It is the most asked question after Apple published iPod for first time, how can I transfer and copy my Music into or from my iPod with my Windows Computer without using iTunes.

It is to understand that Music industry would like to protect its copyrights of Songs, Music and Videos. ITunes has been selling Music for many years but the question was how to protect the Music that anyone else can copy Songs from iPod and give them to someone else? With that idea they can reduce Music and Videos piracy.

To do that Apple has made all iTunes and iPods applications difficult that anyone could copy and transfer the Songs and Videos to a PC that are stored on iPod.

Apple allows with iTunes only one-way transfer of Music and that means you can synchronize your MP3 Songs only from Computer to your iPod. But the biggest issue with that idea. Imagine your hard drive crashed and you cannot restore all your files, data and songs. Then you cannot transfer your songs from iPod to your new computer or your new hard drive.

ITunes music store would never support you if you should lose all your songs what you already paid for those before at iTunes music store. Ok if they do not want to support us then we have to do to support ourselves and our money what we already paid for the songs at iTunes store.

There are several ways to do that but I am writing only one of them what I have tried and it has worked all the time. There are some applications called iPod Manager. Actually you can read about that in my next article about iTunes alternatives.

You can transfer your Songs from your iPod to your Microsoft Windows Computer by following this step by step description:

Step 1) Turn on your iPod and connect it to your USB on your computer (Your computer should be running and it does not matter what kind of Windows Operation System you are using. It works with Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit)

Step 2) If you do not have installed an iTunes on your PC then it is ok, you do not need to install iTunes. If you have already iTunes on your Computer, then iTunes will recognize your iPod after you have connected to the Computer. When you get a message that iTunes has found your iPod, than just click on NO, because iTunes will delete all your Songs when your iPod was synchronized with a different (your older Computer).

Step 3) Be sure that you select “Enable Disk Use”

Step 4) Open your Windows Explorer. You can do that with right click on Start and then click on “Explore”

Step 5) After you have opened your Windows Explorer the iPod should be detected automatically as a portable Hard Drive like any other external Hard Drives, when you connect them to your computer.

Step 6) On your Windows Explorer click on Tools/Folder Options…/View and under “Advanced Settings” activate “Show Hidden Files and Folders”. Then click “Apply for Folders” and then OK.

Step 7) In your Windows Explorer what you opened before find your iPod with Double Click

Step 8) Open the –iPod Control Folder- and then the Music Folder inside your iPod Control Folder

Step 9) In your iPod Music Folder you can find all your Music, Songs, Video but they are in many different folders.

Step 10) Copy and Paste all your Music and Video from your iPod´s Music Folder into your Hard Drive on your Windows Computer, where ever you like.

Step 11) After you have copied all your files from iPod into your Computer you can see that all files are labeled with 4 letter file name. You cannot understand which file is for which Song because all information is hidden into the file. But do not worried about that because you can play them in Winamp, Windows Media Player or QuickTime and then you can see all information such as Album Name, Singer and all other information what you added before in your iTunes. You can then rename the files if you would like or you can keep how they are right now.

After this step you are able to play your Music and Videos on your Computer or upload it into your other iPods.

I hope I could help you out to rescue your Songs on your iPod after you have gotten a Hard Drive Crash.