iPod Mini review

Welcome to Ahmed III review

Trying to listen to music on your iPod Mini and repeatedly getting an error messag

e is frustrating. Other times, it is a blank screen, or maybe the iPod display starts messing up. Whatever it is, something tells you that your iPod Mini is not working correctly. After trying other troubleshooting options, such as resetting your iPod Mini or updating the iPodsoftware, you may have no other choice but to completely restore your iPod. While this may seem like a daunting task, it does not have to be. By backing up your media and using iTunes to restore your iPod Mini, you can return your device to working status quickly and easily.

 

Backing Up an iPod Mini

Before beginning, it is important to understand the difference between resetting an iPod and restoring it. Resetting an iPod Mini is similar to rebooting a computer, restarting the hardware and software. In this case, the resetting process does not even touch your media, and you can access all of it once the process is complete.

Restoring an iPod Mini, on the other hand, returns the device to its factory settings. Your device becomes the same as it was out of the box. This erases any media you have installed on the iPod Mini. Because of this, it is a good idea to back up your iPod Mini before restoring it, so that you can keep any media you have.

Preparing Your iPod Mini

Before copying files, you must first set your computer to recognize your iPod Mini as an external hard drive. To do this, start by plugging your device into your computer using a USB cable or firewire cable. Then, open iTunes and wait for the software to recognize the iPod Mini. Once it does, click on the iPod Mini in the "Devices" panel. This opens your device in iTunes, allowing you to access specific settings.

Select the "Summary" tab at the top of the device menu. Scroll down until you find the option to "Enable Disk Use." Select this, save, and exit. This allows your computer to recognize the iPod as a storage disc that it can access and change.

Copying Your Media

Once your computer recognizes the iPod Mini as a storage disc, you can then copy any music files to your computer hard drive. The process of this, however, is different, depending on whether you use a PC or Mac.

Computer Type	Process
PC	Click the "Start" menu Select "My Computer" or "Computer" Double-click the device to open it Go to "Ipod_Control" to access your specific media Highlight all files and folders Right click and select "Copy" Create a new folder on your computer hard drive "Paste" the files in to copy them
Mac	Check the desktop for an iPod Mini icon Click that icon Go to "Ipod_Control" to access your specific media Highlight all files and folders Hold the "Command" key and press "C" to copy the files Create a new folder on your computer hard drive "Paste" the files in to copy them

When the media is stored on the iPod, the folders and filenames change so that you cannot tell what file is what; however, the information within the file remains correct. When you copy the files back, your iPod can sort and reorder the media.

 

Restoring an iPod Mini

Once you have finished copying the content, you are ready to restore your iPod Mini. Open iTunes and go back to your device. Go to the "Summary" tab and look for the "Restore" button. Once you click this button, the restore process starts. Before pressing it, you want to be sure that you have backed up everything and are ready to erase your iPod Mini.

Click the "Restore" button to restore your iPod Mini to its factory settings.

 

Recovering Media

Once the restoration process is complete, it is time to resync all of your media so you can access it. While in iTunes, open the "File" menu. If you do not have a file menu, press "CTRL-B" to show the menu bar. From the "File" menu, select "Add Folder to Library" on a PC or "Add to Library" on a Mac. Select the folder that you copied all of your media into and add it to your library.

iTunes automatically sorts out the files and lists them in order. You can then copy them back to your device to return it to its previous state.