Recover My Files : Knowledge Base
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iPod Recovery
Loss of music files from an iPod is a common occurrence. In most situations, the music files can be recovered from the iPod and saved back to a PC.
Before you Begin
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Important Do Not Connect your iPod to iTunes. If iTunes starts running, immediately shut it down. Why? The default setting in iTunes when an iPod is connected is to "auto-sync". This means that unless you have set you iTunes to sync manually, iTunes will try and write it's list of songs from the current library to your iPod. It is important when performing iPod data recovery not to write new data to iPod drive unless it is necessary to do so. Do not connect to iTunes unless we specifically give instructions to do so. |
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Placing your iPod in Disk Mode.
iPod data recovery is done in "Disk Mode". This is a setting on your iPod which enables your computer to see the iPod as a standard hard drive:
For more information about putting your iPod into disk mode, visit Apple at: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1363 Note: The iPod Touch or iPhone do not have a disk mode. If you cannot force your iPod into disk mode, your iPod may have a hardware issue. You may need to see a local Apple hardware service center. |
+ I Pressed the iTunes Restore Button / My iPod was Restored to Factory SettingsThe Restore button appears in iTunes when the iPod is connected to your PC. It restores the iPod to its original factory condition. All existing song on the iPod are lost, but can be recovered.
If you still have your iTunes library, your songs, videos, pod casts, audio books, and games can be synced back to your iPod. If not, you need Recover My Files to recover the files from the iPod disk.
- Place your iPod in Disk Mode (see Disk Mode instructions at the top of this article);
- Run Recover My Files and in the first wizard window, select the "Recover Drive" search. Click the Next button;
- In the drive selection window, highlight the iPod "Hard Disk" (not the drive letter) with your mouse (as shown below). Click Next.
In the search selection window, select "Automatic drive recovery. (Recommended)". Click Start.
- it searches for fragments of file system records (MFT and FAT) that can be used to rebuild full file and folder structure;
- sequentially scan the remaining blocks of the hard disk to locate "Lost Files".
Search Phase 1 - Partition Recovery
Phase 1 of the search attempts to locate and rebuild then entire lost partition. If the partition can be recovered, all of the missing folders and files structure will be displayed.
Part 1 of the search should take between 1 - 30 minutes to complete (depending on the size of the drive and the number of files that it contains).
It is possible to stop the search during phase 1 (by pressing the "Stop" button), however it is necessary to complete this phase for the file and folder structure to build and display.
Search Phase 2 - Recovering Lost Files
Phase 2 of the search has two functions;
"Folder" Results
At the end of the search, select the "Folder" tab to view the recovered file and folder structure ("1" in the screen shot above). You music files can be located in folders called "iPod Controls > Music > F00, F01, F02 and so forth. Inside these folders are your music files. They are not organized in a any particular fashion within these folders, you can organize them later.
"Lost File" Results
If the file and folder structure was NOT recovered, then look in "Lost File Results" ("2" in the screen shot.
Now read the section on saving your files at the bottom of this page.
+ I Synced my iPod with an Empty iTunes Library
Syncing with an empty iTunes library can easily happen if you plug your iPod into a new computer.
With the iPod, the sync process only ever happens one way, PC (iTunes) > iPod, so a new blank library is written to you iPod full of songs.
Syncing with a blank iTunes library does not permanently erase the songs on your iPod and they can be recovered.
Follow the instructions above for "+ I Pressed the iTunes Restore Button / My iPod was Restored to Factory Settings".
+ I Synced another iTunes Library to My iPod
If you plug your iPod into a PC other than your own, it is possible that iTunes on that computer could sync and another persons songs get written to your iPod.
The process of writing new songs to an iPod will overwrite and permanently erase existing files. However, if the volume of new songs is less than the volume of songs that were on your iPod, then there is still the possibility to recover the remainder of your songs.
- Place your iPod in Disk Mode (see Disk Mode instructions at the top of this article);
- Run Recover My Files and select the "Recover Files" option;
- Select the drive letter of your iPod;
- In the search selection window, select Search for deleted files, then search for selected "Lost File" types. In the file type selection screen, ensure that you have the following file types selected:
- iTunes audio file (.m4a, .m4b, .m4p)
- MP3 Music file (.mp3, .mp, .mp1, .mp2)
and any other file types which were stored on your iPod that you wish to recover.
- Click "Start" to commence the search. Recover My Files will scan your iPod and look for "Lost Files". These files will be displayed under the "Folder" tab in the "Lost File Results" folder:
It is possible to stop the search for lost files and recommence it at a later time from the same position:
- Before you stop the search, write down the block number that the search is up to, e.g. "3,867,514 of 78,126,048";
- Press the stop button;
- Click the OPTIONS button in the main program screen, go to the ADVANCED tab and place a tick in the box for "prompt for start sector" and "Start with Lost File Scan".
- Click OK to save these options, then press "Start Recovery" > "Drive Recovery" and enter the starting location.
Saving Your Files
From the Folder tab of the Recover My Files results screen, save the contents of the "Music" folder or the "Lost Files" folder to your hard drive or whatever other device you choose (you must purchase an activation key and activate the software in order to save files). Learn more about saving files here.
Do not worry that you cannot understand the file name, because the song information (artist, title, album etc.) is hidden into the file. When you play them in Itunes, Winamp, Windows Media Player or QuickTime and then you can see all information such as Album Name and Singer.
Once you have the files saved on your computer, you can re-import them into iTunes using the "File" or "Folder" > Import function in iTunes. You should then see full artist, title, album etc. in your iTunes library.
