How to download MP3 files from an iPod to a computer?
First, the legal stuff:
DISCLAIMER: I provide this information for educational and troubleshooting purposes only. Any misuse of this knowledge (i.e. piracy) is not my responsibility!
OK, now that I have warned you, let\'s suppose that the primary computer you were using to sync your iPod contents broke up. Suddenly, the only copy of your MP3 collection is deep inside your iPod, and you know that if you plug it into another Mac, the new computer will only offer you the possibility of erasing the iPod contents!
What you can do is the following (this works with older iPods without dock connectors, but I suppose that it should work with newers one as well): plug the iPod and say NO to any attempt to delete it by any means.
Create a folder in your Desktop called "Music"; we will use it in a couple of seconds.
Open Terminal.app (usually in your /Applications/Utilities folder) and type the following:
cd /Volumes/IPOD/iPod_Control/Music/
and then type
cp -R F* ~/Desktop/Music/
This will copy the contents of your iPod to your computer. You will notice that the filenames are somewhat different (numeric codes and such) but you can then import the whole contents of the Music folder into your iTunes, and voilà! You have recovered your MP3 collection.
Hope this helps!