Ever since iTunes 7 and its counterpart, iPod update 1.2, have been released, reports of resetting iPods have been flooding in both to our e-mail boxes and on the web. It appears as though the new gapless playback functionality introduced in the aforementioned software updates causes problems with some MP3 files, particularly podcasts and other large files. Though this affects more than just podcasts, the reports weive seen indicate those are the most commonly affected files.
Thankfully, weive found a few answers. No one solution has worked for everyone, but a few have definitely made a difference. Based on our research here, we recommend trying the following things, in order of what we feel is the best-case end result.
Restore the iPod. This has worked for most folks, and has the benefit of offering all the features the new iPod update has to offer. If you use your iPod for nothing other than that which iTunes puts on it, this is easy. However, if you have manually copied files to your iPod, then youill need to back them up before heading down this path. To state another way: this procedure will definitely erase everything on your iPod, leaving iTunes to reload from the library on your computer. The good news is, itis easy. Simply do the following:
- Launch iTunes
- Attach your iPod
- Select your iPod in iTunes
- Click the "Restore" button.
- Agree to the various and sundry offerings, and iTunes will deal with the rest.
Revert to the previous version of your iPod software. While this option will cause you to sacrifice the new features of the iPod 1.2 update (gapless playback, some games and movies), it completely rids you of these problems. To do this:
- Download the iPod Update 2006-06-28 (for Mac or Windows)
- Run the installer
- Follow prompts to completion
Find a Way To Live With It. If neither of the aforementioned options is acceptable to you, the remaining solution is to leave your iPod as is, and simply tweak the start times of the offending files. The reset issue presents itself only at the very beginning of the track (if at all), so simply telling iTunes (and, by extension, your iPod) to start each (offending) track at the 2 second mark will solve it.
- Select the track (only one at a time, unfortunately)
- Choose File->Get Info
- Go to the Options tab
- Change the Start Time to 0:02
UPDATE: Though this may work for some, others have found that unchecking the "Remember Playback Position" box is the answer.
UPDATE #2: As detailed in Mac Geek Gab #75, itis been discovered that this issue is related to a combination of the iPod Updater, iTunes 7, mono audio files, and having EQ enabled on the iPod. Disabling EQ on the iPod is the simplest way to avoid this.
Hopefully one of those will help those of you who are having trouble. If not, let us know in the comments below.