PLEASE HELP!

2003-12-11 13:04:25

This is crazy. I just spent over $500 for my new 40G Ipod and having problem transfering songs from my Itune for windows to the unit. As you all should know, the Ipod comes with only one cable... so I charged it fully and when I hook it up to the PC to trasfer my songs, the units dies after 30 min with only 200 songs being uploaded. I have to keep doing the same thing over and over again (recharging) so finally I can upload 1200 songs. This is crazy... Is there somthing wrong with the battery of the unit or this is normal?? I just can not bleieve APPLE does not include another lozy $10 cable with the unit so we do not have to go thourhg this. Being a PC user for users, I am really disappointed at APPLE as everyonbe talks about how a great company it is... Please let me know if I an doing somthi  ng wrong or not.

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #1 – 2003-12-11 13:54:17

You need a Firewire card that is capable to give power to the iPod, otherwise the battery will die pretty soon if you're transferring files... if you're using a desktop, a new firewire card shouldnt't cost too much (20 eur over here), if you're using a laptop, I think you need an external power supply for the firewire ports... I can't remember where I read how that could be done.

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #2 – 2003-12-11 17:05:25

I am using Sont notebook and has a built in firewire. For Apple not to privde us with an extra $10 cable, is wat frustrates me. If the battery runs out that fast, how long can I play music with this unit??? with the new Dell D.J., they are reporting around 16 hours of non-stop music.

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #3 – 2003-12-11 17:21:16

Hey Mig2000,

the reason that the battery goes dead so fast when you are "feeding" the iPod is because of the constant hard disk activity. You will still get somewhere between 6 to 8 hours of battery life on a full charge when listening to .mp3 or .aac files. Your battery life will be shorter if you are listening to .wav or .aiff files however due to their larger file size. The iPod has a 32 MB flash memory chip that the audio files are cached to before they are played. This helps extend the battery life by reducing the number of times the disk has to be accessed. The best way to get the most time out of a battery charge is to let the iPod play from a playlist. The more you jump around in your library, the more the disk has to be accessed whereby consuming more battery power.

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #4 – 2003-12-11 18:07:07

I bought a Belkin 6-Port powered hub to solve this issue for myself.  I suppose Apple figured laptop users with built-in 4-pin(read: non-powered) firewire who want to use iPods aren't a large enough group to validate the extra cable.  There are a variety of third-party products that fill the requirement, the hub isn't the only way to go.  Here are some iPod enthusiaist sites that report on iPod accessories and news that I've found useful:
www.ipoding.com
www.ipodlounge.com
www.ipodhacks.com

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #5 – 2003-12-11 18:14:17

Are you talking about a USB 2.0 hub?? I have one but it is a USB 1.1. Or should I buy a Firewire Hub??

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #6 – 2003-12-11 18:28:53

WOW!!!! I just checked the price for Belkin 6-Port FireWire Hub and it is $100. I hate to say it but I just spent over $600 for my new IPOD and just can not afford for another $100 to resolve my cable issue. Do you know of any other solution??


Thanks

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #7 – 2003-12-11 19:30:05

That's a rip-off price.  I paid less than $50 for it at Best Buy:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id...24&type=product


Alternatively, the Firejuice will be available soon(2 to 3 weeks) from Sik:
http://store.sik.com/merchant.mv?Screen=CT..._Code=FireJuice

/edit:  Hmm, seems I was mistaken regarding the FireJuice...you need that PLUS another product from them to do what you need....sorry.

-=Gonzotek=-

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #8 – 2003-12-11 21:21:09

Thanks a million... Is that going to work with my 4 pin Firewire Sony notebook??? I sure hope so....

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #9 – 2003-12-11 21:33:14

The USB cable for iPod from Apple will solve your problem, and it only cost like 20 bucks. I have one and it works great. It's actually two cables in one: you plug the USB side between the laptop and the iPod for data and plug the Firewire side between the iPod and the wall socket connector (which came with your iPod) for power. The USB cable is about 1 MB/s faster than the Firewire anyway, so I use it when I connect my iPod to my desktop PC as well. Hopefully your laptop is an newer one with USB 2.0 instead of USB 1.X, otherwise data transfer will be slower than Firewire.

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #10 – 2003-12-11 21:35:04

Yes, here's my setup:

I plug the ipod cable into the ipod and the hub.  Then the hub comes with a standard firewire cable, which you can use with the 4-to-6 pin ipod firewire cable adapter.  Plug the adapted end into the Sony, and the regular end into the hub(this is more complicated to describe than do).

The computer will recognize the iPod as it always did, and you will be charging it at the same time, _and_ you'll have 4 extra (powered) firewire ports for future use

-=Gonzotek=-

/edit
I think he said USB 1.1, but if does have 2.0, what you said is all correct

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #11 – 2003-12-11 22:01:02

Thanks you all for your help. I guess it is all comes down to price between HUB or Apple cable.

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #12 – 2003-12-12 01:24:53

You may also find that you don't need either.  I have a laptop as well, and while it takes a few rechargings to get all of your files on there initially, you probably won't need to do that ever again.  Once you have all of your music on the ipod, you'll only need to add new albums as you get them.  This means you won't need to be transferring huge amounts of files at once, and therefore you won't need to have it plugged in while transferring.

- Matt

PLEASE HELP!

Reply #13 – 2003-12-25 02:28:29

Just get the cable, or charge your iPod via the A/C adapter until full, then transfer the files. 

Or just get a Mac  and be happy like me.