Transferring music stored on your iPod to your computer is unfortunately less intuitive of a process than what it sounds like on the surface. You may have plugged your iPod into the computer and attempted to drag the music straight out of itunes similarly to how you are used to copying it onto your iPod but found no success. Although luckily all the files can simply be accessed via file explorer with ease, all we have to do is:
- enable hidden folders
- Navigate to iPod\iPod_control\Music. Then all the music is just contained within those subfolder.
- NOTE: This method will only work on the iPod classic, nano shuffle and mini models. For iPod touches please see here
Whether you’re upgrading your device or simply managing your library, this guide will thoroughly walk you through the steps needed to safely and easily copy music from your iPod to your computer.
Watch This Video for a Step-by-Step Guide
If you prefer a visual guide, you can also watch this video. It provides a step-by-step walkthrough of the process, making it even easier to follow along.
Step 1: Connect Your USB Cable to the iPod and Your PC
Before starting, ensure both your iPod and computer are fully charged or connected to a power source. You’ll also need a USB cable to connect your iPod to your computer. Take the USB cable that came with your iPod and plug one end into the iPod and the other end into an available USB port on your PC. Ensure both devices are properly connected before moving on to the next steps.
Step 2: Open File Explorer and Access Your iPod
After connecting your iPod to your PC, open File Explorer on your computer. You should see your iPod listed under This PC or Devices and drives. Double-click on your iPod to open its storage and view the contents.
Step 3: Open the “iPod_Control” Folder and Access the Music Folder
To view the folder containing your music, you’ll need to enable the display of hidden items. To do this, click on the View tab at the top of File Explorer and check the box next to Hidden items. This will allow you to see all files, including those hidden by default.
Step 4: View Music Folders
Once you’ve enabled hidden items and opened your iPod’s storage, locate the iPod_Control folder and double-click to open it. Inside, you’ll find a folder labeled Music. Double-click on the Music folder to access the actual music files stored on your iPod.
Step 5: Create a New Folder to Store Your Music
Inside the Music folder, you’ll see several folders named f00, f01, f02, and so on. If you click on each one you will see these folders contain your music files, organized by your iPod. The number of folders may vary depending on how much music is on your iPod.
Step 6: Create a new folder for our music
Before copying the music files, it’s a good idea to create a new folder on your computer to store all the music in one place. Right-click on your desktop or in any location on your computer, then select New > Folder. Name the folder something like “iPod Music” to keep it organized.
Step 7: Copy All the Folders into Your New Folder
Now that you’ve created a new folder to store your music, go back to the Music folder on your iPod, select all the subfolders (e.g., f00, f01, f02, etc.), and copy them. Then, paste all the folders into the new folder you created on your computer.
TIP: you can use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + A to highlight all items, then you can use CTRL + C to copy and CTRL + V to paste.
Once you’ve copied all the folders into your new folder, you’ll notice that the music files are named randomly. This makes it inconvenient to identify the songs at a glance. However, these files still retain their metadata, including song titles, artist names, album information, and track numbers. This means that if you decide to copy them back onto your iPod (for example, after upgrading the hard drive of an iPod Classic) or transfer them to your phone, the music will still appear properly with all its details.
While it might be a little difficult to tell what’s what in Windows, the metadata ensures that everything stays intact when you transfer it back to a device that reads this information. That’s all your music safely stored on your computer, ready to be transferred or organized as you like. If you would prefer a method which retains the file names there are a few 3rd party programs you can use to copy music out as well. Our favorite free one is called foobar2000. It is probably the best free iTunes alternative i have come across so far.
This method will work for all iPod Classics, Minis, Nanos, and Shuffles. However, if you have an iPod Touch, the process is a bit different. Unlike the iPod Classic or Nano, the files on an iPod Touch are not directly accessible through File Explorer. The iPod Touch uses a more advanced syncing system similar to the iPhone or iPad, which will require a 3rd party program to do this.
I hope you were able to save the music off of your iPod! Let us know how it went in the comments below!