How to restore an Itunes Library?

I lost my original Itunes library after a computer crash. Although I saved my purchased music on my Itunes account, I never backed up the library on an external drive besides what exists on my Nano. I have since seen that there is a way to transfer songs from the Nano to a new library. I now have the means to do so thanks to a hand-me-down laptop from my sister. I uninstalled her pre-existing Itunes library, and then I followed up by reinstalling Itunes.
The problem is the "new" library. My unistall/reinstall ploy was unsuccessful. My sister's Itunes library remains on this computer. I have always been under the impression that my online account would be able to restore my purchased music upon signing into my personal account.
Therefore, this is the question(s). How do I rid myself of this library that is not mine? How do I restore what is under my online account/Nano to this "new" computer location?

"I have always been under the impression that my online account would be able to restore my purchased music upon signing into my personal account."
This is incorrect. itunes does not keep your library stored on their servers. You buy ONE download only. it is your responsibility to move/copy/backup your purchases ( and everything else on your computer). Your music will only be where you put it.
"How do I rid myself of this library that is not mine?"
Just create a new library: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495
Or go into itunes and delete everything.
" How do I restore what is under my online account/Nano to this "new" computer location?"
You don't restore from "online". There is no "online" to restore from.
You can transfer itunes purchases from your Nano: File>Transfer Purchases
Make sure you are signed in/authorized for your account on the computer.

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Can anyone tell me how to restore my itunes library and playlists? After I downloaded mountain lion my library is missing and my devices can be synced to only one library ...the missing one

can anyone tell me how to restore my itunes library and playlists? After I downloaded mountain lion my library is missing and my devices can be synced to only one library ...the missing one

That .itl file actually is the library -- at least the critical part of it although the library is actually many files and folders.
Try starting iTunes and immediately hold down the option key. When it asks, guide it to the .itl file.
It's really hard to say without being able to poke around your computer. Upgrading should not delete the old library, but still it happens to the very, very few which is why we make backups before updating. If the old library file is gone then so are your playlists. You can always see if the following is of any use:
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451

How to restore my iTunes library

Normally when I change PCs, upgrade restore the OS, etc. I have just copied my itunes music folder to an external hard drive. Normally when I install iTunes on the new system I just go to edit->preferences->advanced and then change the folder from the default location to the location on my backup hard drive and all my music instantly appears. This time I get nothing.
What do I do?
I am hesitant to just reimport the songs because I think it will take forever (I have a LOT of music) and I dont want double copies created of the files. Furthermore I want to keep the itunes library on the secondary hard drive because I dont have enough space on my primary.
Thanks.

I'm no expert, but I also just got a new computer. All my music was on the iphone, but not in my library and I couldn't figure out a way to transfer. However, I was lucky in that I could still get to my old computer and I copied the iTunes folder in music over to my new computer and everything worked great!
I called iTunes support and was told this is the only way to do it - especially for any music you had in your library that was not purchased through the store: ie CDs I loaded.
Good luck and hopefully you can get to your old computer.

How to restore iphoto & iTunes library from time machine?

My imac has had its hardrive replaced - (unfortunate) - and I am wanting to restore the files fom itunes and Iphoto only. I have tried for many hours following other posts, support, but have so far not had any luck. What is an "Idiots" way to achive this, hort of taking my mac back to apple and get them to do it for me!

Open Finder and go to Music folder. Then, open Time Machine and restore the iTunes folder. Open Pictures folder and restore iPhoto Library of Time Machine

TS1717 how to restore my itunes music library when an apple download stuffs up

how to restore my itunes music library when an apple download malfunctions

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

How can i restore my itunes library to get back playlists i accidently deleted

how can i restore my itunes library so i can get back playlists i accidently deleted

Hey Russfromchicago,
Thanks for the question. After reviewing your post, it sounds like you want to move content from your iOS device to the computer. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help you resolve or isolate the issue.
If you purchased items from the iTunes Store and you've stored them on only your iOS device or iPod, you can transfer them to any computer that is authorized with your Apple ID.
iTunes Store: Transfer purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Have a nice day,
Mario

How do I restore my itunes library after replacing a faulty hard drive?

How do I restore my itunes library after replacing a faulty hard drive?

did you make a backup of your library before replacing the HD ?
if so, how and what did you back up ?
if not, you can redownload previous purchases ☞ Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
if you have your media files on an iPod, check out this post by Zevoneer.

After a crash of my HD, i need to restore my Itune Library which is in an external HD. how can I do that, Thanks

After a crash of my HD, i need to restore my Itune Library which is in an external HD. how can I do that, Thanks

I still don't know if the drive that crashed was the external drive, or if it was the internal drive, and if it was the external drive if that was the only copy of the library.
Downloading (using iOS or computer) past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519 - enabled with iTunes 10.3 and newer; not available in all countries; apps, books (not audiobooks), music, t.v. shows, and movies (some - not all studios have permitted this). Movies currently available in the USA only. Downloading previously purchased movies and TV shows requires iTunes 10.6 or later. Discontinued items not available. For items not included in the iCloud list (e.g., ringtones), or locations or computer systems where iCloud is not (yet?) available, you only get one download per fee paid. Apple notes it is your responsibility to back up your purchases.
Select the store on the left side of iTunes.
Click on Purchased on the right side under Quick Links.
You can re-download your available previous purchases.

How do i restore my iTunes library using time machine

how do i restore my iTunes library using time machine

Quit iTunes if it is open.
"Enter Time Machine", navigate to the backup you wish to restore, select your Music folder, then select the iTunes folder within it, and click Restore.

How can I restore my iTunes library from iPod after a HD crash?

My computer HD crashed and had to be replaced....
I've just installed iTunes and connected my iPod, I can't find a way to restore the iTunes library from the iPod.
I keep all my music on an external HD, everything that is on the iPod (~140GB) is on the external HD (and more) so I don't want to restore the library from the iPod to the HD nor recreate playlists, etc.
What can I do?
Thanks for your help

Check out the following post. It will work with your iPod video.
Be very careful when connecting an iPod full of music to an empty iTunes library.There is very real risk of permanently losing all the music.
To prevent auto sync, before you connect the iPod go to the iTunes preferences and select "devices", then select "disable automatic syncing for iPhones and iPods".
An alternative method is to connect the iPod whilst holding down the 'control+shift' keys and do not let them go until your iPod appears in iTunes.
If you see a message that your iPod is associated with a different library and asks if you want to link to a new one, make sure you press "Cancel".
If you should click on "Erase and Sync" will erase all the content currently on your iPod and it will be replaced with the content of the iTunes library you just connected to.
When you've pressed cancel your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list under "devices" and allow you to change the update setting to manage the iPod content manually, and that will let you use your iPod for the time being without the risk of accidentally erasing the contents.
Then do any of the following to transfer your music from iPod back to the computer/iTunes.
For iTunes version 7 or later, then you can transfer purchased iTunes store music from the iPod to an authorized computer by using the "file/transfer purchases from iPod" menu. Note that the maximum of 5 authorized computers applies here.
Find out how to do that here.
How to copy iTunes purchases from an iPod or iPhone to a computer.
For all other non purchased content (your own CDs etc), check out the instructions/suggestions here.
Music from iPod to computer (using option 2). This a manual method using "hidden folders" and although it works, it is a little more involved than other methods.
Much easier ways are to use one of the many 3rd party programs that copy music from the iPod to the computer.
One of the most recommended is Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Other free programs are Pod Player, SharePod and Floola and iDump and iPodRobot.
If you want to recover just the structure of playlists from the iPod (and not the actual song files themselves), there's iRepo for Windows. which I understand has this feature along with all the standard features for these programs.
iPodRip also has the feature enabling you to reconstruct playlists.
There is also CopyTrans. This does preserve ratings/playcounts etc if those are important to you but this program is not free. It also supports video transfer.
More information is contained here.
Copying content from your iPod to your computer - The Definitive Guide.

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did you make a backup of your library before replacing the HD ?
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Hi blademn527,
You can use the steps in this article to restore your iTunes library from a backup -
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
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Brett L

How can I restore my itunes library from iphone 4?

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Is there a third party software that will let me back up my iphone music so it will not get erased by itunes? Or is there some way to use icloud to send my iphone music to itunes?

lol, nevermind. I came across an article that made it easy. For anyone else with this problem it's real simple.
Open itunes
File>Add Folder to Library
select 'itunes' and it will add your music to your library
Although it went through all my apps asking if I want to replace or don't replace with newer, when it finished all my music appeared in itunes just like I left it before reinstalling Win 7. Easy Peasy. I've seen others with same problem but nobody seemed to have this easy solution.
Now I can finally plug in my iphone and sync without losing all my music from my iphone.

How do I restore my itunes library on a new PC?

I recently had my PC windows XP reinstalled as I had a virus. I think I saved my iTunes library however as my external hard drive shows that I have an ITunes folder and in it is an iTunes library. In the iTunes folder is a sub folder called iTunes music. Is this data what I use to restore my ITunes library on my new PC?
All my songs have been moved out of their original location on the C:/ drive however. Do I have to move the music etc. back to the PC as they are on my External HD now.
I'm clued out as what to do. I got an old IPod Nano with probably 80 percent of my songs from the original PC location and iTunes library.
I am guessing I have to move all my music back from the External HD to my PC's HD and name it exactly the same folder name. Then I use iTunes to re-sync my iPod. Is this the right procedure?
Sorry if this is a redundant question as I don't know where to search for this answer.

I couldn't edit my original post so I replied to myself.
I think I solved my problem! I moved my itunes folder to destop and then moved my backed up one to the same folder/ I made a wrong assumption that I had to also move back my source music files (I bought nothing from itunes store they are just CD rips etc.) .

Problems with restoring my iTunes library after performing an HP backup and system recovery

Hello,
Last Sunday night/Monday morning, I had to perform a system recovery (from the discs supplied by HP) on my HP Compaq Presario SR5310F 32-bit desktop computer running Windows Vista Home Premium, (on the recommendation of samone at HP) and just backing up my 90+ GB iTunes library took 12 hours (the actual system recovery took only about 2-1/2 hours, the following morning). After the recovery process was complete, I 'restored' the backed-up files by either double-clicking or just opening the first backup file (the one whose file name ends in '.1') and following the prompts, which placed the files into something called the 'System Restore Files' folder. I thought I could just restore my iTunes library by dragging and dropping the music, video and iTunes folder files from this System Restore Files folder back into their original places on my computer, but while the song titles did show up in my iTunes library, whenever I tried to actually play one, an exclamation point would appear beside the song's title and I'd get the error message 'iTunes cannot find the file'; when I clicked on 'Find missing file'--or whatever it's called--the C < Users < [username] < Music folder would open, and it would be completely blank, with only the words 'This folder is empty' appearing in it. (And BTW, before you try to recommend the 'Finding missing content in iTunes' or 'How to find missing music in iTunes' articles to me, I should point out that I did try all of the steps in those articles, but my iTunes library was still completely empty at that point, despite trying those steps; that was why I finally tried 'dragging and dropping all of those files back into the Desktop, Downloads, Documents--yes, some really large download files, not from iTunes, showed up in the Documents folder--and also a couple of downloaded music files--again, not from iTunes--showd up 'loose' [by 'loose', I mean not in one of the folders (e.g., Documents, Downloads etc.) in my [username] subfolder] in my [username] subfolder, after which, I was able to get most of my song and video titles listed in iTunes again, but they just won't PLAY! Also, it appears I'm missing about 5 GB from my iTunes library now, as it's saying that I only have about 85.15 GB worth of files in it, where before I had 90+ GB worth of files in it.)
BTW, I can play the files I moved to Desktop, Downloads, etc. if I right-click on the individual files in these locations and then click on 'Play' or 'Open With', but they just won't play in iTunes.
And one more thing: I stupidly deleted my 2 iTunes podcast file titles after I discovered that these, too, would not play; is there any way I can recover these--and my iTunes library--without performing yet ANOTHER system recovery and starting over 'from scratch'? (But if that's what I'll have to do, I'll do it--or else I'll just give up and start all over again with the new computer I plan to buy over the Labor Day weekend [it'll be a 64-bit Windows 7 computer, I know that much at least], as most of my music was ripped from CDs or else downloaded from places like Bandcamp or Amazon MP3, and these downloads were saved to a series of USB flash drives; I was informed that if worst came to worst, I could redownload my iTunes purchases, but my 2 podcasts will be lost forever, as iTunes doesn't 'keep' those--or words to that effect...)
P.S. The computer I'm using has only a 250 GB hard drive, of which 223 GB were available, I couldn't perform the 'Consolidate' function so I could properly back up my iTunes library, as, what with the accumulated Windows downloads (I got this computer in February 2008) and other programs, I had only a few (< 10) GB free--not enough to consolidate the iTunes library, and second, the computer malfunctioned just prior to my performing the system recovery, so that I could no longer log on in 'normal' mode, only in the various safe modes. A lady at Microsoft told me I could back up my iTunes library by logging on in safe mode with networking (since I could do that, albeit with the error message 'Your account has been loaded with a temporary profile') and pasting my iTunes library to my external hard drive, but when I tried this, I got a message listing my iTunes library as '(empty)' when I clicked on iTunes in 'All Programs', and needless to say, my iTunes library wouldn't even open in any of the safe modes (I don't know whether it was 'just' my computer, or whether the lady didn't know what she was talking about--she does work for Microsoft, after all).

OK, before you moved the iTunes folder did the library contain entries for your original files?
This is the normal layout of the iTunes folders. From what you said at the outset it would seem that, as far as that copy of your library is concerned, it thinks the media folder is C:\System Recovery Files\C\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media
Not quite sure where you have moved the original set of library files to (that is the five files listed above and the Album Artwork folder) but you should move these to C:\System Recovery Files\C\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes, (leaving everything else in place) then click the icon to launch iTunes and immediately press and hold down the left shift key until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the library file at C:\System Recovery Files\C\Users\<User>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl - fingers crossed this will open your old database, which will be able to find your old files. If that goes well we can look to moving them somewhere more sensible.
tt2

How to restore an Itunes Library?

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