Still can't sync my iPod to iTunes!

Update: I solved this problem. Look here: http://retmeishka.wordpress.com/2010/12/28/my-ipod-synced/. I had to do this:

1. Get your computer online. I had to go to a wi-fi place to connect my laptop, but you might use cable internet or whatever.
2. Open iTunes. Go to the iTunes store online.
3. Log in to iTunes.
4. THEN connect your iPod to the computer.
5. A user agreement should appear automatically. This can only happen if your computer is connected to iTunes and logged in.
6. Say yes to whatever on the user agreement and do whatever they tell you to do, and after that, you should be able to connect the iPod and open it without any problems... hopefully.


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ARRGGGHHH! The F-Word was used. I STILL can't sync my iPod to iTunes.

Here is what I do.

I've shut my iPod all the way off and I've restarted it.
I've shut my netbook all the way off and I've restarted it.

ITunes is open on the netbook. I connect the iPod (which is turned on) to the cord. 'Devices' appears in the list in iTunes, and 'iPod Touch' is listed.

(*I learned that I was making it disappear completely because I was pressing the 'eject' button. There is a little triangle with a line under it, to the right of 'iPod Touch,' and I didn't know it meant 'eject.' There's no way of knowing, because in this non-user-friendly computer program, it doesn't show a little popup explanation for a meaningless symbol when you mouse over it. (I found this out by right-clicking.) I thought it meant 'show the contents of this device,' or something like that. So all you see is a meaningless triangle with a line under it, and you have no way of knowing that means 'eject.' Especially since it doesn't make sense to eject an iPod which is connected to a physical cable, and nothing actually happens physically to the iPod when you push 'eject.' It just disappears from the list and is gone forever... unless you unplug the iPod and plug it back in. Then it reappears in the list! That's the first time I was able to make it reappear without totally restarting iTunes.*)

Edit/Preferences/Devices/'Prevent devices from syncing automatically' is NOT checked.

File/'Sync songs on iPod' is grayed out. File/'Transfer purchases from iPod' is grayed out. I cannot click on either of those at all.

Well, here is something suspicious that happens, which gives me a clue to what I need to do. When I connect the iPod, and it appears under 'devices,' a message appears. It says 'iTunes could not connect to the iTunes Store.'

That's why I suspected I might need to authorize my laptop. I figured it might be looking to find my account online at the iTunes Store so that it could try to authorize the computer. But today, I did that, and it still didn't make that message go away. For some reason, it still tries to look at the iTunes Store every time I connect my iPod. And since I don't have wi-fi at home, and since I didn't think to bring my iPod with me when I took my netbook to Barnes & Noble to use their wi-fi... AND since I only have dialup at home, and no dialup modem in my netbook... then I can't connect to the net unless I get in my car and go back out. And it's the Sunday after Christmas, so the library isn't open in Bellefonte, which is why I was doing it all the way in State College at B&N. I don't want to drive all the way back there again, just to see what happens when the netbook is able to reach the iTunes store after I connect my iPod touch to it.

Pet peeve. I *HATE* things that only work when you're online, things that constantly need to download something, things that can't be read offline, and so on. Most of the time, I'm not connected to the internet. I want everything to work independently, all by itself, when I'm not connected to anything. The iPod touch's user guide requires you to go to apple.com to view it - it has no help file saved on the iPod at all. Supposedly this is to save space... but how much space would it really use?

All of this trouble to protect songs from being shared for free... when almost all of the songs that I want to play are FREE electronic songs I downloaded from mp3.com (when it still existed) and soundclick.com, songs that their composers said you were ALLOWED to download for free.

Well... so the next test is, take it to a wi-fi place, both the netbook and the iPod and the connector cable. I won't forget next time. I can't believe it still won't sync. The instructions make it sound like it should be perfectly easy to sync to your iPod. It doesn't say ANYTHING about requiring an internet connection to do this. Apparently they just assume that, of course, EVERYONE is always connected to an always-on cable connection, and NOBODY would ever be using their netbook in a situation where they can't connect to the net.