Problem with multiple iTunes libraries!

I've been using a program called PowerTunes that enables easily switching between libraries. I suspect that it may be the culprit of the multiple iTunes Libraries that I have. It's out of control! I've nested Previous iTunes Folders six layers deep!
In addition to this weirdness I've also got multiple plist files and temp files. It's a mess!
When I look at my backup iTunes folder it looks much cleaner. None of the nested folders (pictured above) or the temp files and multiple plist files. Can someone help me to understand this and restore my iTunes library to a normal state??
I've written the maker of PowerTunes but he's just one guy so who knows when I'll hear back from him. The more overt problems I am having include:
• losing ratings
• recently added items disappear
• when I switch libraries, iTunes wants to rebuild the genius library (every time!)
Any help at all would be greatly appreciated!!

I'm noticing that with iTunes 8, iTunes now doesn't keep separate preferences for multiple library locations, which is really crazy. I wonder if it's a bug or if there's a reason they did that. so when you hold option and launch itunes to get to your other iTunes library, this "other" iTunes library is now using the "old" iTunes library's file location. So if you add music to them, then they get all jumbled together and you don't know what's going where.
I'm thinking this is the cause of what's happening to you. When you "keep music organized" or whatever, who knows where iTunes is putting the stuff now. It's really bad. I'm hoping somebody has a solution, or any ideas.

Similar Messages

How do I use your iPhone with multiple iTunes libraries

Hi, I have my music spread out between 3 seperate Itunes libraries on 3 different profiles on my computer. I have the newest generation Ipod Nano, Ipod Shuffle, and Iphone 4s. My Ipod's are both full, so I've decided to start putting music onto my phone. With my Ipod's, I can plug them into one profile on the computer, download the music on the Itunes library that exists on that profile, then do the same with the other profiles with no issue. However when I try to do this with my phone, It asks me to erase the music I have gotten from one Itunes library and sync with the current library, as soon as I plug it in to a different Itunes on one of the other profiles. I have my Iphone configured with the Manually manage music option, and I still haven't found a way to use my Iphone with multiple music libraries. PLEASE HELP

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12113 - If you use manual syncing, you can sync items from more than one iTunes library to your iPod. (You can sync iPod touch, iPhone, and iPad with only one iTunes library.)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1202 - When manually managing content, you can add content from multiple libraries to your iPod or iPad. Even when manually managing music, some content may be available from only one library at time. This includes all content on iPhone and video content on iPod and iPad.
They seem inconsistent as far as the iPad is concerned but in both articles the iPhone appears to only be able to sync to one library at a time.
Troubleshooting Home Sharing - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

ITunes Match ratings information problems with multiple computers/libraries

I have multiple Macs (business and personal) with similar but not identical libraries. My business Mac did not contain any ratings information for the tracks in my library but my personal Mac did. Once both machines (and my iOS devices) were linked to iTunes Match the only rating information that appears is that from my work Mac (which means no ratings). All music is there but ratings info reflects that of the first Mac linked (play counts appear accurate). Any ideas?

JakeSheptin wrote:
Hey everyone, I have a bit of a problem with iTunes. The whole setup is a bit convoluted, here's the layout. My brother and I both have iPhones. He uses my account to buy things...
Jake,
I did not read past that point. Unless you have one account per person, you are going to have a mess.

Problems with multiple itunes accounts since ios8

Since iOS8 I am having real problems getting my content from multiple iTunes accounts to work. I used to be able to switch between accounts (US and Japanese stores) and download stuff, and play it all fine, but since iOS8 I get the message 'This device is already associated with an Apple ID'. So, I thought I'd transfer everything to iTunes and then sync it back to the phone, which seemed to transfer the content, but when I try and play a song belonging to the account I'm not logged in as it shows the play screen and then jumps back to the play list.
This is very frustrating for those of us who straddle countries and want to be able to access content from both!
Is there any workaround for this?
Thanks
Ray

Well, I usually think of an 'iTunes account' as being an account at the iTunes Store... I take it you have different iTunes collections with separate library files for each of you.
It sounds like you have different user accounts on the computer. Figuring out what is going on will require us knowing a lot more about how you have your iTunes libraries set up. Do you also have a shared area or do you keep totally separate accounts? Are you positive you were't really in his account when this was happening?

Home Sharing issue with multiple iTunes libraries

I'm hoping someone out there has a suggestion to help solve the problem I'm having with the new iOS 4.3 Home Sharing.
I have an iMac and a MacBook Pro both running the latest system and iTunes versions. Each has an iTunes library with Home Sharing turned on. All works fine between them -- each iTunes library shows up on the other computer's as a shared library. We also have a 2nd gen Apple TV that sees both computers correctly, e.g., both libraries show up under computers on the Apple TV.
The problem is with my iPad and 4th gen iPod touch. Both have been updated to 4.3. I signed in to Home Sharing in the Music setting without a problem. Everything is on the same local WiFi network. The problem is that only one of the iTunes libraries shows up as a Shared Library. And it's not consistent as far as which one shows up, the laptop or the iMac. Sometimes it'll be one, sometimes it's the other. Never is it both of them so I can select which one I want to access. This doesn't really make sense to me, as they both do show up on the Apple TV. Both of my iOS devices have this problem. Is it really supposed to function this way?
Any suggestions?

I'm glad to hear that it's not just me. I have iTunes libraries on a Mac Mini and on my Macbook. They show up in the shared section in iTunes on the opposite machines, as well as on my 2nd Generation Apple TV. They even show up in the Remote app on my iDevices. However, only one shows up in the iPod music app on the iPhone 3GS and iPad, as well as the iPad video app.
Hopefully, this gets fixed soon. I keep my podcasts on my Macbook and that's the library that's not showing up on the iDevices iPod app.

Sync ipad2 with multiple iTunes libraries

Hi
I am trying to work out how to sync my ipad2 with two separate iTunes libraries (one for my music, one for my wifes). The libraries are on our windows xp pc. I can't find any help on the Apple support website. Is this even possible?
All help gratefully received!
Thanks
Apopp

While you cannot sync with multiple computers or multiple libraries - you can use multiple computers with your iPad if you manually manage music in iTunes. I assume that this should work with multiple libraries on the same computer as well.
This article explains how to do it.
Using iPhone, iPad or iPod with multiple computers

Problems with multiple itunes accounts on the same computer

Does anyone have issues with this? My husband and I have seperate iTunes accounts, and eventhough I am logged in under my username, his music is loading and mine is gone...
Also, his iPad apps are syncing to my iTunes account - this happened just last night when I plugged my iPod in and was rearranging my playlists and his apps were syncing at the same time.

Well, I usually think of an 'iTunes account' as being an account at the iTunes Store... I take it you have different iTunes collections with separate library files for each of you.
It sounds like you have different user accounts on the computer. Figuring out what is going on will require us knowing a lot more about how you have your iTunes libraries set up. Do you also have a shared area or do you keep totally separate accounts? Are you positive you were't really in his account when this was happening?

Problems with multiple iTunes accounts/computers

Hey everyone, I have a bit of a problem with iTunes. The whole setup is a bit convoluted, here's the layout. My brother and I both have iPhones. He uses my account to buy things, but has a separate library. Recently, my computer crashed, so I took his old one and he bought a new one. I now have his old computer, with his iTunes library, and he has a new one. I just want to sync my phone to the computer and be able to manage my iTunes through this computer, so I created a separate user on this computer. When I load iTunes under this user, the library is empty, save 3 songs that I believe automatically come with iTunes. When I connect my phone, it lets me back it up, but I can't do anything else. I can play music, but not edit or download. I have no clue what to do with all this, it would really just be easiest to uninstall iTunes I feel but I don't know if he would lose his music or anything. Thanks for any help!

JakeSheptin wrote:
Hey everyone, I have a bit of a problem with iTunes. The whole setup is a bit convoluted, here's the layout. My brother and I both have iPhones. He uses my account to buy things...
Jake,
I did not read past that point. Unless you have one account per person, you are going to have a mess.

Sync manually managed iPod played count etc with multiple iTunes libraries

I have my music and podcasts spread out in different iTunes libraries. So if I sync items, tracks from another library are deleted from my iPod therefore I manually manage my tracks. The downside is when you connect a manual iPod to iTunes your ratings, played date, count don't get synced with the iTunes Library. So I created a simple applescript that syncs tracks on specified playlists on your iPod with matching ones in iTunes. I realise applescripts exist to do this already but I wanted something which required no user input and simply did what would happen if the iPod was in sync mode.
The applescript:
tell application "iTunes"
    set iPodName to ""
    set syncPlaylists to {"Music", "Podcasts"}
    repeat with syncPlaylist in syncPlaylists
        repeat with i from 1 to count of sources
            if the kind of source i is iPod then
                set iPodName to name of source i as string
                set ipodPlaylistId to (first playlist of source iPodName whose name is syncPlaylist)
            end if
        end repeat
        set musicLibraryId to (first playlist whose name is syncPlaylist)
        --update every track itunes syncPlaylist with data from ipod syncPlaylist
        repeat with ipodPlaylistTracksCounter from 1 to count of tracks of ipodPlaylistId
            set ipodTrack to track ipodPlaylistTracksCounter of ipodPlaylistId
            set ipodTrackData to {name, artist, album, played date, played count, rating} of ipodTrack
            set foundTracksInPlaylist to (every track of musicLibraryId whose ((name is item 1 of ipodTrackData) and (artist is item 2 of ipodTrackData) and (album is item 3 of ipodTrackData)))
            repeat with eachFoundTrackInPlaylist in foundTracksInPlaylist
                --use try blocks in case of missing data
                try
                    set played date of eachFoundTrackInPlaylist to item 4 of ipodTrackData
                end try
                try
                    set played count of eachFoundTrackInPlaylist to item 5 of ipodTrackData
                end try
                try
                    set rating of eachFoundTrackInPlaylist to item 6 of ipodTrackData
                end try
            end repeat
        end repeat
    end repeat
end tell
Mac Mini G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1 GB RAM, ATI 9200 32MB, Samsung 940BW 19" Widescreen TFT LCD monitor

btw if you don't know how to use applescripts. Open script editor, you'll find it in Applications/Applescript/. Open a new window and copy the code in it and press compile. Save as a script and place in your home folder at ~/Library/iTunes/Scripts, create a Scripts folder if it doesn't exist. Alternatively, save as an application, on opening it will do its magic! Make sure an iPod is mounted in iTunes otherwise an error message will pop up.

Problem with iOS 4.3 Home Sharing with multiple iTunes libraries

I posted this in another thread, but because there seemed to be a number of issues going on there, I decided to start another thread to see if anyone else is having this problem.
I have a Mac Mini and a Mac Pro on my network. My iPad can see the iTunes library on each of them, but not both at the same time. If iTunes is running on both computers when I start the iPod or Videos apps on the iPad, only the Mac Pro library will show up in Shared libraries. To get the iPad to recognize the iTunes library on the Mini, I have to shut down iTunes on both the Mini and the Mac Pro, then start iTunes on the Mini. Naturally it also works if I have iTunes running only on the Mini when I start the iPad up. Anyone else seeing this behavior?

Ok, I think I have tracked down the reason this is happening and I have also found a solution to the problem.
Cause:
If you copy your itunes music library from one machine to another using the finder (copying the directory ~/Music/iTunes) you will have 2 machines sharing the same library ID. This appears to cause the ipad and iphone running ios 4.3 to be unable to distinguish the 2 libraries and it ends up showing just one of them.
Solution:
Use this KB (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451) to force itunes to rebuild your itunes library. This have resolved the problem for me and I can now see all 3 copies of my itunes library at the same time.
OBS!
Be aware that if you follow this solution you and you are syncing a IOS device against the library you are rebuilding the IOS device will do a full re sync since it believes the library to be a new one.
-Ivar

Issues with multiple iTunes libraries!

I recently got asked to add some music to a friend's iPod, so I read how to create a new iTunes library. I did this and it all worked well, only I have lost my own library. The most recent "Previous iTunes Library" I have is from the 28-02-2012, and so I opened this, went through and re-added all the songs I had downloaded after that date to this library. I thought it was all fine but now every time I open up iTunes now it only has songs up until the 28-02-2012! Why is it doing this and how can I fix it! Thanks!

I'm noticing that with iTunes 8, iTunes now doesn't keep separate preferences for multiple library locations, which is really crazy. I wonder if it's a bug or if there's a reason they did that. so when you hold option and launch itunes to get to your other iTunes library, this "other" iTunes library is now using the "old" iTunes library's file location. So if you add music to them, then they get all jumbled together and you don't know what's going where.
I'm thinking this is the cause of what's happening to you. When you "keep music organized" or whatever, who knows where iTunes is putting the stuff now. It's really bad. I'm hoping somebody has a solution, or any ideas.

I have multiple users on my computer with separate iTunes libraries. can we share?

I have multiple users on my computer with separate iTunes libraries. Is it possible to share the libraries? The "share library" preference doesn't seem to work.

Hi b noir, I also have two users on one pc with two different iTunes libraries. But I also want to put them onto an external hard drive so that I can free up some memory on the pc. So I figure I need to consolidate the two users iTunes libraries first before moving to hard drive? But not quite sure how to do that on the iTunes 11? Thanking you in advance!!

Have multiple iTunes libraries on one machine?

Hi,
I want to have multiple iTunes libraries on one machine (with two different hard drives, internal fore mp3s and external for AAC files). One library is composed of mp3s for an iPod, I want the other library to have AAC audio files for burning CDs. I would rather the libraries not be mixed.
I have read the article (#301748) for migrating an iTunes library and am preparing to migrate one of the libraries on to a external hard drive.
I have read about using Libra to maintain two different libraries on one machine. I was wondering if anyone does this and if they have encountered any problems? Is there a better solution?
Thank you,
TPK

It's one thing to want two music libraries on one machine and another to want two music libraries on one user account. For the latter, here's what I've done.
I created folders in my iTunes folder called, say, Main Library Folder and Second Library Folder. (These could be anywhere you find convenient.) I dragged my regular iTunes Library file into the Main Library Folder. Then I opened iTunes and created my second music library. When I finished that, I closed iTunes and dragged the just-created iTunes Library file into the Second Library Folder.
If I want to use my main iTunes library, before opening iTunes I drag an alias (Cmmd-Option-drag) of the iTunes Library file from the Main Library Folder into the iTunes folder. Then, when I open iTunes, iTunes reads my main library file. And of course, it works the same way for the second library.
Of course, you could just shuffle the actual library files into position in the iTunes folder from their holding areas, but I strongly preferred to get myself into the habit of relying on aliases, so I could leave the actual library file alone in their respective folders. You most definitely would not want to accidentally overwrite one of your iTunes Library files.
I'm sure one of the shareware products would do a more elegant job, but this just shows you that it's not a difficult process.
The alternative is to set up separate user accounts to access different libraries on the same machine. This has real benefits and, to me, should be the first option one considers. It's easier on the brain, as it sticks to iTunes' one-user-one-library model, and there's absolutely no risk of getting libraries confused. Fast User Switching on the Mac makes going back and forth between accounts easy. But if you really want to avoid using different accounts, and it's only you that has to keep things straight, the approach of jumping back and forth between different libraries in the same user account should be OK.

How can I share only the same music with multiple iTunes accounts

Hello
I hope someone can help. [I am using Windows Vista (Unfortunately J) and iTunes 10]
I am trying to share the same music library with multiple iTunes accounts. Basically, I want to know if there is a way to automatically upload to other libraries when importing new music into my library, vice versa. [Better information below]
Me, my sister and my dad all use iTunes (on different iTunes accounts), and before now we used to have are own music on our own windows user. Due to many duplicates and a loss of hard drive space I have brought an external hard drive and organised all the music.
It was all going well - I first populated all the music onto my iTunes, exported the library, and then imported it on both the other users. However! Because this is only a copy of the library, when I try to import a new CD, it will not show up on there’s until I “Add File to Library”! Originally I thought about using the same library however we each have are own apps etc, that we don’t want to share.
If you need anymore information please ask!
Matt

Hello roaminggnome
Unfortunately the support is down at the moment, I will have a better look later. I did go though the Apple support previously, however I found nothing that worked.
The first thread I came across was “Home Sharing” however no mater what I did, it did not appear in the iTunes sharing list (I did go though the “Show Sharing Networks” support as well)
Secondly, I saw “Using A Single Library With Multiple Accounts On The Same PC” (Something like that) but all this did was let us share the same music location, if I was to rip extra music, it will not show in there library
Matt

Multiple iTunes Libraries on same computer?

Hi,
My wife, daughter, and I all have ipods, each uses a different computer, my wife and I each use our laptops, and daughter uses the home desktop. Recently, the desktop has crashed and looks like we might need to re-format the drive (i.e. lose everything) and re-install Windows XP. She's got all her music on her iPod but unfortunately, no back up on a CD or DVD. Is there some way to re-create a new library for her from her iPod on to either of our laptops without causing conflicts with our existing iTunes libraries which are totally different. I.E. will the "sync" function work to recreate a library on a hard drive vs. going the other way around as usual.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

To create or access a second (or more) library, hold down the Shift key in Windows when launching iTunes. In the resulting dialogue you will get the option to create a new library or navigate to the other Library.
Note: You can only have one Library open at a time and iTunes will default to the last library opened if you don't use the keyboard command to choose one. The new library will be empty until you add content to it. To get back to your original library you need to close iTunes and open it again while holding down the shift key, this time choose to open an existing library and navigate to its location: Using multiple iTunes libraries -Windows
iTunes will only let you copy your purchases directly from an iPod to the computer, you'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
For everything else (music from CDs, other downloads and including iTunes purchases) there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. You can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
A selection of iPod to iTunes utilities:
TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
SharePod Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod2PC Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
YamiPod Mac and Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
Floola Mac & Windows
iPodRip Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
Music Rescue Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide

Problem with multiple iTunes libraries!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for