Sync iPod Touch to a Second Computer, iPod Touch not Syncing

When I was attempting to sync my iPod Touch to  second computer it appeared as if nothing was happening but the computer is under the desk so I finally realized I was missing an error message. The error stated  be the iPod was locked so it could not sync with this computer. After typing in the password the Touch started to sync but iTunes stopped the sync and stated that the iPod Touch was already synced to another computer and let me know that it can only be synced to one PC at a time.

At this point it offered three options which are below:

1. Erase the iPod Touch and sync with this Windows computers iTunes.
2. Copy purchased software to this computer.
3. Don’t sync with this computer.

I chose to copy purchased software to this computer with the goal of using my Windows XP SP3 laptop to sync all content to my 32GB 2nd generation iPod Touch with the intention of merging the iTunes data with a secondary Windows Vista PC desktop. If you have a bunch of purchased content then it will take awhile for it all to be downloaded into the iTunes on the secondary PC (in my case the Vista PC).  Once the purchased content has been copied to the secondary PC (in my case the Vista desktop) then you need to follow some other basic steps to complete a merge without losing any data so glance at the steps below and follow the steps that are important for your iTunes data merge.

1. Backup iPod Touch:In iTunes under the devices sub menu right click on your iPod Touch and select backup. This will now backup your current configuration to this iTunes. If you do not see your device in the Devices sub menu then make sure it is attached to the USB port of this PC and also make sure it is unlocked.
2. Download and Launch SharePod:Now download SharePod here. This is an open source application that will allow you to pull podcasts, music, and other media from your iPod to be imported into iTunes. Once the application is downloaded unzip it and double click the executable to launch the SharePod application. You may receive an error about SharePod having an issue with your Touch software version but if this is the case just close the error as we will still be able to use SharePod for what we need to.
3. Backup Podcasts, Video, Media:Now highlight the first file in the list of files and hold the shift key as well while scrolling down to the bottom of the list and selecting the last file. All of the files in the list should not be highlighted. Now click the Copy To PC button in the top left and you will notice SharePod starting to copy all of the media to your PC. Depending on how much media you have this process could take a couple minutes to an hour.
4. Import Podcasts, Video, Media:Now you need to import the playlist that SharePod created so all of the media downloaded from the iPod will be loaded into this iTunes. When SharePod finished in the previous step it listed the import.xls file which lists all of the media it just downloaded from the iPod Touch. In iTunes click File in the top menu, scroll down to Library, and then click Import Playlist. Browse to the xls file that SharePod created and import it into your iTunes.
5. Download and Install MS Office: If you want to sync contacts and your calendar you can download and install a 60 day trial of MS Office here. Make sure that the trial version you decide to install has Microsoft Outlook included. You can skip this step if you already have Outlook installed. Once downloaded double click the Download Manager which will then start downloading MS Office 2007. Follow the instructions to finish installing and make sure to note your product key.
6. Configure Sync:Now configure how the iPod Touch will sync with the new PC which in my case is the Windows Vista desktop. To make things simple at first click on the iPod Touch in the devices menu and then click on the Info tab. Choose sync contacts with Outlook and sync Calendar Items with Outlook. We can sync the rest of the data later but we want to make sure to get all of the contacts out of the iPod and imported into Outlook on the second PC.
7. Sync:Now it is time to actually sync the data. When you click the Sync button in the bottom right of iTunes a message will pop up asking if you want to copy over the data on the Touch or if you would like to merge the data. It is important to select Merge so any contacts on the iPod Touch will be merged with the new Outlook.

Once you have completed the above and verified that the contacts were synced correctly then you can choose the other items you would like to sync including any media and/or applications. You can cut out any unecessary steps but this should provide the basis to sync the iPod Touch with a secondary PC.

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