06-21-2011, 10:20 PM

my laptop recently got a virus. so i had to restore it. in doing so i lost all 800+ of my itunes library. Is there a way i can get all of it back and is it possible to redownload purchases? Also is there a way to sync my ipod touch to my itunes now without losing what i have on it?

Sorry if i posted in the wrong section

06-22-2011, 05:29 AM

You don't say what kind of computer you have, but since you say your machine got a virus and Macs don't have any viruses, I have to assume you mean a PC.

If I'm interpreting your light-on-details post correctly, you do have some or all of your 800 song library on your iPod Touch. Can you put those back into iTunes on your computer now that the computer's issues are resolved? Yes.

You'll need some third-party software to do this. BEWARE any that purport to be "free." They're not and/or they are not effective.

The one I would recommend is called Pod to PC for Windows computers. It not only recovers the songs, but the ratings, playlists, stat info, cover art, and photos (if any) and more. It costs $20, money well spent IMO.

Starting this fall, Apple will be offering a free service called iCloud that will automatically back up iTunes purchases to avoid this problem. You might want to see if you can sign up for that when it becomes available.

As for re-downloading, Apple generally does not allow re-downloading of music (they occasionally make exceptions, but you shouldn't count on that and should use recovery software like the one I mentioned). This is not Apple's fault, it's a restriction of the music copyright holders (ditto for movies and TV shows).

Apps, however, are not restricted in this way: if you lose a copy of an app you bought, you can re-download it 1,000 times if you want to, free of charge. So between Pod to PC and re-downloading apps, you should be able to recover pretty much everything that was on the iPod Touch with no real issues.

06-22-2011, 06:31 AM

Any music that was purchased from iTunes is already available for re-download if you have the latest iTunes and are signed into your account - at least if you're in the U.S.

Open up iTunes, click on Purchased in the sidebar, then at the bottom click on Download previous purchases.

There you will find your previous music, books and app purchases available for download.

For other music, I'd go with the app chas recommended above.

06-22-2011, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by bobtomay

Any music that was purchased from iTunes is already available for re-download if you have the latest iTunes and are signed into your account - at least if you're in the U.S.

This seems to depend on when it was purchased - evidently. Still not clear on the constraining rules here - but my wife's 5+yr old album purchases are still nowhere to be found.

06-22-2011, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by BrianLachoreVPI

This seems to depend on when it was purchased - evidently. Still not clear on the constraining rules here - but my wife's 5+yr old album purchases are still nowhere to be found.

Same for my Audio Books. They do not show up in that list either.

06-22-2011, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by chas_m

You don't say what kind of computer you have, but since you say your machine got a virus and Macs don't have any viruses, I have to assume you mean a PC.

If I'm interpreting your light-on-details post correctly, you do have some or all of your 800 song library on your iPod Touch. Can you put those back into iTunes on your computer now that the computer's issues are resolved? Yes.

You'll need some third-party software to do this. BEWARE any that purport to be "free." They're not and/or they are not effective.

The one I would recommend is called Pod to PC for Windows computers. It not only recovers the songs, but the ratings, playlists, stat info, cover art, and photos (if any) and more. It costs $20, money well spent IMO.

Starting this fall, Apple will be offering a free service called iCloud that will automatically back up iTunes purchases to avoid this problem. You might want to see if you can sign up for that when it becomes available.

As for re-downloading, Apple generally does not allow re-downloading of music (they occasionally make exceptions, but you shouldn't count on that and should use recovery software like the one I mentioned). This is not Apple's fault, it's a restriction of the music copyright holders (ditto for movies and TV shows).

Apps, however, are not restricted in this way: if you lose a copy of an app you bought, you can re-download it 1,000 times if you want to, free of charge. So between Pod to PC and re-downloading apps, you should be able to recover pretty much everything that was on the iPod Touch with no real issues.

Thank you for the help. There is a free version of the pod to pc link. Is that any good or should I just purchase it?

06-23-2011, 02:46 AM

The free download will let you copy "so many" number of songs over before stopping, making you wait and nagging you to register. Of course the paid version does not do this.

If it's worth $20 to you to get your songs back quickly and in quantity, then pay up. If you have the time, you can do it the manual way without cost.

06-23-2011, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by BrianLachoreVPI

This seems to depend on when it was purchased - evidently. Still not clear on the constraining rules here - but my wife's 5+yr old album purchases are still nowhere to be found.

Can't comment on that. 5 years ago, based on what Quicktime did to my gaming rigs, nothing Apple was allowed on any of my personal machines. Yeah, I was one of those.

Originally Posted by Deckyon

Same for my Audio Books. They do not show up in that list either.

Don't believe it does audio books - only ebooks.

You buying them from iTunes or Audible? If you're using iTunes and you're purchasing even 1 book a month, you really need to subscribe to Audible. Probably even 6 books a year would pay for a 12 book subscription to Audible.