Five simple steps to an iPod RESCU

Whether your iPod holds your entire music library, or just provides the beats you need to power through a workout, a technical problem can cause you major stress. Don't fret — there are five easy potential fixes. Just try them one by one, until your iPod is working good as new.

Of course, you should first check to be sure your iPod's battery is charged. After that, toggle the Hold switch on and off. If you're still tuneless, you're ready for an iPod RESCU:

• Reset your iPod:
  • Switch the Hold control on and then off.
  • Hold the Menu and Select buttons (for Click Wheel models), or the Menu and Play/Pause buttons (for earlier models).
• Ensure that you have the latest version of the iPod and iTunes software by downloading the latest versions from the Apple website.
• Shut down and restart your computer.
• Connect your iPod to a different USB port on your computer.
• Update your iPod using the iPod Updater software from Apple's website. This will erase all songs and files, restoring your iPod to the original factory settings. (However, you can transfer music and files from your computer back to your iPod later.)

If these steps don't work, Apple's support site offers more information.

Problems playing music in iTunes

iTunes and your iPod are designed to work together seamlessly, and most of the time they do. But even with this dynamic duo, you may encounter the occasional hiccup when you're trying to listen to your music.

If you find that iTunes won't let you play a particular song, the cause probably has to do with "authorizing" that song to play on your computer. Authorizing is Apple's way of copy-protecting the songs that it sells via its iTunes Music Store. Here are a few tips:

• Have you authorized five computers to play your purchased music? If so, iTunes won't let you play your purchased music on any more computers until you "deauthorize" one of your previously authorized computers. You can do this by navigating to iTunes' Advanced menu and selecting Deauthorize Computer while the computer is online.
• Where did you get the AAC song file you're trying to play? iTunes won't play some types of AAC files available online in places other than the iTunes Music Store — and neither will your iPod.
• Are you trying to access a shared playlist on a network? If so, your computer may not be authorized to play music that someone else has downloaded. Double-click the song you want to hear, and get the person who purchased it to enter his or her Apple account ID and password.
• Are you having trouble playing a song on a CD you burned? Make sure your equipment is compatible — for example, CD-RWs and MP3 CDs don't play on all CD players.
• How fast is your Internet connection? Computers with slower connections may have trouble playing song previews in the iTunes Music Store. Go to the iTunes menu, then choose Preferences. Select Store, and click "Load complete preview before playing."

Need more information? Try Apple's iTunes support website.

Problems burning a CD using iTunes

iTunes makes it easy to burn a mix of your favorite tunes. If you're having trouble creating a CD, here are some helpful tidbits to keep in mind:

• You have to burn your CD from a playlist you create. iTunes won't let you burn a CD directly from your library — or from a shared playlist, an iPod playlist, or Internet radio, for that matter. To create a playlist, go to the File menu and select New Playlist. Then just select the songs you want, and drag them to the playlist in your iTunes Source menu.
• Once you've set up a playlist you want to burn, make sure the songs you want on the CD are checked. Unchecked songs won't be included on your CD.
• If you want to burn music you've bought from the iTunes Music Store, your computer must be authorized to play it. Having trouble authorizing your computer? You may already have authorized five computers to play your iTunes purchases — and five is the limit. You'll have to deauthorize a computer. You can do this by navigating to iTunes' Advanced menu and selecting Deauthorize Computer while the previously authorized computer is online.
• Another copy protection measure that iTunes uses: letting you burn no more than seven copies of a playlist that includes a Music Store purchase. One easy workaround is to modify the playlist, perhaps rearranging the songs. The new playlist should be burnable.
• Make sure your CD-R drive is compatible with iTunes. To do this, go to the iTunes menu and choose Preferences. Then click Advanced, and choose Burning. Make sure your CD-R drive is listed; this means it's compatible with iTunes.
• Are you trying to burn an audio CD, or an MP3 (data) CD? An audio CD will play in just about any CD player, but an MP3 CD will only play on hardware specially designated as compatible with MP3 discs. Go to the iTunes menu and choose Preferences. Then click Advanced, and choose Burning. Then select either Audio CD, or Data CD or DVD. (Note that, if you are trying to burn AAC files, you can't choose the MP3 CD option.)
• Having trouble ejecting a CD? Try the Eject button in the bottom right corner of the iTunes window.

Need more information? Try Apple's iTunes support website.