Import iTunes library from an external HD to a new Mac

I just got a new macbook and am trying to import my itunes library from my external hard drive. I tried to just select my library on the external HD in the advanced tab, but my list of songs and ratings is not being imported into the software. I selected my xml file and my playlists showed up but not songs
How do I accomplish this?
Thanks,
Jason

I just ran into this, too, when my Mac Mini died. I assume you're taking the data (songs) off of your old hard drive? Maybe with an external enclosure wrapped around it? Here's what I did:
1. Open your Mac's main hard disc, where your iTunes resides. (By "open" I mean "double click on.") 2. Open "Users". 3. Open your user name, whatever you sign into the computer with (if you don't know, it's NOT "Shared"). 4. Open the "Music" folder. 5. Open the "iTunes" folder. 6. Scoot this window off to one side of your screen, and go to your old hard disc, where your music is, and repeat steps 1 through 5. 7. Now drag all of the folders you see on your old hard disc's same window over to your new hard disc's open window. They should be: a folder labeled Album Artwork, iTunes Library, another folder labeled iTunes music (that's where your music is!), and iTunes Library.xml. You might also have additional things like "iTunes Music Library (2)" and a folder labeled Previous iTunes Libraries. Drag them over too! IMPORTANT: you'll get a message saying "This folder already contains a newer version..." etc. "...do you want to replace?" Of course you do! - you're filling up a newly formatted disc, right? Say "yes" each time. You'll know you got it right because it'll take a long time for the iTunes Music folder to copy over, since that's where all the data is. When you start up iTunes afterwards, all your settings should be exactly like they were before! Enjoy!
PowerMac G5 1.6 Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Similar Messages

  • HT3819 how do i get my iTunes library from my old laptop to my new mac (my purchases have moved across but not my own music files)

    How do I get my itunes library from my old laptop to my new imac? My purchases are showing on the new imac but not my own music files.

    iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
    Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings:  Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive.  Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
    For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168 

  • Importing iTunes library from an external hard drive backup

    Hi,
    I would like to know how I can import my iTunes library from a backup on a external hard drive?
    If that's possible, I would like to keep organisation of files, playlists, iphone settings...
    I had a crash with my previous computer and I would like to keep all iTunes settings as before.
    There might be already a subject about this but I did not found it.
    Thank you for your help,
    Simon

    In Preferences/Advanced/General point iTunes to the folder on your external hard drive.
    Check Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library. This will put all new additions on your external hard drive.
    Now click File/Add to Library and point to the folder on the external hard drive. With 200 GB's of music you will think iTunes has frozen,. It hasn't. It will take several minutes to process everything.
    Tracy

  • Importing iTunes Library from an external harddrive

    Recently, I had to delete the operating system on my computer because I accidentally deleted a software application that could not be reinstalled individually. So before I reinstalled my operating system, I had to backup all the data on my computer. In particular, I put my whole iTunes Library on an external hard drive and I imported the folder into my Applications file. I have not figured out how to import the folder to my new iTunes library. When I want to listen to a song, I usually just go to the folder and click on the song and then it plays in my iTunes. Since I have like 1500 songs, I do not have the time to click on each song to import it into my library. How do I import the whole music folder into my iTunes library?

    Hey mate,
    Try this:
    Close iTunes, then copy your backup iTunes Music folder to ~/Music, where '~' represents your home folder. Open the iTunes Library file within that folder, that should reopen iTunes, and your library should appear.
    Hope this helps!
    Brendan

  • How do I migrate my itunes library from an external hard drive to my mac mini's internal hard drive?

    I have my iTunes library on an external hard drive because my macbook pro's internal hard drive didn't have enough room.  I would like to migrate or transfer the itunes files while continuing to keep my playlists.  Is there a way to do that with the migration software?

    Thank you for your help.  My biggest concern is losing all of my sorted music into playlists. I have 124GB of music and resorting it will very difficult.  When I moved the itunes library with the help of a supervisor at apple tech to the external HD I had to resort it.
    Will it move the entire library and setting as they are now?

  • How do I import my library from an external disk to my new MBP hard drive?

    My old MBP was running out of space so I exported my Aperture library (250GB) to an external drive.  I just replaced my old computer with a new MBP with a 1TB flash drive.  Now that I have the space, I want to put my library back on my computer but I can't figure out how bring it in from my external hard drive.  Any ideas?  Many thanks.

    Why do you say " I exported my Aperture library"? Did you actually use "File > Export > Items as new Library" in Aperture to create a new library on your external drive? A simple drag and drop of the library should have sufficed. What is your Aperture version?
    My old MBP was running out of space so I exported my Aperture library (250GB) to an external drive.  I just replaced my old computer with a new MBP with a 1TB flash drive.  Now that I have the space, I want to put my library back on my computer but I can't figure out how bring it in from my external hard drive.  Any ideas?  Many thanks.
    Connect your external drive and use the Finder to drag the Aperture library from the external drive back to the Pictures folder.
    Then double-click the library to point Aperture to the new location and open the copied library in Aperture.
    If your Aperture library uses referenced originals, select the referenced images and use the command File > Consolidate originals"  to move the originals back to your internal disk.
    If you should encounter any error messages (like error -36) while moving the library to the internal drive, post back.

  • How move my itunes library from old external harddrive to a new bigger external harddrive

    i have my itunes library on an external hard drive  but now i want to move the itunes library over to a new  bigger external hard drive . i just got a new imac and I want to keep my music and movies content on  off my imac. I finally just got my imac itunes to recognize  the old external hard drive but now I want to move to the new 2tb harddrive. Any help would be appreciated

    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

  • Easiest way to transfer iTunes library on an external drive to a new Mac?

    Hello,
    I currently have my entire iTunes Library (Music, Movies, TV Shows, etc.) on an external hard drive.
    I have a new Mac arriving tomorrow, to replace my current one. What is the easiest way to get my entire Library into iTunes on my new Mac?
    I know Migration Assistant is normally supposed to help with this, but I assume that's only if the Library has been stored internally. Can I simply plug the external drive into the new Mac, authorize the computer, and Import my entire Library from the File menu?
    Any pointers would be appreciated. Thanks!

    mattfromallston wrote:
    I have a new Mac arriving tomorrow, to replace my current one. What is the easiest way to get my entire Library into iTunes on my new Mac?
    From your OLD computer...
    Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive... and then from the External Drive to your New Computer..
    Full Details Here  >  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
    An Added Bonus is that you will have a Backup of iTunes.
    Also... Have a look at these 2 Videos...
    http://macmost.com/moving-your-itunes-library.html
    http://macmost.com/moving-your-itunes-media-to-an-external-drive.html
    NOTE:
    It is important that the External Hard Drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).

  • How do i transfer, my itunes library from my old computer to my new mac pro

    Ho do i transfer , my itunes library from old netbook  to my mac pro

    Here is apple's guide to transferring an itunes library. 
    Hope this helps.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

  • Bringing my itunes library from my xp pc to a new mac

    kind of a 2 part question...
    i have 2 computers i use, one has my library and i need to move that over. the other one has my friend's library since she doesn't have a computer, but I don't want to use that anymore either, can i transfer both libraries?

    These pages may be of some help:
    How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)
    Networking with a Windows PC

  • How do I transfer my iTunes library from an external drive to my new macbook air?

    I have an 8 year old MacBook Pro that has a small hard drive.  So 8 years ago I put all my songs (35GB) on an external drive.  I just bought a MacBook Air that has 256 GB of space and would like to transfer all my songs, movies, etc. to it and stop using the old hard drive.  Can anyone help me with how to do this?  Thanks.

    Choose Go to Folder from the Finder's Go menu, provide ~/Music/ as the folder's path, and drag the entire iTunes library, including the database files, to it.
    Alternatively, you can drag the entire library to any location on the internal drive, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, and choose it.
    If you only put the songs and not the database files on the external drive, drag it to the internal drive and from there to the library in the open iTunes application window.
    (114452)

  • HT1751 What is the best way to move my iTunes library from an external PC drive to a Mac external drive?

    I just make the move to Mac computers.  My iTunes library is currently on a PC formatted external drive.  I would like to move it to an external drive that i have formatted for Mac.  What is the best way to do this?

    Is the entire library on the external drive or just the media folder? If it is the latter, and you still have access to the PC then see make a split library portable.
    If the drive is in FAT32 format you can connect a portable library directly to the Mac, holding down Option as you start iTunes. Otherwise you either need to copy it to a local drive (Mac should be able to read NTFS) or install a full service NTFS driver so that the library can be read and updated.
    tt2

  • How do I link my itunes library on an external drive to my new mac?

    I have an older Mini with about 600 gigs of losses files on an external drive. I have a new mini and I want to use the same drive. Can I somehow point the new mac to the same location?

    To Operate iTunes from the External Drive...
    Start iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.

  • I can't copy my old iPhoto library from a external HD to my new mac?

    Hi. I just bought a new mac and want to have all my old iphoto pictures from my old mac into my new iPhoto library. I've tried to copy the old iPhoto library into a external HD(works fine), but the problem is that I can't copy it out from the external HD an in to my new mac again. It just say that it doesn't work because it doesnt have enough storage.
    I don't get why it would say that, because the old iPhoto library is 89.55 GB and I haven't used any memory at all on my new macbook pro, and my old macbook pro has memory enough to have the iPhoto library on it (the mac is 5 years old and has almost a full memory), so why can't my new macs memory manage the iPhoto library when my old mac can? It doesn't make sense at all.
    I've googled it, and it says everywhere that it should work by simply copy to external HD and move over the library from there and into the pictures folder, but this definitely doesn't work for me.
    I hope that some please can help me with this, I don't know what do to.

    Do you know how much space the cheapest macbook pro with reatina has?
    http://www.apple.com/mac/compare/notebooks.html
    A basic MBP may only have
    128GB solid-state drive

  • I tried to transfer my iTunes library from my old PC to my new Mac, and...?

    I found a support page from Apple that would allow me to transfer PART of the iTunes library I shared with several other people to my new Macbook Pro. This process involved consolidating all of my music, putting that folder on my sixth generation iPod Nano, plugging my iPod into my new computer and copied/pasted my consolidated music files from my iPod to the folder in Finder called "iTunes". So why is it that when I open iTunes, my music isn't in my library?

    My experience is with older versions of iTunes but...
    Did you copy a cross a whole iTunes folder with a library or just music files?
    Since you said you copied part of a music collection I'm not clear if you copied the library files or just the music files.
    If you just copied music files these will have to be added to the library. You can do that through consolidate, or just drag the file to the iTunes window.
    If you added a new library you can try holding down the shift key while starting iTunes then point it to the library file location.
    IMHO the instructions in http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1329 are incredibly long and I don't have time right now to check them step for step.

Maybe you are looking for