Can two computers share same ITunes library over Airdisk?

Hi all,
I have a Macbook and a PowerPC G5 and a Drobo (external hard drive) hooked up to my AEBS with only ITunes music stored on it.
I want to be able to edit and browse my ITunes library from both my G5 (which I can already do) and my MacBook (which I can't). When I try to change my ITunes library location from within my MacBook, nothing shows up. It's a blank library, even though I can edit and browse the Drobo (as an Airdisk) through the finder. How can I edit and browse my ITunes library from my Macbook if my G5 is also using the same library? Two more quick points...
1) I have tried the "sharing" feature and don't want to use it. It doesn't allow editing of my library and won't show cover art.
2) The above situation happens whether my G5 ITunes is open or closed.
Thanks everybody for your help.

Ziatron wrote:
Yes, two computers can share the same library.
I periodically copy my iTunes library from my Mac Pro to the Mac Mini.
They aren't using a single library. Each computer is using its own copy and you have two sets of library files. It can certainly be done that way but if between copy sessions you edit a bit of each library then it is a bit of a muddle trying to make sure your versions are synchronized with each other. For example, ratings are stored only in the .itl file, so if you rate a song on your second computer it will get lost the next time you copy over from your first.

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Can two computers share one iTunes library?

I am trying to map out a new plan for how we store and play music via iTunes at home. Currently, our music is stored on a windows PC and played via iTunes and an airport express. I recently bought a new macbook and am considering an airport extreme with the hope that I can store the music on a hard drive attached to the airport extreme and play music from either computer. Can the two computers share one library? I already have home sharing turned on and can access my library from the macbook, but if possible, I would prefer having the hard drive separate of the desktop. Any reason this won't work?
Thanks!
-JDJ

Ziatron wrote:
Yes, two computers can share the same library.
I periodically copy my iTunes library from my Mac Pro to the Mac Mini.
They aren't using a single library. Each computer is using its own copy and you have two sets of library files. It can certainly be done that way but if between copy sessions you edit a bit of each library then it is a bit of a muddle trying to make sure your versions are synchronized with each other. For example, ratings are stored only in the .itl file, so if you rate a song on your second computer it will get lost the next time you copy over from your first.

Can two computers use same iTunes library on a network drive?

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My media library is on a network drive attached to my Airport Extreme. Right now I share the library with my desktop Mac. I can share fine, but I would like to be able to add, delete, and make other changes in the media library from both computers. The two computers would not be accessing the library at the same time as I am the sole user of both.

I appreciate your input and I think you're right about this being impossible. But just to clarify, you say I can't "have multiple machines accessing the same music files from a shared location." I can have multiple machines accessing the same music files from a shared location--I just can't have them accessing the same music files simultaneously--which may have been what you meant. For my situation, I think it will be less work to just quit iTunes on my server when I want to run it on my client (using Chicken of the VNC). It's not ideal, but it's less time-consuming than periodically syncing three computers.
Again, thanks for the input.

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http://support.apple.com/kb/PH1453

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Hello henrik100,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Home Sharing in iTunes is designed to let you easily share your iTunes media libraries between up to five computers in your household.
For more information, take a look at:
iTunes: Setting up Home Sharing on your computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4620
Understanding Home Sharing
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3819
Have a nice day,
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I have iTunes on my desktop PC, but now I want to use it on my laptop.
I've downloaded iTunes on the laptop, but when I log in to my account, none of my music appears.
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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!
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 &/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.).
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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.
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hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
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Geez.. What the article describes sounds like what I have in mind, but it looks like some pretty serious permissions tweaking.
The one line that concerns me is this:
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My wife and I are typically both always logged in, and we use Fast User Switching to move back-and-forth between accounts. So, if one of us has to close iTunes before the other can tinker with it, that kinda defats the whole purpose.
Am I reading that right?
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Chip

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Can two computers share same ITunes library over Airdisk?

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