Combining iTunes libraries from separate iPads or PCs

My wife and I both use iPads almost exclusively and only keep our old Windows PCs to basically house our iTunes libraries and a large no. of photos. Can I combine both iTunes libraries onto a Macbook Pro either from our iPads or our old PCs? And if so how?

Hello Chet Black1,
Thank you for the question. The article below outlines several methods to transfer your music from your previous computer to your new computer.
Home Sharing is the easiest way to transfer your music from one computer to another, but I recommend reviewing the options available in the table to decide which method would work best for you:
The following table compares the methods to move music from your old computer to your new computer.
Method
Considerations
Home Sharing
The easiest option, as long as your new computer is already connected to the Internet.
External drive
Requires additional hardware but backs up your iTunes library.
Transferring purchases
Fastest, but only moves the content you purchased from the iTunes Store. Also requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod with the content on it.
Windows Migration Assistant
Works best for migrating from an old PC to a new Mac, and transfers more than iTunes.
You can find the steps for each of these methods in the article:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Similar Messages

Combining iTunes Libraries from laptop and desktop--duplicates?

I have been through an iTunes search, but can't seem to find an answer to this question. I want to combine all of the music on my laptop, with my mac-mini iTunes music file (on an external drive). I know I can hook the two together and do an "add to library," but I am running 30 gigs or so on the laptop, and more than 70 on the main computer. Will doing this add two copies of duplicates (which would create a "clean-up" nightmare), or will iTunes recognize and skip the duplicates? There is simply too much time involved not to know in advance. Any help appreciated.
Also, I wrote a year or so ago that I have ITunes start up immediately every tme I reboot and want to know how to turn it off. Other folks said they had the same problem, but no solution was ever offered. Anything new on this?
Thanks--

I found your post because im doing the exact same thing..sort of. I had a mac pro that was ahem taken from me about a year ago. Since then ive been using my macbook laptop for my itunes and my iphone syncing. Now that I have my Mac Pro back, im in the process of merging both to my mac pro and using the mac pro as my "primary" itunes library.
Here is my solution..
1) Make sure both versions of itunes are the same on each computer! Start Itunes, click Itunes>Check for Updates.
2) In Itunes, click File>Display duplicates. Clean up anything that needs it.
3) In Itunes, click File>Library>Organize Library then check the box that says "Upgrade to Itunes media organization." If you have already done this previously, you will only see a grayed out box and a message stating that your media is already organized as a itunes media folder. DO NOT CHECK THE BOX THAT SAYS CONSOLIDATE FILES.
(step 4 is optional, I've been using Itunes for many years and it seems every version they change their folder structure (eg, Audiobooks is now books, etc. also, in the past, the folder was Itunes Music, now with version 9 its Itunes Media) I decided I would start clean with the latest Itunes 9 folder structure so I did exactly that!)
4) In Itunes, click Itunes>Preferences>Advanced. Under Itunes Media Folder Location, change to your new path. for example, mine originally said /users/Geoff/Music/Itunes/Itunes Music. I created a new folder called Itunes Media in the Itunes folder so now mine says: /users/Geoff/Music/Itunes/Itunes Media. Like I mentioned before , the main advantage to this is to have the latest folder structure in itunes 9 and not have a bunch of old folders from previous itunes versions.
5) In Itunes do a File>Library>Organize Library then click the checkbox next to "Consolidate Files". When you hit ok what this does is copies all your music, etc to your new folder that you made in step 4. If you didnt make a new folder in step 4, it will simply just reorganize to the latest itunes 9 folder structure and leave the older itunes folders on your computer. (Im a neat freak so thats why I went with step 4 and made a whole new folder for my Itunes Music) If you did create a new folder called Itunes Media (or whatever you chose to call it) make sure you DELETE the old folder (itunes music or whatever you had originally) or you will have 2 folders with the same things in them, wasting alot of hard drive space.
6) Now you have to make a decision which library you would like to keep. yes, we will be merging, but we need to use ONE of the libraries in itunes. In my case, 75% of my stuff was on my laptop, so I decided to keep its library and use it on my Mac Pro (also, my Iphone is synced to my laptop as well so that was another reason I used that one. If one of the itunes libraries your merging is also used to sync your iphone I recommend using that library. ((just how I did it, YMMV)) For simplicity, lets call the library your going to KEEP the source, and the other copy the destination. Once you have decided which library is going to be the source, create a folder on the OTHER computer's desktop (the destination) and call it "itunes backup".
7) Start up Itunes one last time on the Destination computer and export any playlists you want with the new library. To do this, click the playlist, then File>Library>Export Playlist. When you export, it will ask you what format you would like. I just picked Plain Text. I exported my playlists to my desktop, but you can export them wherever you like.
Also, you need to check the movies, tv shows, podcasts, books and ringtones on each computer and write down a list of things you will need to merge from the destination computer to the new library. (eg, i had a few audiobooks on my destination machine that I didnt have on my laptop. I also had a few tv shows and podcasts on my destination machine I didnt have on my laptop. Since i will be using the library from my laptop on the destination machine, I wrote them down so that I could import them later and not worry about duplicates. (If you dont care about duplicates then I guess you dont need to write anything down and you can sort the dupes later in itunes when your done.)
8) on the destination computer (the one we created the folder on the desktop in the previous step), make sure itunes is NOT running, then open finder and go to the music folder, and then go to the folder Itunes. In this folder you will see a file called iTunes Library. Drag it to the folder you created on the desktop called Itunes backup. Next you will see a file called iTunes Music Library.xml
Drag this file as well to the folder on the desktop called iTunes Backup.
9) Now while still looking in the iTunes folder, you will see either a folder called iTunes Music or a folder called iTunes Media. (depending if you did step 4 or not above). Whichever folder you have, drag it as well to the folder on the desktop called iTunes Backup.
10) now, on the SOURCE machine (the one your going to use the iTunes library from) open finder and go to the Music folder, and then to the iTunes folder. Copy the iTunes folder and everything in it to the destination computer. In my case, since both my computers are on a network, I just copied it to the public folder on the destination computer. You can do this, or use a external harddrive, etc. Just make sure when you copy it to the destination computer, you DONT copy it to the Music folder.
11) After the copy is done, You should now go to the destination computer and go to the iTunes folder you just copied from the Source computer. We now need to copy 2 things (one file and one folder). Inside the iTunes folder drag the file "iTunes Library" to the /music/iTunes folder on the destination machine.
12) Lastly, now drag the folder "iTunes Media" (or iTunes Music) to the /music/iTunes folder on the destination computer.
13) start up itunes and go to iTunes>Preferences>Advanced and make sure the proper path is displayed in the iTunes Folder Media Location (it should be the path we copied the 2 files to, (eg, /music/iTunes.)
At this point, you should have a working copy of iTunes from your SOURCE machine running on the destination machine. next we need to merge the last few things to finish.
14) In iTunes, click File>Add to Library and browse to the folder on your desktop called "iTunes Backup". Inside the iTunes Music folder (or iTunes Media folder) click the music folder and then click choose to import the music.
15) next, if needed, in Itunes, click File>Add to Library and pick any Movies, Tv Shows, Books, etc that you didnt have and import them into your itunes library. If everything was the same on both machines, you dont have to do anything and you can skip this step. But if your like me, and had some things in your destination iTunes library you didnt have in your source, you will need to import them. This is where the list in step 7 comes in handy.
16) lastly, in iTunes, click File>Library>Import Playlist and import any playlists you exported in step 7
17) re download your album art and then the last thing you have to do is delete your music dupes and then your finished. To see a list of dupes, in iTunes, click File>Display Duplicates. You can either manually delete the duplicates (make sure you pick KEEP FILES when it asks if you would like to keep the file or delete it from the hard drive.) or use a 3rd party program like tidy songs or something.
Hope this tutorial was helpful, I spent way too long making it..lol..
And the answer to your second question... to stop auto start of itunes. Try clicking the apple logo in the top left corner, then click System Preferences, then click Accounts, then you will see a "Login Items" tab that shows whats starting up at login. Hope this helps.
If you have any questions or comments let me know, ill follow this thread for awhile to help if you need it.
Message was edited by: What2be1
Message was edited by: What2be1
Message was edited by: What2be1

Combining iTunes libraries from two users. Will this work...

My wife and I have use separate Macs in the past but have lately decided to combine into one iMac and keep our Macbook as a computer either can use. We use the same iTunes account, but she has her purchases, I have mine and we have the stuff we both like. I want to consolidate the two folders into one to get back the space from files that are duplicated. It seems like I could do the following:
1. Import the music from my wife's iTunes library to mine.
2. Delete the files that are duplicates in iTunes (i.e. "check for duplicates" then delete the ones with today's date.
3. Remove (not delete) any imported files with today's date.
At this point, I should have a folder with every song we have, but only the ones I want showing up in my library
4. Open my wife's account account and point her iTunes to the new folder.
Presumably, all the files will be in the same general path location, so her iTunes shouldn't care about whether they were actually the files I had on the iMac or she had on the Macbook (as long as they have the right name and the right location).
Would this then allow us both to maintain our own libraries, but work out of one folder, saving space?
PS It goes without saying that the folder permissions would be set such that we could both Read & Write.

Hi LaVonne;
Yes it will work. I just did the same thing moving my music from my PowerMac Quad to mt brand new MacBook Pro.
Allan

How do you combine 3 different itunes libraries from 3 different computers to one computer?

How do you combine 3 different itunes libraries from 3 different computers to 1 computer?
Can you keep it from creating duplicates? These libraries have some duplicates.
How do you deal with duplicates?
I'm talking 50GB.
All computers are authorized.
THANKS for any suggestions.

You can't.
If accounts could be merged, then everybody could merge their accounts with everybody and there would be no need for anyone to buy anything.

Would like to clear my Itunes from all music and transfer my music and libraries from my ipad to my computer/itunes.

I would like to delete my music on itunes and transfer all music and libraries from my ipad to my computer/Itunes. I´m doing that because I updated Itunes on my computer, didn´t like the new version, delete it, went back to an old version of itunes but now my lists are gone.

Change your password

Can I access my husband's iTunes acct. from my iPad? I have his permission & pass code. We want to keep all music in one place & family accessible.

Can I access my husband's iTunes acct. from my iPad? i have his permission & pass code. We want to keep all music in one place & family accessible.

If you log into his account and download some of his past purchases on your iPad then you risk tying your iPad to his account for 90 days : iTunes Store: Associating a device or computer to your Apple ID
But it looks like that might change when iOS 8 is released in the Autumn (no date has been announced yet) : http://www.apple.com/ios/ios8/family-sharing/
If you have his content in your computer's iTunes library then you could sync it from there instead of risking the 90 days association on your iPad. If you don't then you could copy it from his computer and then sync it to your iPad e.g. copy his music to a flash drive and then add it to your library via File > Add To Library

I just had to have my toshiba laptop hard drive replaced and I am unable to move my itunes library from my ipad back to the laptop. It says it is linked to another library and I can only transfer purchased music etc and not the rest of the library.Help!

I have just had my Toshiba laptop hard drive replaced. This has resulted in all previous content held on the laptop to be lost. I wanted to try and transfer my music library from my ipad to the laptop, but it will not allow me to do so. The message is that the ipad is linked to another computer and it will only allow the transfer of the items purchased on through the ipad and nothing else. Does anyone know if the full library can be transferred back to the computer?

You need to transfer the iTunes Library from the most recent backup you made before the hard drive was replaced.
You can't transfer the full iTunes Library from the iPad back to iTunes.
There are third-party Windows applications that will transfer data from an iOS device, but they don't re-create the iTunes Library exactly as it was before.

How do I move my itunes library from an iPad to my new MacbookAir

how do I move my itunes library from an iPad to my new MacbookAir

Some of the information below has subsequently appeared in a document by turingtest2: Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer was designed for you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself properly backed up against loss. Syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is iTunes Store purchased content.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848 - only media purchased from iTunes Store
For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. Examples (check the web for others; this is not an exhaustive listing, nor do I have any idea if they are any good):
- Senuti - http://www.fadingred.com/senuti/
- Phoneview - http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
- MusicRescue - http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/products/musicrescue/
- Sharepod (free) - http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2 - Windows
- Snowfox/iMedia - http://www.mac-videoconverter.com/imedia-transfer-mac.html - Mac & PC
- iexplorer (free) - http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/ - Mac&PC
- Yamipod (free) - http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/ - PC, Linux, Mac [Still updated for use on newer devices? No edits to site since 2010.]
- 2010 Post by Zevoneer: iPod media recovery options - https://discussions.apple.com/message/11624224 - this is an older post and many of the links are also for old posts, so bear this in mind when reading them.
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141 - dates from 2008 and some outdated information now.
Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/ - Information about use in disk mode pertains only to older model iPods.
Get Your Music Off of Your iPod - http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_Your_Music_Off_of_Your_iPod - I am not sure but this may only work with some models and not newer Touch, iPhone, or iPad.
Additional information here https://discussions.apple.com/message/18324797

Is there any way to get itunes music from my ipad to my ipod without a computer and only 4g?

Lets say you have an ipad (a new one) and an ipod. Thats all you have. The ipad has 4g. You can have access to other small hardware devices like cables and stuff but no other computer like device and no wifi internet.
Is it possible to get itunes music from the ipad and onto the ipod with just this?

Would those work if I am using the 4g wifi hotspot on the ipad to get the music onto an ipod touch? I am willing to give up third party music if this would work. Just not sure if it would work since the 4g wifi has that 50mb restriction

How do I move itunes library from my ipad back to my itunes library in my windows computer ?

How do I move itunes library from my ipad back to my itunes library in my windows computer ? All the songs got transfered by mistake from my windows itunes library to my ipad. All i had wanted to do was to move a select # of songs newly purchased from my ipad to my ipod but I got mixed up. Before i knew it all teh library had been moved to my ipad? HELP!

You don't have to move the songs back into iTunes if you don't want to, the songs are still in iTunes on your computer - you just copied a version of the songs onto the iPad from iTunes.
If you want to remove them from the device itself, just swipe across the song while you are in song list mode in the music app and a red delete button will pop up. You can also tap and hold down on a playlist or a album icon and the X to delete will pop up. It will not work for Genius playlists.
You can also connect the iPad to the computer, launch iTunes, select the iPad on the left side, click on the Music Tab on the right, uncheck all of the music that you want to remove, click on Apply in the lower right corner of iTunes, and that will remove the songs from the iPad.

I've tried everything but can't access iTunes store from my ipad. Apple ID is fine and logged in to iTunes on pc. Still no luck. Anyone any other alternatives? Thx.

I've tried everything but can't access iTunes store from my ipad. Apple ID is fine and logged in to iTunes on pc. Still no luck. Anyone any other alternatives? Thx.

You may think you are connected to the internet, but maybe not. Click on Safari and see if it connects.
Look at iOS Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1398
iPad: Issues connecting to Wi-Fi networks http://support.apple.com/kb/ts3304
iOS: Recommended settings for Wi-Fi routers and access points http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4199
Additional things to try.
Try this first. Turn Off your iPad. Then turn Off (disconnect power cord for 30 seconds or longer) the wireless router & then back On. Now boot your iPad. Hopefully it will see the WiFi.
Go to Settings>Wi-Fi and turn Off. Then while at Settings>Wi-Fi, turn back On and chose a Network.
Change the channel on your wireless router (Auto or Channel 6 is best). Instructions at http://macintoshhowto.com/advanced/how-to-get-a-good-range-on-your-wireless-netw ork.html
Another thing to try - Go into your router security settings and change from WEP to WPA with AES.
How to Quickly Fix iPad 3 Wi-Fi Reception Problems
http://osxdaily.com/2012/03/21/fix-new-ipad-3-wi-fi-reception-problems/
If none of the above suggestions work, look at this link.
iPad Wi-Fi Problems: Comprehensive List of Fixes
http://appletoolbox.com/2010/04/ipad-wi-fi-problems-comprehensive-list-of-fixes/
Fix iPad Wifi Connection and Signal Issues http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwWtIG5jUxE
Fix Slow WiFi Issue https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2398063?start=60&tstart=0
Unable to Connect After iOS Update - saw this solution on another post.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4010130
Note - When troubleshooting wifi connection problems, don't hold your iPad by hand. There have been a few reports that holding the iPad by hand, seems to attenuate the wifi signal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If any of the above solutions work, please post back what solved your problem. It will help others with the same problem.
The Complete Guide to Using the iTunes Store
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/the-complete-guide-to-using-t he-itunes-store/
Can't connect to the iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1368
iTunes: Advanced iTunes Store troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3297
This works for some users. Not sure why.
Go to Settings>General>Date and Time> Set Automatically>Off. Set the date ahead by about a year.Then see if you can connect to the store.
 Cheers, Tom

HT1766 An Apple consultant said I could get rid of itune playlist from my ipad by connecting the cable from my ipad to a computer that does not have songs from itunes in its computer. I was not able to do it. Any suggestions?

How do you get rid of itunes playlist from my ipad? I was told you can sync it back to a computer that does not have any itunes songs. It did not work.

I'm sure I don't completely understand the question.
How to get rid of an iTunes playlist from your iPad? Just delete the items while using iTunes. The next time you sync, they'll be gone from your playlist.

I can't access the itunes store from my ipad mini after the iOS7 update

I can't access the itunes store from my ipad mini after updating the latest iOS7. Does anyone have answers to solving this?

Ive been through various threads on here.
There has been quite a few things said and some people are having luck with.
Reset all your settings works, but only once. when you shut down and open back up same problem.
Ive tried changing how my cookies respond, this doesnt work either.
My app store loads in a second, fastest its ever been.
Ive noticed that when your in settings and click on something eles it takes maybe a second or two before it changes to the next screen something thats never happened on 6
it seems very laggy and slow on somethings and super fast on others
Come on Apple get yer finger out and sort this out soon, its you thats loosing my cash as I cant buy any music!!!
I have an Ipad mini.

How can I access iTunes media from my iPad to my time capsule

How can I access iTunes media from my iPad to my time capsule with out a computer

Really not suitable.. The TC is a dumb hard disk in a router.. it is not a media server..
You can move your itunes library to the TC.. but if you do that.. one day the TC will die and take your library with it.. as well as giving slow response to every network device.. this is really not suitable.

Can I transfer iTunes music from my iPad to a Kindle Fire?

Can anyone tell me how I can transfer purchased iTunes music from an iPad mini to a kindle fire?

Directly - not that I am aware of.
Browse the kindle web site for answers to your question.
Barry

Combining iTunes libraries from separate iPads or PCs

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