Authorizing iTunes on my new iMac

I'm certain this has been asked before, but I couldn't find it. If so, I apologize for the repeat question. Anywho, this is my situation.
I have an iPhone, many songs and apps on it. I made the leap from PC to an iMac today, now we all know what happens when we try to sync up an i device to another itunes account, all info goes bye bye. I assume authorizing this Mac would avoid that (Am I wrong in that?) but I'm not even given the option to authorize this Mac. I go into my account, and all the info is there. I can edit things like payment option, and look up purchase history. What I cannot do, is authorize the Mac. There's not button there at all to allow me. For reference, I only have two computers linked to that account (The same computer I believe, I was messing around earlier today on the PC) so I'm not maxed out. So my question is, what do I do?
Any help/advice given is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance.

*we all know what happens when we try to sync up an i device to another itunes account, all info goes bye bye. I assume authorizing this Mac would avoid that (Am I wrong in that?*
Authorising a computer simply allows you to transfer and use your iTunes Store purchases on it, it has nothing to do with syncing a device to a different computer that has either a different or empty library. Syncing to a different library will erase the device and replace it's content with whatever is in iTunes. If you haven't already done so, you can copy your library from the PC to the Mac. These pages may be of some help:
How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)
How to move your iTunes library from Windows to Mac
Networking with a Windows PC
*I'm not even given the option to authorize this Mac*
Open iTunes and on the Finder bar go to Store>Authorise Computer.

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Problems with transferring iTunes Library to new iMac

I am having a problem with transferring my iTunes library to my new iMac. I have read many of the suggestions posted in this forum along with numerous articles on other sites. I have not seen anyone describe my exact problem.
When I got my new iMac, I used Migration Assistant to transfer everything (files, applications, settings, etc.) from my old iMac to the new iMac. On my old iMac, the iTunes music folder (i.e., the actual mp3s) are on an external HD, while the iTunes Library file (the database and xml files) were in the /user/Music/ folder on the old iMac.
After the Migration Assistant was done, the /user/music/ folder and the library files were copied to the new iMac, but the iTunes music folder was not. It is still on the external HD.
If I open iTunes on the new iMac, iTunes shows me all of my songs, but if I play one, I get the "song can't be found; do you want to find it" error. In iTunes preferences on the new iMac, the "iTunes music folder location" is the new iMac.
I have the 2 iMacs connected by a firewire cable, but neither iMac recognizes the other computer as being on the same network. That is, in Finder on the new iMac, I cannot see the external HD of the old iMac.
I can't change the library location on the old iMac, because the new iMac does not appear in Finder or in the "Change Music Folder Location" dialog box.
I want to move the music folder (the actual mp3s) from the external HD of the old iMac to the INTERNAL HD of the new iMac. I don't need to keep them on the old IMac, as I will be selling that computer. Of course, I want to keep all my playlists, artwork, etc from the old library.
Does anyone have a suggestion?
Thanks.

Never mind. Figured it out. I attached external HD to new iMac and consolidated. Duh.

Can't get itunes with my new imac

can't get itunes with my new imac

If you want to transfer your iTunes Media (i.e. Music, Movies, Podcasts, Apps, etc.) you can just replace the contents of your old Mac's iTunes media folder (User-->Music-->iTunes) with your new Mac's iTunes media folder using an external hard disk, dropbox, etc.

Transfer purchased itunes items to new iMac without authorizing?

Hello. Hopefully this is in the right place to post this question.
I will hopefully be purchasing a new iMac in september to replace my macbook.
My question is this:
I have purchased items from the iTunes store, but no longer have access to the account. Is there a way to transfer these files (or the entire library) to the new computer and still access them without having to authorize the new computer through iTunes? What I basically need is a way to be able to use the files on the new computer, and not use them on the old computer, without actually reauthorizing, since I no longer can get access to the account.
I'm not sure how migration assistant works, or if there is even a way I can do this, but I thought I'd ask.
My only other option, I suppose is to burn all 900 or so songs to CD, so that the protections don't transfer over. But thats an immense amount of time, money, and then more time renaming all the tracks (I'm a stickler for that).
Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks!

We don't know the security questions my father put on, and can't access his email either.
I guess since you can de-authorize a computer, and then reauthorize a new one, I wasn't sure if it was possible to somehow transfer authorization, without needing the password, maybe using migration assistant. But, I assume thats just for the actual files.
Anyway, thanks for your prompt reply.

Transfering PC iTunes Library To New iMac

Hi Everyone
I am very very new to macs and have been a pc user for the last 10 years. I have recently bought the new iMac and was wondering how to transfer all my music from the PC to it??
I sort of have an idea how to do it but I do not want to lose any of my playlists as I am a DJ and have somewhere in the region of forty. I have started by coying the entire iTunes folder on my PC harddrive onto a portable harddrive. Is all I have to do is connect this to the Mac and then copy the music files into iTunes and then go to consolidate library which will make a copy onto the Mac?? It seems simple enough but is this how to do it and will this keep all my playlists??
Any help is great
Al.

How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply it to your specific situation and resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder 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 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!
NOTE: It is usually safer moving files between computers with the same version of iTunes!!
Here's a list of methods to copy and move your music files from one computer to another:
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
2b) Connect using a Direct (w/Mac) or Crossover (PC/PC) Ethernet cable (See: http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/3001.html)
2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. See: here as an example. There are many out there (Google).
Copy 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.
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

Sync issues after moving entire iTunes library to new iMac

I have a question regarding moving an itunes library to a new computer and what happens to the devices that were synced with it.
I moved a clients entire iTunes folder from the user-music folder on one iMac to another iMac, replacing it's itunes folder.
I then opened iTunes and it read the library just fine, all content intact.
The issue was with syncing the ipods that were originally connected to the previous computer.
I thought that I could just hook up their iPod to the new iMac, since it is essentially the same iTunes folder/content/data and all should continue syncing just fine. Nope.
The ipod (touch) would show 'syncing' yet no data would move between it and the new iMac.
Same thing with their Apple TV - it was originally being synced with the older iMac.
I had hoped, once moving the entire itunes folder to the new imac, that itunes would just go on talking with the Apple TV. Not the case.
So far, the only thing I can do is to do a 'restore' on the ipod touch, then treat it like a new ipod and sync it with the new computer.
I haven't dealt with the Apple TV issue yet - it would not be fun to erase the entire contents of the apple tv, then resync with the new imac. Lots of data to move around - but perhaps this is the only way?
Kind of a bummer. Is this correct?
It never gave me the 'this ipod is being synced with another computer/library' message either. It 'seemed' like it was going to work as I had hoped.
I looked all over the computer, preferences folders, etc. to see if I could find something that associated the ipod with a particular library. I did locate the ipod backups folder in the application support folder and moved it over to the new computer too.
I've always moved client's itunes library from their old computer to new computer without issues - I don't remember their being an issue with previously synced devices like iPods/iphones/Apple TV's.

You didn't mention whether or not you authorized the new computer in iTunes. If not, do that and then sync the iPod. The iPod will recognize that this is a new computer and will ask you if you want to proceed - in this case, you want to do exactly that.

Authorizing iTunes songs on new computer

I recently purchased a new iMac and then upgraded to iTunes 7. Now when I plug in my iPod it tells me it can't copy 92 tunes to the iPod because they are not authorized on this computer. The songs were all legally purchased and I deauthorized my old computer (and I never had 5 devices anyway).
For the life of me I can't figure out how to get the tunes copied onto the iPod. Help!

Thanks for the hint KoDor.
I got the same problem just upgrading to iTunes 7.0.2 from 6 and solved it in the way the article suggested. However, the process needed to be done a couple of times before all of the files were transferred.
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Syncing to iTunes library on new iMac

Having just bought a new iMac I connected up my iPod which was immediately recognised by ITunes which opened. Unfortunately it says that it can only transfer the purchased items as the iPod is linked to another Library - presumably the one on my old PC. How do I reconcile this and avoid having all my songs erased during a 'sync'?

Thank you for your response! Here is how I had my system set up. I found a link to this in the chain from Zevoneer:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
After re-reading my initial post, I realize I was probably not clear enough about what I wanted to do with the music files on my external drive. This is where I have been operating my iTunes from, so everything is there. The only thing that isn't there as a result of my failed backup software is the backup of HD\Users\Me\Music\iTunes folder with the all important iTunes Library and iTunes Music Library.xml files. In other words, I've not only operated my iTunes from my external drive, but was (key word there) performing full system backups to this drive as well. Since the back up (what I need for iTunes Library files) is not current, I think all I can do here is put the pieces back together some other way. I will loose things like artwork and playlists, but my content should all be there, correct? I see it when I browse the external drive folders. My content consists of music and movies ripped from CD/DVD from my own collection, music, movies, and TV shows purchased from the iTunes store, and music purchased from other music stores as well as music I created myself in Garage Band and mp3's from other devices. Here are my more specific questions:
1. To put my content from my external drive into iTunes, do I just copy everything from the external into the internal iTunes music folder?
2. Is there something I need to do from here to rebuild my two Library files?
Then I assume I would need to repeat the steps in the previously mentioned KB article to get my "mechanical" set up back where I have my music files on my external drive only.
3. What, if anything will I need to do at the iTunes store in terms of registering/de-registering devices/computers? Since this is the same computer, my initial thought is nothing. I have a feeling though that even though it is the same exact hardware except for the new HDD, with a re-installed operating system, iTunes Store might think this is a new machine? Will I have to do anything specific to accomodate songs I brought in from my own CD's vs songs I purchased from the iTunes store? Will my iPod be OK as far as being registered on my account and later syncs with my rebuilt iTunes? I'll probably avoid syncing it as long as I can since I will loose my playlists once I do.
I read your message at the bottom about importing the contents of the media folder from the external drive, but don't see where to do that in iTunes. Do you mean to just copy the files from the external to the music folder on the internal? I'm running iTunes 10.1.1 (4) on Snow Leopard 10.6.5 if that helps. Regardless, thanks for taking the time to respond. I've already learned quite a bit more than I had before! Thanks!

Convert music from USB-drive to iTunes on a new iMac

Hi, I just got a new iMac, and I used Windows before.
I have a lot of Music on a USB-drive and I want to know how to convert it to iTunes.
Should I just drag and drop it to iTunes? or should I create a folder on the mac, move the files to the folder and then drag it to iTunes (like Windows)
Thanks for the help!

Open the iTunes preferences and check to see whether it's set to copy files to the iTunes Media folder when they're added to the library. If so, just dragging it to iTunes is enough.
Note that the Mac OS X version of iTunes won't import unprotected WMA music.
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Why can't I open iTunes on brand new iMac?

My wife has a brand new iMac running OS X Lion. She already has an iTunes account which she accesses on a year old iPad. She can not access her itunes library or even get the page to open on her iMac. Going to Finder - Applications, shows iTunes as one of her apps but it will not open. The iTunes icon is on her task bar but all it does is bounce when clicked on. The bar at the top of the window has switched to itunes ( showing controls- File, View, Edit etc) but no page opens. We are both newbies, are we missing something obvious?

Since it's brand new I'd call AppleCare and let them walk you through it. They will have you try things and you can give immediate feedback and they will take you to the next step. That would take us too long here. Apple's service is very good.

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I have just bought a new iMac. My iTunes library is on an external hard drive. What's the best way of moving this library onto my new mac so that iTunes recognises it?
Thanks for any advice
Rob

Rob,
Put/copy (drag and drop) the files into the Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder on your iMac. Be sure to copy the iTunes Library and iTunes Music Library.xml files as well.
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ITunes default computer - new iMac will not back up APP's from iPhone 3GS

Hi all,
I have had an iPhone 3gs since Feb and it sync'd to my Windows laptop fine, but this laptop died recently and I could not deathorise the computer before it did. I now have a brand new iMac and have installed iTunes, it will recognise my iPhone and Sync's calender and contacts but it will not sync my App's from my as it says my iPhone has another default computer, I can see them in iTunes but they are grey'd out. Before my laptop died I restored it to factory settings so even if I could get into it iTunes is not on there anymore - any help appreciated in helping me be able to sync my app's will be appreciated! Thanks, Matt

Iphone will sync itunes content to one and only one computer. When you sync to another it will erase the current itunes content from the iphone and replace with content from the new computer.
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I have a new iMac and plan to migrate manually all my iTunes information from an older Mac. I don't belive the iPhone backup files will be coming over.
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Thoughts apprecaited!

Why do you need a new account?
Use the same account on both.
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Authorizing Itunes account on new computer

I downloaded the newest Itunes on my new computer. Transferred my old itunes library from my old computer onto the new itunes on my new computer. I signed in and authorized the new computer. Not all but maybe half of my purchased songs mainly ones that I didn't purchase recently are not playing and are showing the pop-up to authorize and keep poppping up even after the fact of authorizing. I have spent two hours uninstalling/installing/authorizing/deauthorizing and even tired trouble-shooting from past Apple archives on this issue such as user/family controls in the control panel. Can anyone please help me?

I confirmed that this only effects my purchased songs from 2008 and earlier which makes it even stranger. My Apple ID has never changed.

TS3512 I'm having trouble authorizing iTunes on my new macbook pro due to authorization on computers I no longer have. How do I deauthorize laptops and desk tops I no longer have?

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Sign into your account in iTunes - from that page you should be able to deauthorise ALL 5 authorised computers - supposedly you can do this once a year.
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Authorizing iTunes on my new iMac

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