How to Add Songs to IPod Without Deleting Old Ones

How to prevent iTunes from deleting songs that are on your iPod but no longer on the computer.

Sometimes you might have older music on your iPod that for one reason or another is no longer on the iTunes library on your computer. You might also have movies, tv shows, photos, audiobooks, or podcasts that exist on your iPod drive but no longer on the computer you use with your iPod. You must change the settings in iTunes in order to preserve these files on the iPod and prevent them from being erased or overwritten.

Connect the iPod to your computer with its included Apple USB cable. As soon as iTunes launches and recognizes the iPod click on the small "X" icon that appears in the upper right of the center status screen area on iTunes. This is the area where the "now playing" information usually appears.

Click on the iPod that appears under the Devices section in the left hand side column of iTunes. Click on the Summary tab and ensure only the "Open iTunes when iPod is connected" and "Manually manage" music options are checked off.

Click on the Music tab and uncheck the "Sync Music" check box to prevent iTunes from syncing the content on the iPod to matching the content on the iTunes library to prevent iTunes from overwriting song files on the iPod that are no longer on the computer.

Repeat this step for other types of media on the iPod as well by clicking the associated tab such as movies, photos, podcasts, or audiobooks making sure to uncheck "Sync" from under each tab.

It is important to click the small "X" detailed in the first step of this article as soon as possible. Failure to do so while the iPod is syncing could result in some music files being permanently deleted before you have a chance to turn syncing off.

Ejecting the iPod will not prevent song deletion as the iPod will become inaccessible one ejected from iTunes. Only deselecting the sync options and selecting "Manually manage music" will ensure old song files remain even as you add new ones manually to your iPod.

Keep in mind that you can not transfer music off of the iPod to another computer. This will only work with computers running iTunes that you have authorized to connect to the specific iPod you are currently using with your music collection.