iTunes question

Tw4win

Simple iTunes Question, I think...

I just got an iPod and am basically being forced to install and run iTunes in order to load it with music (it's a Touch). I don't really want or need to store a bunch of MP3 files on my PC. Is there a way to just use iTunes to load music into iPod without having to store MP3s on my computer?

Basically, I'd like to rip a CD, upload the MP3s to the iPod using iTunes and then delete the MP3s from my computer but I'm afraid that will cause issues with iTunes or synching.

Gabriel_Pitt

IIRC correctly, when you hook up your ipod and Itunes starts up, when it presents the ipod control panel, you select 'manually manage music.' That way it won't try to sync with your PC library, deleting songs on your ipod that aren't on your desktop.

Everywhereasign

Gabriel Pitt's got it nailed. When you open iTunes with your ipod plugged in, click on it's icon. Select the "Summary" tab at the top if you aren't presented with options.

Check Manually Manage Music, and while you're at it, un-check Open iTunes when this ipod is connected. It's just a pain if it opens each time.

wunderbar

Guys, this is the touch, you can't do that with the touch or iPhone. managing it manually requires the iPod to be enabled for disk use, which you cannot do with the Touch, or iPhone.

Sorry Tw4win, with most iPods you can manually manage the music or use a 3rd party program to do it, but with the Touch, you really are tied to iTunes.

Alpine

Not sure if it applies to the Touch, but I know with my old 5G Video iPod, I could delete the songs from my computer and as long as the song was still listed in iTunes, it wouldn't be removed from the iPod. Delete the song from Windows Explorer, not from iTunes, and you shouldn't have a problem.

Everywhereasign

well shit. Sorry Tw4win.

Are there decent third party apps for these devices? I'm guessing it would requires jailbreaking the iPhone.

bigpanda

IIRC the songs that are uploaded to the iPod aren't usable with iTunes. I could be wrong on that, but once you upload them, if you delete the files from your PC/Mac then want to redownload them from the iPod to iTunes I don't believe you'll be able to, you'd have to re-rip them from CD or repurchase them from the store (they don't allow you more than one download from the store, which imo stinks). I'd recommend ripping your iTunes library to a CD every couple weeks or else picking up a spare drive to keep it on.

This may have changed over the last couple years. I'm just now getting back to really using the iTunes client on a PC/Mac.

BP

wunderbar

ya, you really need to store your library on the computer for it to work. it's just how the software is built.

saltiness

Just keep the music on your computer to spare us from the inevitable, "I had to reformat my ipod and now all my music is gone because I didn't keep it on my computer" thread.

NovaRev

I just plugged my Touch in and there is most definitely a "manually manage music and videos" option that I had no problems enabling. Apparently you can do this with the iPhone as well as of iTunes 7.6:

http://www.iphoneatlas.com/2008/01/15/itunes-76-lets-you-manually-manage-iphone-musicvideos/