Creating a home and mobile iTunes library

I'm trying to figure out how to manage the chaos of my home media. I currently have the following equipment:
Desktop
Laptop
WD Network HD
WD Portable USB HD
iPhone 4
iPod Nano
I would like to make it so that my Network HD is the primary location of all my media that iTunes organizes and manages. I would like the Portable USB HD to serve as a backup that is automatically kept up to date with the primary network drive. Obviously, I would like my desktop to use the network drive as its iTunes storage/access point. For the laptop, I want it to primarily use the network drive when available and then use the portable drive otherwise. I don't think that it is possible to do this automatically, but it isn't too hard to swap the location of the iTunes folder in the preferences whenever I am at home as long as both HDs have the same folder/file structure (which would be solved by keeping them synced).
The real trick is that I would like to be able to sync my iPhone and Nano to either computer (both PC), so I can put them on the desktop dock when at home and update them with the laptop while on the road.
I guess the end state should be that with a quick change in folder location on the laptop, I want to be able to use either computer to play media as well as update and sync the devices without a lot of operation by me each time I decide to plug a device into the other computer. Ideally, I'd like to create a system that functions like one machine with two access points that can be taken on the road when needed.
If anyone can point me to the appropriate settings and necessary software, please let me know. I don't mind paying for software if I need to, I just don't want to spend several hours before a trip trying to swap everything to a portable HD and reconfiguring my devices to sync with the laptop every time I travel and then repeating the process when I get home to get back to the desktop.
Thanks

It's...Alive ! wrote:
My apologies if this has been asked before - i could not find anything during my research.
so, as the subject goes ...
greetings !
do you mean in connection with the Apple TV ?
if so, the answer may be here.

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[email protected]
Thank you ;- )

Have you tried restarting or resetting your iPhone?
Restart: Press On/Off button until the Slide to Power Off slider appears, select Slide to Power Off and, after It shuts down, press the On/Off button until the Apple logo appears.
Reset: Press the Home and On/Off buttons at the same time and hold them until the Apple logo appears (about 10 seconds).
No data will be lost.

If i delete an app on my ipad to save up space, but have it at home on my itunes library on my imac, will it also be deleted from there when i sync my ipad back to my imac itunes library?

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Thanks
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Since the three of you are using separate iTunes accounts, then you each need to run your own itunes, which should be logged into the itunes store using each individual account. For that, on a laptop, you each need to have your own computer accounts.

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You can't do that.
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Join the crowd. If you search this and other forums on the web, you'll find that Home Sharing has limited functionality on PC and Mixed PC-Mac networks. It works fine, Mac to Mac, it appears, but PC's seem unable to talk to Macs or one another on many, many, many people's home shared networks. I hope that Apple finds a way to improve this aspect of iTunes or at least expands its troubleshooting recommendations in the support database.

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Create a new user account on the computer that he can log in to.

How to successfully revert to itunes 6.0.5 and restore itunes library.itl

Hi guys,
Since I have now successful restored my software (and so once again have a working ipod and itunes software - no thanks to Apple for the buggy upgrade) - I thought I would share my experience of how I successfully went about this - since it was only through reading different threads on this forum I worked out how to do it.
1) Before you do anything - I recommend you have a back-up of your music somewhere just incase. Burn yourself a data disk or two of your music files or make a copy of your itunes folder elsewhere on a hard-disc drive.
2) Uninstall Itunes version 7 (or otherwise) - follow these steps to do this:
Quit iTunes.
On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs.
Select iTunes from the list of currently installed
programs, then click Remove.
When asked if you would like to remove iTunes,
select Yes.
3) Reinstall Itunes version 6.0.5 - you can find a download link to the setup program for version 6.0.5 on the right hand-side of this page (it's the blue hyper-link which says '36MB'):
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes605forwindows.html
Download and re-install that.
At this point don't panic if Itunes will not open.
4) OPTIONAL STEP - If Itunes version 7 or the Ipod software version 2 messed up your ipod (i.e. deleted it's tunes etc.) now might be a good time to do a RESTORE on your ipod. You will find, thankfully, that the old ipod updater works once again now itunes 7 has gone - phew!
5) Try to open iTunes - if you're lucky it will open and all will be back as it once was before. Typically however it may open and your music library is missing, or it may not even open at all giving you the friendly error message "The file itunes library.itl canot be read because it was created by a newer version". Again, don't panic! You are nearly there - honest. Just follow the following steps to restore your itunes library to it's former glory:
Quit iTunes.
Locate your iTunes folder.
For Microsoft Windows the iTunes folder is usually stored in \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Open your iTunes folder.
Drag the iTunes Music Library.xml to the Desktop
Drag the following file from your iTunes folder to the Trash:
Microsoft Windows: "iTunes Library.itl" (in versions of iTunes prior to 4.9 this was called "iTunes 4 Music Library.itl")
Open iTunes.
From the File menu, choose Import.
Tip: Do not add any music into iTunes at this point.
Navigate to the iTunes Music Library.xml file on the Desktop.
Click Choose.
6) Give a small prayer to whatever deity you may, or may not, believe in.
7) Open iTunes & (hopefully) boogie-tastic!!!!
8) Dance around the room in celebration that your iTunes music is - simply - BACK THE WAY IT ALREADY WAS BEFORE - cheers APPLE cheers!
xxx
If you have any other error messages - like you can't see your ipod in itunes or whatever - I may be able to help. I believe I have put more man-hours into getting my ipod to work as it should that the cost of the little blighter 7 times over. So chances are, if you have an issue I may have a fix. :o)
Good Luck - Happy podding!

P.S. You may also have to Deauthorize and reauthorize your account in iTunes
In some cases iTunes may "forget" that your music is authorized. You can refresh the authorization by deauthorizing and then reauthorizing your computer. To deauthorize a computer:
In iTunes, choose Deauthorize Computer from the Store menu (your computer needs to be connected to the Internet).
In the resulting dialog, enter your Apple ID and password.
Click OK.
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Alright, so both laptops have been setup the same, home sharing turned on, exact same apple id and password. Both computers can see each other in the dropdown menu for "library", HOWEVER, while the Vista laptop can see & import the library from the Windows 8 laptop, then Windows 8 laptop cannot see & therefore not import the library from the Vista laptop & out of the system without issue, the router has been checked to ensure that nothing is standing in the way on that end either. Is this some sort of backwards incompatibility? Or am I overlooking something obscenely obvious? Any and all help is welcome, I have looked at a large number of discussions here and throughout the web already, nothing seems to work for my situation. Please help!!!

Hello there MicknMadd,
It sounds like one of your computers can see the others library and import from it, but the other does not. You've done a lot of great troubleshooting and verification already, and I would recommend steps 5-7 from the following article to help further troubleshoot:
Troubleshooting Home Sharing
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972
5. Check Firewall settings
If you have a firewall enabled in your router or computer, make sure that the firewall is not blocking communication between your computers. Home Sharing uses TCP port 3689 and UDP port 5353 to communicate with shared iTunes libraries.
In addition, Apple TV and Mac computers will use port 123 to set the time automatically. Incorrect date and time on either the computer or Apple TV can cause errors for Home Sharing and connections in general.
If you are unsure whether your router has a firewall or the required ports open, test additional devices or another network to help isolate the issue. If the devices tested work on another home network, it is your router or network configuration.
For Mac OS X, you don't have to edit the port addresses, but make sure the firewall in Apple () menu > System Preferences > Security > Firewall are not set to:
Block all incoming connections
Allow only essential services
If you use another security/firewall software on your computer or router, follow this article or contact the manufacturer or check the documentation on how to open TCP ports 123 and 3689 as well as UDP ports 123 and 5353.
For more information on ports used by Apple products, see Well known TCP and UDP ports used by Apple software products.
6. Quit and reopen apps and iTunes
If connectivity issues persist, quit and reopen iTunes on your computer. Then, quit and reopen the apps on your iOS device.
Note that Home Sharing cannot transfer or stream audiobook content purchased from Audible.com. See Audible.com for information on using their content with multiple devices.
7. Restart your network router
Restart your home network router using the method recommended in documentation from the manufacturer. This may include disconnecting the power cord for thirty seconds or more.
Note: During this period, Internet services such as a VoIP-based phone will not work, and any additional routers may need to be reset in sequence.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
All the very best,
Sterling

Backup and restoring itunes library from external hard drive?

is there a way to backup and restore my itunes library to external hard drive and not through the internal itunes backup utility cos i have over 20gbs of music and i want to keep my album art and renamed songs etc. because i will be reformating my pc and dont want to go through painful task of manually adding stuff again.

Try this...
*Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows Only)*
Grab SyncToy 2.0, a free tool from MS. Use it to create a backup copy of your iTunes library & any other media folders onto another hard drive or network share. After making the initial backup copy use SyncToy to periodically synchronise the backup copy with your library and only the changed files will be copied saving lots of time.
When the time comes to reformat your PC, do a final sync, then open iTunes & deauthorise the PC, reformat & rebuild Windows, copy the backup folders back to the same location as they were previously, install iTunes and it should all work perfectly.
tt2

How can I replace low bitrate mp3s and update iTunes library?

Hello,
Apologies up front if this is covered in another thread. If so, please post a link.
I want to replace MP3s in my iTunes library with newly encoded 320 KBPS MP3s. I also want to keep each track's play counts and playlist links in tact but with the new higher bit rate MP3s. Is there a simple way to do this? Maybe a 3rd party app or script?
Thanks in advance for the help.
-tard
Message was edited by: unitard
null

Thanks for the tip. It works. Choosing "Import CD" prompts you with a dialog to replace previously imported tracks. To rip a CD I had always used "Create MP3 Version" from the 'Advanced' menu and was never prompted with the replace dialog.

IPhone and New iTunes Library

For my iPhone 4S, I have a new iTunes library so I want to add songs from the library to my phone but, I don't want to delete the information already on the phone. I tried applying the "Manually manage music and videos" but when I click apply it asks me if I want to erase and sync or cancel.
Please help!

As pointed out, the iPhone can only call one computer home.
I am not sure if connecting to a new computer will allow you to do your iPhone backup on the new computer before it is erased, so you may want to backup to iCloud from your old computer first, then connect to the new computer. You'll still need to transfer all your media from one computer to the other, and re-load all the media and apps to your iPhone, but at least your backup file can be pulled down from iCloud so that you don't have to re-do all your device preferences.
But then again, there's something to be said about starting from scratch once in awhile

How to backup and restore iTunes library?

I've had to transfer my iTunes library to a new computer a few times in the past and I've run into this problem. I lose all my playlist information etc. and have to re-create it. If there's some utility that assists in restoring ALL the meta data in the iTunes library I'll pay money for this...
Thanks,
Kevin.

OK, while that is good for what most people want to do it isn't good enough for what I want to do. It doesn't cover the two requirements that I need:
1. I want to keep some music files in a different folder. I don't want iTunes to manage these files.
2. The source path may be different from the target path. i.e. on my old machine it was D:\Music\... but on the new machine it was C:\Music\... (and I've even changed sub-folders in the past to better organize things).
The article you referred to requires that I either:
1. Get iTunes to manage my music.
2. OR copy my files to the same path (I didn't even have a C: drive!!!!)
I've actually written my own utility that hacks around this issue but it screws up playlists so it isn't perfect. I just don't have the time or patience to figure out exactly how Apple processes its XML file format (they made it harder in one version of iTunes because it now uses the .itl file when it used to simply pick up the changes I made to the .xml file itself).
So, I now want someone else to go to the effort of doing this and I'll pay something to buy their utility if it works well. I imagine there are probably other customers out there for this type of utility.
Ideally, Apple should provide a "Backup" and "Restore" menu item that would handle this kind of thing for us and prompt us for destination path mappings when the "Restore" feature is used.
So... does anyone else know of a utility to do this or if Apple is going to provide this in the not-too-distant future?
Thanks,
Kevin.

Creating a home and mobile iTunes library

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