iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Get answers about the current version of MediaMonkey 5

Moderator: Gurus

GeorgeHxxx

iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Post by GeorgeHxxx »

Apple has recently discontinued supporting the iPod Classic. That means that you can no longer sync the iPod with the current version of iTunes. I thought I would relate my experience with how I managed to sync my iPod Classic with new music that I added to my library.

After I discovered that Apple no longer supports the iPod Classic, I found MM and thought I would give it a try. I found some directions on how to sync my iPod here:

https://www.mediamonkey.com/sw/webhelp/ ... zation.htm

At the time, I couldn't connect my iPod to iTunes so I decided to not perform the initial steps outlined in the procedure linked above. I imported the music from my iTunes folder into MM. I was impressed that the ratings using the 5 stars was imported into MM because I know that these ratings are not stored in the tags of the music files. I was disappointed that my "smart playlists" only imported into MM as a list of songs. I noticed that MM has "autoplaylists" that seem to be like smart playlists. I decided that at some point I might have to manually convert my list of 400 smart playlists to autoplaylists.

I had some initial success syncing a few new songs so I decided to sync the whole iPod. I got a prompt to set up the "Sync List" on MM and I set it up to sync my music files and playlists and nothing else. My import of iTunes into MM consisted of much more than would fit onto my iPod. When I synced my iPod, MM insisted on importing everything that was imported from iTunes instead of what I selected on the "Sync List". I ended up corrupting the iPod firmware because everything would not fit. I discovered too late that you can cancel the sync by right clicking on the status bar at the bottom of the screen and selecting "Cancel".

At this point I decided to try installing an old version of iTunes. I downloaded iTunes 12.11.0.26 (64 bit). I don't recall which site I downloaded it from but it is available here:

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/itune ... -26-64-bit

The installer would not install because it said I had a more current version of iTunes already installed. So, I uninstalled iTunes and cleaned up the registry by using the registry cleaner from CClean (I don't know whether the cleaning was necessary). Then I installed iTunes 12.11.0.26 (64 bit). I connected it to my old iTunes folder and connected my iPod. My iPod did connect and I clicked on the "Restore" icon. To my surprise, this version of iTunes downloaded version 2.0.5 of the firmware that I needed and it fixed my iPod. Then I synced it with iTunes 12.11.0.26 successfully.

I followed the directions on this site to prevent iTunes from updating:

https://www.technipages.com/disable-app ... ate-screen

After syncing my iPod, I found this site that says it will update firmware of Apple devices although I have never tried it:

https://iosindex.com/

It would be nice if MM could update the iPod firmware.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Post by Lowlander »

You're looking at instructions for a really old version of MediaMonkey. The current instructions are: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... Tracks/5.0
GeorgeH
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:39 am

Re: iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Post by GeorgeH »

Thanks for the new version of the directions. It still says that you need to turn off the automatic sync with your device in iTunes. I am guessing that is why MM insisted on loading everything that I had imported into MM from iTunes even though I set up the iPod to only sync music and playlists.

Lesson Learned: If you want to use MM to sync your iPod Classic, install an old version of iTunes like I did and turn off automatic sync using iTunes first.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Post by Lowlander »

iTunes does not influence what MediaMonkey Syncs:
1) What MediaMonkey Sync is set on the Sync List: https://www.mediamonkey.com/wiki/WebHel ... _Device.29
2) What MediaMonkey deletes is also set on the same screen. By default it won't delete files not Synced by MediaMonkey that aren't on the Sync List.
GeorgeH
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2021 10:39 am

Re: iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Post by GeorgeH »

All I know is that I used the screen shown on the screen shot of your link. I set it to sync only music and playlists. When I clicked on the sync button, it attempted to sync everything that was imported into MM from ITunes, including podcasts, videos and other things even though there was not enough space and it corrupted the firmware on my iPod.
Lowlander
Posts: 56465
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2003 5:53 pm
Location: MediaMonkey 5

Re: iPod Classic Won't Sync with iTunes

Post by Lowlander »

Then maybe it was part of one of the selections. MediaMonkey only Sync what is selected to be Synced.

If you can reproduce the problem, please capture it in a debug log (step 4b) and attach it to a Support Ticket: viewtopic.php?f=30&t=86643
Post Reply