Ask Dave Taylor
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Home
  • YouTube Videos
  • Top Categories
  • Subscribe via Email
  • Ask A Question
  • Meet Dave
  • Home
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help
  • How do I copy a music CD onto my iPod Nano?

How do I copy a music CD onto my iPod Nano?

December 29, 2010 / Dave Taylor / iPod & MP3 Player Help / 5 Comments

Just got a new iPod Nano, but now I’m trying to figure out how to get music onto it without having to buy every single song from iTunes. I can’t afford that! I have tons of CDs, how do I import a music CD into iTunes so I can copy it onto my iPod?

What a great question, and a great chance to get more familiar with your new iPod Nano (what color?) and how it works.
The most important thing to know about your new Apple iPod, whether it’s an iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod Shuffle or iPod Nano, is that it requires that you run a software application from Apple called iTunes to manage the content. There are some third-party apps, but in my experience, iTunes is way more reliable and easier to work with too. If you don’t yet have iTunes, go here: download the latest iTunes.
With that installed on your computer, the next thing to realize is that every single song, every single photo, every single video that you want to have on your iPod will also exist as a sort of “master copy” on your computer too. If you want to fill up a 16GB iPod with music, you’ll need space on your computer for 16GB of music too. No way around it: if you have only the tiniest bit of space available on your disk, it’s time to get a new, bigger one, or at least an external drive that’ll give you the space required.
Those are the basics. This also means that when you want to copy a CD onto your iPod, you need to take the intermediate step of actually copying it onto your computer. The good news is that iTunes does all the work, including figuring out the names of the individual tracks, so it’s pretty darn easy.
On my Mac, I launched iTunes then slipped a music CD into the slot. After a few seconds here’s what I saw:

itunes import rip audio cd 1

No song names? No album name? What the deuce??
Before I show you how to fix that, let’s click on “Import Settings…” to ensure it’s configured as desired:
itunes import rip audio cd 2

I am a fan of the AAC format, but if you think you might want to copy the song files onto non-Apple MP3 players (like your cell phone) you might instead pick “MP3” as the audio file to use when importing. When you’re done, click on “OK”.
Let’s fix those missing song names now. If you look on the “Advanced” menu, you’ll see that there’s an entry “Get Track Names”:
itunes import rip audio cd 3

Select it and hope you don’t see this terrifically helpful error message:
itunes import rip audio cd 4

Turns out that I had disconnected from the Internet, so the error is “can’t reach gracenote database”. They just, um, forgot the actual message. 🙂
I hook back up online and reselect “Get Track Names” and just a second or two later find that all those unknown track titles are replaced with the proper song and artist info:
itunes import rip audio cd 5

Terrific! Now I click “Import CD” on the lower right and find another possible problem:
itunes import rip audio cd 6

Yes, I’ve imported this CD before. I can overwrite the old content with new, or skip the reimport. I’ll go ahead and import the Al Jarreau CD again so you can see how it works. After a few minutes, it shows everything succeeded by the small green icons:
itunes import rip audio cd 7

Now we’re done with importing (or “ripping”) the music CD into iTunes. Next step is to get it copied onto the iPod Nano itself, which requires plugging in the iPod. It should show up in iTunes within a minute or two:
itunes import rip audio cd 8

There’s a lot to notice in that above screen capture. First off, on the left you’ll see the Nano has appeared – I named it “nero” – and I’ve clicked on it. Then along the top part, I have clicked on “Music” rather than staring at the “Summary” screen. Finally, I’ve scrolled down a bit to find the Jarreau album, and selected it under “Albums”.
All that’s left is to click on “Apply” and…
itunes import rip audio cd 9

Once it’s completed – which is going to be super fast for just a single CD! – I can simply unplug the iPod Nano and enjoy the newly copied music.
Done!
I expect it’s obvious that over time you’ll doubtless end up with a ton of music on your computer, particularly as you swap CDs with your friends and scan your old library. Remember that you can select what to copy onto the iPod based on the type of music (Apple calls it “genre”), artist, individual albums, or you can even create playlists that are your favorite combination of artists and CDs. Have fun, it’s pretty compelling.

Let’s Stay In Touch!

Never miss a single article, review or tutorial here on AskDaveTaylor, sign up for my fun weekly newsletter!
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please enter all required fields
Correct invalid entries
No spam, ever. Promise. Powered by FeedBlitz
Please choose a color:
Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

5 comments on “How do I copy a music CD onto my iPod Nano?”

  1. Alan Bamford says:
    September 13, 2017 at 12:20 am

    Now that Apple does not support my iPod nano what can I use to download music to it

    Reply
  2. Anonymous says:
    July 29, 2011 at 5:50 am

    When i try to put tracks onto my ipod, Roxio informs me it cannot find my ipod. Help

    Reply
  3. Jackie Melendez says:
    January 25, 2011 at 9:49 am

    Hi Dave, I have a question? My ipod recently was stolen. My fiance gave me his. I have 1570 songs in Itunes and only 732 transferred over. I noticved the 800 or so songs that didnt transfer have explanation points next to them. How can I transfer those over to his ipod?

    Reply
  4. Dave Taylor says:
    January 3, 2011 at 12:18 pm

    I can’t find any information on how to do that, Teresa, but I suggest that you log in to the Roxio site and ask their tech support people directly. Go here: https://selfserve.roxio.com/ Then let us know what they say!

    Reply
  5. Teresa Harding says:
    January 2, 2011 at 12:50 am

    I just purchased Roxio Toast Pro for my Mac. Is there a way to copy a DVD directly from one DVD drawer/tray to the second drawer/tray? Every time I try to copy a DVD it takes almost an hour to ‘extract’ the information from the DVD, then it copies onto the blank DVD that is in the second tray. It works fine but it just takes sooo long. On my PC I can use a copy DVD program and it copies the DVD directly to the blank DVD in the second tray – in about 5 minutes. Surely I can do that on a Mac too.
    Thank you so much. I appreciate your help.
    Teresa

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

Recent Posts

  • How Can I Digitally Sign a PDF Document on my Windows PC?
  • Prevent “Printer Added” Notifications During Ubuntu Linux Boot?
  • Can I Use Google Maps to Find Cheap Gas and Great Coffee?
  • How Can I Make My Mouse Pointer and Text Cursor More Legible in Windows 11?
  • How to Enable “Hey Siri” on my iMac or MacBook?

On Our YouTube Channel

How to Replace an Apple AirTag Battery -- CR2032

Szanto Desert Sands Chronograph Watch (4553) -- REVIEW

Categories

  • AdSense, AdWords, and PPC Help (106)
  • Amazon, eBay, and Online Shopping Help, (161)
  • Android Help (201)
  • Apple iPad Help (145)
  • Apple Watch Help (52)
  • Articles, Tutorials, and Reviews (344)
  • Auto Tech Help (11)
  • Business Advice (199)
  • Chrome OS Help (24)
  • Computer & Internet Basics (763)
  • d) None of the Above (165)
  • Facebook Help (383)
  • Google, Chrome & Gmail Help (179)
  • HTML & Web Page Design (245)
  • Instagram Help (47)
  • iPhone & iOS Help (607)
  • iPod & MP3 Player Help (173)
  • Kindle & Nook Help (93)
  • LinkedIn Help (85)
  • Linux Help (166)
  • Linux Shell Script Programming (87)
  • Mac & MacOS Help (893)
  • Most Popular (16)
  • Outlook & Office 365 Help (26)
  • PayPal Help (69)
  • Pinterest Help (53)
  • Reddit Help (18)
  • SEO & Marketing (81)
  • Spam, Scams & Security (92)
  • Trade Show News & Updates (23)
  • Twitter Help (217)
  • Video Game Tips (66)
  • Web Site Traffic Tips (62)
  • Windows PC Help (920)
  • Wordpress Help (204)
  • Writing and Publishing (72)
  • YouTube Help (46)
  • YouTube Video Reviews (159)
  • Zoom, Skype & Video Chat Help (57)

Archives

Social Connections:

Ask Dave Taylor


Follow Me on Pinterest
Follow me on Twitter
Follow me on LinkedIn
Follow me on Instagram


AskDaveTaylor on Facebook



microsoft insider mvp


This web site is for the purpose of disseminating information for educational purposes, free of charge, for the benefit of all visitors. We take great care to provide quality information. However, we do not guarantee, and accept no legal liability whatsoever arising from or connected to, the accuracy, reliability, currency or completeness of any material contained on this site or on any linked site. Further, please note that by submitting a question or comment you're agreeing to our terms of service, which are: you relinquish any subsequent rights of ownership to your material by submitting it on this site. Our lawyer says "Thanks for your cooperation."
© 2022 by Dave Taylor. "Ask Dave Taylor®" is a registered trademark of Intuitive Systems, LLC.
Privacy Policy - Terms and Conditions - Accessibility Policy