Howto: mirror for iPods
 

We have 2 iPods and although I have found ways to format, install the firmware and to manage the playlists using various linux programs inculding gtkpod,amarok (1.4.4) and YamiPod on our Suse 10.1 system ( no windows/mac access at all) - none seems to do it all or at least I can't figure out how to make one program do it all. I don't mind using different programs but I really would like to make a mirror of each iPod so that when the file system get messed up I can esily restor everything, including playlists, but want to keep them seperate. I found ways to export the playlist and files and I found ways that all the music is kept in the playlist on the computer, even if it isn't on a particular iPod, but I have not found a simple way to keep each ipod seperate and complete, that all I have to do in case of problems is to format the windows drive and run the iPod management program to sync everything. Tar would probably work but I was hoping I just wasn't seeing the whole picture with one of the previously mentioned programs.

If you are doing this, please share your technique, thanks in advance

joe

I use dd to backup the data partition on the iPod. When I change the contents of the iPod, I rsync the changes to the (mounted) backup image. The iPod has only gotten corrupted once, and I just used dd to restore the partition, reset it, and was back in service.

Thanks, using dd would get everything, perhaps even tar.

I did use dd to obtain the iPod firmware from the iPod the first time it was plugged in, but the firmware gotten by using dd from the iPod did not work as well as the firmware I extracted from the installation disk. I don't understand why, but when I used the dd copy it was something like 32 megs and would even fill up a 100 meg partition when I used dd to put it on the iPod. The firmware extracted from the installation disk needs only 15 meg when I use DD to put it on the iPod. It's a learning experience, the more I play with them the better I will understand how it works wilth linux.

I found the Gtkpod method for doing a backup, once I found the playlists and realized I needed to drag them to the other repository I created, it now synchronizes the directories on the iPod as well as the drive - I think, I didn't have any problems within the last few days, hopefully using the firmware on the installation disk has fixed that problem. It's ironic because they are identical 60g 5th Generation iPods yet the one has had no problems and the other does, the one even had everything wiped out and RockBox installed and tested, and wiped again with the original firmware reinstalled - and it has no problems. The other gave me problems from day 1.

I liked RockBox better than the original Apple firmware, but it did not work as well as the Apple firmware, but I do plan on trying Rockbox again in the near future, as it improves. On mine, I got random audio dropouts, whereas the same mp3 files played flawlessly with the Apple iPod firmware.