Save Files to an iPod with Mac OS X

If you need to carry around large files and don’t have a USB thumb drive, nor want to mess with CDs/DVDs, an iPod is a viable choice to store your data. Everyone who has an iPod should know that their little music player is also capable of acting like a portable hard drive. By putting your iPod into disk mode, you’re capable of storing any file on your digital music player by simply attaching it to your computer, and then dragging & dropping files.

Put Your iPod in Disk Mode

First things first, your iPod needs to be in disk mode. Apple’s web site has detailed instructions on putting your iPod into disk mode.

Plug in iPod, Drag Files to iPod

Saving files to an iPod on Mac OS X isn’t any more complicated than connecting the iPod and dragging over your files. Plug your iPod into your Mac via FireWire or USB (FireWire is faster, and therefore better for transferring large files). You will see an iPod icon appear on your desktop after a few seconds.

Open up a new Finder window and you will see an iPod icon there as well (as an icon in the left-hand sidebar).

Click on the iPod icon in your Finder window, and you’ll see all of the folders that are currently on the iPod. If you’ve never used your iPod as a file storage device before, you’ll only see the system folders that OS X uses to store your calendars, music, and notes. If you have used it for personal files before, you’ll see those system folders along with your personal files.

What’s next? Put your files on your iPod! Simpy drag and drop files from anywhere on your Mac, into the iPod Finder window. If you want, create some more folders to organize your files. Now, you’ve got a data storage device with a massive capacity, that plays music for you too.

Take Note

Don’t try to overwrite any files or folders that are already on the iPod. Instead, trying making a new folder (or folders) in which to store your files.

Warning! If you plug your iPod into another computer (say you’re transporting files between work and home), and that second computer has iTunes installed, make sure you don’t erase your iTunes library by accident. An alert message will pop up and let you know that the iPod you’ve connected belongs to a different iTunes Library. Don’t let iTunes format your iPod… just say “No” to iTunes, and retrieve your files from the iPod through the Finder.