How to Configure iTunes So You Manually Manage Songs and Playlists?

When you choose this option, you manually place songs and playlists on your iPod. To choose this option, do the following steps:

1. Connect your iPod to your computer. It will appear on the Source List and an update determined by the current update option (such as fully automatic) will be performed.
2. Select the iPod for which you want to set an update option and click the iPod Options button. The iPod Preferences dialog box will appear.
3. Click the Manually manage songs and playlists radio button. You will see a prompt explaining that with this option, you must manually unmount the iPod before disconnecting it; read the information and click OK to close the prompt. (I’ll explain what this means in a later section.)
4. Click OK. The dialog box will close. An expansion triangle will appear next to the iPod on the Source List, and all the playlists stored on it will be shown under its icon. You can then manually add or remove songs or playlists (the steps to do this appear in a later section).