40000 files and 600 playlists need moving to a new computer

Question

I'm overwhlemed with internet advice and it's all a bit too general. I need specific advice on transferring 40,000+ tracks and 600+ playlists to a new computer.
Old setup:
40,000+ tracks on an external hard drive (so all files are recognised as "F:\..."). Roughly half are ticked for transfer to my iPod.
600+ playlists on the laptop's hard drive ('C:\'). Most tracks within the playlists are ticked for transfer to my iPod but some aren't.
The laptop is ancient and simply can't fit the 300GB of files onto the main hard drive in order to "consolidate" as detailed on the forums.
Windows XP (but Windows 8.1 on new laptop)
Version 11.3 of iTunes is being used.
There is room on the new laptop's hard drive to fit the 300GB of files but I'm concerned this will change the path name of all the files to "C:\..." and therefore this may create a problem. So, ideally, I want to continue to use the external hard drive.
So, what's the best way of setting up iTunes on my new laptop and making sure I can use my external hard drive and everything working without a hitch on my new laptop?
Is there a specific order I need to do things in (with regards to installing iTunes on the new laptop, plugging the hard drive in for the first time, moving my playlist xml file, and anything else)?
How do I ensure that everything that is ticked stays ticked and everything that's unticked stays unticked (as I don't fancy having to go through unticking 20,000+ tracks if everything gets transferred as ticked)?
How do I ensure that the playlists are populated (and ticked/unticked) rather than just empty titles?
Ideally I don't want to it through Home Sharing as I think this will just populate my new hard drive rather than me just wanting to use my existing external hard drive.
Help please. Please be specific with what order I need to do things in as I'm guessing the order will be vital.

Answer 1

Migrate an iTunes library from one computer to another
These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
Method 1
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
Method 2
Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one, with ratings, play counts, playlists etc. preserved. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
I'd normally recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library and unlike copying with Windows Explorer the process can be resumed if it is interrupted and it will continue to the next item if there are any read/access errors.
Note if you have iOS devices and haven't moved your contacts and calendar items across then you should create one dummy entry of each in your new profile and iTunes should  merge the existing data from the device.
If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See Make a split library portable.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library or a backup then then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
If you can give me some more details on the location of the active .itl file, and the location of the media folder as defined under Edit > Preferences > Advanced I can turn the general advice into something specific.
tt2