Itunes won't play library on new hard drive

I had to install new hard drive. Moved all itunes files over including library. Downloaded latest version of Itunes, but it won't play any of my music.

This is relevant portion of the support document with a bit of editing for clarity.
If iTunes is running, quit iTunes.
Using a Mac click the icon to open iTunes and immediately press and continue to hold down the Option key.
You should see the following screen:
If iTunes opens normally, close it and try again.
Once you've got that dialog you have two options. If your previous iTunes library database is stored on the external drive use Choose Library to browse to it and open it. If you only have the media folder on the drive then use the Create Library option to create a new iTunes library at /iTunes on the external, move the media folder to /iTunes/iTunes Media and then add it to your new empty library.
tt2

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ITunes won't show library on external hard drive

I have just bought a MacBook Pro but I don't know how to get library on external hard drive to show in iTunes... Any suggestions please?

This is relevant portion of the support document with a bit of editing for clarity.
If iTunes is running, quit iTunes.
Using a Mac click the icon to open iTunes and immediately press and continue to hold down the Option key.
You should see the following screen:
If iTunes opens normally, close it and try again.
Once you've got that dialog you have two options. If your previous iTunes library database is stored on the external drive use Choose Library to browse to it and open it. If you only have the media folder on the drive then use the Create Library option to create a new iTunes library at /iTunes on the external, move the media folder to /iTunes/iTunes Media and then add it to your new empty library.
tt2

I had to get my hard drive replaced from Apple, I lost all of my music obviously. My question is, how can I get all my music off of my iPhone onto iTunes? Since it's a new hard drive, the iPhone isn't recognizing this as it's home computer.

I had to get my hard drive replaced from Apple, I lost all of my music obviously. My question is, how can I get all my music off of my iPhone onto iTunes? Since it's a new hard drive, the iPhone isn't recognizing this as it's home computer.

You will need to use third-party software to transfer music from your phone to the iTunes Library. I recommend Phone to Mac - Pod to Mac | Macroplant.com.

Move itunes library to new hard drive

ok i recently got a new harddrive because i ran out of space on my old one. i have started everything over fresh and i want to take EVERYTHING from my old iTunes and put it on my new harddrive. One thing i have tried is taking the itunes>music folder and copied onto my ipod (enable disk use) and then put it on my new hard drive. well my problem is that i dont have the same number of items and its missing all of the ratings and play counts and any of the small details like "skip during shuffle". another problem is that all of my videos are under the movie category, which will take me forever to organize. please help me because i really do not want to organize my whole library again

Then you want to clone your original HD to the new HD. See below - same concept as moving between two computers, you just do it between two HDs on the same PC..
How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply and adapt it to your specific situation and equipment resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder (directory) structure, rather than just copying just the song files. By copying the entire ‘iTunes’ folder and all sub-folders, you capture not only the music files, but the all-important ‘iTunes Library.itl’ database file (usually located in the ‘iTunes’ folder), which contains all the data about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). See: What are the iTunes Library files?
Install iTunes on the new computer. Then go back to your old computer and move (copy) the "iTunes" folder which usually resides inside your "…\My Documents\My Music" folder from the old computer to the exact same place (both Drive Letter and complete Path) on the new computer. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will look and behave exactly the same way it did on the old, Play Counts, Ratings, Comments and all!
NOTE: It is usually safer moving files between computers with the same version of iTunes!!
iTunes Files to Copy and Move to your New PC
1) All music files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
3) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
4) Any XML playlist files you created for Playlist retention
5) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
6) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”
Here's a list of methods to copy and move your music files from one computer to another:
1) Use an External Hard Drive (ExHD) to move the complete files and Folder structures from one computer to another (my preferred option). You can clone’ the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure in one very easy step. Also great to have available for complete backups of your Library. External hard drives now run less than $100 for 200-250GBs of storage. See This Link
2) Directly connect the two computers....
- 2a) Connect them through a Router &/or Network
- 2b) Directly connect using an Ethernet cable: Straight for using at least one Mac; or Crossover for PC/PC Instructions here.
- 2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. Example here. There are various types out there (use Google).
....Then copy the files from one computer to the other.
3) Use the iPod as a transfer device, as this extensive Apple link explains. It will be a bit easier if your iPod has a larger capacity than your music collection, otherwise you will need to perform multiple copy/move transfers. This well written process also works fine while using any other data transfer medium (ExHD, Flash Drive, DVD, CD, Zipp, Jazz, etc.).
4) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7GBs each) with your music data files and folder structure, and load them onto the new computer. Re-writable DVDs are more cost effective (if your DVD drive can manage these types).
5) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #4 above and load the files and folders on the new computer. Re-writable CDs are more cost effective (if your CD drive can manage these types).
6) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB - 4GB) to move the files and folders. Best if the flash drive is larger than your Library, otherwise you will need multiple copy/move transfers.
These are links to various additional instructions on performing the transfer (read them all, but some listed steps may not be required depending on your specific situation):
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

Have found multiple iTunes Library.xml files. Moved Library to new Hard Drive and it needs to be completely rebuilt?

Hello. I have a Mac Mini operating Mac OS X 10.7.2. I recently had to move my iTunes Library to a new hard drive. I followed the directions on how to move the library and refind everything yet when I do so what comes up is a mere skeleton of what I had. I have had to hunt down my purchased Apps, Music and Movies and re-add them to the library. I also noticed in doing this I have multiple iTunes Library.xml files ... shouldn't there only be one? If so how do I clean this up without doing any accidental damage (i.e. how do I find the one that is being used and delete the rest?)? If I delete the others is there any risk of losing purchased content? Lastly syncing my iPads has become a nightmare as I get the "This iPad is currently synced to another iTunes library" message. Obviously something

It's hard for me to picture the exact situation. It sounds like you still have your library file on the internal but some files on the external, and maybe some on the internal, some of which are in the library and others not... By re-adding things after consolidating it may have made things into a hodge-podge. Yes, that article you referenced says: "iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder"with Media Folder being the emphasis. You probably should have just moved your whole iTunes folder. Still, moving the media folder as instructed should not have messed up the library. Did you make the mistake of starting up iTunes before the external drive had mounted fully and it then told you it couldn't find many files? How you proceed to sort it out will depend upon how much time you want to spend and how important things such as ratings and playcount are to you. I have not actually used the consolidate feature across different drives myself (and don't feel inclined to do so here to test ).
If you are in the USA you can download some previous purhcases with iCloud, but not all.
Here's a bit on what an iTunes folder should look like:
What are the iTunes library files? - [http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660]
More on iTunes library files and what they do - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management]
Library files with graphic and explanation of different iTunes versions - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13169517
Once you get iTunes working off the external drive it should just put new media to the external when you add it.
I have almost no experience with synching (I synched my neice's iPod, once, about 4 years ago).

How do I transfer itunes library to new hard drive running lion os

I have a Mac Pro with 2 hard drives in it.
Hard drive #1 has Leopard OS and my iTunes library on it
Hard drive #2 has Lion 10.7.4 OS and this is where I want to move my iTunes library to from hard drive #1.
How can I due this insuring that all playlists, etc. transfer seamlessly. I will then only be using the new Lion OS
to run iTunes (and this will also communicate with Apple TV, etc.)
Thanks!

Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder from old hard drive to /Music/ on new hard drive.
Start iTunes.
That is all.
You can also leave it where it it, hold Option, launch iTunes.
Slect Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the Leopard drive.
This will be your iTunes for both OS, whichever you boot into.

Transferring Itunes data and Library to new hard-drive question

Hello,
First I want to state that I made a mistake when I transferred my music to a new bigger harddrive. My bad.
I look here for some guidance, I read this article after the fact: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive so it was too late for me and I got these "!" signs on all my song. I have over 5000 songs (not including podcasts, movie and TV shows.
I tried to move my library (succesfully) in my new hard drive so I could keep my laptop clean of all music.
I though I will be clever and replace the target links into the "Itunes Library.xml" and "Itunes music Library.xml" files. Well not so clever because I still have the issue.
My question: Does anybody knows what else should be done to fix this issue (if fixable)? I would try to avoid linking all my music one at the time by using the "locate" function that ITunes pop up when you try to start a song.
It is also too bad that you must do it one song at the time, I calculated that if I do 20 songs a day it's going to take me 250 days and more...
Thanks for any idea/solutions you may have
Thierry

I though I will be clever and replace the target links into the "Itunes Library.xml" and "Itunes music Library.xml" files. Well not so clever because I still have the issue.
iTunes does not use these files.
They are created only for other apps to access the iTunes library.
Does anybody knows what else should be done to fix this issue (if fixable)?
See this -> iTunes Track CPR v1.3
"This script attempts to locate the files of so-called "dead tracks"--iTunes tracks designated with (!)--that you assume are not actually missing but are still located in the iTunes Music folder in their "iTunes File Order" (Music -> Artist -> Album -> file.xxx). Any correct files found will be added to iTunes and will replace the "dead track" in each playlist it appears in (except Smart Playlists). Most tag data will also be rescued."

Moved library to new hard drive, now nothing shows in iTunes

I moved my library to a new internal hard drive, but the music does not show when I start up iTunes. I followed the instructions from the Apple website, so I don't know what to do. I can see the files on the new hard drive, so I know they are still around. I'm afraid to sync as I may lose everything. What do I do?
VAIO PCV-RZ24G Windows XP

First - re-read all the instructions and figure out where you might have dropped a step. Below are three similar sites that explain the same process. One may help you diagnose what went wrong.
My guess is that you moved or corrupted your Library database file in the process. But without more information, I am just taking a shot in the dark.
See these links for some step-by-step info:
iLounge: Moving your iTunes Library to a New Hard Drive
MacMuse: iTfW: Move iTunes music/Library to new drive
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder

I moved iTunes and library to new Hard drive M: , now Sync is lost. Need to collect files and rebuild to proper folder.

I installed a new hard drive and partitioned it into 2, P: Pictures: and M: Music: . I moved all my iTunes Files and Folders to the M: drive. Then when I connected my iPhone4 to iTunes it asked if I wanted to create a new sync, I said no but I seemed it couldn't find my old sync file. So I searched my computer for files and folders of iTunes and placed them all into a iTunes folder on the root of M: drive. I need to rebuild the iTunes folder correctly.
I have all the correct items on my iPhone and haven't lost anything. Its just a problem trying to sync. Biggest problem is my music. When I try to sync music there is trouble. I can't seen to remove all music from iPhone and resync. When I thought I did iTunes would say no more music will fit. (Music is normally 70% of my memory on phone and I try and leave 1GB of 16GB free on it).
I wan't to build the iTunes install on the D:\Program Files (x64)\ since I don't install anything on my SSD drive C: except Windows 7.

How exactly did you move the files or more specifically, what did you move?
The correct way to move the iTunes files is to move the ENTIRE iTunes folder (or copy it) from the original location to the new location.
Once moved, hold Shift while launching iTunes and point it to the new location.
If anything other than the ENTIRE iTunes folder was moved, it needs to be put back in the original location to correct the issues created then moved correctly.

Switching music library to new hard drive

Hi.
I recently bought a new external hard drive and transferred all of my music onto it from my old external hard drive. I'd like to change the music folder location to the new hard drive. My question is this: if I change it to the new hard drive, will the playlists be lost? I exported the library, but I think if I import it after changing the folder location that there will be double the songs in the library, but only half of them will be valid and I'd rather not have to go through all my songs and delete the ones that aren't found. Or will the library not be imported at all because it's a new location?
Long and confusing question, but I've probably just made it too complicated in my head. If anyone can offer me some advice, I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks in advance.

If you want to move your library to an external location, do it this way.
Copy the entire iTunes folder over to the new external hard drive (not just the iTunes Music folder you find inside it). Once copied then use these instructions to open the library from its new location...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
That's it. Nothing else to do. Just start using the library from its new location. Just make sure the external is always powered up and mounted before opening iTunes. If you start iTunes and the external is not on, it will default back to the internal drive location for anything added to the library. You may not notice it for a while and find a bunch of your stuff is spread across the external and the internal drive. You would then have to change the preference back to the external drive location and do a Consolidate library command to correct.
Patrick

Moved library to new hard drive, iPod no longer communicates

Ok, I am computer savy but know next to nothing about iTunes as I don't use it, but my wife does use it. However, my wife is not computer savy.
My wife's old hard drive started dying (on a Dell laptop), so we bought a new one and moved all her files over. However, she now has 2 problems:
(1) She cannot use any of the old music files. I read around online, and I have discovered that we need to consolidate the old files from the old HD into a flash drive using the iTunes consolidate library function. Then they can be imported to the new library on the new computer. This is doable as the old drive is not yet completely dead.
(2) However, she has since purchased/downloaded new songs out of the iTunes store onto the new HD, and thus I need to keep the new HD's library intact or we'll lose the files. *Now the big problem: her iPod will not connect to the new iTunes library.* I assume this is because iPods sync with a particular library, not a particular computer, and the library of the old computer was not properly transferred. Thus there is a new library, that contains songs we don't want to lose, but we can't connect the iPod.
Please help! How do we transfer the old "library" settings that allow the iPod to be synced without completely deleting the existing library on the new hard drive?
Thanks.
OS is Windows 7 and new HD's iTunes version is 10.0.0.68.
Message was edited by: bagman27

RS
How did you go about this move?
The correct way to do it is
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
If you still have the original library it might be worth trying again.
Regards
TD

HT1923 how to save all my itunes data to reinstall on a new hard drive

i want to reinstall my windows 7///how do i keep my downloaded mobile applications , backups for Iphone etc...to be incorporated back to iTunes once I renstall windows & new install iTunes.
I have a seperate temp hard drive setup where i have other windows docs etc saved //

Simply make a backup of your iTunes library onto that disk > http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751 After reinstalling Windows, simply install iTunes, put the iTunes library in My Music folder and open this application

Downloading my old library to new hard drive?

Hi guys, I'll say sorry in advance, I'm a new user and completely useless with a computer.
Here's my problem, My hard drive recently packed in on me, so I had to buy a new one. I'm currently downloading Itunes again and was wondering if there is any way to get my old library and purchased albums onto this new hard drive?
Any help or support would be greatly appreciated :)!

You're going to have to find someone who can extract data from a broken hard drive. They'll more than likely have to take it apart and do whatever it is they do to get lost data off a hard drive. This type of procedure is not cheap, either.
A good place to start would be http://www.diskdoctors.com. For your average hard drive, data recovery is going to start at about $500 and can range all the way up to about $3,000. So, if your hard drive has crashed, you're looking at a hefty expense.

Having trouble with error message in itunes every since I had a new hard drive installed. Write access are not enough or permissions aren't allowed. I have changed all of these in the corresponding folders, restarted and nothing works. I need help bad??

Got a new hard drive installed and since then, I cannot get purchased song into my itunes. It is telling me that my write access or permission are wrong. I have changed all and nothing works. HELP!!!!!!

Use the trackpad to scroll, thats what it was designed for. The scroll bars automatically disappear when not being used and will appear if you scroll up or down using the trackpad.
This is a user-to-user forum and most people will post on here if they have problems. You very rarely get people posting to say there update went smooth. The fact is the vast majority of Mountain Lion users will not be experiencing any major problems with the OS, or maybe with apps which are not compatible, but thats hardly Apple's fault if developers don't update their apps.

Problems with copying iPhoto library onto new hard drive from external HELP

I had to get a new hard drive installed onto my MacBook Pro, but was able to copy my iPhoto library onto my external hard drive via another computer before the old hard drive failed. Now, I am trying to copy that library back onto my MacBook.
After I copied the library onto the MacBook, when iPhoto was opened, it showed no photos but I could see album titles. Then when I opened iPhoto while holding down the option key, it was all clumped into one event and not nearly all of the photos were there. Also, I have right-clicked on the library to see package contents and everything seems to be there, but I don't know how to make it all show up in the library.
I've downloaded iPhoto Library Manager because I thought that might help (but haven't used it yet -- don't know how) and I just need some help to recover my iPhoto library... and is there a way to restore all the separate events imported and time/date stamps, in order to get all the photos in chronological order?

Should I just go through the iPhoto Library package contents and drag every folder into iPhoto?
No. That will get you massive duplication.
Try these in order - from best option on down...
1. Do you have an up-to-date back up? If so, try copy the library6.iphoto file from the back up to the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) allowing it to overwrite the damaged file.
2. Download iPhoto Library Manager and use its rebuild function. This will create a new library based on data in the albumdata.xml file. Not everything will be brought over - no slideshows, books or calendars, for instance - but it should get all your albums and keywords back.
Because this process creates an entirely new library and leaves your old one untouched, it is non-destructive, and if you're not happy with the results you can simply return to your old one.
3. If neither of these work then you'll need to create and populate a new library.
To create and populate a new *iPhoto 08* library:
Note this will give you a working library with the same Events and pictures as before, however, you will lose your albums, keywords, modified versions, books, calendars etc.
In the iPhoto Preferences -> Events Uncheck the box at 'Imported Items from the Finder'
Move the iPhoto Library to the desktop
Launch iPhoto. It will ask if you wish to create a new Library. Say Yes.
Go into the iPhoto Library (Right Click -> Show Package Contents) on your desktop and find the Originals folder. From the Originals folder drag the individual Event Folders to the iPhoto Window and it will recreate them in the new library.
When you're sure all is well you can delete the iPhoto Library on your desktop.
In the future, in addition to your usual back up routine, you might like to make a copy of the library6.iPhoto file whenever you have made changes to the library as protection against database corruption.
Regards
TD

Itunes won't play library on new hard drive

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