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I'm looking to get out of the impracticality of portable CD players, and get an iPod soon for music on the go. But I've been curious for a while about the longevity of digital files. They say the iPod Classic holds over "30,000 songs", so theoretically, you could spend $30k on downloaded music at 99 cents per. My question is this. If an iPod is damaged, or just craps out due to inevitable age, is there anyway to save the files, or are they completely gone? Because, if there is no way to save the content, then you're just biding your time until your investment goes poof! This scenario doesn't seem very sensible.
The files will be on the computer first, then transferred over to the ipod.... it is also a good idea to back up the library onto cd/dvd/external hd/flash drive as well. If the ipod breaks, all you are out is the price of the ipod, the other stuff will still be there.
You can also use itunes to put your cds on the computer to then put on the ipod.
Yes. Your Ipod is in-sync with your ITunes on your computer. They are both intended to be used in conjunction in case you lose your Ipod. You have all your music saved on your ITunes.
I will add that you can install your own music CD's onto the iPod, not just download songs from Apple's iTunes Store to install on your iPod. What you do is to have the itunes software in your computer "Import" the songs of a CD you have inserted in the CD/DVD drive. Once you do that, then you have two choices: install the songs in the iPod manually, or automatically (Sync). I prefer to install songs manually, that way I have full control of what goes on.
This is what I usually do to install songs manually:
1. Create a "Playlist" in iTunes. This is just a folder where I plan to save the songs to. I name this Playlist any way I want. For example, "My Rock Music", or "Joe Satriani Playlist A", and so forth.
2. Then I open the "Music" folder in iTunes, and select all the songs I want to place in the Playlist.
3. I drag all the songs I want from the Music folder into the Playlist I have created. The playlist can have as many songs as you want.
4. I plug the iPod to the computer, and when the iPod shows in the list of components in iTunes (left side of the window), I drag the Playlist I have created and drop it on the iPod icon. The computer will take a few seconds to copy the songs from the Music folder and save them to the iPod, leaving the Music folder intact.
5. Once the Playlist has been saved to the iPod, just open the iPod with iTunes. You will see the Playlist you have saved, and it will have the same name as the Playlist in iTunes. This Playlist in iTunes is also left intact, since what you now have in the iPod is a copy of the Playlist you created in the computer.
Its all saved on your computer through iTunes, even if your computer breaks when you get a new one you can download everything you already bought and you won't be charged.
Its all saved on your computer through iTunes, even if your computer breaks when you get a new one you can download everything you already bought and you won't be charged.
With online stores, once you buy it its your responsibility to keep it, just like if you bought a physical CD. Apple does have a program where if you lose your music, it will let you redownload it if you ask, but its not a backup service and it won't have all your music, just what you've bought.
As for longevity, I went all digital in my music library around 2000, and of around 10,000 songs, I have 37 that need to be replaced - either the CD ripping was bad, the CD skipped when ripping, or the file has become corrupt as its moved across four computers and various external hard drives. That's less than 1% corruption, so I wouldn't worry about losing music due to it.
You do need to back up your music however. An iPod acts like an external hard drive which is good, but you should have at least two backup sources for what you value. For me its music and photos/movies, so I have two external hdds I back everything up to.
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