* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * THE iPOD MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS GUIDE * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * written by: paranoidxe email: paranoidtsi@hotmail.com date: 10/2006 ~+ +~ [1. HELP! I DON'T GET THE ADVERTISED SPACE/SONGS ON MY iPOD WHATS WRONG?] ~+ +~ The estimated songs you get are based on each song being 4 minutes long, and encoded with 128kbps AAC. The advertised amounts are: 1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB nano - 240/500/1,000/2,000 songs respectively shuffle 512MB/1GB - 120/240 songs 5G 30GB/60GB/80GB - 7,500/15,000/20,000 songs If you aren't getting the advertised sizes then you may need to look into converting your songs into 128kbps AAC format, which can be done in iTunes by: - opening iTunes application - click library from the left hand menu - left clicking on the song you wish to convert, select "convert selection to AAC" ~+ +~ [2. CAN I GET NEW GAMES FOR MY iPOD?] ~+ +~ Yes and No, the 5G iPod with the latest firmware is able to download new games. Other iPods as of writing do not have the ability to download new games. ~+ +~ [3. HOW CAN I RUN A DISK SCAN? (HD based iPods Only)] ~+ +~ Press Menu + Play buttons to initialize a soft reboot Press REW-FF-Menu and Center in this order, this will start the disk scanning process. ~+ +~ [4. HOW CAN I STOP AUTO-SYNCING FROM HAPPENING IN iTUNES?] ~+ +~ By default iTunes will automatically sync your library with your iPod, in order to manually manage songs do the following: - Hold Shift + Ctrl - Click Edit > Preferences - Click iPod Tab, check "manually manage files" - Click ok Under iTunes 7: - open iTunes, highlight your iPod - under Options check "Manually Manage Music" ~+ +~ [5. OK I WANT TO START ALL OVER WITH MY iPOD, HOW CAN I REFORMAT AND START FRESH?] ~+ +~ Download an iPod Updater from http://www.apple.com/ipod/download/, download the version that matches your iPod. Run the program and select Restore option to completely restore your iPod to factory defaults. Under iTunes 7, open iTunes, highlight your iPod, select Restore. ~+ +~ [6. HELP! I HAVE FILLED UP MY iPOD AND I WANT TO ADD MORE SONGS WHAT DO I DO!?!?] ~+ +~ There are a few options you can do to get more songs on your iPod: - delete songs you don't listen to - convert high bit rate files to lower bit rate files (i.e. 320kbps mp3s to 128kbps AAC), this will decrease the size of existing files thus allowing you to add more songs - the final and obvious choice would be to upgrade to a larger capacity iPod ~+ +~ [7. I CAN'T DECIDE WHICH iPOD TO GET, CAN YOU HELP ME DECIDE?] ~+ +~ You might want a iPod NANO if: - you don't need video - need a screen - want to view pictures - care mainly about music - need a larger capacity than what the shuffle offers - don't have a extensively LARGE collection of music (2,000+ songs) - want FLASH based player rather than HD based player - want a device that doesn't skip or break in high activity situations You might want a Video iPod if: - you want video - have 2,000+ songs and want them all on your iPod - want to view pictures - want a larger screen - don't mind a larger unit - don't care about sensitivity of HD players, and don't use it actively in running and/or sports You might want a Shuffle if: - you don't need a screen - your collection consists of ~200 songs - want to use it in active environments - don't care about song info being displayed - don't care about video or pictures - just want a generic mp3 player ~+ +~ [8. I JUST GOT MY iPOD, HOW THE HECK DO I TURN IT OFF?] ~+ +~ You can just put the player on pause and it will automatically turn itself off, or you can press and hold the play button to put it in sleep mode. ~+ +~ [9. I HOOKED MY iPOD TO MY COMPUTER AND IT SAYS "DO NOT DISCONNECT" WELL HOW DO I DISCONNECT IT?] ~+ +~ This tells you the iPod has established a connection to your machine, in order to keep your iPod stable and in working order you should never unplug it without ejecting it FIRST! This can be done by the eject icon located next to the iPod label in iTunes, or you can double-click the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon next to the system tray, highlight it and click disconnect. ~+ +~ [10. CAN I RUN A iPOD FROM A USB 1.1 CONNECTION? CAN I CHARGE THE iPOD?] ~+ +~ Yes you can run the iPod with a USB 1.1 connection, however you cannot charge the iPod through this kind of a port...and transfers will be extremely slow. ~+ +~ [11. WHAT AUDIO FORMATS DOES iPOD SUPPORT?] ~+ +~ As of writing, the supported formats are: AAC, MP3 (CBR/VBR), WAV, AIFF, Audible, and Apple Lossless Encoder. WMA is supported, but must be converted in iTunes to work. ~+ +~ [12. MY iPOD IS WARM ON THE BACK WHILE CHARGING, IS THIS A CAUSE OF CONCERN?] ~+ +~ Its perfectly normal, however excessive heat is not. Make sure you unmount the iPod when charging from a firewire port, otherwise the hard drive will constantly spin which will heat up the device excessively. ~+ +~ [13. I HEARD I CAN ONLY GET MUSIC FROM iTUNES STORE IF I GET A iPOD IS THIS TRUE?] ~+ +~ No, you can use any mp3 on your machine..you don't need to purchase it from the iTunes music store in order to get music on your iPod. You only need the iTunes application to transfer songs to the iPod.