Hello, kind of a n00b here. I have a 10 GB iPod (old) for the PC and my girlfriend has a new 30 GB iPod for the Mac. Basically, I want to occasionally connect her iPod to my PC, without sacrificing the usability of my own. Also, I really don't like the MusicMatch software that came with the iPod- it truncates many of my ID3 tags and I am not a fan of the interface.

So I tried XPlay, and though I like its simple Explorer-interface, I could only seem to get files off the Mac iPod- I get an error when trying to move files onto it. And it crashed Explorer, so it doesn't seem fool-proof.

So I tried MusicMatch, which recognized the 30 GB Mac format iPod. I tansfered ~12 gigs of files to the Mac iPod. Then, when I unmounted it and turned it on, none of the new files showed up. In fact, nearly all the old files seem to be deleted from the "artists" and "albums" folders. With the exception of the Beastie Boys (I have no idea why), the existing files could only be accessed through playlists.

I remounted the Mac iPod. Xplay, MusicMatch and Ephpod all show that the old files are still there, but none of the new ones. In fact, the old files can be played off the iPod through the PC. However, the 12 GB of new files are cleary taking up space on the iPod drive (according to Windows Explorer and MusicMatch), but don't show up anywhere. So basically I'm stuck with a 30GB iPod that has half its drive filled with garbage data and can only play the Beastie Boys. Arrgh!!!

So my question are:

1) how do I repair the Mac iPod? I will accept reformatting it at this point, since between her Mac and my PC we have all the files that were on the iPod.

2) Which application is best for connecting both the Mac and PC formatted iPods to my PC? Keep in mind that the 30 GB Mac iPod must stay Mac format, so she can still use it with her iMac. BTW, I generally prefer simpler applications with less overhead. I play my music through WinAmp and just want a separate app to transfer files (XPlay would be good if it worked right).