I Riped My Ipod Out...

[Dtree11]

I am a dummy, I did not disconnect my Ipod correctly resulting in my Ipod displaying no music, and Itunes is giving me an error message saying I need to restore to factory settings. I have a full 29.8 gigs of music on my Ipod and I really do not want to lose all of it. I can use windows explore and see all of my music encoded in some form. Is there any way I can get around this problem?

I have a 5th gen Ipod video

Attached is the error message I am receiving.

[pam123]

Where is your iTunes library?

[Dtree11]

All over the place, my buddy has most of the music on his external HD, and I have very little on my notebook. I guess my question is, Since I know the music is still on the Ipod, can I take those files and backup on to a HD, then restore my Ipod, then go back and place the files back on to the Ipod?

[pam123]

Yes but it depends on whether or not you've got corrupted files on the iPod.
Assuming you don't, an iPod is also an external disk drive if you need it to be.
That's why this advice from MacMuse works :

Start with the iPod disconnected from the computer - DON'T CONNECT IPOD YET - open iTunes - open iTunes Preferences - this blocks iTunes from seeing an iPod connection; leave the preferences window up and running - connect the iPod to the computer, wait about 15 seconds before continuing - open 'My Computer' - Tools menu, Folder Options, View tab, enable 'show hidden files /folders' - open iPod icon in My Computer - open iPod_Control folder - you should see a folder named Music - drag this folder to somewhere on your computer hard drive - after the copy completes, right-click the new Music folder on your hard drive and select 'Properties' - clear the checkmark next to 'Hidden' - Close that explorer window - eject iPod from System tray "Safely Remove Hardware" icon. This icon looks like a small gray rectangle with a green arrow floating above it. It's only there when a removable device (like the iPod in this case) is attached to the computer. Right-click & select 'Safely remove..', then click 'Stop' in the next window, OK in the next window, and then Close to complete the ejection. - disconnect the iPod from the computer - go back to iTunes, cancel the preferences window - File menu \ Add folder to Library \ find that Music folder copied over from the iPod Your iTunes library should be back in action!

http://discussions.apple.com/message...ssageID=797432

edit : If you'd rather pay for a 3rd party program these have been proven to work ...documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward.

iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
iGadget Windows Only

[spleenforsoul]

I actually ran a chkdsk on mine and it fixed everything. I got that tip from ilounge, a really good ipod forum, aquasoft has some good advice too.