Why can't iGadget find my iPod?

iGadget requires your iPod to be set for manually music management (this does not apply to iPad, iPhone or iPod touch devices). To set this, please follow these steps:

1. Connect iPod to your computer using either your cable or Dock.
2. Open iTunes.
3. When/if iTunes asks you if you want to auto update, click the "Cancel" button.
4. Select iPod in the Source list in iTunes.
5. In iTunes, select the option to "Manually manage music".
6. Click the "Apply" button.

If the above doesn't resolve the iPod detection issue, please try right-clicking on the iGadget icon and select "Run as Administrator" from the popup menu.

What is the difference between iGadget, TuneJack and iRepo?

These products all fill slightly different needs. We have a detailed comparison of these products to help you select the application that best fits your needs.

Why does iGadget start transferring some songs ok then starts having problems with the remaining songs?

This is caused by the same issue as the question below. Please read the answer to that question.

Why, when I first connect an iPod, iGadget sees the songs but after telling iTunes not to sync with the iPod, the songs in iGadget disappear?

This is due to a recent change with iTunes. What you'll want to do is the following:

1. Connect the iPod to your PC
2. When/if iTunes asks you if you want to auto update, click the "Cancel" button
3. Select the iPod in the Source list in iTunes
4. In iTunes, check the "Manually manage music" checkbox and then click the "Apply" button.
5. Wait a few moments and the iPod songs should now appear in iGadget

You are now ready to use iGadget with the iPod.

Why is iGadget taking so long to transfer songs to iTunes?

This can be due to an issue with your iTunes installation. Please stop iGadget and then uninstall and reinstall iTunes. Then try iGadget again.

Is iGadget compatible with my device?

iGadget works with all iPods as well as the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. However, not all functionality is available on all iPods.

3G, 4G, 5G (video) photo, classic, mini, nano, and color iPods
Full functionality is available for all 3G, 4G and 5G (3rd, 4th, 5th generation and classic) full sized iPods, all iPod photos as well as the iPod minis.

1G and 2G iPods
For the earlier 1G and 2G (1st and 2nd generation) full sized iPods, all the functions that pull data from the internet (weather forecasts, movie showtimes, etc.) have to be stored in the Contacts area of the iPod. This is due to the fact that these early iPods do not have a Notes function as the later iPods do.

iPad, iPod touch and iPhone
iGadget can be used to copy songs, videos and podcasts and playlists off the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone. The music listing plugin also works with the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. These are the only functions supported with the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone due to the fact that these devices do not have a generic "notes" feature like the older iPods have.

iPod shuffles
iGadget can be used to copy songs off the iPod shuffle. That is the only function currenly usuable on the iPod shuffle. This is due to the fact that all the other functions require a display and the iPod shuffle does not have a display.

What versions of Outlook does iGadget work with?

iGadget works with Outlook 2002 (also known as Outlook XP) as well as all versions later than that. This includes Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007.

I have iGadget or PodPlus 1.4 or earlier. How do I upgrade?

If you have already own a copy of iGadget or PodPlus version 1.4 or earlier, you can buy an upgrade version at a substantial discount by going here.

Why does iGadget report error 80080005 and none of my songs get transferred to iTunes?

This error can indicate a number of things. First of all, be sure you don't have any dialog windows open in iTunes. iTunes must be sitting at the main window with no dialogs open.

If that doesn't help, this error can indicate that there is a problem with the iTunes installation on this computer. Reinstall iTunes and then try transferring just one or two songs with iGadget. If that goes good, you can then go ahead and transfer all your songs.

If that does not help, try right-clicking on the iGadget icon and select "Run as Administrator" and see if that works.

Why are the appointments from Outlook scheduled an hour ahead on my iPod?

When exporting the Outlook appointments to the iPod, the times gets converted to "zulu" time. This means, that if the task is setup for 10:00 central time, it gets saved as 16:00 (24 hour time). That way, no matter what time zone you are in, it can figure out the correct local time for that appointment. So, in this case, the most likely cause of the problem is that the iPod is setup for a different time zone than your PC. To check the time zone on your PC, go to Start -> Control Panel -> Date, Time, Language, and Region Options -> Date and Time. The Date and Time Properties dialog will open. On here, select the Time Zone tab. This will show you which time zone you have setup on your PC. You can change it here if you want. To check the time zone on your iPod, go to Settings -> Date & Time -> Set Time Zone. This will display a list of the time zones. Be sure to pick the same time zone you have setup on your PC. You also have to be careful of daylight savings settings. Your PC can be setup to automatically adjust for daylight savings time changes. But, the iPod cannot. You have to manually change the time zone on the iPod when daylight savings time changes.

Why does iGadget indicate it cannot find Outlook?

iGadget using something called Collaboration Data Objects (CDO) to communicate with Outlook. CDO is an optional component when you install Outlook. You will need to run the Outlook/Office install again.

Do the following:

1. Go to Add/Remove Programs
2. Find the entry for Microsoft Office
3. Click the Change button
4. On the Maintenance Mode Options screen, select Add or Remove Features and then click Next
5. On the Custom Setup screen, be sure Outlook is checked and also make sure the Choose advanced customization of applications checkbox is checked
6. Click the Update button
7. On the Advanced Customization screen, expand the entry for Microsoft Office Outlook
8. Under the Microsoft Office Outlook entry, locate the Collaboration Data Objects entry and be sure to set it to Run from My Computer
9. Click Update

Why am I am getting error 0xc0000135 when I try to run iGadget?

This error indicates that Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is not installed on your computer. This is a requirement of iGadget as well as all other .NET applications. You can download it here:

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0

How do I keep iTunes from deleting the songs from my iPod

While connecting the iPod to the computer, hold down the Shift + Ctrl keys. This will stop the iPod from auto synchronizing with iTunes and the iPod will appear in the source list. Wait until you are sure the iPod has mounted, and that it will not auto sync and then you can let the keys go. This may take between 3 and 25 seconds depending on your computer. Then you can right click on the iPod icon in iTunes source column and select iPod Options, then check the box that says "Manually manage songs and playlists". You can now manage your library without losing any songs on the iPod.

Version 6.2
Released: March 31, 2010

• Updated to detect iPod touch and iPhone devices when using iTunes 9.1.

Version 6.1.2
Released: March 15, 2010

• Updated Canadian Movies plugin to take into account source site changes.

Version 6.1.1
Released: November 9, 2009

• Removed need to "Run as Administrator" to detect some iPods.

Version 6.1
Released: October 22, 2009

• Updated to fix problem that could cause some iPhones to not be detected correctly.

Version 6.0.1
Released: September 28, 2009

• Updated the USA Movie Showtime plugin to work with new source site design.

Version 6.0
Released: September 22, 2009

• Updated to work with iTunes 9. In prior versions, iPhones and iPod touch devices would cause the application to generate errors if iTunes 9 was installed.
• Updated to work with the new iPod nano 5G (the one with the video camera).

Version 5.1
Released: September 10, 2009

• We have changed the licensing system used by the application with this release. Old style license keys will still work but you may have to place a check in the checkbox on the license screen to use your old style license if you ever need to reinstall.
• The "Check for Updates" function off the Help menu now works differently. Selecting this now opens a web page on the Purple Ghost website which will provide the information regarding any available updates.
• Whenever the application starts, unless it is disabled, a window opens describing the possibility that iTunes could erase the contents of your iPod/iPhone under certain circumstances. In prior versions, this screen provided a way to have it automatically temporarily disable this function in iTunes in order to protect songs on the iPod from deletion by iTunes. The way this was accomplished didn't always work for every situation. Apple has recently added the ability to do the same thing but from within iTunes directly. So, this window now describes how to do this from iTunes itself. This should be more reliable than the way it was being done before.

Version 5.0.2
Released: July 31, 2009

• This update provides support for jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches running the new 3.0 firmware.
• A new checkbox is available just above the music listing of the "Transfer Songs from iPod" plugin that, when checked, will only show the songs on the iPod that do not currently exist in the iTunes library.
• A new "Support" menu item has been added under the Help menu that has several options. These are there to make it easier if you need support and we need you to send us some information. There is no need to run any of these options unless requested to do so by Purple Ghost Software support.

Version 5.0.1
Released: June 29, 2009

• With the release of the prior version to work with the new iPod touch and iPhone 3.0 firmware, a bug was introduced that could cause errors when used with iPhones and iPod touches running old versions of the firmware. This update fixes this bug.

Version 5.0
Released: June 25, 2009

• Updated to work with iPhone/iPod touch 3.0 firmware. iTunes started storing song information on the iPod touch and iPhone differently with the release of the 3.0 iPhone and iPod touch firmware. This resulted in this application not seeing tracks added to devices running the 3.0 firmware. This release contains updates to work with this new format.

Version 4.9
Released: June 12, 2009

• Updated to work with iTunes 8.2.

Version 4.8.2
Released: March 19, 2009

• Updated driving directions plugin to fix issue which could cause the application to freeze when adding new driving directions.

Version 4.8.1
Released: March 17, 2009

• Updated movie showtimes plugin to fix issue which could cause the application to apparently lock up when retrieving list of theaters for some zip codes.

Version 4.8
Released: March 13, 2009

• Updated movie showtimes to work with site redesign
• Updated gas prices plugin to work with new site design

Version 4.7.3
Released: January 8, 2009

• Updated the Gas Prices plugin to work with the new source site design.

Version 4.7.2
Released: November 18, 2008

• Updated the Canadian movie show times plugin to work with the new source site design.

Version 4.7.1
Released: September 9, 2008

• Updated to work with iTunes 8.

Version 4.7
Released: June 25, 2008

• This version fixes the Horoscope plugin.

Version 4.6
Released: May 28, 2008

• This version fixes the Gas Prices plugin which was no longer locating prices correctly.

Version 4.5
Released: April 18, 2008

• This version has been updated to work better with non US-English versions of Windows. With prior releases, it could generate errors when trying to locate the file necessary to work with iPod touch and iPhone on non US-English Windows systems.
• This release allows it to work with jailbroken iPhones and iPod touches running 1.1.4 firmware. I would like to thank Lawrence Vanderpool for helping me figure this out. Thanks! :)

Version 4.4
Released: March 14, 2008

• This version has been updated to support the new iTunes for 64-bit Windows Vista. Prior versions of iTunes were not compatible with Windows Vista 64-bit Edition.

Version 4.3
Released: February 26, 2008

• The following fields are now also transferred with songs copied from an iPod to iTunes: start time, stop time, volume adjustment, remember playback position, and skip when shuffling.

Version 4.2.1
Released: January 11, 2008

• Updated to work with jailbroken iPod touches and iPhones.
• The Playlist Transfer plugin has been updated and now includes the "all" playlist which includes all the songs on the iPod.
• The Driving Directions plugin has been updated to work with the new source site. The source site has been updated so the older versions no longer worked with it.
• The Eject button now displays the correct message when trying to eject an iPod touch or iPhone (these devices do not need to be ejected before disconnecting them from your computer).

Version 4.1
Released: December 19, 2007

• Updated to go to correct web page when clicking the "buy" button within the program when using the trial version.

Version 4.0
Released: November 8, 2007

• Updated to support the iPhone and iPod touch.

Version 3.6
Released: Junly 5, 2007

• Apple changed things in iTunes 7.3 that caused iGadget to not see the songs on the iPod. This version has been updated to work with iTunes 7.3.

Version 3.5.1
Released: June 15, 2007

• Updated the Canadian Movie Showtimes plugin to take into account a change in the source site.

Version 3.5
Released: June 11, 2007

• A new plugin for "Gas Prices" has been added to this release. This plugin allows you to find the lowest gas prices within any United States zip code.

Version 3.4.2
Released: May 30, 2007

• This version adds support for the Play Counts file on the iPod. If play counts, user ratings and last played dates were changed on the iPod since the last sync with iTunes, this information is stored on the iPood in a Play Counts file. This version of iGadget takes this information into account when transferring the songs from an iPod. Earlier versions would use the original information transferred to the iPod from iTunes during the prior sync.

Version 3.4.1
Released: May 21, 2007

• This version updates the Canadian Movie Showtime plugin to account for a change in the source site.

Version 3.4
Released: May 17, 2007

• This version updates the Driving Directions plugin to work with the newly formatted source site. Prior versions have been broken with the source site redesign. Anyone running an earlier version that uses the Driving Directions plugin will want to get this new version.
• This version also marks the end of the "About Your iPod" plugin as well as the Podcast plugin.
• The reason for ending the 'About Your iPod" plugin is because since the release of iTunes 7, Apple has made it just too difficult to determine the iPod's model. Also, the information that was on this plugin is now all available right within iTunes itself so it was no longer adding any real value.
• The Podcast plugin was ended since Apple has added podcast support directly into iTunes. Since they have done that, the Podcast plugin in iGadget has not been updated since there really wasn't a need for it any longer. The podcast support in iTunes works well so we feel there is no need for this to be included in iGadget any longer.

Version 3.3.1
Released: May 4, 2007

• This version fixes a bug that could cause it to not load plugins indicating a newer version of iGadget was required.
• This version also updates the Canadian movie showtime plugin to now work with the newly formatted website.

Version 3.3
Released: March 19, 2007

• This version fixes a bug introduced in Version 3.2 that could cause errors when reading song lists from iPods using iTunes versions prior to version 7.1.

Version 3.2
Released: March 16, 2007

• This version takes into account changes in iTunes 7.1 that could cause errors while reading the songs information from an iPod.

Version 3.1
Released: February 5, 2007

• This version no longer requires that you restart iGadget™ after entering your license key to remove the trial limitations.
• This version also identifies the new color 2nd generation iPod shuffles.

Version 3.0.1
Released: December 19, 2006

• This version fixes a bug in the Horoscope plugin that was introduced with version 3.0.

Version 3.0
Released: December 18, 2006

• This version has been upgraded to use Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 (previous version used Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1). This version is also fully Windows Vista compatible.

Version 2.0.4
Released: November 21, 2006

• This version properly identifies more iPods as well as fixing a bug that would cause songs that didn't have a defined genre, artist or album not to be transferred to the playlists when using the Playlist Transfer plugin.

Version 2.0.3
Released: October 23, 2006

• This version properly identifies more iPods including the new iPod nano (PRODUCT) RED

Version 2.0.2
Released: October 2, 2006

• After the release of version 2.0.1 we discovered it would only work with iTunes 7. This version fixes that and it will now run with earlier versions of iTunes as well. For anyone that already purchased version 2.0.1, please download the free upgrade from the main iGadget™ page.

Version 2.0.1
Released: October 2, 2006

• This is a major upgate to enable iGadget™ to properly work with the new iTunes 7 and the new iPods that Apple recently released (2nd generation iPod nanos and the new full sized iPods).
• Please note: If you already own a copy of iGadget™ 1.0.4, you can purchase the upgrade to version 2.0.1 at a substantial discount. Please see the main iGadget™ page for details.
• Other changes include the following:
  
  • Movie showtime plugin dates
    In prior versions, the date list of the movie showtime plugins would not display correctly when the Preview pane was turned off. This has been fixed in this release.
  • Horoscope plugin dates
    In prior versions, the date list of the horoscope plugin did not display correctly when the Preview pane was turned off. This has been fixed in this release.
  • Support for new iPods
    Prior versions did not know about the new second generation iPod nanos or the updated fifth generation iPods.
  • Support for iTunes 7
    With the release of iTunes 7, Apple has removed some information from the iPod that allowed iGadget™ to identify what type of iPod was connected. iGadget uses this information to display the correct image in the About Your iPod plugin as well as to determine the capabilities of the iPod. With the change to iTunes 7, it has made it more difficult to determine the iPod model. This version now uses a new method to determine the iPod model.
  • Properly identifies the new 1GB iPod nano
    Prior versions didn't know about the new 1GB iPod nano and thus reported them as the original 1G iPod.
  • Check for Updates function
    With prior versions, the Check for Updates function (from the Help menu) was only able to download updates to the plugins. With this version, updates to the main application as well as the plugins can now be downloaded and installed automatically.

Version 1.4
Released: May 12 2006

• We have changed the name of PodPlus™ to iGadget™. It is the exact same application. The reason for the change is to better reflect the functionality of the product.
• Along with this name change is a new version. This version adds the following enhancements:
  
  • Properly identify the new 1GB iPod nano
    Prior versions didn't know about the new 1GB iPod nano and thus reported them as the original iPod.
  • New podcast directory
    This release uses a new podcast directory. The directory used in prior versions appears to have been discontinued.

Version 1.3.1
Released: March 12, 2006

• The main change in this version is that I am now using a new licensing scheme. If you are currently running version 1.2, there isn't really a need to upgrade to version 1.3 as nothing else really changed. But, if you are running an older vesion of PodPlus and want to get this new version, you will need a new license key. You can get a license key to work with the new one from the Support page.
• This is a rather big change to the licensing infrastructure, so please contact me immediately via the Support form if you have any trouble with the new licensing system.

Version 1.2
Released: Februrary 12, 2006

New Features/Enhancements:

• All plugins now written using UTF-8 encoding
  All the plugins now write data to the iPod using UTF-8 encoding. This gives it better support for accented characters often used non-US regions.

Bug Fixes:

• Outlook items generating "specified cast is not valid" errors
  The Outlook plugins would sometimes generate "specified cast is not valid" errors when displaying the information in the preview window and/or when syncrhonizing with an iPod. This has been resolved in this version.
• Missing Outlook data
  Under some conditions, all the information for some Outlook data (calendars, contacts, tasks, etc) would not display when viewed on the iPod. This has been resolved.

Version 1.1
Released: January 15, 2006

New Features/Enhancements:

• Help file always stays on top of the PodPlus window
  In prior version, the PodPlus Help file would always stay on top of the main PodPlus window. This made it difficult to keep the help file open and operate PodPlus at the same time. This has been changed in this version so the help file no longer forces itself on top of all other windows.
• Added Region setting preference
  There is now a Region setting in the Preferences window. This allows changing which region PodPlus will use to format dates. Normally, this should be set to the same region that Windows is set to.
• PodPlus and all plugins are now signed with a "strong name"
  To increase security, PodPlus and all the associated plugins are now digitally signed with what is known as a "strong name". This increases security by making the PodPlus files immune to modification by hackers. If somebody makes an unauthorized change (such as adding a virus) to any of the PodPlus files, PodPlus will then refuse to run.

Bug Fixes:

• Outlook Appointment not all moved to iPod
  If Windows is setup with a region other than "English (United States)", it was likely that some Outlook appointments wouldn't get copied to the iPod. This was due to variations in date formats in other regions. In this version, there is now a Region setting in the Preferences window that allows changing which region PodPlus will use to format dates.

Version 1.0.6
Released: January 6, 2006

Bug Fixes:

• Outlook Appointment notes not being displayed on iPod when Location field has a value
  In prior versions, if an Outlook appointment had a value in the Location field, the appointment note body was not being displayed on the iPod. This has been fixed in this version.
• Outlook Contact notes not being transferred to iPod
  Due to a recent change, contact notes were no longer being copied to the iPod. This version fixes this.
• Recurring Outlook Appointments not always displaying on iPod
  With recurring appointments, if PodPlus was setup to save the appointments as individual files on the iPod, some of the recurring appointments would not be displayed on the iPod. This has been resolved in this version.
• Outlook plugin preview list getting cleared after sync
  After syncing with an iPod, the Preview pane was being cleared for some Outlook items when it shouldn't have been cleared. This has been resolved in this version.

Version 1.0.5
Released: December 4, 2005

New Features / Enhancements:

• New Feature: Driving Directions A new plugin has been added to get driving directions on your iPod for locations in the United States and Canada.
• Contacts now includes photos
  The Outlook Contact plugin now supports photos. If the contact in Outlook as a photo associated with it, that photo will now be copied to the iPod and displayed alongside their contact information. Currently, only the new 5G/video iPods support this.
• Better support for non-English characters
  Changes have been made to use an encoding format that better supports non-English characters such as Ö, Ø, and Å.

Bug Fixes:

• Contacts failing to sync correctly if that contact has a certificate associated with it
  In prior versions, if an Outlook contact had a certificate associated with it (a security feature) the contact would not get displayed on the iPod. With this version, contacts with certificates will now work fine.

Version 1.0.4
Released: November 13, 2005

Bug Fixes:

• Scrollbar disappearing at bottom of Playlist Transfer Plugin window
  In the Playlist Transfer plugin, the vertical scroll bar was disappearing behind the bottom of the window. This resulted in not being able to view the last items in the list of playlists.
• Scrollbars disabled until window resized in the song list windows
  In any of the plugin windows that display the list of songs on the iPod, the scrollbars were not being enabled until the form was resized.
• Occassional errors of "Object Reference not set to an instance of an object" during an automated sync Under some situations during an automated synchronization process, an "Object Reference not set to an instance of an object" error would be generated.

New Features / Enhancements:

• The new 5G (video) iPods are now properly identified on the "iPod Information" plugin
  Since the older versions of PodPlus didn't know about the new 5G iPods, it was reporting them as the original 1G iPod.
• New UK and Ireland cinema showtime plugin
  A new plugin has been added to get showtimes for cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
• Weather plugin now indicates it works for other countries besides the USA
  The weather plugin was labeled as such to indicate it only worked for locations in the USA. But, it actually works for locations in the USA, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Brazil and Latin America as well.

Version 1.0.3
Released: September 26, 2005

• RSS News Feed plugin not removing data from iPod
  The function to remove data from the iPod for the RSS News Feed plugin was not working
• "Remove All Data from iPod" function not working
  The "Remove All Data from iPod" function was not doing anything at all
• "Sync All" function only syncing current category of plugins
  The "Sync All" function was only synchronizing the plugins displayed for the current plugin category - this has been fixed so now all plugins in all categories are synchronized
• "Unable to read beyond end of stream" error
  On some iPods (found on some nanos) it was possible that the application would generate an error reading "Unable to read beyond the end of stream."

Version 1.0.2
Released: September 20, 2005

This version adds support for the iPod nano as well as fixing the following bugs:

• iPod eject
  It used to sometimes cause the application to lockup
• Outlook Tasks
  Tasks were not formatted properly to display on the iPod so no tasks would show up on the iPod
• Saving plugin settings
  Plugin settings would not always get saved
• Date format error on some RSS news feeds
  Some news feeds would generate a "date format" error
• "Unable to modify playlist" error
  When attempting to add tracks to a smart playlists, an "unable to modify playlist" error would be displayed
• Canadian movie showtimes not showing theaters for some cities
  The showtime plugin for Canada would not show the theaters for some cities
• Outlook tasks and calendars not always displaying on iPod
  Some Outlook tasks and calendar appointments would not get displayed on the iPod

Version 1.0
Released: September 6, 2005

• Initial version of PodPlus is now available.

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- Amy K.

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"BTW, the directions and the movie showtimes is a GREAT addon!"
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