os9 compatibality?

I have a G4 400MHz running 9.2.2. and a 3rd gen. 15gig iPod. Like MikeM said, if you don't mind missing some of "extras" with iTunes 4.0 it will work. You won't be able to download from Apple's music store running iTunes 2.0 or use the ACC format. Hope this helps.

I have a similar problem as Matlock99...

So, do I understand correctly that the problem is not necessarily with the OS, but rather with the version of iTunes I'm running? Which version(s) of iTunes will work with OS9 and a 3g iPod? Do I understand correctly from Squishy's post that installing version 2.0 of iTunes will solve the problem? Can I still download that from Apple's website? Do I need to uninstall whatever version of iTunes I have on my G4 now before I install another version?

No doubt. I've had the panther software lying around collecting dust for about a month now. Can't install it for reasons that I explained in excruciating detail at this thread: iPod>My iPod and I>Help! My wife = iPod fascist.

Oops...I meant OS X. Sorry.

At this point, I'm just trying to get my iPod working with my G4 (running OS 9) in any sort of fashion. I understand that I may not be able to download songs from Apple's music store unless I upgrade to OS X; however, I was hoping I could at least use the G4/OS 9 combo to load some of my cd's to the iPod. The problem is, when I tried to do that, all that happened was I got a message that said something like "do not disconnect" that would not go away; I had to reboot the computer. It was at that point I looked into it a little closer, and it seems to me that the owner's manual said something about OS X as a system requirement for my iPod (3rd generation). So, my basic question is this: Is there anyway to load my cd's into my 3rd gen iPod using my G4 running OS 9? How? Which version of iTunes do I need to use to do that?

Thanks for trying to help...

Thanks for the helpful suggestions! Don't know about the firewire enabler, but I'll check it out when I get home. Also, I don't know if it matters, but I don't have the cradle; I was just going straight into the machine with the firewire. Anyway, I'll give your suggestions a try over the weekend and hopefully get things straightened out. If not, I'll probably be posting again by Monday.

Thanks again!

Well, over the weekend, I upgraded all the way from OS 9.0.2 to 9.2.2, and still nothing. iTunes recognizes my iPod, but when I select it, there's a lock-shaped icon that appears just to the right of where iTunes shows amount of space used/unused on the iPod's disc. I am guessing that this means the disc is overwrite protected somehow, but I'm not sure. I checked out the user's manual and it really doesn't say anything about it. I tried calling Apple's user support, but they won't help me because I'm not running OS X.

Am I at another impasse?

I tried clicking on the lock-shaped icon, and nothing happened; it's not a button. The iPod screen says "do not disconnect" and that message does not go away. As far as I can tell, the firewire is enabled, but maybe I'm not looking in the right place. Could you explain a little more how I check that? As far as I know, all of the songs in my iTunes folders are MP3, but I understand that I should be able to click and drag the songs to my iPod on the iTunes source list. Every time I try to click and drag a song to the iPod, the iPod won't take it.

I am wondering if there is some kind of overwrite protection on the iPod; that's usually what a lock-shaped icon means. But I have not seen any mention of overwrite protection in the user's manual or in any of the iPod help. Again, when I asked Apple's tech support about it, all they suggested was that I reinstall the software on the iPod, but I don't want to do that just yet for reasons that are too complicated to go into (but are explained in excruciating detail at the thread My iPod and I>Help! My wife = iPod fascist).

I'm a slow typer so bear with me. The "Do Not Disconnect" on the iPod screen is normal. It should show up every time you connect your iPod to the FW cable. I think its a preventative thing so you don't disconnect improperly. The closest analogy I can think of is like doing a "hard shut down on you computer, ie turning off the computer without closing down any open programs. Unmounting the iPod will make the "DND" disappear from the iPod window. This can be accomplished two ways. One, if your iPod shows up on your desktop, just drag the icon to the trash. Two, if you have iTiunes opened up, just click on the eject button at the lower right corner ( it looks like an underscored small triangle. You can now unplug the FW cable from your iPod without potentialy damaging any of your mp3 files. Try this first. Let me know what happens.

This may be a dumb question, but have you made of a playlist that shows on the source list on the right hand side of the iTunes window? If you were trying to drag the file(s) from the large columne (your library) to the iPod icon in the source list, I don't think it will work.

Your test playlist that shows up in your iTunes window should load when you hook up the FW cable. When the iPod's main screen appears, "Playlists" should at the top. Followed by Browse,Extras.... . When you touch the Play/Pause button what happens? Did you disable the iPod FW Enabler extension?

The "DND" doesn't go away when you hit the eject button in iTunes or dragging the iPod icon to the trash?

Hi I see you're on-line. Do a search here. Type in "iPod compatiblity". Look for a thread by hipsuk. See if this applies to you. It has to do with the iPod FW enabler extension I was talking about.

I must be doing something wrong b/c I keep getting "sorry, no matches"

Got the link, it worked great, thanks for doing that. It sure sounds like the same problem. You'll have to forgive me, I'm somewhat of a computer dunce, but are you saying that the Firewire HD driver needs to be disabled or enabled to solve the problem? How do I do that?

Well Squishy, I tried your suggestion last night. All that really accomplished was the computer no longer recognized my iPod: the iPod no longer appeared in the source list on iTunes, the icon no longer appeared at the bottom of the iTunes window, and there was nothing on the desktop.

Can't say I am terribly surprised, by disabling the firewire it seems that this would be the outcome. It just seems counter-intuitive to disable the firewire if that's the only thing connecting the iPod to the computer, but maybe I'm missing something here.

For what it's worth, I was getting the menu on the iPod's display while it was hooked up with the firewire disabled. Was there something else I was supposed to do at that point? It seemed like I was at another impasse, so I just re-enabled the firewire, the iPod re-appeared in iTunes, and I shut it off and gave up on it for the night.

Once again, I appreciate your help trying to troubleshoot this. Apple's tech support has been no help to me b/c they won't even talk to me until I get the OS X installed.

As I recall, the firewire extension that I tried disabling said nothing about being specifically an "iPod firewire." I really don't recall seeing anything like that in my extensions folder. Maybe that's the problem. I'll take another look at that tonight, but assuming for the moment that there is nothing specific to ipod in my extensions, what would that mean? Should there be both a firewire extension AND an ipod firewire extension in my extensions folder? If there isn't, is there anything you can think of that I can do about that?

The link that you sent does look promising. I'll check that out this weekend as well.

Thanks!

You're welcome! Glad to help. Enjoy your iPod.