How to Delete Stuff From the iPod Classic (12 Steps)

By Aaron King

The iPhone can play music, videos and photo slideshows.
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Apple's iPod Classic is a portable mp3 and video device capable of storing and playing audio and video files on the go. Occasionally, you'll want to delete certain files from the device while keeping the rest of your media library intact. Using the iTunes software provided by Apple, you can automatically or manually manage the files on your iPod Classic.

Connecting your iPod Classic

Step 1

Connect your iPod Classic to your computer using the USB cable. Ensure that the cable is securely seated into the iPod Classic and into the USB port on your computer.

Step 2

Open the iTunes application on your computer. If you had already set the program application to start automatically when the computer detects your iPod Classic, the program should have opened when you connected your iPod Classic. If the program does not open, double-click on the iTunes icon in your applications folder (Mac) or programs folder (Windows) to open the program.

Step 3

Locate your iPod Classic in the iTunes sidebar and click on the name you gave it when you first synced your iPod Classic to your computer. Your iPod's settings panel will be shown.

Automatically Syncing Items

Step 1

Ensure that the boxes next to "Manually manage music" and "Enable disk use" are both unchecked in the "Options" box on the Summary page in iTunes. Typically, these boxes are unchecked. If there is a check mark, click it to remove it.

Step 2

Click on the tab labeled "Music" at the top of the iTunes window for your iPod. Check the box next to "Sync Music," then click the radio button next to "Selected playlists, artists, and genres." Lists for playlists, artists and genres will appear.

Step 3

To delete all of the songs from your iPod Classic that fall under, for example, the blues genre, uncheck the box next to "Blues" in the "Genre" list.

Step 4

Click the "Apply" button at the bottom of the iTunes window to apply these settings to your iPod.

Step 5

Repeat steps 1 - 4 for each of the tabs at the top of the iTunes window, which can include "Music," "Podcasts," "Video," "iTunes U," "Books," and "Contacts." Each time you click the "Apply" button, iTunes automatically syncs with the iPod Classic, removing any unchecked items from the iPod.

Manually Deleting Files

Step 1

Check the box next to "Manually manage music" in the Options area on the Summary page.

Step 2

Click the gray triangle next to your iPod under the Devices list.

Step 3

Select the playlist, song, movie, picture, or contact you want to remove from your iPod Classic, then click "Delete" from the Edit menu.

Step 4

Sync your iPod Classic to your computer. Any song that you deleted from iTunes will also be removed from your iPod Classic.

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