required file is locked"
Nitemare!!
Other ipods work on my computer fine. Also i have used my ipod on different computers over the years - but that has never been an issue!
I have checked my settings etc but cant find anywhere to 'unlock' a file!
Its really annoying coz i cant play my music or update anything new on my ipod!!!
Any ideas anyone!!!??
Cheers!
JP

As a side note -- it appears that it may be an issue because my music and photo files are all saved on an external hard drive.
I copied a photo file and put it on my desktop - and the photos synced.
However -- the music files were on the external hard drive and those synced fine with no errors. Pictures on the external hard drive, did not.
Prior to the iTunes upgrade, everything synced fine from my external hard drive.
Anyone?

Required file is locked?

When I try to sync my ipod, it says the following message mid-sync:
"Attempting to copy to the disc "My IPOD" failed. The required file is locked."
Where do I begin with this?
Resetting iPod & restoring original settings didn't help.

No help?

The iPod "my ipod name" cannot be updated. The required file is in use.

Installed iTunes 7 on my mac. Everything went fine. Updated my ipod everything went fine. Ever since then I've been getting a dialogue pop up window stating "The iPod "my ipod name" cannot be updated. The required file is in use."
This pop up happens at completely random intervals, sometimes every minute sometimes every 10 min.
Its extremely annoying as it bounces the icon in the dock until I give iTunes focus, click ok, and then I can navigate songs etc. I listen to my music thru my iPod while its connected to my computer, so this bug just about has me reverting back to v6.
I've repaired permissions, and disabled anything I could think of that may be using it, ie synergy etc, with no success.

I have a 4th Gen 30gb IPOD and updated Itunes 7 sucessfully but could not update/install IPOD 1.2 upgrade.
Eventually after clicking the message boxes with the above info we seem to be getting, I selected the update button that appears on the front page of ITUNES and it installed/updated. I have been attempting for a couple of days and it just worked!!!!
After it completed, I received the same dialog box and then disconnected the IPOD from my laptop.
Seems to be OK now but there is def something going on.
I thought it may be a shareware issue with mp3's being downloaded into Itunes library form another application.

IPod "cannot be updated. The required file is in use."

Since updating to iTunes 7 the program keeps saying that "The iPod "iPod name" cannot be updated. The required file is in use." When I click on “OK” it does in fact update. I tried to restore the iPod but couldn’t do it from within iTunes but I could exit iTunes and run the most recent update/restore on it from the desktop.
Also, I can not eject the Nano from within iTunes “iPod cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application.” But I can exit iTunes and eject it from the desktop. I don’t have this problem with an older 40 gig iPod.
I called Apple and they promised to send a work around but it never came.
Running on a G4 with 10.4.7
Any suggestions?
Dual Processor G4 & G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7) I do have three users using the same iTunes library.

I just started getting this message today - the only new thing I have done differently since I last synced is to start rating my songs on the iPod.
Just a hunch but did everyone else start getting this error after their first try at rating songs on the iPod?
Other than that does anyone know how to report this kind of thing to Apple? as they need to fix it soon.
The only answer I have seen after 2 hours of searching is to go back to iTunes v6.05 - see Chad Armstrong's tip here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3116292&#3116292 - but I can't be bothered to go through all that just yet.

"ipod cannot be updated becuase the required file is in use"

I upgraded to itunes 7 this weekend and so did my husband. I am running the latest versions of all mac software with my fifth gen ipod and he is running the same with the ipod mini. We both get teh same error message:
"ipod cannot be updated becuase the required file is in use"
I have tried the following with and without guidance from tech support:
Reboot
repair permissions
"restore" on the ipod using itunes 7
reinstalling itunes 7
trying to reinstall itunes 6 instead
removing login in items from automatically starting
disabling firewall/antivirus
I stumped tech support yesterday. Anyone else having a similar problem?

I'm another one who is having this problem. Though it doesnt seem to effect the downloads or the files, it pops up every so often. Cant figure out what file its referring to or what cant be updated. Def has to do with the latest version of iTunes.

The iPod "____" cannot be updated. The required file is locked.

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