Chip Tarver's Ipod Information - iPod Garage

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iPod Garage Q & A for January 26th, 2006
By Matt Saye

Q: How can I convert videos to play on my new video iPod?

A: Well, with the new additions to iTunes, you can do this from within iTunes itself. Highlight the file(s) and right click (ctrl-click on a Mac) and select “convert to iPod format.” iTunes will handle the conversion for you and help you to make better use of your video files.


Q: I have a 118 GB music collection. What I want to do is put it on an iPod so I can bring a substantial portion of my collection to work and listen to it. (I used to just have my entire collection on my hard drive and used iTunes to play it. So I was used to having my entire collection at my fingertips at any time. For reasons I won't go into here, that isn't feasible anymore). So I need to know how easy it is to move music in and out of an iPod. So I have several options. Get a nano, and switch music fairly often. Or get a larger iPod (30 or 60), and switch music less often. I've heard about a trick where you just uncheck songs that you don't want to transfer. When you're not transferring half (or 90+%) of your collection, it just seems like too much of a hassle. Any other tips on syncing such a collection?

A: If it were me, I would get a larger iPod just so that you’re not driving yourself crazy switching music all the time. The best thing to do, whatever iPod you choose, would be to either set it to manually manage songs or create an iPod playlist and have it only update from that one playlist. Both of these options can be found in iTunes by going to edit>preferences>iPod


Q: Whenever i try to play songs on my iPod it will start to play the song and then around 10 seconds into the song it will start to skip and then it will turn to the next song, but it only happens with the first couple and last song? Could it just be a fad file or is there something else I’m not seeing? Also, whenever I try to put songs onto the iPod it is saying "Attempting to copy to the disk failed, an unknown error occured (-124)" please help, it’s really annoying!

A: The first question is: do the songs play fine in iTunes? If so, you may need to reformat your iPod using the latest iPod Updater software. If they do not play in iTunes, then you need to re-rip them and re-add them to the library, as the file is most likely corrupted.


Q: I have a new video iPod 60 GB. I installed the updater upon bringing the iPod home and ran into the video freeze problem. Given this, I promptly restored the 1.0 updater and video now runs fine. At this point, every time the iPod is cradled, it continues to check for an updater and prompts me to decide whether or not to run the updater. since the current updater results in the video freeze problem, i do not want to run the updater and do not need iPod to check for the updater when it is cradled. How do I disable this automatic check and cause the iPod NOT to check for the new firmware version

A: Uninstall the latest iPod Updater from your computer. The only reason it knows that the iPod is out of date is because the software is still on your computer.


Q: I just got a iPod, and i have a question about the battery life. When fully charged, I only get about 4 to 5 hours out of it, spread over about 10 sessions. Just average amount of changing songs and stuff. Here is more info: Ive got the backlight on 2 secs . Clicker is off . EQ is off . iPod Video 30gb Black . one week old. I used to have a 20gb photo...and had the exact same problem with it. I sent it back to the manufacturer, and got a new one. But never really heard what was wrong with it. Could it be that my USB doesnt charge it properly..? I think its still USB 1.0 .....or can it be because i didnt fully discharge it after my first full charge? Any ideas? Thanks!

A: Well, firstly, turn the backlight off and only use it when you need to. But really, turn the backlight off and run a battery test: fully charge the iPod, turn it on and let it play until it dies. If it’s still getting that kind of battery life, get it exchanged under the warranty.

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Lots more articles and reviews like this are at http://www.ipods-and-onlinevideo-reviews.com.

Chip Tarver