1 iTunes library, 2 Computers

Morning/Afternoon forum,
i have a MBP and Mini. I have my iTunes Media on a Drive permanently attached to my Mini and iTunes open and running on my Mini as its at home and is the ho,me server for tunes and movies. The library is too big to drag with me and my MBP.
Can i, when i get home with my MBP and have connected to my Mini via 'Connect As', open iTunes with Alt or Option held down [can never remember which it is] and select that iTunes library that is attached to my Mini? Is there a problem with that?
Assumptions:
i am then using and editing the Mini library and the library xml file that goes with that library. I am not touching the Library, which through iTunes Match should be similar but without everythign downloaded, that is on my MBP?
does it matter 2 computers are looking at 1 iTunes library? Will the Mini update, say, a Movie Title i change via the MBP?

and in addition, if iTunes is open on the headless Mini and i open wih MBP while connected to the Mini with 'Connect As', does that corruopt anything? 2 machiens using 1 iTunes to edit...?

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Ziatron wrote:
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Ziatron wrote:
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eyeinit,
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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93063
This one is for moving all your music using an iPod as a storage drive
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
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Thank you Gerald. That is very helpful.
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Kind regards

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Seth

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I want to also listing to my music on another device at the same time
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How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply and adapt it to your specific situation and equipment resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder (directory) structure, rather than just copying just the song files. By copying the entire ‘iTunes’ folder and all sub-folders, you capture not only the music files, but the all-important ‘iTunes Library.itl’ database file (usually located in the ‘iTunes’ folder), which contains all the data about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). See: What are the iTunes Library files?
Install iTunes on the new computer. Then go back to your old computer and move (copy) the "iTunes" folder which usually resides inside your "…\My Documents\My Music" folder from the old computer to the exact same place (both Drive Letter and complete Path) on the new computer. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will look and behave exactly the same way it did on the old, Play Counts, Ratings, Comments and all!
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1) Use an External Hard Drive (ExHD) to move the complete files and Folder structures from one computer to another (my preferred option). You can clone’ the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure in one very easy step. Also great to have available for complete backups of your Library. External hard drives now run less than $100 for 200-250GBs of storage. See This Link
2) Directly connect the two computers....
- 2a) Connect them through a Router &/or Network
- 2b) Directly connect using an Ethernet cable: Straight for using at least one Mac; or Crossover for PC/PC Instructions here.
- 2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. Example here. There are various types out there (use Google).
....Then copy the files from one computer to the other.
3) Use the iPod as a transfer device, as this extensive Apple link explains. It will be a bit easier if your iPod has a larger capacity than your music collection, otherwise you will need to perform multiple copy/move transfers. This well written process also works fine while using any other data transfer medium (ExHD, Flash Drive, DVD, CD, Zipp, Jazz, etc.).
4) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7GBs each) with your music data files and folder structure, and load them onto the new computer. Re-writable DVDs are more cost effective (if your DVD drive can manage these types).
5) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #4 above and load the files and folders on the new computer. Re-writable CDs are more cost effective (if your CD drive can manage these types).
6) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB - 4GB) to move the files and folders. Best if the flash drive is larger than your Library, otherwise you will need multiple copy/move transfers.
These are links to various additional instructions on performing the transfer (read them all, but some listed steps may not be required depending on your specific situation):
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

My iphone / mac no longer recognize they are the same Itunes library. When I try to sync my phone now, it wants to erase everything and replace it with the computers itunes library. I have purchased items on the phone I don't want to erase

My iphone / mac no longer recognize they are the same Itunes library. When I try to sync my phone now, it wants to erase everything and replace it with the computers itunes library. I have purchased items on the phone I don't want to erase them from the phone. The phone backs up fine, but won't sync.

File>Devices>Transfer Purchases from "iPhone" and then sync.

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