The iTunes software is the greatest thing I’ve ever used and love it to bits, but it really disappoints me that Apple has not made it in such a way that you can easily backup iPod songs whenever you want to restore your iPod to factory settings.

Although there are many softwares on the market that will cost you money for backing up your songs. I documented in a previous article… How to transfer iPod songs into iTunes Music Library using a free trial version of iPod Access --opens in new window-- as what I used to backup my songs.

This proved to be very time consuming because it only allows you to backup 5 songs at a time. The full version allows you to backup your entire songs and can recover songs from your damaged iPod but it comes at a price.

The good news is… there’s an easier way to backup iPod songs that won’t break your bank and no software is required to be installed at all.

Visit Our Sponsor

Step-By-Step Guide...

1. Enable Your iPod For Disk Use

In order for your computer to see the iPod's folders, where your music resides, you need to enable it for use as an external disk drive. To do this, connect it to the computer.

Open iTunes and from your iTunes interface, click 'Users iPod' on the left hand side of the iTunes interface and select 'Summary'. Under 'Options' check the box that says 'Enable disk use'.

2. Navigate To Your iPod In Windows

Navigate to your ‘My Computer’ folder where you will see your iPod as a mounted hard disk drive. In Windows XP Media Center, it'll show up under "Devices with Removable Storage"…

3. View iPod Contents

Double-click your iPod hard-disk icon to open it up as a folder.

4. Enable ‘View Hidden Folders’ Function

In the iPod folder, go to "Tools > Folder Options" and click the "View" tab.

5. Open "iPod Control" Folder

Under your iPod's folder, you'll see a greyed-out folder called "iPod_Control". Double-click to open it. Under the iPod_Control folder there are four items… Artwork, Device, iTunes and Music. Double-click the "Music" folder to open it.

There you have it…

… numbered folders each containing your iPod songs.

6. Create A Destination Folder

If you want to be able to find all of this music easily in one folder later, create a new folder on your desktop or within your Music folder, and give it a name.

7. Copy Your Music

Drag and drop your songs from your iPod Music folder into the new folder you created. Relax and let your iPod and PC do the work ;0)