iTunes from iPod Recovery - Best You Can Get

How to Recover Media from iPod to PC for FREE:

Windows PC's: - Actual Media Recovery Procedure Below

This procedure is for traditional iPod models.
This will not work with the iPhone or iPod touch.

Most third-party iPod recovery applications require access to the iPod’s internal database.
In the event that the iPod’s internal database has become erased or corrupted, this method may be the only way to get the
content back off your iPod.
In many cases, an iPod that suddenly shows NO music content on the iPod screen, but still shows
storage space being taken up when connected to your computer probably still has all the media files intact on it, and is only
missing its index to actually locate those files.

The following method will not allow you to retrieve iTunes-specific information like playlists, ratings, play counts, skip
counts, last played dates and last skipped dates, but you will be able to get back the media files themselves, complete with the important identifying tag information contained in them. The file naming and folder structure on the iPod itself is intended to be used only by the iPod and iTunes, and is not organized in a way that would be meaningful to any one else, so this method is not going to be useful to somebody looking to retrieve specific songs from their iPod.

To access the media files on the iPod directly, the iPod must be connected as a Disk Drive on your computer.
This is done by either preventing iTunes from opening, or preventing an automatic sync from completing.
iPod actually connects to your computer as a removable hard disk.
It is actually iTunes that prevents you from accessing it as a Disk by automatically ejecting the iPod following an automatic
sync.
If iTunes is running and you find the iPod is not staying connected, simply choose the “Enable Disk Use” option in iTunes to
ensure that iTunes does not try to automatically eject the iPod for you.
This option can be found by selecting the iPod in the iTunes source list, and looking on the Summary tab:

I was able to prevent iTunes from starting at all using the following method, and copy my iPod Music folder to the hard drive, so that iTunes could import it with out erasing my iPod.
The copied music folder could then be deleted from the hard drive once iTunes imported the folders media contents in to its library.

Here's the procedure to recover an iPods media:

Open Windows Explorer and Hold down both the SHIFT and CTRL keys while you are connecting your iPod to your computer.
Keep holding these keys down until you actually see your iPod show up as a Drive in Windows Explorer or in the iTunes source list if iTunes opens or is open. This will be a short time after Windows detects the iPod hardware.
The iPod should show up in Windows Explorer as a removable hard disk.

Holding down the SHIFT and CTRL keys will prevent iTunes from running any kind of automatic sync or starting up when it detects the iPod, but the iPod will remain connected as a removable disk and ready to work with.
The media content on the iPod is actually just copied to your iPod as an external hard disk, and stored in a hidden directory on the iPod itself. This means that you can actually copy your tracks back manually from your iPod to your computer simply by accessing it as an external hard disk / Removable Disk.

If you browse to the iPod, you will see a number of folders on it for some of the additional features like contacts, calendars,
and notes.
What may not be seen, since it has a hidden attribute, is the “iPod_Control” folder.
iPod sets this as a “hidden” folder, so it is not normally visible.
You can easily configure Windows Explorer to show hidden files and folders by either selecting "Tools", "Folder Options", selecting the "View" tab and checking the "Show hidden files and folders" item under the view tab, or if you cant find your Folder Options there, click "Start", "Control Panel", "Folder Options", and on the "View" tab check the "Show hidden files and folders" item under the view tab.

Once in the iPod_Control folder, you will see a number of sub-folders, including a Music folder.
The Music folder is the folder that all of your audio and video files are in.
The only information that may be on your iPod that would be stored elsewhere are iPod Games and photos.
You’ll notice that the folder names and the file names do not in any way represent what they are. The internal ID3 tags are
still intact, so any application that can read these tags, such as iTunes, can easily sort this back out.

Copy the Music Folder from your iPod (\iPod_Control\Music) to your Hard Drive using copy and Paste in Windows Explorer.
Once the Music folder has been completely copied to your hard drive, CLOSE Windows Explorer and / or iTunes.
Next (even though the iPod displays "Do Not Disconnect") disconnect your iPod.
At this point you may Re-Open Windows Explorer and right click on the Music folder you copied to your hard drive, and select properties.
On the properties window un-check the hidden box then select All Sub Folders and Files in the dialog box that appears.
This is typically the default selection. Apply this action.
(iTunes won't see hidden folders and files when you attempt to Add them to your Library.)
Now you can run iTunes and prepare it to import your media.
First, verify that the "Keep iTunes Music folder organized" setting is turned on in your iTunes advanced preferences.
Next, Enable the "Add to Library" setting. This will ensure that iTunes will actually copy the tracks in to its library, instead
of referencing them from another location.

Once this is done you can click the Add to Library option on the File drop down menu, and browse to the music folder on your hard disk that you obtained from your iPod and prepared.
You may have to add each of the sub folders in Music to your library one at a time.
iTunes will copy all of the media tracks extracted from your iPod back in to your iTunes Music Folder, organizing them into sub-folders by Artist and Album in the process, and name them appropriately, all based on the internal tag information that is
still stored in the files themselves.

Once your music is all safely back on your computer and imported into your iTunes library, Look through your iTunes music
Library in iTunes and make sure you can view duplicate files. You may want to delete duplicates, particularly duplicates that
iTunes could not find the file for. (These have an exclamation mark type icon in front of them in iTunes)
Once you are satisfied with the content of your iTunes Library, you may want to get iTunes and your iPod back in sync.

To do this, reconnect the iPod, and in iTunes choose the Erase and Sync option, which will erase the content from your iPod and replace it with the newly-restored content as it is in your current iTunes library. You should also be able to delete the Music folder you got from your iPod and prepared, from your hard drive to free up the space it takes up there.

Hopefully this is helpful to those of you with the technical prowess to attempt it. You assume all risk as to any loss, while attempting this How To. BestYouCanGet.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any loss you experience as a result of attempting this How To. Read and understand fully the procedure in this How To before attempting it. I have done this successfully my self, following the above procedure, before creating this page for those of you in desperate need of recovering the media from your iPod back to iTunes, with out ending up with an erased iPod and an empty iTunes. There are programs on the market that can be purchased for this purpose. This method is effective and FREE for those of you with the skills to follow this procedure at your own risk!

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