Copying Playlists/Count/Ratings to new PC

I have copied over music files to a new computer, but I have made an error as the playlists, count, ratings etc have not been transferred.
Is there a way I can extract just that information from my old PC and copy it to the new one, or would I have to re-do the entire copy process (and try and do it properly !) ?
Thanks,
Ed

I tried this, but I have made an error somewhere along the way.
When I dragged and dropped the entire iTunes folder to the 'My Music' folder on my new PC it showed all the files were there, but they didnt appear as part of the (new) iTunes library. I tried changing the path to ensure it was looking in the right place (using the Browse) and it seemed all OK, but nothing was showing up still. In the end I dragged the folder directly in to the Library area in iTunes itself. This had the effect, as described, of adding the music, but not all the attached information.
I am also wondering if I actually did 'gather' all that information when I first dragged and dropped from my (old) iTunes folder to the (disk enabled iPod).
I am essentially now looking for a quick-fix (I have 60gB of music so its a time consuming process to try and repeat the entire copy properly. I am not averse to doing that, and may well attempt it if there is no other way, but if there is a way of doing it, I'd like to know about it. Conversely, if anyone knows for absolute certain that it CANNOT be done, then I'd like to know as at least then I know where I stand.
Thanks again
Ed

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I had to install a new hard drive because my old hard drives boot files became corrupted, and i want to get all of my music files off the old hard drive and regain all my play counts/ratings/playlists

Greetings everyone
as the title says, ive had to install a new hard drive and i want to transfer my old itunes library onto the new drive, maintaining all playlists/play counts/ratings etc, album artwork if possible. The old hard drive is installed as a slave drive and is completely acessible, but due to the boot files being corrupted i cannot use it as the main drive and therefore operate my old itunes. Also, my ipod no longer contains my music library as itunes synced without my permission and wiped it.
The only thing i have tried is copying all of my old music files from the old drive by selecting 'add folder to library' and then the old drive, then replacing the new itunes library.itl file with the one from my old itunes. This restores all my playlists and playcounts but when i try to play any of the songs it says that the files could not be found, and i dont fancy locating 8500 music files individually!
Thankyou for taking the time to read my post, any help will be greatly appreciated.

Ah, my reply was based on the assumption that you had a default installation of iTunes.
i.e you had all your music in the iTunes media folder inside your iTunes folder.
If your iTunes folder is so small compared to the amount of music you have, you must have a different arrangement.
This complicates you situation considerably.
iTunes can cope with moving around as long as all the music is in the iTunes media folder, not not if it isn't.
Your first step should be to get iTunes working on the old drive. This will involve editing the xml library file so that the drive letter is correct and then rebuilding the library from the xml file.
Then you will need to consolidate your library which moves everything into the iTunes media fodler. After that you will be able to use my first suggestion.
Step 1
Find the iTunes folder on the old drive and copy the two library files somewhere else so you can find them again. That's iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Library.xml.
Now open the copy of iTunes Library.xml with WordPad.
Look for lines starting:
Location
These contain the paths to tracks.
You will need to use a find/replace to change the drive letter so that it is correct.
Make sure that you include enough in the "find" so that you only change the right thing.
Maybe /c:/ and replace with /d:/ or whatever.
After that, tell iTunes to use the library on the old drive with a shift key start.
Hold down the shift key and start iTunes, keep holding the shift key until you are prompted to choose a library. Navigate to the iTunes folder on the old drive and choose iTunes Library.itl.
Then use the method in the following article to rebuild your library;
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451
Unfortunately the date added will be today for all tracks.
If iTunes works correctly after this, consolidate your library
File>>Library>>Organize>>consolidate
This copies all tracks into to iTunes media folder and could create a problem if you do not have disk space so don't do it if you are unsure about free disk space.
Check that iTunes works OK and then use the first method.
Message was edited by: polydorus

Playlists and ratings did not transfer after copying to new pc. Any suggestions on what I may have done wrong?

Playlist and ratings did not tranfer from old pc to new pc. Followed Apples guidlines on the move of the "iTunes Music" folder. Any suggestions??

Did you export the old Library (xml) and then manually import it to the new PC?

I imported my itunes folder from an external drive on a freshly wiped computer. My playlists and ratings did not copy over. how can I fix this?

i imported my itunes library from a backup drive after i reinstalled windows on my machineby copying the itunes folder from the backup to the my music folder on my c drive. when i opened itunes and imported the library the playlists and ratings were missing. Is this normal itunes behavior? hoow can i fix this?

Did your backup include the iTunes Library.itl file that is the core of an iTunes Library, and if so have you restored it either to the default library location for your profile, or to another folder and then redirected iTunes to look to that folder for a library? Normally all you need do is backup the entire iTunes folder from the old profile's Music folder, then restore the iTunes folder into the new profile's Music folder.
tt2

How to copy playlist in itunes on PC to new ipad

I have several playlists in my Itunes library on my PC. How can I take just one playlist and copy it over to a new iPad?

Just select that one playlist and - only that one playlist - to sync . You can select the content that you want to sync to the iPad in each tab of the iTunes window in the right - while the iPad is connected to your PC and with iTunes running.
Just select your iPad on the left side under devices, click on the music tab, click on the playlist that you want to sync - go into every other tab and choose the content that you want - make sure the headings have been selected as well - i.e. Sync Music, Sync Apps, and so on. After you have made all of your selections, click on Apply in the lower right corner of iTunes.

HT3819 How can I transfer eveything (including playlists and play counts) to a new computer?

How can I transfer eveything (including playlists and play counts) to a new computer? Also, I am using PC.

Type "move itunes library" into the google search bar.

Copying Playlists to new PC/Laptop

Hello,
My old laptop died and I have just replaced it. I was able to restore all my music on the new laptop from a backup. I have copied over the entire contents of my iTunes folder(s) over and added them in. All the music and subsequent playlists appear in the new iTunes now. However, although they play just fine from the regular "Music" folder, none of the songs appear in any of the other self-created playlists. The lists are all there; They're just empty.
What did I do wrong and how can I fix without having to manually recreate them all one-by-one?
Thank you in advance.

See if this helps "How to backup and restore playlists" http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93763

I have a new ipod nano to replace a previous one. I can't copy over my old playlists on to the new ipod. have tried selecting the playlists I want to sync but when I click sync , nothing happens

I have a new ipod nano to replace a previous one. I can't copy over my old playlists on to the new ipod. have tried selecting the playlists I want to sync but when I click sync , nothing happens

You may refer to this tutorial, it's about how to fix iTunes sync problem with iPod. Hope it helps. Feel free to email me if you need further help.

Put H.Drive with iTunes onto new computer...lost playlist and ratings

My main computer that had iTunes on it crashed the other day, my motherboard was fried. So I put the hard drive with the iTunes into another computer. The iTune files are not corrupted, but I have lost my playlist and ratings.
Is there a way to recover my old playlist and ratings?

Yes there may be.
iTunes operates as a database of information for your music files. The actual music files are stored on your PC, not within iTunes. iTunes keeps absolute references of the music file location and other information in its database file. This allows iTunes to use music files from any location on the PC: different directories/folders on the main HD, another internal drive, an external drive, or a network drive (or any combination of the above).
Each song reference has a specific and hardcoded location (both drive letter & path) so iTunes can find and play (or sync) it. Move the file, change the path, re-map the drive it is on, shut down or remove the Drive, and iTunes will lose the file (giving you the '!' of a ‘Broken Link’). Lose, move or corrupt the ‘iTunes Music.itl’ file and your complete Library will ‘vanish’.
If you delete, corrupt, or otherwise lose your ‘iTunes Library.itl’ file, you will end up with a ‘blank’ Library within iTunes. Nine times out of ten, your underlying music files are still on the PC. They can be ‘re-Added’ via the File==>Add Folder/File menu command, but you will lose some of the music meta-data. Recovering your Library via backup copies of the iTunes database file, or from importing the XML file is always preferable.
By your placing the previous C: drive (I'm assuming) into another PC now reading it as the H: drive, iTunes is either looking at a blank Library database file, or reading the old one, but looking for the music on the C: drive where it was before (I'll guess the former).
IF you can put all the music on the C: drive into the exact same path as it was previously
AND you can place a copy of your previous ITL database file into the '..\My Music\iTunes' folder on the C: drive
THEN when you open iTunes, it should restore your complete Library.
Post back if you have questions or if you need to clarify your exact HD situation (I may have misread your meaning...).

How can I copy playlists from i pod to i tunes library on new computer

I bought a new computer and had the contents of my old system transferred. So my i tunes library is on my new computer but none of my playlists. My playlists are still on my i pod. How can I use my ipod to get my playlists back into my i tunes library on my computer?

Sorry, may I ask, are you running Mac or Windows and which version of iPod?
If you want to transfer playlist from your iPod to the new Computer, you need 3rd party software, here is an earlier post by iSmn
https://discussions.apple.com/message/1531866#1531866
But since you got your old system transferred, this mean that your library and your playlist are in the new Computer.
So you got to point the iTunes to where your old iTunes library is, here is the link for Migrating the iTunes library in your Mac, but if you arre using Windows, there is a link there for Windows System..
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449?viewlocale=en_US
Good Luck! and have a nice day.

How to restore playlists and ratings after hard drive format

Several people have reported problems restoring paylists and ratings after reformating a hard drive. Here is what worked for me and what did not.
I had to reformat my hard drive. Before doing that I exported my playlists from itunes to another hard drive as an xml file. I also copied the folder with all my songs to another drive. (Also of course had it backed up on DVDs.)Then I copied the itunes library files (see url http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732) to anoher drive.
After reformating my hard drive and installing the lastest verion of ITunes, I copied the actual songs back into a subfolder in my music folder. I then told iTunes to import the subfolder with the actual music. That resulted in a restored library that lacked playlists and ratings.
Don't do this
I purchased Anapod ($30.00) because its web page said (http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/):
"Anapod CopyGear is an easy-to-use, compact utility for copying music tracks, playlists, podcasts, photos, and videos from your iPod back to your PC."
Well, I did transfer 104 playlists back to my iTunes library through the Anapod backup function. However, the transfer also put more than 20 gigs of duplicate songs into the library. All of the songs listed in the playlists were duplicated in iTunes. I could find no way in Anapod to simply copy the ratings and the playlists. Anapod documentation was outdated. For example the online help pages said that playlists could not be backed up. This was confusing because I had just done that.
"In a future release we will be adding the ability to backup your iPod playlists. This will allow you to generate backup files of your iPod playlists on the computer. These files will not be usable on your computer though. They can only be used to restore playlists at a later time on your iPod (assuming it still carries all the audio files referred to in that playlist)." This text is from url http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/support/tome/tx2pc.php#5.1.2
I sent requests to Anapod for help today, but they have not been answered yet. Docs truly did not seem to help. Would have been good if there was a pdf file rather than just an online help html file that seemed outdated.
This worked for me:
I ended up having iTunes wipe out the entire library because of all the dups Anapod made. (Made sure that iTunes only wiped out library and did not delete actual songs from hard drive. Then I had iTunes import my subfolder with songs again. That brought me back to where I was before wasting money and much time on Anapod.
After I had my iTunes library up (without ratings and playlists and after finding Anapod did not meet my needs.
1. I imported the xml file to which I had exported playlists before reformating hard drive. That gave me the playlists back although an error message said some items not copied because the music tracks listed in playlists were not in my iTunes library. --Possibly I deleted songs after playlists were downloaded some time ago to iPod. Importing the xml file is probably not necessary because of what I did below.
2. Quit iTunes
3. Because my song ratings were still missing, I then moved the iTunes library files made by the new version of iTunes into a different folder.
4. Then I put my old version 4 library files into the place where the library files should be.
5. Then I crossed my fingers and restarted iTunes. It took awhile to start and said it was updating my library files. Now I have back most or all of my playlists and ratings.
If problems develop, I will probably wipe out iTunes library and use Anapod to move everything from my iPod into a folder and tell iTunes to import that folder. That approach might avoid the dups that Anapod makes when restoring playlists to iTunes.
So my message is keep your actual songs backed up somewhere (such as DVD's and anotehr hard drive) and keep a duplicate copy of your library files somewhere not on your hard drive. With these items you should be able to restore iTunes library to its former status.
Sorry for the length of this message. Hope it helps someone.

The simple version of above:
iTunes Files to Backup (anytime you make additions or changes to the Music or Library that you want to retain)
1) All music files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
3) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
4) Any XML playlist files created for Playlist retention
5) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
6) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”

How do I move my PlayLists from old to new Mac?

Just got a new Mac with Lion on it.
I have moved my iTunes Library collection over from old computer to new one.
But, how can I move all my old 'PlayLists' from my other machine to my new one as I don't want to spend days re-making them all?
Thanks

The iTunes Library.itl file is a database of the songs in your library and the playlists you've created. Some song-specific data is saved in this file. If you delete the file, iTunes creates a new, empty copy when you open the application, but any playlists, song ratings, comments, or other information you created is lost.
Find the file on your old Mac and copy it to your new Mac.
Read this for details: What are iTunes library files: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

How to copy playlists form ipod classic into iTunes 12

I need help transferring my playlist into my iTunes 12 library. My computer crashed and I was only able to get my music library re-installed in iTunes but my playlists did not show up. Does anybody know how to copy playlists from my I-pod classic into the iTunes 12 .

I have two scripts for recovering data from devices; ImportDevicePlaylists to import the playlists, and SyncStats to import the ratings and play/skip counts/dates.
The user tip Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device has more information on recovering content from devices, but if you have all of the media then the scripts above will probably cover everything that else than can usefully be recovered, though you should still backup and then restore iOS devices.
See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy to ensure you have a full backup of your library in future.
tt2

Is it possible to transfer library information such as play counts, ratings

I've learned how to transfer my music files to a new PC, but is it possible to also transfer library info such as play counts and ratings? I am moving my music from an old XP system to a Vista system. I would like to keep all my play counts, ratings etc if possible. I believe I can copy the library file but will it be a problem if the path is different (in XP it's My Documents/My Music where in Vista it's Documents/Music without the "My"). Any help would be greatly appreciated!

There are numerous posts about this in the forum. Here is an Apple article decribing how to do it using an iPod, but the method is essentially the same using an external HD.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
It is generally better to start your own topic, rather than respond to an old post like this. The original poster is unlikely to be around after so long.

I want to have my iTunes play lists and play counts on my new MacBook Air

I want to have my iTunes play lists and play counts on my new MacBook Air transferred over from my old (4 years and dying) MacBook Air.
Thanks for any and all help.

Copy the entire iTunes folder including the iTunes library file from your old Mac to the same Music folder on your new Mac. Then down the Option key while launching iTunes and select the copied iTunes folder. That should get you all your playlists, playcounts etc.; those are stored in that iTunes library file.
Regards.

Copying Playlists/Count/Ratings to new PC

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