I know that I could post this on a tech forum, but I prefer the advice from you bunch of geeks, more.

My new iPod just arrived today, in black, with 60g of mem. (I've NEVER owned or operated one before).

I've plugged it in and it's been charging for about an hour and a half.

I have 2 questions for the experts (please give this NEWB a response) here:

1. As I charge the battery for the first time, iTunes pops up & asks if I'd like to have the iPod auto update. I ignored this popup and it went away.

While charging (45 minutes later), I went into the iTunes preferences and noticed that "Manually manage" is chosen. Can this be unchosen? and Is it better to...
Manually manage or automatically update?

(I have 1200 songs on iTunes to move to my iPod & "manually manage" rather scares me if it will take forever)

2. Upon first attaching my new iPod to the USB 2 on my computer, it's screen flickered momentariy and it, then, has gone into what I can best describe as shadow(sleep)-mode, yet it's flashing an icon with "Do not disconnect". Does this mean it is charging & dowloading? or Is it just charging? or Is it not working? What's the icon look like when it's done?

Please Obnerites help this neophyte iPod user & musical nut out.

Thanks-a-ton,
audiobill

you probably do want to update it but it's not essential to do it right now as your joint is mad new and there's probably not an update for it yet. manually manage is much better than having itunes update and delete files from your ipod when they're no longer in the library. the ipod is probably charging but not doing much else.

Your pod is charging, but not automatically downloading as you have it set to manually manage. I prefer the manual mode, as I have more GB of music on my harddrive than are available on my iPod, so I can pick and choose what albums I put on the pod. If you only have 1200 songs on your iTunes, then I'd recommend changing it to auto. If you're going to download a lot more music onto your harddrive(more than the 60 GB available on your iPod), then I'd keep it on Manual.

The "do not disconnect" icon will flash until you "eject" the ipod from iTunes (click on the eject icon, or drag your iPod icon there), then you can unplug from your USB port.

Hope that helps.

I tried the "eject", after 31/2 hours, but when I click it on, I get this message: "The iPod "IPOD" cannot be ejected because it contains files that are in use by another application"

What do I do??

Help, pls.,

audiobill

reset it whilst it's still in the charger by holding menu and play or something if it's not doing anything else, like copying files or something.

Bizarre.

I tried reseting, but it's being stubborn and keeps giving me the above message.

Is there any way I can tell through itunes, if it's copying files??


Suggestions??

Were you actually able to reset? If you are, make sure that you disconnect the ipod when the screen flicks off. if you weren't able to reset, flip the hold switch on then off again before holding menu + play down for 6 or so seconds.

that sounds like an alt-f4 joke or something, but it's for real.

Steps to properly operating your new Ipod:

1. Look for manual
2. Read manual
3. Follow manual

Yeah man, this is the best way to get started. Initial setup isn't intuitive but once you're done it's pretty smooth sailing.

You may just want to turn the computer off, remove the iPod, and charge it from a wall socket.

Thank to all your obnerites for getting me on the right ipod track.

My new toy is now fully charged & ready to receive some music.

Can't wait to move some albums onto it.



Thanks-a-ton,

audiobill

words of wisdom

"Do not use the "Keep iTunes Folder Organized" under the iTunes advanced setting"

(unless, of course, you like the way they name files without the artist name in it, and folders without the year in it, and file names without track numbers where the tags were bad, and when...)

So what do you suggest I do, instead timmyboo? Is the "Keep iTunes F Organized" the default selection from the factory?

Eager to know,

audiobill

i'm just jealous that yours is black. My 60GB is standard white.



P.S. I didn't know you liked music.

no, it is not the default selection.
Just make sure you never use it, or it renames all your files and folders, and creates duplicates, and any special organization of certain files will be wrecked.

I actually do use the Keep iTunes Folder Organized function. It does screw up some stuff inexplicably though. How's the organization in iTunes and on the iPod if you don't use it? Can the iPod still label stuff correctly so you can find it in there?

I've never not used this, and I'm not in the least bit bothered by the way it organizes things. What is the downfall of having Itunes keep things organized?

That said, I wonder if this is why Itunes has on occasion randomly deleted albums? Has anyone else had this happen? It's very disconcerting.

Assuming your tags are correct, yes. That's pretty independent from the Folder Organization function, which addresses how the files are named on your hard drive. The function becomes more relevant if you use other players than iTunes (foobar, yo), or if you're sharing your music folders. I leave it off because I'm pretty attached to my organization system (Artist - Year - Album \ Track - Title).

I use anapod (paid software, but worth it if you want the iPod-sans-iTunes) to copy stuff to my iPod and only use iTunes to put Sound Check data & album art on tracks once they're on the iPod.

I leave it off because I'm pretty attached to my organization system (Artist \ Year - Album \ Artist - Track No. - Title).

with the itunes setting you don't get the album year in your folder name to keep them sequential, and you don't get the artist name in the filename, which pisses me off to no end, because if I wanna copy a file to a folder for a mix, I don't want to have to rename each one to keep track of who the artist is.

i also have a problem with it renaming mp3s that don't have proper tagging. Now not only do I have to retag it, but I need to edit the filename and file structure. (who the hell likes to see "inknown album" in their folders?)

I usually use iTunes to edit the artist and album name of the idv3 tag so when on the iPod it is easy to find, but a lot of my mp3s don't have the track numbers correct, as in track 4 of 12, it might only have track 4

Sketchy, I just got your name/avatar combo. I am now doing the lol dance.

What do you guys do to protect your iPod screens from scratches and the like?

= best reason.



= 2nd best.