Months ago, I posted information about iPodExtract. It’s a great way to pull music off of your iPod if you have somehow lost your music library on your PC. The only problem is that it doesn’t work with many newer devices such as my 3rd generation iPod Nano.

Luckily I discovered a new method to save my precious music files. Music Rescue completely blew me away with the ease of use. When you install it, it detects your iPod automatically. You can then choose the folder you wish to extract the music to. Here’s the kicker. You’re files are rescued and restored to where you won’t know the difference. They will be in their original format as if they never were lost from your iTunes library.

I have only had a chance to play with the PC/Windows version, but there is a Mac version as well that I am sure is just as robust.

How to get music from your computer to your iPod music player.

1. Download iTunes and install it.

2. Launch iTunes and you can drag and drop the song files or folders with the music files to the iTunes window. The music files will then be added to the iTunes library.

3. Attach your iPod to the computer. You can then drag and drop the songs from the iTunes library over to the iPod device, which should be listed on the left side.

Note: The first time you connect an iPod to a computer, it may ask you to setup the device with a name and a few other preferences.

4. It can take a while for music files to transfer. You can see the progress of the file transfer at the top of the iTunes screen. When you are done moving files to the iPod, you can eject it by pressing the eject icon next to the device on the left side.

How to transfer specific songs or all songs from a CD to the iPod using iTunes.

1. Open iTunes and insert the CD that you wish to import.

2. You might get a prompt to import the CD. If you want to import every song on the disc, select Yes and skip to Step 5. If you only want to import specific songs from the CD, click No.

3. Select the CD on the left side. You can now uncheck the songs you don’t want to import.

4. Click Import CD in the lower right corner of the screen.

5. iTunes will start importing music from the disc.

6. Attach your iPod to the computer.

7. Click Library on the left side of the iTunes screen. Drag and drop the songs that have been imported over to your iPod device which should also be listed on the left side.

8. Eject your iPod when it’s done transferring the songs and enjoy.

If your Sandisk Sansa e200 MP3 player becomes locked up or frozen, it’s time to try to reset the device. You can do this by simply holding down the Power/Menu button for about 15 seconds. After the reset, any changes you have made to the e200 during its last use will be lost.

My iTunes was a rickety mess. I had links to songs that didn’t exist on my hard drive anymore, duplicates and a bunch of playlists that I didn’t need anymore. I wanted to start over. I could delete all of this data by individually selecting each item and deleting them, but that’s a pain. There is an easier way. Here’s what I did.

1. Close iTunes.

2. Open My Documents > My Music > iTunes.

3. Right-click iTunes Music Library.xml and select Rename. Give it a name of iTunes Music Library.old. Do the same thing for the iTunes Library.itl file.

4. Open iTunes. Everything should be cleared now. The library, playlist, ratings will then be cleared out. New iTunes Music Library.xml and iTunes Library.itl files will be created.

5. You can now drag and drop your music files you want to get back to the main window of iTunes. The main folder for iTunes music is located at My Documents > My Music > iTunes > iTunes Music. It’s a good idea to organize your music files first before you re-add your music files back to iTunes to avoid duplicates and errant file names.

How to add music file in PowerPoint 2007 so that it plays during the presentation.

1. Select the slide you wish to add the music to.

2. Click the Insert tab.

3. Under the Media Clips group, click the arrow under Sound.

4. To play a music file such as an MP3 or WAV, click Sound from File.

5. Browse to the folder that contains the file, and then double-click the music file.

6. Select if you wish the file to start Automatically or When Clicked.

There are many ways to convert FLAC files to MP3 in Windows. Which one is the easiest though? Well there is a web site that will convert almost anything, including those formats. It’s very easy, but it’s also very slow. It converts only one file at a time.

For faster conversions, your best bet is to do the following:

1. Download and install dBpoweramp.

2. Download and install the FLAC codec for dBpoweramp.

3. Click Start > Programs > dBpoweramp Music Converter > dBpoweramp
Batch Converter

4. Select the folders where your FLAC files are located. Then check the files you wish to be converted. Click Convert after they are all selected.

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Now that iTunes is offering movies, you may want to consider setting parental controls within iTunes.

1. Click Edit > Preferences in Windows, iTunes > Preferences in Mac,

2. Click the Parental Control tab.

3. Set the criteria for what will be password protected from your kids.

4. Click the lock to set a password. Enter your Windows or Mac password for the account with admin rights.

5. Click OK then OK again when done.

By default, iTunes has an option when you right click on a song to Convert Selection to AAC. This format isn’t friendly with some music players. What if you want to convert the music to MP3 format? Well here’s how to enable the Convert Selection to MP3 option in iTunes.

1. In iTunes, click on the Edit > Preferences.

2. Click the Advanced tab.

3. Click the Importing tab.

4. On the Import Using menu, select MP3 Encoder click OK.

Now the option to Convert Selection to MP3 will be available when you right click on an music track.

Need to extract the music files off of your iPod to your PC? I located a handy tool that will take all of the music files from your iPod and convert them into MP3 format. It will also copy your video files as well.

The tool is called iPodExtract. I prefer it because it has a very simple interface. Just select your iPod drive, then select where you want the files to go. Please note that the iPod must be enabled as a hard drive before using this tool.

How to enter Rescue/Recovery Mode on the Creative Labs ZEN Touch, Xtra, NX, USB 2.0 or Firewire MP3 player.

1. Ensure the unit is detached from the computer and powered off.

2. Remove the battery.

3. Hold down the Play/Pause button while inserting a paper clip into the Reset hole.

4. Hold the Play/Pause button until the Rescue Mode screen appears.

You will then have the option to Clean up, Format, Reload OS / Firmware or Reboot.

Ever been cruising along in your Dodge Omni, listening to your iPod in your car using an FM Transmitter and then all of a sudden your tune by Green Day gets interrupted by Garth Brooks?

Radio interference can be annoying when it comes to using your iPod in the car. I learned this tip from DL.TV that has helped me a great deal with this problem. Sirius provides a Frequency Finder on their web site where you can search radio stations in your area that are safe to use Sirius Satellite Radio with. You can also use this tool for your iPod, Zune or other music player FM Transmitter.

I bought all the useless Verizon VCAST software thinking I could easily make my MP3’s into ringtones. This was not the case. For ringtones, I would be forced to buy from the VCAST store. I found a way around this though and started making my own ringtones for my LG VX8300 phone. I am told this hack or workaround will work with most LG or Motorola phones on Verizon’s network.

First you have to find the music file you wish to use. I use the Google MP3 Hack to find MP3’s. There are also other ways of getting MP3’s. Oh, and to cover my ass, please know that there are copyright laws, so be sure not to use any songs that are illegally ripped, so be sure only to use legal MP3 files. Uh hu! So, moving on… I have my MP3 file, I just need software to make it so it will fit in my phone. I use Audacity 1.3 for Windows in this example. It’s totally free and a painless applications to use. Download and install Audacity here. After you’re done with that, download the lame_enc.dll file. Save and extract the lame_enc.dll file to your Desktop because Audacity will need it later.

1. Open your MP3 file using Audacity (File > Open). Ringtones typically need to be 30 seconds or less, so we need to trim your MP3 down to the right size. Highlight a 30 second or less chunk of the song. I always like to use the first 30 seconds of the song, but you can use any 30 second chunk of it.

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How to block or unblock another Zune device from sending you pictures and music.

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How to perform a hard reset on an iPod shuffle.

On both the 1st and 2nd generation iPod Shuffle, you can perform a hard reset on it by powering it down for 5 seconds then powering it back on. Also be sure you do not have the device attached to your computer or any other device while doing this. This is the only thing that can be done to reset it.

For more information see Apple’s document on resetting the iPod Shuffle here.