How to Erase an iPod Without iTunes
By William Nagel
Updated February 10, 2017
If you want to clear the data on your iPod without going through the trouble of using iTunes, you can connect your iPod to your computer and re-format the disk with built-in disk formatting utilities. Re-formatting your iPod will eliminate all the data on the hard drive, so make sure you have a backup copy of your music files if you want to save any tracks for future use.
Formatting an iPod in Windows
Connect your iPod to your computer with the USB cable. Close the AutoPlay window that appears.
Open “Computer” from the “Start” menu if you use Windows Vista or Windows 7. If you use an older version of Windows, open “My Computer.”
Right-click on the icon that corresponds to the iPod and select “Format” from the menu to open the “Format Removable Disk” dialog. Select “FAT 32” as the file system and enter a name for the iPod in the “Volume Label” text box. Click “Start” to erase all data on the drive.
Disconnect the iPod from your computer when the formatting process is complete. The information on your iPod will be gone.
Formatting an iPod in OSX
Connect your iPod to your computer with the USB cable. Close iTunes if it starts automatically.
Open a Finder window. Double click on “Applications” and open the “Utilities” folder. Double click on the “Disk Utility” application.
Select your iPod from the left menu column. Click on the “Erase” tab.
Select “MS-DOS file system” from the “Volume Format” drop down menu. Click the “Erase” button to begin the disk formatting process. Click the “Erase” button on the pop-up warning dialog to confirm that you want to format the iPod.
Disconnect the iPod from your computer when the formatting process is complete. The information on your iPod will be gone.
References
Writer Bio
William Nagel is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he studied science, technology and culture. He has been writing since 2007 and specializes in computer hardware, operating systems and software documentation. His work has been published in the "North Avenue Review."