Updated: Feb 5, 2017.
Apple, iTunes, and their devices have changed since this article was originally written in 2004. I do not wish this page to be a Q&A as Apple provides their own support and discussion pages for this.
I’ve found over the recent years that Apple isn’t making the best quality software that they were once know for. Instead, the software has bugs that causes a lot of the frustrations we see with iTunes on the computer, and their counterpart apps on the iOS devices.
For this reason, make sure you always keep your software and devices up to date as we hope they squash those particular bugs. Unfortunately, as bugs are fixed, others are introduced.
- Make sure you always have the latest versions of iTunes installed.
- Keep your device: iPod, iPhone, iPad, or other iOS device up-to-date.
Get Help from Apple
Apple offers a lot of support on their own site and obviously keeps their information up-to-date.
Previously Asked Questions
How can I sync my iPod with multiple computers?
With the introduction of iTunes 8, you can now sync your iPod with multiple computers but you must set it up first. You do that by telling iTunes not to automatically sync the iPod but instead you will manage your media manually. You can follow the directions on this Apple support page for Using iPod with multiple computers.
The only thing I noticed was if you want to sync Podcasts or iTunes U content you can not drag them over to the Podcasts or iTunes library within the Device menu. Instead you must copy them over to either the Music if it’s an audio file or Movies for a video file. Other than that, it works perfectly fine – at least when I did it.
What is the difference between a Podcast and iTunes U?
They are basically the same except that the content delivered from iTunes U are from Universities and thus official content. These podcasts are typically recordings from lectures given to students and thus are very educational. Podcasts on the other hand are published by anyone and have no validity on the information given.
iTunes U is a great way to go to university for free and from your own home. You can browse via universities or by subject matter and find great informational content to watch via iTunes, your iPod, or AppleTV, and all for free.
I have a mac book air which is what I have uploaded all my music in to. Some music in my library will not show up in my new generation 6 iPod touch. I see them in the i tines library…but EVEN after a full sync ( manual and or automatic)…the songs and /or albums will not show up in the iPod …when i am in iTunes on the computer and i look in “my device” it shows the songs being in the iPod yet when i scroll to the artists …not in the iPod …very perplexing?
Strange indeed. It could be a bug. Could the music files be encoded in a format the iPod doesn’t support (or corrupted in some way)? You could try re-encoding those tracks again and seeing if that helps. I believe there’s also an option when you’re syncing to check “convert to AAC” which may help the file sync to the iPod.
Your best bet is to start digging through the Apple support pages. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201253 They might offer some tips there.
Hope this helps and sorry I couldn’t be more of an assistance. Unfortunately, Apple’s software has become so complex nowadays it can be hard to troubleshoot.
Good luck!