Hosting itunes lib on Vista box, sharing between 2 Mac laptops?

Afternoon
My partner and I both have Mac laptops as our primary computers - an MB and a PB. We'd like to share the same itunes library without having to leave one of the laptops on all the time, because one or either of them is regularly out of the house. I'm thinking that we should be able to use the old Vista box in the study to host the shared library and we could just connect to it using SMB in a login script. I've tried it out and I can certainly read itunes files stored on the Vista box from my PB, so I think this might be the easiest solution, but what are the "gotchas" I'd have to watch out for here?
Second question - we also have a 750GB Maxtor USB/firewire brick which I currently use as both my TM and iTunes storage (in two partitions). Is there an easy way to repartition this without losing all my TM backups? I'd like to just repartition it into 2 (it's in 4 at the moment) - one for my PB TM and one for my Vista Norton backup.
Many thanks in advance for any help.
Kind regards
A

Kenny wrote:
I understand Apple TV streams music from an existing iTunes libraray on another Mac.
no.
you can stream content from computers to TV. with the release of iOS 4.2, you will also be able to stream content from an iPad or iPhone/iPod Touch to it.
Will it still work if that same iTunes library is in use by the Mac hosting the library? Will things slow down considerable if both devices are using the same lib at the same time?
you can stream content from only one computer @ a time. however, owing to the +home sharing+ functionality, you would be able to access the content of other shared libraries while connected to one library.
JGG

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ITunes sharing between Mac and PC is not working

iTunes sharing between Mac and PC is not working. No shared music appears.
PC = Win XP SP3; 192.168.1.101
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MAC = OS X 10.4.6; 192.168.1.100
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Printer sharing - ON
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ANY suggestions? Please help. Thanks.
1.8 GHz PowerPC G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hi cbafiero,
It seems that the problem lies in your router. I'm not sure exactly what the issue is (I've just now discovered it myself), but after switching from a Linksys WRT54GX2 to a thrift store Netgear, my shared libraries appeared instantly. My gut is telling me that the Linksys routers are blocking the multicast traffic, which is stupid on Linksys's part, to filter traffic internally. I'll look more into the Netgear and see what it has that the Linksys doesn't (or vice versa).

Home Sharing Between MAC and PC Problem

Hello all,
I am having an issue with home sharing between my iMac and PC. Here is the setup:
IBM x61 tablet with Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit- I run itunes and see the iMac's itunes library just fine and can import perfectly
iMac with Snow Leopard- iTunes can see the IBM's library but can't load the library; it gets hung up. Also, the icon next to the library from the x61 is a music symbol and not the home icon so I know something is wrong. I have tried everything in the troubleshooting section of the apple support page besides opening the ports. It seemed to have happened witht the latest iTumes update.
Should I try port forwarding? I use a d-link 815 router and have avira anti-virus. Has anyone had success with windows 7 firewall and the ports?
Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Diggs

I'm not 100% sure of the terminology used by Windows or any other Windows firewall programs but in essence what you want to do is allow those port to pass through. Forwarding sounds correct to me. Do you only have one firewall active? I know Windows has its own built-in firewall and some security software also install firewalls and I know some people don't realize that they are running two and should turn one of them off. Not sure if you amy be running into that problem.
Here is a thread where someone shows what they did with their firewall settings to get things to work.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16495919#16495919
Also, I wrote this for someone else. It explains how sharing in iTunes works. Maybe it can help you to troubleshoot your problem.
Home Sharing is enabled by selecting Home Sharing from the 'Advanced' menu (see screen shot below) and entering your Apple ID and password. Home Sharing allows unrestricted access to the shared iTunes library from computers on the network as well as from iOS devices. Home Sharing is required for access by iOS devices, they do not work with Library Sharing. Home sharing also allows you to copy media from one computer to another, something you can't do with Library Sharing. Home Sharing overrides Library Sharing if both are enabled.
Library Sharing is enable by selecting 'Share my library on my local network' in iTunes Preference (see screen shot below.) Library Sharing does not work with iOS devices. Library Sharing only allows for the playback of media from shared libraries. You cannot copy media from one computer to another using Library Sharing. The 'Status:' indicator will display a count of the number of computers that are connected to your library using Library Sharing. Home Sharing connections will not be indicated here. You can also restrict who can connect to your library using a password. This password restriction has no affect on Home Sharing connections. They are authorized and controlled by the use of Apple IDs.
How to tell if you are connecting to a library shared by Home Sharing or Library Sharing (see screen shot below.) A Home Sharing library icon looks like a house with a musical note on the side. A Library Sharing icon looks like a stack of CDs with a musical note on top. They are both labeled by the name of the shared library as configured in iTunes Preferences.
I think I've covered everything and hope this helps people understand the difference between the two types of shared libraries and how to configure each.

File sharing between Mac Mini and iMac "breaks" after reboot of either device, and won't restore. Why? Running Maverick 10.9.1 on both. File sharing is setup on both. Help.

I'm a new user - recent convert from longtime Windows to Apple. Thought having desktops and computing aligned with phones and tablets would help. Not so far.
I have a MacMini running Mavericks 10.9.1, and an iMac running Mavericks 10.9.1. File Sharing is set up on both. If either device is rebooted for any reason, file sharing from the Mac Mini to the iMac "breaks" and will not easily restart. Various things eventually brings the connection back - usually having to do with checking and unchecking File Sharing, the AFP button, and/or the SMB button on the iMac - but never the same procedure twice in a row. File Sharing from the iMac to the Mac Mini is never disrupted - always comes back up without a problem. Screen Sharing also works between both without fail, and comes up after reboot of either. No problem there. Only difficulty is from Mac Mini to the iMac.
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Should also clarify - usually takes multiple hours of checking/unchecking file sharing settings in order to restore the share between Mac Mini and iMac. NEVER happens automatically.
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Has anyone tried home sharing between mac and windows using parallels on the same machine?

I recently purchased a mac, and plan to set up parallels for windows and windows 7 so that I can use the Windows version of Over Drive Media Console from the library and download WMA files in windows (limitation with mac version for wma downloads). I would like to synch to iTunes on the Mac iOS, but will need iTunes available in Windows to transfer the books I download in WMA format from the library to my iphone. Has anyone tried this? Any success or suggestions would be appreciated!

In case anyone is interested, last night I installed Paralells, Windows, Overdrive Media Console on Windows, and then was able to download my book in WMA format. I was hoping parallels would allow me to crossover sync to iTunes on the Mac and have Overdrive recognize that I had iTunes open, but I had to choose Windows or Mac when connecting my phone through the USB and had to choose Windows in order for it to successfully transfer. I was able to get it to work it is now synced to iTunes in Windows. The nice thing was that it pulled in all my music/apps that I had set up in the Mac side, so I didn't have to go through that exercise again. I tested it on my old phone. Now I need to decide if I want to set up my current phone on Windows or Mac, it seems that once synched it only opens the device in windows, I haven't figured out how to force the choice between mac or window again. If I do windows, I can't take advantage of the cloud or iphoto/imovie directly. I'm totally new to mac, but I think I'll have to import my photos manually.

Leopard / Bootcamp / Vista / Copy Files Between Mac OS X and Windows

On the apple page it says I can copy files from mac to windows?
"Copy Files Between Mac OS X and Windows
Copy, open, modify, or delete files in Mac OS X that you saved to your Windows partition. Leopard understands the Windows FAT32 disk format."
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I am quite a simple soul really and very easily pleased.
All I seek is a partition of some sort that I can save all my created work to - whether in XP Pro or OS X 10.5. But it has to be a large partition - probably a single partition on a large drive.
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When I try to Air Drop to my MP it wont receive the item.
Has someone been through this before and know how to fix the issue? Ive been trying to research this for a while and haven't been able to find a solution.
Any help would be great!
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Are you using a frieWall on individual Macs?
If you are using a Router you control, individual computer FireWalls are not needed.

Boot Camp 3.1 Sound Quality issues & Sharing Between Mac OS & XP

Hello all,
I've just recently received my first iMac and I have successfully installed Boot Camp 3.1 with Windows XP running. Everything seems to run very well except two things I would like some clarification & help on please:
(Please note - after strolling through numerous google pages, forums I have yet to find a suitable and logical solution.)
01. First of all, everything on the Windows XP side is working fine. Although the sound quality is quite hollow/thin with lots of treble. This is very noticeable when compared to the sound being played on Mac OSX. Also, the volume on the windows side is very loud?? I read on this forum that when headphones are plugged in on the windows side, it sounds normal? So I did this and it worked, however, at the moment I'm not in a position to fork out some more money for quality speakers. (although i am drooling over the HK Soundsticks III EU)
Is there a solution for making the sound quality the same as the Mac side? I've also updated to the latest Cirrus Logic Driver and this made no difference?
02. Again, looking through various forums, including this one, I still have not found a simple solution for sharing my music between Mac OSX & Windows XP. Many of the reported solutions are either extremely complex with various version of how to do it: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2309922&tstart=135 or use an external Hard Drive formatted in FAT32.
I understand that Mac is only able to read the NTFS partitions and not write to them. I am aware of third party software's such as MacDrive but having heard general and corruption issues with such software I am reluctant to use them. Not sure if Paragon NTFS for Mac 8.0 will suffer the same issues as it is a driver rather than a piece of software. Will this work?
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Simon

Old post, but for any one else,
If your using external speakers now then they should have the same quality on either OS.
Have you tried going into the "preferences" (or whatever they're called) on Window's and looked at what the sound settings are? I can't remember what they are on my old XP but maybe they just need to be tweaked? I think there is a way to set the loudness, left/right equal, etc, on either the head phones or externals.
Well, maybe it's that simple......
On the music sharing, I wouldn't know of a way on NTFS to share anything with a Mac (no writing, no sharing). If you have more then one computer, maybe get a NAS (network attached storage), NDAS etc, and just put the library on that and anyone could access it then?
I had this all typed up for a MP and then realized you had an iMac.
Oh well, maybe this will help someone else.
Boot camp will only partition one drive into two area's so the idea won't work on a single drive computer. So it looks like maybe an external storage disk for the music will work.(Maybe use a 3rd party partition-er, but again I don't know if Boot Camp will like it even after the initial install?) And won't work on an external drive (Window's/Boot Camp).
But if you had a second drive (if you had a Mac Pro) you could use for Windows, you could format the full drive as HFS and then have Window's format the XP partition to the size you need for XP (NTFS) and then just leave the rest formatted as HFS and then put the Music you want to share on that partition (HFS) and then the Mac and Window's could share?
I'll be trying this soon my self so we'll see if it works!

Home Sharing Between Mac and PC with Windows Vista and Wireless Ethernet

Hello.
I want to ask if anyone knows what is the problem.
I have Home Sharing Activated in my two computers and File Sharing Activated too.
My MacBook Pro has iTunes 10 and Snow Leopard all updated and my PC has Windows Vista and iTunes 10.
My MacBook Pro is connected to my network wirelessly and my PC is connected by the Ethernet Cable.
Anyone can help?

since you don't describe the problem in detail, see if something here helps:
what you want to see in iTunes is this (view from my MBP's iTunes seeing the library on my Mini)
if you then click on the house icon, it will change to this and the shared library will load. at that point, two buttons will appear in the lower right corner of the iTunes window, being settings and import
now you should be able to import any content from any shared library by selecting the content and clicking on import.
if the icon looks like this , home sharing has not been set up correctly.
in order for home sharing to work
(a) iTunes on all machines must be authorized for the same iTunes store account
(b) all machines must be on the same network
(c) all machines must have access to the internet.
if none of the above makes a difference, try turning home sharing off on all computers, then turning it back on.
these reads will be useful: one and two.
JGG

I cannot log on to ITunes to set up Home sharing between my new IPAD and AppleTV. Therfe is not even the typical home screen for me to log on to my account at APlle Store or ITunes?

I have a new IPAD and just bought APple TV. Need to set up home sharing on my account and have followed Support options wherein you log into ITunes, choose advanced, then allow Home sharing. There is no place to even sign in to ITunes as i have always seen before. Cannot start ITunes on Laptop (linked to IPAD) at all but can from Browser. Trying to share content from my IPAD and APple TV.
I had no problem doing so on my home PC and APple TV but not IPAD?

BStroke wrote:
Cannot start ITunes on Laptop
WHat happens?
Have your tried removing and reinstalling iTunes?
Cannot start ITunes on Laptop (linked to IPAD) at all but can from Browser.
What does "can from browser" mean?
Trying to share content from my IPAD and APple TV.
You don't share content from AppleTV (as it contains no content) and you can AirpPlay from iPad to AppleTV, not share content.
To turn on Home Sharing on the iPad, Settings > Store.
THis allow soyu to view the content of the iTune slibrary on your comnoputer.

ITunes 11: Full read & write sharing between users on a single Mac

I have a MacBook Pro OS X 10.9.4 and running iTunes 11.4. I have 3 user accounts on my computer - 1 admin and 2 standard accounts. I want to share the library from the admin to the two standard accounts and that two standard accounts to have full read and write of the same, single library. In the end, I want a single iTunes library on these 3 user accounts with full read and write so whenever I add/edit/delete a music from either of the accounts, it will automatically update the rest without messing up anything or creating new iTunes Media folder.
I think I've exhausted all the available articles related to what I want to accomplish but I can't find anything that can really help. Is this doable? Please help.

Drag the whole iTunes folder from your account to /Users/Shared Start iTunes from each account while holding down the option/alt key and guide it to the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved folder. If there's still issues you may need to tweak permissions for the folder and files by getting info on it and changing permissions. Read the part about changing permissions on the iTunes folder in: https://discussions.apple.com/message/11583914#11583914 but make sure they meet this particular need.
A library can only be opened by one user at a time. A person will have to quit iTunes before another user can use the library.

Home Sharing between Mac and PC

So I have Home Sharing enabled on both my Mac and PC, and signed into both with the same apple ID.
From my pc, i have installed the latest version of Itunes, and on my mac I have the latest version of Itunes.
I can access my library on my mac from the PC, but I cannot see any of the things located below.
When prompted, enter your Apple ID and password.Note: Be sure to use the same Apple ID when enabling Home Sharing on all computers you intend to share with.
Click Turn On Home Sharing.
Use the above steps to enable Home Sharing on additional computers on your home network.
Setting up Automatic Transfer
Automatic Transfer can transfer your newly-purchased apps, books, music, TV shows, and movie purchases to your other computers set up for Home Sharing.To automatically transfer content between computers, click the Settings button in the lower-right while viewing a Home Share and select which content to transfer. Automatic transfer of iTunes Store content is off by default.
Note: The Settings and Import button aren't present if you're using Music Sharing, which is different from Home Sharing.
Automatic transfer applies to new purchases from the iTunes Store whenever they are made. However, updates aren't transferred (such as those from the App Store).
Automatic transfer only applies to iTunes Store content you purchase or download after enabling Home Sharing.
Previously downloaded or non-iTunes Store content can only be manually transferred. It may be necessary to authorize iTunes Store content for playback on other computers.
Audiobooks purchased through the iTunes Store can be automatically or manually transferred.
Home Sharing can't transfer or stream audiobook content purchased from Audible.com. SeeAudible.com for assistance in using their content on multiple computers.
In addition, rentals from the iTunes Store can't be streamed or transferred to another computer using Home Sharing.
Home Sharing tips
The best way to avoid duplication is to use the Show menu located in the lower-left corner. Choose "Items not in my library" before transferring any content.
I do not have a drop down menu in the Home Sharing window, and also cannot choose items not in my library.
MY question is, how do I copy my purchases from Itunes from my mac to my pc????
Step by step please.

Hi clissmann,
It sounds like you simply wish to have your purchases on both your Mac and your PC. You can accomplish this by accessing your past purchases using the information in the following article:
Download past purchases - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/ht2519
Take care, and thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Braden

Home sharing between Macs has been great....until now.

We have 2 iMacs and 2 MacBooks that share between libraries perfectly, but our 5th authorized Mac, a vintage flat panel, only PLAYS other libraries, it won't allow downloading (dragging over) of songs. I don't think it's a hardware problem; all are running iTunes 9; the older Mac is running OS 10.4.11, the rest 10.5 and up. My 10 year-old wants my old Hendrix and Led Zep tunes, let's not deprive him...

I don't use home sharing myself, so all I can do to help is point you at the home sharing support documents:
iTunes 9: Understanding Home Sharing: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819
iTunes 9: Troubleshooting Home Sharing: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972

Internet connection sharing between Mac Mini and Imac G3- how?

Ok, I'm trying to connect my G3 Imac (running 10.4.8) to my Mac Mini (also running 10.4.8) but it just wont work.
I've turned Internet Connection sharing on on my Mac Mini, and set it to share the airport connection to computers connected using Built in ethernet.
Network (on the M Mini) shows
Built-In Ethernet is currently active. Built-In Ethernet has a self assigned IP address and may not be able to connect to the Internet.
Network (on the G3) shows
Built-In Ethernet is currently active and has the IP address 192.168.2.7. You are connected to the Internet via Built-In Ethernet.
When i try to go to a webpage on the G3 it fails stating, 'You are not connected to the Internet'.
I'm using a standard straight through ethernet cable, as I was told a while ago from apple support that it doesn't matter which u use, straight through or crossover.
Any help would be really appreciated
Macbook 2.0Ghz 2GB 80GB/Mac Mini 1.42Ghz 1GB 80GB/Imac G3 450Mhz 640MB 80GB Mac OS X (10.4.8)

OK after some playing about I can now manage to connect to the mac mini and vice versa to share files.
The iMac G3 now says it has an IP address of 192.168.2.18, and that it's connected to the internet via built-in ethernet. I've set configure IPV4 to Using DHCP.
Except it's not connected to the net.
If i select Using DHCP on the Mini it doesn't obtain an IP address, not even a self set one. So i've set a manual IP address on that, and everything shows up green. Airpot connected to the internet and Ethernet has an IP address of 192.168.2.30.
After reading some forums I set up firewall logging. The result is what happens on the Mac Mini when I use network diagnostics on the G3:
Feb 11 16:43:52 richard-xxxxx-mac-mini natd[394]: failed to write packet back (Host is down)
So I opened port 394 (not really knowing what i'm trying) but it had no effect.

File sharing between mac mini and iMac

can I share files on my iMac with the Mac Mini wirelessly so I can view them on my HDTV without transferring files to an external hard drive and then connecting the hard drive to the Mac Mini? Or better yet, can I use the Mac Mini to mirror my iMac so I can work on the iMac from the comfort of my recliner in front of the big screen?

The short answer is "yes."
You will need to enable file sharing.
When you open the finder on the mini you should see your iMac listed under "Shared" on the left hand side. When you click on it you will initially see just the public folders. If you open one all you will see is the drop box. To get to your files on the iMac click on the "Connect As..." button on the upper right of the finder window. Log on with your iMac user/password. Now open your public folder and all your files will be available.
Dan

Hosting itunes lib on Vista box, sharing between 2 Mac laptops?

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