Forums | MacLife

I'm not sure if MacAddict covered this topic in its recent issue, but i've found where the iPod stores all the music you download to it (pls. note this down before Apple tell MA to chuck this forum topic out).

I first got a hint when id see MP3 files in the trash... from my iPod... on someone else's computer! So i thought... this is weird... they must be there... SOMEWHERE.

Then, after i got a Firewire card for my Mac, (so i can use the iPod as my main hard disk to replace the measly 2GB and 4GB internal ones), I started worrying if i can optimise my iPod like a normal hard disk... to prevent the media from getting too severly fragmented and eventually - physically damaged. YOU CAN DO IT. Using Norton, the iPod is immediately recognised, and you can perform all normal operations on it as if it were an external volume.

Now... i was worrying... coz some guy at the AppleStore told me that music is stored on it in a special formatted partition of the iPod - BS! Anyway, i was wondering... if it was, then i'd loose all my music! But, after optimsing my iPod (moderately fragmented), everything was still there - except that fact that my computer shutdown after (ooops... i forgot to turn that off in the Energy Saver control panel)! And when i rebooted, it said my iPod's media was currupted! Horrors! So i run Norton Disk Doctor, natually. I skipped the check media phase, coz i know my pod's still good, and as it scanned the files, it just went through and was listing my MP3 files! SO! I figured they must be somewhere on the iPod, in some invisible folder somewhere - and i was right!

They're there. In an invisible folder called iPod_control, is another invisible folder called Music. Then inside that are 20 OTHER invisible folders labeled F00 to F19. Your music is stored in these folders and can be retrieved if you use ResEdit to un-invisiblise these folders (so you can see them).

I didn't move any MP3s around though, and i haven't tested whether an MP3 added to any of these folders will correctly register on the iPod, but you CAN copy MP3s from this folder, to your harddrive, or someone else's.

I might mention though, that Apple has a sweeper app running on the iPod that periodically re-invisiblises these folders... so all your hard work with ResEdit is undone... this is probably why they place your library in 20 separate, invisible folders (makes is frustrating to go through the process again).

Also note that this is done to prevent people from sharing (aka pirating) MP3 files. So, for legal issues, i'd like to add that you SHOULDN'T SHARE MP3s with other people unless they have or have the same files (doesn't make sense, does it?).


-Steve

i hope i get mention in the next MacAddict for this. Oh, and if ido, will someone notify me so i can grab that issue?