iTunes 7.0.2: -48 errors when attempting to synchronize with iPods

Several readers have reported an issue where iTunes 7.0.2 fails to properly synchronize music and other tracks to various iPods, providing the error -48.

We've received informal word that Apple is looking into this issue, but in the meantime potential fixes include:

Delete true duplicates Select the playlist(s) that you synchronize with your iPod. Navigate to the "View" menu in iTunes, and select "Show Duplicates." Delete any files that are true duplicates. In other words, you don't need to delete files with the same name that are actually different tracks -- only those that are exact data duplicates.

Alternatively you can use a utility like iDupe to find and remove duplicate tracks.

Next, restore your iPod, then re-attempt synchronization.

Repair the iPod disk Connect your iPod to your Mac and select the iPod in the left-hand source pane. Click the Summary tab and make sure the "Enable disk use" option is checked.

Mount your iPod. Launch Disk Utility (located in Applications/Utilities), select the iPod volume, then use the "Repair Disk" option. Re-attempt synchronization.

Create a new account with U.S. English setting In some cases, it appears that this issue is restricted to non-US-configured Mac OS X user accounts. Try creating a new user account (per this tutorial). Next, open the "International" pane of System Preferences, and click the "Language" tab at the top. Press the "Edit List..." button and uncheck all languages except English.

Click on the "Formats" tab and select "United States" from the "Region" menu. Restore your iPod and re-attempt synchronization from the new user account.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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