Formatting Ipod to MAC?

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Do I need to format the ipod if it has been used on a PC? I have two ipods....and if I am going to use them primarily on an iBook and a MacBookPro, how do I go about reformatting them?

Thanks!
 
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The answer:
It depends.
Do you want to use its disk drive function or just use it for your music library? Even at that, if you have been using it as a disk drive on a PC then it is already formatted as a FAT partition. That will work just fine on a Mac.
 
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Hmm...I probably wont use it as a disk drive. Is there a link to apple or anything saying how to format it in case I need too?

thanks!
 
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I was able to add songs from my iPod that was previously used on a PC fine on Mac. If thats what your trying to do it should work fine.
 
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If you want to use your ipod with your mac and is already setup for a Pc you will need to restore your ipod.

You don't actually, a PC formatted iPod works just fine with a Mac.

However... I don't know if this has changed now that the iPod updates come from within iTunes (I'm on an old B&W 4G iPod that hasn't had a software update in ages), but previously, a PC-formatted iPod could not have its firmware updated by a Mac.
 
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"Question: I have both a Mac and a PC. Will my iPod work on both?
Answer: No, not at the same time. iPod is configured for either Mac or PC. You can use iTunes 7 or later to restore iPod to work with a Mac or a PC. See "Restoring iPod to factory settings" for more information. Note: Using the iPod for Mac on a PC, or using the iPod for Windows on a Mac, is not supported by Apple. FAT32 is the format used by Windows, and while some FAT32 iPod models may work with your Mac, Apple only supports using the iPod shuffle in FAT32 format on Mac. For more information see the iPod shuffle Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)."

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=60920#faq7
 
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Well I'm not sure why they'd say that. Apple may not "support" someone who wants to do this, but it doesn't mean it won't work.

Before I finally stopped using my home PC for anything other than PVR functionality, I left my iPod PC-formatted and used it simultaneously on my home PC and the Mac Mini I took to the office and had no troubles. While it's true that a Mac-formatted iPod will not work on a PC (unless the PC is running a copy of MacDrive), a PC-formatted iPod works just fine on a Mac.

When I dropped using my PC finally, I performed a restore on my iPod using my Mac to convert it from FAT32 to HFS so that I could perform software upgrades if needed (and because FAT32 is a horribly unreliable filesystem).
 
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Well I'm not sure why they'd say that. Apple may not "support" someone who wants to do this, but it doesn't mean it won't work.

Before I finally stopped using my home PC for anything other than PVR functionality, I left my iPod PC-formatted and used it simultaneously on my home PC and the Mac Mini I took to the office and had no troubles. While it's true that a Mac-formatted iPod will not work on a PC (unless the PC is running a copy of MacDrive), a PC-formatted iPod works just fine on a Mac.

When I dropped using my PC finally, I performed a restore on my iPod using my Mac to convert it from FAT32 to HFS so that I could perform software upgrades if needed (and because FAT32 is a horribly unreliable filesystem).


I don't know if it will work or not. you would not catch me dead using a PC. I am just going by what apple has on their www page...
 
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James your right if you want to update your iPod it has to be formatted with the OS system your trying to format it at as far as adding songs it doesn't matter.
 
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BTW, it's Mac, not MAC...
 
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I don't know if it will work or not. you would not catch me dead using a PC. I am just going by what apple has on their www page...

hehehe :) I think you'll find most of us in agreement on that one! I use my PC on rare occasions, and as I said, it's primarily a PVR (BeyondTV is good enough that it's worth keeping Windows around for, but that's 99% of why I keep it).
 
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Hey guys, I restored my iPod to factory settings in iTunes, as it was previously formatted for use on a PC.

Before restoring, when I plugged the iPod in the USB port, there was an iPod icon on my desktop, and it appeared under DEVICES in my iTunes.

Now, after restoring it, the desktop shows a random white disk image for my iPod, and it does not appears in iTunes.

Any ideas?
 
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question:

is it possible for my PC formatted ipod to:

-sync with itunes on a macbook
-and function as a disk drive on a PC?

i need it as a disk drive for work files... and unfortunately I have to use a windows PC for work
 
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is it possible for my PC formatted ipod to:

-sync with itunes on a macbook
-and function as a disk drive on a PC?

i need it as a disk drive for work files... and unfortunately I have to use a windows PC for work

Yep. That's exactly what I used to do with mine (only I unfortunately had the PC at home, but that's beside the point). I'd plug mine in to the PC to load it up with movies (and files that I wanted to use at work), and then I'd dock it with my Mini at the office to listen to music and to use the files that I'd loaded it up with.

Again, if you ever need to update the iPod's software, you'll need to do that with your PC. Other than that, you won't really notice the difference.
 
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question:

is it possible for my PC formatted ipod to:

-sync with itunes on a macbook
-and function as a disk drive on a PC?

i need it as a disk drive for work files... and unfortunately I have to use a windows PC for work

I think It will depend on what Ipod you use..
 
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Yep. That's exactly what I used to do with mine (only I unfortunately had the PC at home, but that's beside the point). I'd plug mine in to the PC to load it up with movies (and files that I wanted to use at work), and then I'd dock it with my Mini at the office to listen to music and to use the files that I'd loaded it up with.

Again, if you ever need to update the iPod's software, you'll need to do that with your PC. Other than that, you won't really notice the difference.

so basically, it can be recognized as a disk drive on both PC and Mac, but software updates and managing the itunes library has to be done on the PC?
i'm kinda relieved, thanks!
 

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