I want to move my itunes library

HI All
I want to move my itunes library to another laptop, but this laptop has a family members account and device synced. whats the best way to do this without removing or stuffing up their account?

Copy the entire iTunes folder to the other drive.  Start iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and select the library.itl file in the copied folder.
I see not infrequent posts here from people who have used a NAS with iTunes.  Things can go wrong.  NAS adds another layer of communication between iTunes and its files and things do not always go well.  Make sure you always have a backup of all your iTunes files on a separate drive because I can personally attest I and others have spent many hours on this forum trying to restore people's libraries on NAS.  I am sure it goes well for some (the people who never need post here) but I see many more posts from people with libraries on NAS than regular external drives.

Similar Messages

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    I just bought a new Mac and I want to transfer some data (not all) from my old Mac.  Basically, I want to move my itunes library, iphoto library, and a few documents.  I have not even turned on my new Mac yet.  Is the best way by an external hard drive?

    If both have Firewire ports then you can accomplish your goal by using Target Disk Mode. If this is not possible then you can do using an external drive or if you have a local network connect both to your network and use filesharing between the two computers.
    File Sharing on Macs
    Mac 101- File Sharing

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    Move iTunes from PC to MAC, http://www.macworld.com/article/146958/2010/03/move_itunes_windows_mac.html

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    i want to move my itunes library to a externial drive but keep it on icloud (actualy i thnk its called somethong eltse but it keeps my devises synced and acesible) how do i do this

    The OP does not state laptop/portable. I took a WAG thinking it was desktop. (still don't know).
    Your way will at least show the library if the external is not attached. However, everything ends up with the dreaded ! .
    Then the problem comes when the  external is reattached, especially if there were files added without it attached.
    Moving the media folder to a different location should not interfere with your syncing, as long as you point iTunes again to the new location of the library.
    Underlined statement is the issue.
    The iTunes media folder is not the iTunes library. Pointing iTunes prefs - Advanced to this location again may or may not fix it. Usually not.
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    iTunes media folder = items added to iTunes with Copy files to iTunes media folder when organized is ticked and also all purchased items (unless you moved them elsewhere). If you consolidate the library, everything will get copied to the iTunes media folder
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  • I want to move my itunes library to a new computer

    i want to move my itunes library to a new computer

    These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
    Method 1
    Backup the library with this User Tip.
    Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
    Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
    Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
    Method 2
    Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
    Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
    I'd recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library.
    Note if you have iOS devices and haven't moved your contacts and calendar items across then you should create one dummy entry of each in your new profile and iTunes should  merge the existing data from the device.
    If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See make a split library portable.
    Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library or a backup then then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
    tt2

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    I have a Mac, with various iPads and iPhones in the family and a family network running from a Time Capsule.  I wish to move my iTunes library (which is home shared and connected to iTunes Match) from my Mac to my Time Capsule as it is using a large portion of my hard drive.  I then want my husbands/childrens PCs/laptops to also connect to this one iTunes library.

    The library is working in its new location?  You moved it by copying the whole iTunes folder and not by changing any preferences settings?
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  • I want to move my Itunes library to a different drive.  How do I do it?

    how do I move my Itunes library to a different drive location?

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

  • I want to move my itunes library to NAS drive

    I want to move my entire itunes library/content from my macbook pro retina onto my new WD MyCloud NAS drive. Is this a straight forward procedure and will i retain all my playlists/artwork etc etc.
    I have read quite a few (older) posts re this but am still unsure of the 'correct' procedure in order to keep all my settings. I also want to make sure that after I have done this, when i next sync my iphone to itunes I don't want to 'lose' everything from my iphone.
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    Copy the entire iTunes folder to the other drive.  Start iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and select the library.itl file in the copied folder.
    I see not infrequent posts here from people who have used a NAS with iTunes.  Things can go wrong.  NAS adds another layer of communication between iTunes and its files and things do not always go well.  Make sure you always have a backup of all your iTunes files on a separate drive because I can personally attest I and others have spent many hours on this forum trying to restore people's libraries on NAS.  I am sure it goes well for some (the people who never need post here) but I see many more posts from people with libraries on NAS than regular external drives.

  • I have just bought an iMac and want to move my iTunes library over from a PC.

    Unfortunately all my CDs have been ripped as WAV files for maximum quality, so all the metadata is in the iTunes library file.  I can get the wav files copied over easily enough, but the Mac won't read the iTunes library xml file for some reason.  Any suggestions before I start ripping everything again?

    Copy the entire /My Music/iTunes/ folder from your PC to /Music/ on your Mac.

  • I have a 4th generation ipod touch and I want to move my itunes library to a different computer, can I just download itunes or will my ipod software be too old?

    Can I just download the newest itunes and still have my 4th generation ipod work with it?

    Download iTunes on the new computer and then:
    Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive: Apple Support Communities

  • How do I properly move an iTunes library?

    I wanted to move my iTunes library from my hard drive (which is full) to my external Time Capsule drive. When I created a new iTunes folder and saved it on my Time Capsule external drive and then re-imported into iTunes, I either have duplicate copies of each file or there is an exclamation point next to the file in iTunes stating that the location of the file can't be found. I have over 4300 files in iTunes prior to this mistake. What did I do wrong and how can I correct this situation?

    iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
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  • How to move my iTunes library from Windows PC to new Mac

    I have been using a PC running Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit for the last 12 months or so. I have now purchased a Mac. I want to move my iTunes library from the PC to the Mac.
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    So, what I have done so far to try to achieve this is:
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    Next I copied the files over. So I copied the updated media folder from the NTFS (Windows) external HDD onto the Mac external HDD.
    And I copied the files from in My Documents/Music/iTunes on the Windows PC to User/Music on the Mac.
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  • How do I move my itunes library to a new pc using a flash stick?

    I want to move my itunes library to my new pc. I have purchased some songs on my new computer and downloaded them to a cd and put them on my ipod nano using my old pc. I now want to transfer my entire library on my old computer to my new one using an external drive or flash stick. The old computer will no longer be used. The new computer will now be my 'home' computer. I have some lengthy instructions on how to transfer the library using my ipod, but i don't know how to use a flash drive to do it...instructions, please. (my old computer is windows 2000 xp...new one is windows vista)

    Choose Consolidate Library from the Advanced menu in iTunes, confirm this action, open the Advanced section of the iTunes preferences, check the path for the iTunes library, and move the folder at that path to the corresponding location on the new computer, using any method necessary to transfer the data.
    (33411)

  • How do I move my iTunes library (palylists and history) from PC to Mac?

    I want to move my iTunes library (playlists and history - not just the files) from my Windows PC to a new Apple Mac.
    I have an external hard drive and I have moved all the song files over to the MAC. How do I load up the library with playlists and history?
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    I see where I was going wrong now.
    The PC and the Mac are shared resources in this house, so both have their iTunes folder in "shared" places so that all users can get to them.
    After consolidating the library, I noticed that the itunes library held in the itunes directory where the music lives had not updated.
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    Now the only problem I have is that I seem to have 5 computers authorised for iTunes despite only having 3 physical machines.....
    Off to the forums me thinks.
    Ta

  • How do I move my Itunes library to a new hard drive????

    Hi!
    I recently installed a new and bigger hard drive and wanted to move my itune library to it. Someone here said that if I do that, I will have to manually reintall each song into Itunes. Is this true? is there a way that i would move it and cause minimal effect?
    Thanks!

    You might find these articles useful, you can adapt the first one to an internal drive, the method would be the same only the way the drives are connected is different:
    iLounge - Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive
    iTunes for Windows - Moving your iTunes Music Folder

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