I know nothing about iPods or iTunes but someone just gave my wife an iPod Shuffle, so I'm trying to set it up for her to use. I've had mp3 players in the past that were very simple to use, I just connected them by usb and then opened them as an external drive and dragged the songs I wanted into them. However, when I try to do that with the iPod, it appears to work fine until I try to play the songs, at which point I get the green and orange flashing light for 2 seconds, which according to the instruction pamphlet (I hesitate to call it a manual because it barely tells you how to use the iPod, let alone trouble shoot) is an error meaning no songs are on it. Do you absolutely HAVE to use iTunes in order to transfer mp3 files to an iPod?
Also, does using iTunes have any effect on mp3s I already have on my hard drive? I have a very vague memory (which may be incorrect) of my brother once telling me that connecting an iPod full of songs to your computer would wipe out and override song files already present on your hard drive. That sounds crazy to me, but still, is that a concern? BTW, I'm running an Athlon 4600 with Windows XP SP2.
