Problems Syncing New iPod to iTunes

My iPod Nano (5th Gen) recently died. Actually, it's the audio output that died.As far as I can tell, the iPod is discontinued, so I got a replacement iPod through amazon.com. It arrived today, but I can't load my music from iTunes (Windows) into the new iPod.I jumped through the hoops to get iPod software installed into iTunes, et al. It and the iPod finally recognized being connected. I tell iTunes to sync with the device, it goes through the motions, and then announces that the synchronization is complete. But nothing got loaded into the device. It's still empty.What the Foxtrot is going on? How can I get iTunes to actually sync up with my new iPod?I will refrain from venting over why Apple has to deliberately design their junk to be so aggravatingly and frustratingly impossible to use. I've gone through two iPods (a version of the original and then my Nano) and loved them, but every other Apple product I've had to try to use has been sheer hell. Now they've succeeded in ruining the iPod as well.Believe me, that was refraining from venting my frustration.The new iPod is a third-party copy (Chinese, I'm sure) which looks and feels exactly like the 5th Gen Nano. Is there something about tying a new iPod to the old iPod's files that I'm missing (since Apple never ever tells you how to get anything done -- there I go having to avoid venting again).

From what I’ve heard Windows iTunes has never been great. But I think this may be the real problem: In other words it’s an MP3 player that looks like an iPod but isn’t running iPod firmware.

Frankly, I've found that Apple products have never been great. Except for the iPod, which they have gotten rid of. That trackwheel control was their best invention; I was sorely disappointed that my cable remote doesn't have one.And the only way I could think of to run non-Windows iTunes would be to get a Mac. Frankly, there must be so many better ways to kill myself than inducing a stroke. And yet iTunes does recognize that it's talking to an iPod and goes through all the motions of syncing. It must look like an iPod to iTunes.Plus, iTunes loaded both iPod software for itself and loaded iPod firmware in the new device.Here are some questions:

• Does iTunes support multiple devices?
• If it does, then does it maintain different content for each device, or must all devices get loaded with exactly the same content?
• If it does maintain separate content for each device, how do I copy content over to the new device?

The main problem is that Apple never tells you shit about how to use any of its products. Stupid piss-poor attitude of "Exploring is part of the experience."I can only hope to benefit from somebody else who had had to learn the hard way.

iTunes for Mac is gone, its functions have been divided between Apple Music and the OS.iTunes on Mac did support multiple devices.For loading music it did not distinguish between devices. iPods don’t have backups in iTunes so nothing else applies.Possibly you’ve managed to get iTunes so nothing is selected for syncing - although that seems unlikely.

OK, so Apple's position is Foxtrot Uniform, as usual.I'll go to the Apple Store to see how they'll jerk me around this time.Thanks anyway.

I don’t think you can expect Apple to support unauthorised clones. The seller or the manufacturer should be the ones to provide support.

Why not just use your phone? Apple Music runs on both IOS and Android.--Percy

I don't expect them to. Rather, I would expect Apple to support its own software, iTunes. Or at the very least, tell a customer how to use it.Which, of course, is completely unreasonable of me, since Apple has never been known to tell us how to use their stuff. All their "user manual", two- or three-panel graphic, showed was how to connect cabling and turn it on and off; you had to try to figure out how to do everything else all on your own by following the menus which only support the most common actions and rarely what you actually need to do. It's the old Apple problem that you are only allowed to do what they want to let you do and never what you actually want it to do. Windows (even if you need to go to a DOS window) and Linux both let you do your work whereas Macs keep blocking your efforts. One lesson I learned very well in construction was pick the right tool for the right job and then to let the tool do the work for you, but a tool that you have to constantly fight with and work around in order to get anything done is worse than useless.Case in point: my iPod Nano included a video camera which I used successfully to record the moves we just learned in salsa class (a very common practice in dance classes). However, there were a couple botched videos I wanted to delete (eg, accidentally started to record while camera was pointed to the floor and I immediately stopped it, but the video was still on the iPod) but there was no apparent path in the menu structure that allowed me to delete a video. I was stuck with those botched videos unable to delete them, a very basic function that any device should support. Online I was able to find a third-party manual which did describe how to delete those videos, all of which was counter-intuitive to what the menu offered but which did finally allow me to delete those videos. Why Apple wanted to keep that such a secret, I still fail to understand.A bit of engineering humor about the eternal struggle between hardware and software engineers:

I don't clutter my phone with music since I never use my phone for that purpose; I'm not going to have my music blaring out loud. Besides, there's no longer any headphone jack (I did buy Bluetooth ear buds, but they're a pain and I've almost never used them).A touchscreen "solution" will not work for me. To be honest, the goal is to be able to lie back after an edible and enjoy listening to music, something we used to always do when we got high in college, though somehow the experience is no longer the same as I remember. The iPod with its trackwheel control is ideal for that purpose since I can set it up to shuffle a playlist and lie back in the dark, skipping a song tactilely (ie, completely by touch) without killing the buzz. And that is what I would do with my old iPod until its audio output died. So that is why I need to replace it with an actual replacement and not some touchscreen "replacement" or similar non-substitute.Forced to use a touchscreen, each time I wanted to skip a song et al. , I'd have to sit up, reach for my glasses, put them on, pick up the device, look at it, poke it with my finger, then put everything back down, lie back down, and try to get back into it. Completely kills the buzz and the mood every time. Completely. May as well not even think of trying in the first place.Also keep in mind the lesson I learned about the iPhone music app, which is that it will go crazy without warning. While DJing during class for a dance teacher who had her music on her iPhone (she was stuck with that since someone had stolen her iPod), I had to watch for it dimming before timing out so I could tickle the screen to keep it awake. But that music app had secret control areas (ie, completely unmarked) that if I made the mistake of tickling the wrong spot (with no way of telling that was a wrong spot) it would "do an Air Force branch" (software jargon for your program jumping to a random location, basically "going off into the wild blue yonder") and she would have to interrupt the class in order to come over and get it back to the right place. Yet another in a long history of frustratingly bad Apple experiences.Now imagine what would happen if I were to try to control a touchscreen by touch. That would be an even worse mood killer.So, not a solution.

One thing to try is switching from iTunes to Apple Music on Windows. While iTunes is still supported on Windows, it probably gets very little attention within Apple.Also, if you shut off a iPhone while it's playing Apple Music (or any audio app) the app will continue playing. The problem you describe shouldn't be happening, but you were using someone else's phone and you don't know what settings she had. My iPhone remains on while playing music - if I want it off I have to click it off. The world is full of people listing to music on their phones without constantly clicking on the face to keep it awake.--Percy

So what is that supposed to do for me? The only reason I ever loaded iTunes on my computer was to support my iPod. Other than that it's useless (which is why this was the first time I've run it in over seven years; ie, since before I retired). What is it about Apple Music that wouldn't also be useless? Especially if it also doesn't support my replacement iPod.

You can get headphone adaptors - or better - that plug into a phone or tablet. (I’m rather happy with the external DAC plugged into my Grado’s)

Was never the issue. And has nothing to do with the situation I was describing.OK, in a group dance class (and also in privates) the teacher teaches the moves and leads the class in those moves by counting out the beat ("How many dance teachers does it take to screw in a light bulb? 5-6-7-8."). Then a few times during the class she'll play a song for the class to dance the moves to. My DJing job was to play the song when called upon and then to stop it when signaled to. The song was not being played constantly since that would interfere with her instruction, but rather only played when she wanted it to be played. Hence the need to stand by and keep the phone awake until the song needed to be played.Yeah, you have to stop whatever you're doing and look at it, etc, in order to do that. You cannot do it by touch, but rather you have to look at it. You can control an iPod (id est, skipping a song, pausing it, or turning it off) completely by touch without having to look at it.That is the difference. So what is that supposed to have to do with anything that I've been saying?

I just read up on Apple Music on Wikipedia. It looks like it's nothing other than a streaming service. Why would I want that?My iPod music library includes only a few songs that I got through iTunes. All the rest (about 6 MB) were ripped from CDs through iTunes. They would not be available through a streaming service.All I need is to be able to load my music library to a new iPod device. Why should that be too much to ask for?As far as I can tell, Apple Music does not even begin to approach that kind of functionality.

Do you want help, or do you just want to express your anger and frustration.--Percy