howto: get your new ipod classic 6g/nano 3g working

[twright]

this tutorial is not needed for hardy, only gutsy

Apple have recently released a new look for their ipods, but with the new interface comes more firmware encryption to stop 3rd party media players (including Amarok, Rhythmbox and gtkpod) syncing music to the ipods.

Since there is no itunes for linux it was up to the guys at http://ipodminusitunes.blogspot.com to crack it.

This should work for any new nanos and ipod classics. Please be aware that this is rather experimental so please make sure that you have all of the music on you ipod backed up before attempting it. The programs instanlled by this tutorial are from the hardy repository so don't be supprised if they break stuff.

If this causes all music to disappear off your ipod you don't need to access a windows machine to fix it, when you get it working you can sync new music on and it will appear.

This will only work with applications which use libgpod (rhythmbox, amarok and gtkpod). Finally as of rhythmbox version 0.11.5 podcasts are sorted as podcasts although only amarok and gtkpod seem to be able to transfer album art.

here's how to get it working (type this into terminal one line at a time, use the same terminal session for all):

sudo -i
cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.tmp
echo deb http://gb.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ hardy main restricted universe multiverse >> /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get update
aptitude install libgpod3 libgpod-common

if you use rhythmbox:

aptitude install rhythmbox

if you use amarok:

aptitude install amarok

if you use gtkpod:

aptitude install gtkpod

then:

aptitude remove libgpod2

this may prompt you to remove the ubuntu-desktop package, don't worry - it's only a meta-package

then check if it works. if it does run

rm /etc/apt/sources.list
mv /etc/apt/sources.list.tmp /etc/apt/sources.list
apt-get update

Banshee not supported (it uses it's own library rather than libgpod)

thanks to http://lilserenity.wordpress.com/200...-ipod-nano-3g/ for the tutorial i origanally based this on

[TheOrangePeanut]

This worked perfectly. I'm using Linux Mint 4 and Amarok. Thanks.

[reclusivemonkey]

I don't seem to be able to get Album Art working at all with gtkpod; has anyone had any luck with this? Its not so much that the iPod doesn't recognise album art, its gtkpod itself that flatly refuses to set any artwork.

[Sukarn]

I don't seem to be able to get Album Art working at all with gtkpod; has anyone had any luck with this? Its not so much that the iPod doesn't recognise album art, its gtkpod itself that flatly refuses to set any artwork.

What exactly is the error you get? I've had album art working since I got my iPod Classic back in November.

[reclusivemonkey]

What exactly is the error you get? I've had album art working since I got my iPod Classic back in November.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...2&postcount=87

I hear plenty of people have got it working but its eluding me =[

I followed the instructions at the beginning of that post to get it working, and the songs transfer great and I can see my ratings/plays etc. but the Album Art flat out refuses to work from gtkpod. I think I am going to upgrade to Hardy Heron soon and see if that works for me.

[Sukarn]

DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT FIXING A BROKEN SYSTEM.

OK, This may sound like a daunting or stupid idea to you, and many people here would suggest against it, but i would tell you to manually download and install (using dpkg) the following packages as well as each dependency error you get, from debian unstable (sid).

libgpod3
libgpod-common

I am assuming that you followed a compiling guide and installed the libgpod package from source code and named it libgpod2.

That is how I have my iPod Classic running happily. The above packages for base functionality with gtkpod and other programs, + python-gpod and the required dependencies from debian unstable for gPodder (audio podcast program).

If you encounter any error you cannot solve, then ask away.

[reclusivemonkey]

DO NOT DO THIS IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT FIXING A BROKEN SYSTEM.

OK, This may sound like a daunting or stupid idea to you, and many people here would suggest against it, but i would tell you to manually download and install (using dpkg) the following packages as well as each dependency error you get, from debian unstable (sid).

libgpod3
libgpod-common

I am assuming that you followed a compiling guide and installed the libgpod package from source code and named it libgpod2.

That is how I have my iPod Classic running happily. The above packages for base functionality with gtkpod and other programs, + python-gpod and the required dependencies from debian unstable for gPodder (audio podcast program).

If you encounter any error you cannot solve, then ask away.

Sounds like a plan to me =] Cheers, I will try that when I get home. My Gutsy has already had plenty thrown at it, a bit more won't hurt!

[Sukarn]

Sounds like a plan to me =] Cheers, I will try that when I get home. My Gutsy has already had plenty thrown at it, a bit more won't hurt!

I'm waiting for a report on your progress.

[reclusivemonkey]

I installed Hardy Heron on my laptop and had some degree of success with gtkpod; I could add album artwork although I didn't save it to my iPod as I didn't want to mess things up just yet. I think I will hold on until Hardy Heron comes out and then try managing my iPod on that although gPixpod seems to throw a wobbly when it looks at the Photo Database.

[Sukarn]

I installed Hardy Heron on my laptop and had some degree of success with gtkpod; I could add album artwork although I didn't save it to my iPod as I didn't want to mess things up just yet. I think I will hold on until Hardy Heron comes out and then try managing my iPod on that although gPixpod seems to throw a wobbly when it looks at the Photo Database.

I would not suggest using GPixPod or gtkpod with your photos just yet. Neither of them seems to work well right now (latest version) with iPod Classic.
After using GPixPod, the iPod doesn't display thumbnails in albums but displays the photos in the right panel and in full screen.
With gtkpod its the other way round. It doesn't display the photos in full screen or in the right panel, but only displays thumbnails.

Right now I visit a friend's place to sync my photos. I have it set up such that I made a Data directory on my iPod and a Photos directory inside the data directory. I put all my photo albums inside this Photos directory and then I have it set up on my friend's comp so that it automatically synchronizes my iPod with the Data\Photos directory present on the very same iPod.
Works like a charm.