[hillstones]

kirkmc, on 11 March 2010 - 01:19 AM, said:

hillstones, on 10 March 2010 - 01:22 PM, said:

I wouldn't say most use WiFi in their homes as their primary network. Most use 10/100 Ethernet since that hardware is still far cheaper than Gigabit Ethernet hardware. Wired ethernet, even 100BaseT, is much faster than any wireless connection. My TiVo HDs and iPhones are wireless, but my two iMacs are wired.

Was this article really necessary? Do you assume that Windows users are so stupid, they don't know how to copy a folder from one computer to another? All they have to do is hold Option (Alt on Windows) when they launch iTunes and pick the library file from the iTunes folder that they transferred to their new computer.

Most average users have wifi, not Ethernet; they don't want cables in the way. If they have computers in more than one room of the house, they're certainly not going to run cables. (Only power users have Ethernet cables running through their walls.)

Why is this article necessary? Because it's an incredibly common question, and because, if you search for the question on Google, you'll only find outdated articles that talk about having to manually change file paths in the iTunes library.xml file. With iTunes 9, this move became easy to perform; before that, it was a bear.

Kirk, if the average user can't figure out how to copy a folder from one location to another, how to expect them to set up a Wifi network? If the computer is in the same room as the high speed modem, I can guarantee you it is connected via Ethernet. iTunes has always had the Option/Alt feature for picking a new library file. Why didn't you discuss that in your article? That is the easiest method for choosing a new iTunes library.

[kirkmc]

hillstones, on 11 March 2010 - 07:05 PM, said:

Kirk, if the average user can't figure out how to copy a folder from one location to another, how to expect them to set up a Wifi network? If the computer is in the same room as the high speed modem, I can guarantee you it is connected via Ethernet. iTunes has always had the Option/Alt feature for picking a new library file. Why didn't you discuss that in your article? That is the easiest method for choosing a new iTunes library.

There would be a chance they end up with two libraries like that.

[digidan]

Good article! But hasn't it always been fairly easy? Way back when (2005), I was upgrading from a Dell running XP to a brand-new PowerBook. I simply did the "consolidate library" routine, then used the iTunes "backup to CD/DVD" option and restored it on the other. I didn't have a big (20GB+) hard drive I could reformat to windows at the time, so I had to go the DVD route.


To move my playlists, I simply exported the iTunes library (File>Library>Export library currently), then imported in on the Mac side. I don't remember if that saved metadata or merely playlists... Hmm...

[mangomer]

Looking for some help here...
Have new macbook pro and trying to transfer music from my PC. I was hasty, copied my PC iTunes Music folder onto my external hard drive, launched iTunes on new mac and dragged and dropped the iTunes music folder directly into the new mac's iTunes library leaving me with all of my music but none of the extras, playlists, etc. I found this article, followed the steps creating a new iTunes music backup on my external hard drive thinking that I would be able to overwrite/replace everything I'd dumped into the new iTunes. Well, instead of adding the new iTunes music folder to the Mac music folder (like the instructions say), I put it into the iTunes folder thinking I would be able to say yes to all of it being replaced. What I am now left with is my original drag and drop iTunes music folder before modified with this article's instructions and within it a second iTunes music folder with all of my music with the changes made to the original from this article. Any chance of getting the "right" folder to update in my Mac iTunes so that it will include all of the extra information? Would it be possible to start completely over? Thanks for any help. Please refrain from following directions comments

[Royjg2]

There is a much easier way that also allows your on line purchases to play from one computer to another, it is called backup and restore
I have done it, backup library from iTunes Mac, simply insert 1st dvd in Pc, iTunes will pop up request to restore saved copy to iTunes and restore every thing, apps, movies and all




Backing up your iTunes library and iTunes Store purchases

You can easily back up your iTunes library, playlists, and iTunes Store purchases to CD or DVD for safekeeping. To reduce the number of discs needed for a backup, iTunes can perform incremental backups (only items added or changed since the last backup), or back up your iTunes Store purchases only.

It's important to make backups of your purchases from the iTunes Store. If you lose a purchased item for any reason and haven't backed it up, you'll have to buy it again.

To create backup CDs or DVDs:

Choose File > Library > "Back up to Disc."

Select your options, and then click Next.

Insert a blank disc (CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, or DVD-RW).

Click Back Up.

iTunes burns the number of items that fit on one disc, and then asks you to insert subsequent discs to continue burning the remaining files.

To restore backed-up files:

Insert a backup disc.

A dialog appears, asking if you want to restore. To replace files in your iTunes library with files from the disc, select "Overwrite existing files."

Click Restore and follow the onscreen prompts.

Programs purchased from the Audible website are not backed up.

Discs you create using the iTunes backup feature can be used only to restore; they can't be played in a CD or DVD player.

[James Somners]

I found it VERY useful as while I have been a hardcore PC poweruser for years, I had never even USED I-Tunes until I got the new 6th gen Nano touch. And I am VERY interested in retaining all the play counts and the effort I have put into organizing my I-tunes library these past several months. That iPod purchase is the reason I am now waiting for delivery of my brand new custom configured Macbook Pro 13"!

So there are amongst us Windows users those who are very well versed in the ways of hacking doze, yet are still uninitiated in the way of the Mac!

Why do I hear a raspy voice in the background saying "Give yourself to the darkside Luke!"? Lol....

[yshah87]

Can someone tell me what I did wrong? I followed these instructions, but when I moved the folder from my external drive over to my Air, my playlists and playcounts didn't show up. Also, for some reason, the iTunes Media Folder duplicated itself and so my iTunes folder was taking up nearly 100GB of my Air's 128GB SSD. I hadn't opened iTunes on the machine before moving my music over, if that does anything. Also, on Windows, I never had the "Keep iTunes Organized" checked until I created the backup to move to the Mac.

I just deleted the whole folder because I was afraid my Air would mess up with only 10GB available haha. Gonna have to try this again somehow.

[hypnocat]

hillstones, on 10 March 2010 - 01:22 PM, said:

Was this article really necessary? Do you assume that Windows users are so stupid, they don't know how to copy a folder from one computer to another? All they have to do is hold Option (Alt on Windows) when they launch iTunes and pick the library file from the iTunes folder that they transferred to their new computer.

yeah, actually, as someone who handles tech support for a company, there are a great many people who don't know how to copy or move files or folders from one location to another on their own computer, let alone from one machine to another. i get calls from people who don't know how to access a CD-ROM if it doesn't autoplay for them. i get calls for people who type URLs into the search field in Google to visit websites. this article is written for those people, and considering their vast lack of knowledge on even the most basic computer skills, i'd say it's very necessary.

[morecw]

I can't believe the amount of stupid anal responses posted by lifeless geeks who just have to add their petty opinions on whether they think the world uses mainly ethernet or wifi. Look I came here simply because I wanted to know the answer to the question posted. Job done. Thank you for posting. The rest of you guys should work on getting out a bit more or maybe plan to finally move out of your Mom's basement

[ellac]

I tried these steps and my music did appear in my library on my Mac, but every single song/video has an exclamation mark next to it... I get an error message from iTunes, saying they can't find the original document. What did I do wrong? Is there a way to fix this?

[alexhardiergvq]

I got all the way up the following point and the last part doesn't work :-(

Launch iTunes on your Mac, open its preferences (Edit -> Preferences), then click the Advanced tab. Click the Change button next to iTunes Media Folder Location, navigate to the iTunes Media folder on your external hard drive, and click OK. iTunes will now look to that drive for you content, and everything should be working correctly. If not, choose File -> Library -> Organize Library, and consolidate the library, as above to fix any problems.

[Cesam]

bastion, on 10 March 2010 - 07:16 AM, said:

"Now copy the entire iTunes folder to an external hard drive (OS X should be able to read FAT or NTFS volumes created on a PC), or copy it across your network to your new Mac (the former method will be much faster)."

By "former" you of course meant "latter."

A single copy over a decent LAN is going be to faster than 2 copies and sneakernet.

I agree. Thank you.

[RichardCook]

"After this is done--these two steps may take a while if you have a big library"

No [censored] 300gb library took 12 hours!!

[stiegjansen]

ellac, on 07 August 2011 - 04:11 PM, said:

I tried these steps and my music did appear in my library on my Mac, but every single song/video has an exclamation mark next to it... I get an error message from iTunes, saying they can't find the original document. What did I do wrong? Is there a way to fix this?

While I used to favor the manual way of transferring my iTunes library to my new laptop (PC), I have unfortunately run into similar problems. There are different small programs which would do the trick minus the sweat - even for a PC to Mac transfer. This review at Kioskea would be helpful if you are looking for an automatic tranfer...