the ipod situation 08.27.2005

the ipod situation 08.27.2005

---update to the update---

Ok. So after coming to the conclusion that I'm done with Apple for good, I went to Frys Electronics to check out alternatives and a bunch of other stuff that I wanted to check out as part of my latest R&D effort.

The good news is that after I purchased a replacement 12v universal Power adapter for my Wolverine Six Pack (a 40GB HDD with slots for all popular memory storage (e.g. MMC, SD, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, etc) and connected it to my laptop. After doing some archiving, I started to browse around and was able to locate a backup copy of my iTunes music collection. I'm not sure if it's an exact mirror image of what was stored in my ipod, but I'm in the process of copying the files back to my laptop (about 25 GB) directly into my iTunes music folder. Hopefully I'll be able to recover everything that got wiped out on my ipod. I'm still leaning towards an ipod replacement, but time will tell.

---update---

I'M TOTALLY SCREWED. I'VE LOST MY ENTIRE MUSIC COLLECTION AND I CAN'T GET IT BACK!

I just got off the phone with a support rep from apple and after explaining my situation, which was a challenge in itself, as the support is fee-based [yuck], although after I quickly explained my issue, the sales rep did answer a bunch of my questions, listed to my extended explanation, and offered up some pointers to avoid this in the future.

So now the question is do I endeavor to re-populate my iPod or do I consider ditching Apple and itunes in favor of a more "flexible" solution. I'm really leaning towards the latter, as I don't like the idea of being locked into Apple's proprietary technology. Sorry Apple, I'm not impressed.

Anyone want to buy a 40GB ipod? Will probably sell to a colleague or post on ebay.

I'm really bummed about this. sigh...

---end update---

Summary: It appears that I've lost my entire music collection that was stored on my iPod. I'm not a happy camper right now and am on the verge of ditching apple. About to run the gauntlet of the apple phone support because I really want to speak to a human about this issue. I will also probably cut and paste this entry and email to support@apple.com (or whatever their support email is).

last known total ipod.content
~6000 songs
~4-5 albums purchased through itunes

The sequence of events leading up to this post:

1) purchased a little over a year ago
a) created account on itunes: brianeisenberg@comcast.net

2) converted entire cd library to ipod - couple hundred cds

3) ipod and itunes authorized for dell latitude d800
a) ipod / itunes worked great for the majority of last year

4) because I'm paranoid about data loss, I copied itunes Music folder to external HD for archival purposes [I need to check and see if I still have this archive...yikes!!!]

5) de-authorized laptop before performing the next task

6) reinstalled laptop os [winXP] and I choose to NOT install itunes and store my music (roughly 6000 songs) on my laptop, as it is a work laptop.

7) A couple months pass and I've been using my ipod exclusively in my car with my alpine stereo system (with ipod adapter). I also use it when I travel, but that's about it.

8) I recently decided to re-install itunes on the same work laptop that has a relatively fresh install of WinXP on it.

9) Downloaded and installed itunes 4.9.0.17 yesterday.

10) Connected ipod to laptop via firewire connection

11) ipod updater kicks off and gives the usual "do not disconnect" message

12) updater churns for a while

13) updated finishes, "ok to disconnect" msg displayed

14) disconnected ipod and tried to browse my collection directly from the device

15) SHOCK AND AWE - THERE ARE NO FILES ON MY IPOD AND NOTHING IN ITUNES. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!!!

16) Reconnected ipod, confirmed that it shows up in itunes as a recognized device [yes], and attempt to do another update. Also logged into itunes (after a couple of failed password attempt, submit lost password request. successul. change password. login to itunes, don't see any on my purchased music there. change email address in itunes from my comcast account to my gmail accout.

17) login again with new email address and pwd.

18) still no luck

====

APPLE PLEASE HELP ME!!

I'm already really annoyed with the effectiveness of the Alpine KCA-420i adapter and my Alpine CDA-9833 head unit, which is really crappy with replicating the ipod menu options, browse functions, and the most important thing - the click wheel. I purchased this unit just before the 2005 model year Alpine decks came out, and I did see one with an interesting "horizontal" strip that appears to allow one to mimic the scrolling capabilities of the click wheel by moving your finger over the pad/strip from left to right. Supposedly, the faster / slower you move your finger, the faster / slower you will scroll (very similar to a laptop mousepad).

Anyway, back to my ipod support escalation. Cross your fingers.