Struggling to find a way to use my ipod with Ubuntu

[Potsoil]

I'm currently trying to find a way to use my Ipod classic with Ubuntu..I'm using Ubuntu 12.04. I've tried using Rhythmbox Music Player, Banshee and Gtkpod Ipod Manager (all latest versions I think) to sync my ipod. All appear to sync successfully, with the music library appearing when you click on the device in each of the programs (Banshee appeared to duplicate every song, which Gtkpod then removed), but the music library never shows up on the Ipod. I've also tried using Wine (1.4) and several versions of Itunes, but all either failed to detect the device or kept freezing. I know there's a lot about this on the internet but as there doesn't seem to be any clear solution and most of the posts I found were from 2010, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any advice as I'm at a bit of a loose end..

[ron999]

... Gtkpod Ipod Manager (all latest versions I think) to sync my ipod...

Hi
gtkpod in 12.04 repository is broken.
Solution is to compile gtkpod from git.

It's not difficult to do this.
Takes about 20 minutes.
I've still got the commands if you're interested.

[Potsoil]

Hi
gtkpod in 12.04 repository is broken.
Solution is to compile gtkpod from git.

It's not difficult to do this.
Takes about 20 minutes.
I've still got the commands if you're interested.

I'm not completely sure what that means but if it might work that'd be great!

[ron999]

This is the method I used to compile and install gtkpod from git with Xubuntu-12.04
Takes approx 20 minutes.
Just two single commands to copy and paste into terminal.

1 Preparation:-

sudo apt-get update && \
sudo apt-get -y remove gtkpod gtkpod-* && \
sudo apt-get -y build-dep gtkpod && \
sudo apt-get -y install checkinstall git \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly

2 Download, compile and install:-

cd ~/ && \
git clone --depth 1 git://gtkpod.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/gtkpod/gtkpod && \
cd gtkpod && ./autogen.sh && make && \
sudo checkinstall --pakdir "$HOME/Desktop" --pkgname gtkpod \
--pkgversion "2.1.3+git$(date +%Y%m%d)" \
--backup=no --default --deldoc=yes --fstrans=no && \
sudo ldconfig

When it's finished...
The .deb file on 'Desktop' is yours to keep.
The gtkpod folder in 'Home' can be deleted.

The gtpod git shortlog is here ---> http://gtkpod.git.sourceforge.net/gi...pod;a=shortlog

[Potsoil]

This is the method I used to compile and install gtkpod from git with Xubuntu-12.04
Takes approx 20 minutes.
Just two single commands to copy and paste into terminal.

1 Preparation:-

sudo apt-get update && \
sudo apt-get -y remove gtkpod gtkpod-* && \
sudo apt-get -y build-dep gtkpod && \
sudo apt-get -y install checkinstall git \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly

2 Download, compile and install:-

cd ~/ && \
git clone --depth 1 git://gtkpod.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/gtkpod/gtkpod && \
cd gtkpod && ./autogen.sh && make && \
sudo checkinstall --pakdir "$HOME/Desktop" --pkgname gtkpod \
--pkgversion "2.1.3+git$(date +%Y%m%d)" \
--backup=no --default --deldoc=yes --fstrans=no && \
sudo ldconfig

When it's finished...
The .deb file on 'Desktop' is yours to keep.
The gtkpod folder in 'Home' can be deleted.

The gtpod git shortlog is here ---> http://gtkpod.git.sourceforge.net/gi...pod;a=shortlog

Sorry to be naive about this...but after it's installed do I just run the program and my ipod should sync? Or do I need to do something with the .deb file?

[ron999]

... Or do I need to do something with the .deb file?

The .deb file is only saved for if you need to re-install gtkpod again later.

[djtarki]

This is the method I used to compile and install gtkpod from git with Xubuntu-12.04
Takes approx 20 minutes.
Just two single commands to copy and paste into terminal.

1 Preparation:-

sudo apt-get update && \
sudo apt-get -y remove gtkpod gtkpod-* && \
sudo apt-get -y build-dep gtkpod && \
sudo apt-get -y install checkinstall git \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-base \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-good \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-bad \
gstreamer0.10-plugins-ugly

2 Download, compile and install:-

cd ~/ && \
git clone --depth 1 git://gtkpod.git.sourceforge.net/gitroot/gtkpod/gtkpod && \
cd gtkpod && ./autogen.sh && make && \
sudo checkinstall --pakdir "$HOME/Desktop" --pkgname gtkpod \
--pkgversion "2.1.3+git$(date +%Y%m%d)" \
--backup=no --default --deldoc=yes --fstrans=no && \
sudo ldconfig

When it's finished...
The .deb file on 'Desktop' is yours to keep.
The gtkpod folder in 'Home' can be deleted.

The gtpod git shortlog is here ---> http://gtkpod.git.sourceforge.net/gi...pod;a=shortlog

Sadly, I always get

checking for faad... no
configure: WARNING: "Cannot find faad. Conversion from m4a to mp3 not possible"
checking if sjcd plugin is disabled... ./configure: line 19284: syntax error near unexpected token `vorbisenc,,{'
./configure: line 19284: `                        AM_GST_ELEMENT_CHECK(vorbisenc,,{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: WARNING: The 'vorbisenc' element was not found. This will cause encoding to Ogg Vorbis to fail." >&5'

I am using Ubuntu 12.04 64, any idea please?

Thank you.

Best regards

SOLVED!: after installing the following packages: libfaad-ocaml-dev, libfaad-dev, libgstreamer0.10-dev, libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev and faad (others might be needed depending on what is already installed on your distribution)

[ron999]

Sadly, I always get

checking for faad... no
configure: WARNING: "Cannot find faad. Conversion from m4a to mp3 not possible"
checking if sjcd plugin is disabled... ./configure: line 19284: syntax error near unexpected token `vorbisenc,,{'
./configure: line 19284: `                        AM_GST_ELEMENT_CHECK(vorbisenc,,{ $as_echo "$as_me:${as_lineno-$LINENO}: WARNING: The 'vorbisenc' element was not found. This will cause encoding to Ogg Vorbis to fail." >&5'

I am using Ubuntu 12.04 64, any idea please?

Thank you.

Best regards

SOLVED!: after installing the following packages: libfaad-ocaml-dev, libfaad-dev, libgstreamer0.10-dev, libgstreamer-plugins-base0.10-dev and faad (others might be needed depending on what is already installed on your distribution)

Thanks for the feedback.

[keishia.tee]

Hi, thanks for the thread. I've followed all the steps but I'm still having problems.

I'm trying to transfer my music *from* my ipod classic to Ubuntu 12.04. I can move files *to* the ipod using Banshee no problem, but I'm having problems with gtkpod.

I can see the track info on my ipod, but if I try and drag anything to my music library it crashes. Sometimes it will stay open if I only move one track, but mostly it crashes straight away. Most of the time it will transfer one track, even if it does crash. Any ideas??

Also, it displays this message every time I open gtkpod:

iTunesDB '/media/IPOD/iPod_Control/iTunes/iTunesDB' does not match checksum in extended information file '/media/IPOD/iPod_Control/iTunes/iTunesDB.ext'
gtkpod will try to match the information using SHA1 checksums. This may take a long time.

Mostly it does find a matching checksum (or whatever it is it's doing!) but not always... Is this normal?

Thanks for your input!

[kai12]

Hey hey,

I'm having gtkpod trouble in kubuntu 12.04,
so I followed the above procedure and compiled from the git sources.

But something apparently went wrong, upon startup, gtkpod reports messages like:

Could not load Photo Editor Plugin
This usually means that your installation is corrupted. The error message leading to this was:
Unable to find plugin module /usr/local/lib/gtkpod/libphoto_editor.so

in a long series of pop-up windows.
Afterwards, the only entry in the "Music" menu is "Quit".

I checked the output in the terminal window where I build gtkpod for "error" and "failed" and found a bunch of messages reading

ln: failed to create symbolic link `../libfiletype_flac.so': File exists

which sounds just like the reason for the above -- but what exactly went wrong and how I can fix this I don't know.

Can anybody help me out here?
kai