iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

[Kryten]

Hello @all,

after I got my girl to use Kubuntu, I tried to get her iPod to work with it...but I can't get that thing to accept anything I put onto it.

Pod specs: iPod Nano 4th gen, 8GB



Well..here is the story so far:

After we got Kubuntu installed, we tried to use the iPod as it was (used with windows before). This, of course, did not work.

The first problem was the ejecting...Who would have guessed that ejecting it in amarok or gtkpod isn't really ejecting? After that it was read-only and I first had to figure out how to eject it proper.

So, after this was done, I completely wiped the pod, checked if the FS was FAT32(it is), removed an entry in fstab for a cdrom which pointed to sdc1(which in fact is the pod), extracted the FirewireID and initialized the pod with amarok(which i started with sudo).

After that process the pod finally did not show its old files from Windows/iTunes anymore...I already thought I got it, but of course I was wrong again :C


Now I have a clean pod, I can eject it proper and I also can put songs onto it via amarok or gtkpod...now that I can write on it.


The problem....the real BIG problem now is:
The pod does not show anything of the stuff I put onto it! I can create Playlists on it or put songs on it. The pod even recognizes that something is using diskspace, but it wont show any songs or the playlists I created.


This is driving me mad....the stuff IS on the pod for sure. Amarok or gtkpod sees those files, so the DB seems to be correct. I can put things on it with gtkpod, and amarok sees them too...and vice versa.

But somehow I cant get the pod to see those things too.
I searched the web for days and did read a lot in this forum here. This hepled me to get that far, but I can't find a solution on the problem I have now...


Please, anybody...give me some hints...at least how I can debug it further. I get no errors so far from gtkpod or amarok (like when it was read-only), dmesg also doenst show anything suspicious.
I am out of ideas now and need help.


Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Kryten

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Hm...no one can help here?


I guess this means going back to f****ng Windows again...just for the iPod.

[The Liquidator]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

I don't have an ipod and so can't claim to be an expert, but I do know you have to synchronise the 2 and I can't see where you say you have done that.

You may find this useful

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/PortableDevices/iPod

HTH

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Well, when I use gtkpod the syncing is done by using the "save changes" button after I put something on the pod.
Of course I did that, although I felt it was a bit fast for a real sync.


With Amarok it takes very long to put songs onto the pod, and I havent found any specific option to sync it, so I guess its done while pushing songs onto it.

At both ways, the pod is showing the "syncing" status on its screen. And, as said, it correctly recognizes the Space used on its "HD". It just wont show any songs after ejecting..."0 titles" is all what I get.

I will try some software alternatives these days...as Rhythmbox or so and others.

if that wont help, th only solution I see is going back to windows :C. That Pc isnt strong enough for a VM and I hear iTunes under wine/cedega wont work too.


Really sad thoguh, as this is the only thing not working with kubuntu/Linux on that pc.

[The Liquidator]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Take a look here

http://www.ghacks.net/2008/12/26/con...pod-to-gtkpod/

Again I don't know whether this is the issue but this looks important to me:

"When you are done with your iPod you need to close gtkpod and then UNMOUNT your iPod!"

The inference is that unless you properly unmount it, the sync will not complete.

However, if you have a newer ipod then things appear more difficult I'm afraid. You could try iTunes in Wine as things appear to be getting better

http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManage...sion&iId=19310

HTH

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

I did close gtkpod and unmounted it proper. I ejected it with sudo and the pod showed that it disconnected.

And yes, its a quite new one, just a few months old.

[The Liquidator]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

I suspect it may be a while before the open source programmers catches up with Apples ongoing attempts to lock them out, although as I said at the outset I'm no expert on this.

I would certainly take a look at iTunes with wine.

http://www.winehq.org/download/deb

If you add the wine ppa to your repository list (come back if you are not clear) the most recent version of wine (1.1.41) would appear to give you a fighting chance. Definitely worth a go.

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Ok, it really seems the ipod is too new.

I just repeated the whole process (formatting, and new initializing) and it didn't work again. But this time I noticed that only songs dont work. Photos work, but they are stored on it like on a normal usb device. So the problem is probally the DB or something else in the way it stores the songs.

I will try it with wine+iTunes now....wish me luck

[The Liquidator]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Good luck duly wished!

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Thanks, but it didn't work.


The intalled iTunes Software works, but it does not recognize the iPod. That seems to be a well known problem without a proper workaround. There seems to be some workarounds which work for at least some people, but i tried them with no success.


So, now I'm thinking of the options I have.

One is to wipe Kubuntu off the PC of my girlfriend and install a windows again, but I really dont want to do that I dont want a cracked OS, and I dont want to pay for it either

Since I have to use Windows on my PC(for music software and games), I could install iTunes there and maybe give the Linux PC some kind of remote access to use iTunes. I never tried something like rdp from linux to windows, so that could at least get intresting again....



Well, thanks for the help anyway, although I had no success.....I guess for using iPod on Linux one needs a lot of Luck, which I did not have

[The Liquidator]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

I think it's more a case of the open source community making the Ipod work, Apple noting this and "fixing" the next version to ensure it won't, so as to make sure they keep control of what you use, and presumably they need to know what you have on it too.

I imagine at some stage your issue will be solved, but who knows when.

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files


Funny thing:

After installing iTunes on my Windows machine, I plugged in the pod, and it showed the songs I added with gtkpod.

I did nothing then, and just ejected it in iTunes, and voila: The pod finally recognized the songs. I still have to test it, but I think we can add them now with linux, and just need to plug it into the windows machine to sync it once...

Very strange behavior, but we can live with that until the devs have done their work for that ipod generation.

[The Liquidator]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

Interesting indeed. My guess is that if you update regularly, one day this will just work for you.

[Kryten]

Re: iPod + Kubuntu 9.10: iPod won't recognize new files

I hope youre right...