Two ipods, two user accounts

Hi all. I've been doing some searching but I haven't found any topics that address this issue directly. My fiancee and I share one computer and each have our own user account (mine is the Admin). We both have separate iTunes libraries stored in our home folders, with a mix of iTunes-downloaded music and music ripped from CDs.
My question is, is it possible for us to share purchased music (and ripped music) so that she can put my purchased music on her iPod, and vice versa? I've tried a few options such as putting our libraries in a shared folder, but that doesn't seem to work. My basic goal is to find a way to avoid having duplicate albums stored on my hard drive, one for each User.
I've checked out the often-referenced Apple articles on the subject of sharing music between accounts--they don't really apply to my situation.

See the articles below, but your situation mostly falls under the iPod with Multiple computers article.
How to use multiple iPods with one computer
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300432
Using iPod with multiple computers
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61675
Managing content manually on iPod
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61148
iPod: Frequently Asked Questions
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60920
Patrick

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I have two iPods under same account information and lost one but when I try and track it only the one that isnt lost shows up, is there somewhere I can go to fix this?

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How do I maintain a single iTunes library for two separate iMac user accounts?

How do I maintain a single iTunes library for two separate iMac user accounts?...without having to manually do something every download?

Pardon me, I am brand new at using an iMac. I understand the concept but I don't know exactly how to "move" the library. I found a shared folder under users on the hard drive. If I move it, won't I have to redirect each iTunes user to the new shared location?
If I point iTunes to anything other than the music folder under that user name, it shows as a "shared library". Preferences still shows it as that users library, regardless of where the advanced gear button says it is pointing to.
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Two iPods on Same Account--Need to Remove One!!

I added a second iPod to my account in December 2007. The new iPod is my son's. At first iTunes maintained separate purchases and libraries for our individual iPods, but now it will recognize all of our combined purchases, but only his library. I have purchased songs on my account that I do not want him to have access to so we need separate accounts, libraries, etc.
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Please help!!!!

iPods are not tied to specific accounts. Only iTunes libraries are. You can hook up any iPod to your account and sync your library onto it. You can then move the iPod to a different library and sync it to that library instead.
Sounds like your issue is with iTunes libraries and authorization. First off, are you trying to use the same iTunes library? Or do you both have different user accounts on the same computer? Or do you have two computers?
Patrick

Can I use two iPods with one account on mac

I have one itunes account and two Ipods can I update both i use mac, have a iphone

Yes.

Two ipods+ two xp users - one computer = AAaarghhh

Please any help appreciated, i'm pulling my hair out over this.
My girlfriend has just moved in.
I've got an XP machine. I've set her up an account on my computer (admin level) and transfered all her music over.
She has an 4th gen Ipod, I have a 5th gen.
I WAS running itunes 7 with minor problems, but it wanted to update her ipod and after hearing bad things I decided to roll back to a pre-7 version.
I've uninstalled everything and re-installed and older six version, from around March '06.
I've converted both our libraries and they work on Itunes fine.
I connected my 5th gen and after a couple of false starts got it to acknowledge my ipod and I've succesfully updated.
HOWEVER if i connect my girlfriends ipod the computer doesn't even register it. i get repeated Bing-bong, Bong-bing's of a USB connection. Her itunes doesn't register a connection and the computer doesn't seem to hold a connection for a more than a couple of seconds before i get a "tick" and "ok to disconnect".
Can anybody tell me if they have got a similar set up that works, should i be installing a different itunes on each profile? is this a limitation of windows.
ANY help, hints tips advice MOST appreciated. I'm getting grief off the missus "oh yeah yours is OK but what about me"
Thanks
Darlo
Athlon Windows XP
Athlon Windows XP

To me this sounds like the problem is in her iPod. Did you try restoring her iPod or reseting it by holding enter and menu at the same time?
I'm not confident on the two iPod thing but I would assume that as long as she is in her XP account and you're in yours that iTunes should operate independently of each other's accounts (but I could be wrong).
Athlon XP 2600 Windows XP 2GB DDR RAM, GeForce 6200 (128 vRAM)

I am using Windows 8 with iTunes. How do I manage iTunes with two different Windows User Accounts?

I have recently bought a laptop running Windows 8 and downloaded iTunes. I subscribe to iTunes Match and have a large amount of purchased music and imported CDs, along with some films purchased from iTunes.
I have downloaded all of the music and the films to the laptop using iTunes Match when logged in under my User Account in Windows 8. However, when we switch to my girlfriend's User Account, she can load up iTunes but all the music and films have the cloud symbol on them indicating that they need to be downloaded
Is is necessary to download everything to the computer twice (I can't really believe this is the answer) or are we missing something in terms of using iTunes with two different User Accounts?
Thank you.

Step 1
Create a new user account on your device. For Mac users, choose “System Preferences” from the Apple Menu and navigate to the “View” menu. Click on “Accounts” and select the “+” button to add a new user account to your machine. Edit the user information and grant any relevant privileges by following the on-screen prompts.
For Windows users, click on the Windows "Start" button, select “Control Panel” and choose “Add or Remove User Accounts.” A new window will open. Click “Create a New Account.” Name the account and set any relevant privileges by following the on-screen prompts.
Step 2
Sign in to the new user account you created.
Step 3
Open iTunes and click “Sign in.” Enter your Apple ID and password and log in.
Step 4
Download purchases through the iTunes store. All files related to these purchases are stored under the separate user account, thus separating both iTunes accounts and their libraries on the same computer.
Step 5
You can share music from both libraries by dragging your music library to a publicly accessible location on your computer. Click “Preferences” from the iTunes menu and deselect “Copy files to iTunes Media Library when adding to library file.” Add the shared folder to your library from the “File” menu.
Tip
Create more than one library from the same user account by deselecting “Copy files to iTunes Media Library when adding to library file” from the “Preferences” menu. Add the files you want to iTunes by dragging and dropping or by opening from the “File” menu and sync your device to that library. Quit iTunes after the sync and reopen iTunes while holding the "Shift" key in Windows or the "Option" key on a Mac.
(tour du lịch nước ngoài)

2 ipods, 2 user accounts, 1 computer, 1 library

its got to be possible...
me and my girlfriend both have new ipods, we have one laptop at home that we both have seperate user accounts for. I've spent a while ripping all of our cds to itunes so we can listen to them.
I have a networked hard drive that we can both access and all of the music files are stored on this, both user accounts itunes point to this shared location.
Unfortunatly the problem is this only moves the content, not the library .xml files themselves. Although my g/f can see the mp3s she cant see my itunes library files so her itunes appears blank.
I thought sharing my library would work, but it seems that this is only true if you have a pc each, not a logon each.
I can manually copy my itunes library xml files to her "my documents" folder but if either of us then add or download new cds then the others isnt updated.
so my question? how can i make this work? i presume i need to move the location of our itunes library xml files to a common folder we can both access. I cant seem to find a way of doing this (i've already moved the actual music files themselves successfully)
How can you get round this as its "our" music we dont want seperate librarys, and no, i dont really want to grant her acceess to my logon (if only cos she might accidently delete stuff!)
Ideas please...
Thanks,
Ian

Your idea about scripting got me thinking, i could write a vbscript to update the relevent files but this would have to be run manually or scheduled to run frequently, either way theres room for error. the link you gave me seems to do a simalar thing.
it gave me an idea about fooling itunes into thinking it was updating another location, as i only use my "my music" folder for storing my library xml (all other files are on the network drive) i changed the regestry keys for the my documents folder to a local folder with 'everyone' access.
HKEYCURRENTUSER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Shell Folders (&User Shell Folders)\My Music\Value="C:\Documents and Settings\Ian\My Documents\My Music"
and change value to "C:\Shared iTunes Library"
A search in regedit will bring up any other locations that need changing.
Do this with both user accounts and it works a treat, one big library working with two seperate user accounts on one laptop :o)
The free app "tweakUI" makes the registry chnages for you i've just found out!
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx
Enjoy!

Two iPods, Two sets of ratings, one music folder?

Here’s something which I’ve been failing to do, and about which I and can’t find any appropriate info in any forums. It seems like a very obvious thing to want to do…
We have one computer and two iPods. Most of our Playlists are ratings-driven. Eg. “500 3+star tracks that haven’t been played this month”. My girlfriend rates music differently to me. I don’t want her ratings affecting my playlists and visa versa.
The only way (as far as I can tell) to have one file of music and two sets of ratings is to use two libraries. This is achieved by holding down shift when starting iTunes and then choosing whichever library you want before syncing the iPod. So far so good.
The problem is, whenever I add new music I can only add it into one library at a time; the other library knows nothing about it. The same applies if I delete anything (the other library thinks the files still exist). The only way around this is to add/delete twice, which is a faff. Podcasts need to be downloaded twice as well. Also, I think, if I add a CD of music and then go into the other library and try and add it again (or point iTunes to the new mp3 files) it will create duplicates. In any case, it’s a lot of messing about.
So, any ideas on how I can have one big music folder and two iPods with different ratings without doubling my iTunes ‘admin’ time?
Any advice would be graetfully appreciated.

Thanks very much for your reply, but it doesn't look like there's a suitable option for me at the moment. I only want one music folder and I want all music accessible to both users/iPods, just with independent ratings. There appears to be a number of ways of doing this but none without a lot of duplication of effort. I have 95Gb of music which is constantly being added to and deleted from as buy new music and remove duplicates etc. I put a fair amount of time into refining ratings and playlists in order to improve the quality of the stuff I listen to and I don't want to start making lists of the things I add/delete and then have to log into another iTunes session to repeat the exercise. It seems a shame that iTunes can't offer a practical solution to the notion that two people might have slightly (not completely) different tastes in music. I'm certain this sort of thing will have to be looked at in future, especially now there are plenty of iPod families out there.
Thanks again to all of the above for your replies.

What is the best way to configure my iPods and user accounts?

I'm looking for a little guidance. Here is my situation:
I am running the latest version of Tiger. It is currently configured with three accounts; mine is the admin. account and each of my two children have their own accounts.
My account is the one that is used most of the time. All of our calendars in iCal are maintained here including one for each of the kids. Each of the kids has their own Contacts list in the Address Book as well. I currently have a 5G 30GB iPod Video that I sync with iTunes through this account. Shortly, I will be buying an iPod Touch. I want my 30 GB iPod to be the one that has everything on it; it will be the one we take in the car on trips for music. I want the Touch to have some, but not necessarily all, of my music and all of our calendars and contact information. I am looking to use it to replace my Palm as my PDA.
My son has a 2G Nano which currently syncs through his account.
My daughter will be getting a 3G Nano soon.
I will also be upgrading to Leopard very soon.
Ultimately, I would like each of the kids to have their own iTunes libraries for music and podcasts and to sync their iCal calendars. As I understand it, however, they cannot access their calendars from their own accounts under my current arrangement. I also understand that there are several ways to configure my Mac to work with multiple iPods.
Given all of this, what is the best thing for me to do? Should I set up all of the kids' iPods to sync through the admin. account so they can get their calendars at the same time? Or is their some way for them to have access to their calendar information from their own accounts under Tiger (or Leopard)? And as far as my two iPods (the Video and the Touch), should they sync through separate libraries, or through one using playlists. I also want to minimize duplicate data wherever possible, be it music or records in iCal and the Address Book.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice!

Anyone...anyone? Bueller...Bueller?

Two iPods, two separate libraries on one computer?

I have an 80G Classic and a big library on my computer. Bought a George for music and want to use the Classic as a dedicated iPod for the George, with a new library that will contain some but not all of what is in the current library. To this end, I was thinking of setting up a new user on my computer ("George", of course) and downloading iTunes under that user account. Then I am going to buy a new iPod for portable use, and want to sync it with the current account/library. Questions:
1. Will the current account recognize and sync with the new iPod automatically, or will I have to do something different.
2. Do I have to re-name the Classic under the new account?
3. What is the easiest way to move music from the old library to the new one?
Thanks in advance for your time and knowledge.

I was thinking of setting up a new user on my computer ("George", of course) and downloading iTunes under that user account.
iTunes is installe donly one time on a computer.
All users will use th esame application but eac user will have their own library.
Just create the new user and launch iTunes.
1. Will the current account recognize and sync with the new iPod automatically, or will I have to do something different.
Yes it will recognize the iPod but it will ask if you want to erase and sync what is in the new library. You need to add all the to the library and then sync the iPod.
2. Do I have to re-name the Classic under the new account?
Only if you want to.
3. What is the easiest way to move music from the old library to the new one?
Copy \oldUsername\Music\iTunes\ folder from your old account to a Shared folder.
Then open the new user and copy the \iTunes\ folder from the Shared folder to \newUsername\Music\.

2 ipods, 2 user accounts, 1 computer

Got a shuffle for a family member
Already had iTunes on PC for my ipod
Created second user account for use with new Shuffle
Installed iTunes on new user account
iTunes won't recognize shuffle on new account
WINXP only recognizes as USB storage device
WINXP wouldn't allow install of ipod software as it already existed on another user account

You do not need to install any additional software for the 2nd shuffle (or the 2nd user account).
I would start again. Make sure your library is backed-up. Uninstall, then reinstall iTunes under your original user account, add your music files to the library, and get your 1st shuffle working. Unplug that shuffle.
Then log out. Log in to the new user account. Launch iTunes (iTunes will support multiple users without installing again under each user). Then plug in the new shuffle. iTunes should see it.
Also, make sure each shuffle has a unique name.
Good luck.

Maximum Number of iPods per User Account?

I work in an educational environment and was investigating iPods and podcasts for teachers and students. Is there a maximum number of iPods that can connect to a single user account. i.e. One school account for 100+ iPods. Is there a maximum number of iPods that can be connected to a single library or user account in iTunes? Thanks.

I'm not sure why you would want to connect over 100 iPods to the one library. If you are expecting everyone to do this with their own iPod then you probably won't have that happening. They sync their iPods with their own libraries on their own computers. They would have to change the way they sync to do it manually in order to add items from another computer, which most won't want to do.
You mentioned podcasts. The way that usually works is that you post the podcast to a website. Everyone then downloads the podcast on their own computer using iTunes and then syncs on their own computer to their iPod.

Two iPods on one account?

Aloha All,
I'm buying a second iPod as my wife frequently borrows mine (she has no interest in using a computer) and I'm wondering if
iTunes will support both my existing iPod and the second one I'm buying. I see no sense in having two separate accounts
since my wife is perfectly happy with my music choices...
If it's pertainent, my current iPod is a 20-GB (4th generation) and the one I'm buying is a 30-GB (5th Generation).
Thanks, in advance for any comments...
Have a wonderful day!
Aloha, a hui hou...
Custom Built PC Windows 2000

Yes, iTunes can take multiple iPods; iTunes is designed to be compatible with multiple iPods registered on the same computer.
It's not such a good idea to connect multiple iPods simultaneously, though. Multiple iPods registered to the same iTunes account would be fine, but both at the same time isn't recomended; even though iTunes is capaible to some degree, iPod recognition problems in iTunes will probably occur sonner or later.
See this -> One iPod at a time
If your wife ever wants a different variety of music than yours, or vise versa, try out this Apple article about this -> How to use multiple iPods with one computer
I hope this helps,
-Kylene
If any post helps or solves your issue, please mark it that way accordingly. Thank you for helping the boards!

Two iPods, two liberaries, same account?

I have an iPod Touch second generation and an iPod nano second generation. The nano is 8gb and the touch is 32gb. I would like to keep both but have a different liberary for both. The iTouch would be the main liberary. The nano would have only music and no video/game/pictures. But the nano and the touch would have the same music. I store all my music and iPod/iTunes related stuff on my external hard drive. Is there a way to have these two on the same apple account but different liberaries? Would I be able to buy a song and have it in both liberaries? And is there a way to copy my exising liberary and put the exact same music on my nano? Thanks in advance!

http://manuals.info.apple.com/enUS/iPod_touch_3.1_UserGuide.pdf
http://www.apple.com/support/ipodnano/
You can choose whatever playlists that you would like to sync.
"So if I put all the songs I want on the nano on specific playlists to sync to the nano, the info for those songs like artist, album, ect, will also be on the nano?"
Yes.

Two ipods, two user accounts

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