Unlike iTunes, MediaMonkey allows you to copy or backup tracks from an iPhone or iPod to a PC.



With MediaMonkey 3.1:

    a) When the iPod is plugged into the PC, MediaMonkey will recognize the device and it will appear in the

        MediaMonkey Explorer.

    b) From within the MediaMonkey Explorer, you can browse the tracks on the iPod by Artist,

        Album, etc. Select whatever tracks you want to copy.

    c) Click Tools > Advanced Tag Management > Synchronize Tags, so that tags of the selected

       tracks are updated to match the iPod's DB

    d) Select the tracks you wish to copy and right-click 'Auto-organize'.

    e) Enable 'Copy files to new destination based on track tags'.

    f) Set the destination to which tracks should be copied and click 'OK'.



With MediaMonkey 3.0:

2) If you have an iPod (i.e. not an iPod touch or iPhone), proceed as follows:

    a) If you want to add the tracks to the Library, Copy and then paste the selected tracks into 

        a directory in MediaMonkey's Library | Locations node.

    b) If you want to add the tracks to a drive or device, without adding them to the library, Copy

        and Paste the selected tracks into a directory in MediaMonkey's My Computer node.



3) If you have an iPod Touch or iPhone, different tracks are stored on the iPod with identical

    filenames, and the approach described in 2) won't work as identical filenames will overwrite one

    another. In that case, either of the following approaches can be taken:

    a) If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, use the Auto-Organize tool to copy and rename the tracks

        (Auto-organize normally _moves_ tracks, however, for these specific devices, it will copy them).

        i) Select the iPod/iPhone node and select all of the Tracks

        ii) Click Tools > Auto-organize

            Choose a temporary directory to which you want to save the tracks from the iPod

            Choose a format to use for the tracks to be moved

        iii) Click OK to move all the tracks from the iPod to the temporary directory on the PC

        iv) After the tracks have been moved, you can scan the \temporary directory so that you

            can browse the content within the MediaMonkey library.



    b) Copy the tracks from an iPod or iPhone by 'Syncing' them to a (virtual) device.

        i) If you are copying the tracks to your hard drive, first map a directory on your local

           drive to a drive letter so that it appears as a device. This can be done by going to

           the command prompt (Run > CMD) and typing 

           SUBST S: [C:/Path on drive to map to S:]

           note: this step isn't necessary if you're synching to another device or external drive

        ii) Set up a new Generic Portable / Audio Device in MediaMonkey for the drive that points to the 

            newly created S: drive, preferably with bidirectional synchronization. You can do this by 

            going to Tools | Options | Portable/Audio Devices, then configuring the d_USBmass1.dll plugin. 

            Within the configuration window, select the drive letter that you mapped earlier (in our 

            example, drive S:) then clicking "OK". 

        iii) Manually Sync the selected tracks to the 'device' by Clicking the 'v' button next to the 

             device icon in the toolbar and then

             o Select the 'device' that you created above (i.e. S:)

             o Select 'Sync Selected' instead of 'Auto-Synchronize'

             o Click 'Options' and set a destination in 'Sync Tracks to:' on the 'Device Configuration' tab:

                e.g. \Playlistname\'<'Auto Number'>'. '<'Artist'>' - '<'Title'>'

        iv) Click the Sync button in the toolbar to manually sync the selected tracks according to the

            chosen settings.

        v) After the tracks have been synced, you can scan the \Playlistname directory so that you can

            browse the content within the MediaMonkey library.