Move itunes library from PC to MAC

Hello!
I'm switching from my PC to my shiny new iMac. Now I want to move my itunes library from the PC to the imac. I also want to keep my covers, playcounts, playlists etc. So reimport everything is no option. But on my PC, all my songs are saved under G:/Music. Inside Music I have my own structure with sub folders for different kinds of music and also the itunes folder (with my library file and all the itunes subfolders). I want to keep this structure also on the imac so I don't like to consolidate my library before I move it to the imac. How can I obtain this structure? If I only move the whole Music folder with it's subfolders (itunes, trance, electronic, ambient,...) to the new location on my iMac I think the paths will be broken when I point itunes on the iMac to my library file on startup!
Is there an easy way to do this? I searched a lot for this but I only found solutions with editing the library.xml file and changing the paths in there with search and replace. I think this is very risky and much work. Furthermore in most cases you will loose the "added" tags.
I also sync my iphone with itunes. So it's important to me that I also can sync my iphone with my imac without having first to erease it, loose all my settings and then refill it.
Any help would be great! Thank you very much!

One solution I could think of without having to transfer directly would be if all your music is purchased from itunes, you can plug your iphone into the mac and select 'transfer purchases', which will automatically put any songs you've bought on the new mac.
as for going through the process of transferring the iTunes, if you purchased your computer from an Apple Store they do offer a service called the One to One program for 99 dollars which does include a professional data transfer which can take itunes (not to mention photos or documents you need) on to the new mac in the right way. If you did buy it there, that option would probably be the safest bet for a seamless transfer.
Hope it works out for you!

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How to move itunes library from PC to mac

im getting a iMac intel core duo 17" very soon. I currently have my 1,750 song iTunes library on my PC. to move my library, should I connect the computers with a cable? then do the same thing as moving the library with an iPod? (except for the ipod part)
thanks

Hey all,
I haven't been on this section of the apple site for a while. I sadly took a job at a school where they use pcs.
Anyway I thought I could help.
I've transfer full music folders from two computers many times but never a library from a pc to a mac. Let me explain the difference.
The folder that holds all your music only holds your music. IE on mac (osx) its ~/Music/iTunes Library/Music
and on a pc (windows 2000 and newer) its in
/Documents and Settings/user name/My Music/iTunes/Music
The "Library" is the thing that keeps tracksof your albums. I belive this file is in XML format and should work the same on both a pc and mac.
Anyway, this is how you transfer the whole thing from one machien to the other over a network.
It is best if you wire them together. Proccess goes much faster.
On the mac we must first turn it into a server that the pc can talk to
When you are logged in as an administrator on the mac go to the apple menu > system prefernces
click on sharing
enable windows sharing. You may also need to enable an account to connect with. I recomend that you enable the user who gets the music. ( i can clerify this if requested [email protected])
Ok then on the PC
go to the start menu > run
type in your macs ip address or name
it should look something like this \\192.168.1.2
then clock ok, wait a bit and eventualy it will ask for a username and a password. Use them name and pass for the user you enabled in the sharing control panel step
then you will see a window with your users folder in it.open it and navigate to the Music folder.
I hope that you havent loaded anymsuic on that user gets trickeier if you did and you may not be able to keep your albums. I can expalin this too in greater detail later.
So you have one window that shows the content of your mac and ist user.
Now we need to go get the documents out of the pc.
Open the "My Documenst" fodlder on the desktop and open my msuic. within it you will find an iTunes folder just like the one on the mac. replace the one on the windows machine with the one on the mac and let it copy. Dont let either machine sleep or you might have to do it again.
Anyway. I hope this helps. I see they now have added browny points to peoples posts. And I was just happy helping people switch.
Anyway now to find a solution to my problem cheers
pax

After getting a new dell laptop, I was able to easily move my itunes library from my old mac to my new laptop,however now when I try to sync my music to my iphone,my songs have an exclimation point next to it and cant sync most of my music. HELP!

I recently was given a new dells windows 7 laptop. I then was able to successfully move my itunes library from my old mac to my new dell. Now I am trying to sync my whole library of music back onto my iphone 4, but when I try it says most of my music can not be located. I have exclimation points next to the majority of my music (I have 368 songs in my itunes acount). Please help me be able to sync my songs to my iphone. I am only able to sync about 31 of my songs.

Copy them from your old computer, or your backuo copy of your old computer. to your new one.
The music sync is one way - computer to ipod. the exception is itunes purchases.

I am trying to transfer my itunes library from my old Mac to my new Mac; however, all that transfers is the music I downloaded from itunes. It does not transfer the music I downloaded from my cd's.

How do I transfer my itunes library from my old Mac to my new Mac? When I try all that transfers is what I downloaded from Itunes. It does not transfer the music I downloaded from my cd's/.

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 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
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381
2011 Transferring your iTunes library - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/ - An article with good background information, particularly if you are not sure your media files are all grouped for quick solution above. Unfortunately it uses the single term "transferring library" for two very different moves; relocating just your media (not recommended unless you really need this configuration) and relocating media+database (really your whole "library"). Make sure you understand the difference before electing to move only media.
If you put it in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there. (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)

How can i put my itunes library from an old mac g4 10.4.11 to an ipod2?

How can i put my itunes library from an old mac g4 10.4.11 to an ipod2?

Install iTunes 9.2.1 on your computer. If the device's requirements specify iTunes 10 or newer, you need to purchase Mac OS X 10.5 on DVD.
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How do I move itunes library from my ipad back to my itunes library in my windows computer ?

How do I move itunes library from my ipad back to my itunes library in my windows computer ? All the songs got transfered by mistake from my windows itunes library to my ipad. All i had wanted to do was to move a select # of songs newly purchased from my ipad to my ipod but I got mixed up. Before i knew it all teh library had been moved to my ipad? HELP!

You don't have to move the songs back into iTunes if you don't want to, the songs are still in iTunes on your computer - you just copied a version of the songs onto the iPad from iTunes.
If you want to remove them from the device itself, just swipe across the song while you are in song list mode in the music app and a red delete button will pop up. You can also tap and hold down on a playlist or a album icon and the X to delete will pop up. It will not work for Genius playlists.
You can also connect the iPad to the computer, launch iTunes, select the iPad on the left side, click on the Music Tab on the right, uncheck all of the music that you want to remove, click on Apply in the lower right corner of iTunes, and that will remove the songs from the iPad.

HT1364 Move itunes library from a windows computer and import this library to itunes on a macbook air

Is it possible to move itunes library from a windows computer to an external drive (time capsule) while, keeping all the playlist, ratings, plays etc. And importing this library to itunes on a macbook air? And how is it done? The media files should stay on the external drive since there is not enough space on the macbook air.
Regards
Søren

Hey man. Thanks a lot for the reply (hold the options instead of command key while launching). My old itunes library is now on my new computer in itunes, but the mp3 files are not in the same itunes folder. Where do I place these or what do I do to play them in my new itunes library?
All the songs in the library have exclamation marks in front of them because itunes can't find them.
Thanks again
Søren

Need to move iTunes library from external hard drive to Mac desktop.

I moved my iTunes library from my Mac desktop to an external hard drive. I needed to do this so the Apple Store could do maintenance work on my computer and I didn't want to lose my files. How do I move the iTunes library back to my Mac desktop?

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) so you get a prompt to select a library, then guide it to the 'iTunes Library.itl' file in the moved iTunes folder.
If you put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there. (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)

Move iTunes library from Mac to PC

Hi!
Just because I'm her web developer, my client thinks I know about all things computer. =)
So I will post her question here in hopes that someone can help me out (and thus, help her).
What is the proper way to move an iTunes library from a Mac (OS 10.2.8) to a PC (don't know the model or OS) if you don't have an iPod?
Thanks!
eCat
Mac to PC Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Transfer all her iTunes files to an external drive.
Make sure you get all her account info for iTunes since you may have to recreate it.
Now, de-authorize the Mac.
Now download and install iTunes on the Windows Box, set it up with her account info.
Now transfer the iTunes files into the Windows My Music folder.
Play a song and authorize the computer.
Done.
AMD 2500+ Windows XP

How do l move iTunes library from old laptop to Mac without losing content?

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How to move iTunes library from my iBook to my new Mac??

What's the best way to move my current iTunes library from my iBook to my new Mac?
I am sure there's a simple answer I just don't know it yet.
Thanks for your help.

Probably the most straightforward way to get iTunes onto your new computer is to network the two computers and copy your iTunes folder across. This works fine if you have been using iTunes to completely manage your music and all your songs are in iTunes Music not in different folders. Connecting two Mac computers using Ethernet
Copying the whole folder brings with it the iTunes Music folder and also the iTunes Library (iTunes Library.itl in Windows) database file which holds all the information about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). You'll get more information including the Folder/File structure in this article: What are the iTunes library files?
When you copy the iTunes folder make sure you put it into the same location on the new computer. This has to be the exact same place, on a Mac this would be in Username/Music/. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will be the same as on the original one Songs, Playlists, Play Counts, Ratings etc. When I moved iTunes a while ago for my daughter I was also using the same version of iTunes, not sure how important that is but it's probably worth keeping them the same.
Another way to connect two Macs is to connect them over Firewire and put the one with the iTunes library on it into target mode: How to use FireWire target disk mode

HT1364 can you move an itunes library from pc to mac?

Hi everyone,
The days of my laptop are nearing the end and I'm strongly leaning towards purchasing a macbook. Can you transfer your media library from pc to mac?
Can you export a copy your library onto an external drive as I don't know how much longer this laptop will last?
Thanks for the help

Sorry, I obviously wasn't clear. If you replicate the library from Computer 1 to Computer 2 by copying it, then all will be well. I routinely sync my iPhone and iPad both at home and at work using a single library that I migrate between the two locations via an external drive which is kept up do date using SyncToy.
Backup the iPod touch on Computer 1.
Copy the entire iTunes folder from Computer 1 to Computer 2, replacing any existing iTunes folder on Computer 2.
Check that content is accessible in the migrated library. (Won't be a problem for a standard iTunes library where all the content is inside the iTunes Media folder which in turn is inside your iTunes folder).
Connect iPod touch to Computer 2.
Sync.
In the unlikely event that something goes wrong (it won't) then you can connect the device back to Computer 1 to restore it.
Note device backups are not stored within the iTunes library and stay on the machine on which they were created. It is theorectically possible to migrate them but there isn't really any point. Once you have synced the iPod with the copy of the library on Computer 2 then Computer 2 will make its own backup of the device.
tt2

Best way to move/copy iTunes library from PC to Mac

Hi,
What's the best way to get my iTunes library from my PC to my new Mac?
The two computers are both networked.
Thanks.

Greetings David:
I have just completed this task... It took many attempts to get the two computers talking (windows xp pro, and new Imac g5). When I finally got them to talk to each other, the file transfer was brutallly slow. I used the ether-net cable to connect the two machines directly. The system was not very stable and crashed continuously. I would get one or two songs transferred and then the mac would lock up and require a restart (command option esc), via force quit of finder. Relaunch would not work, and I had to shut the machine off with the on off switch each time.
Today I finally burned the tunes on 2 CDs and simply dumped them into the music file. The PC burns a full ( ~ 800 megs) in about 10 minutes. Mac can down load the CD in ~ 6 minutes. This adds up to less than 20 minutes. Using the direct connection (indicated 100 Mbts/sec on the PC) the process was pathetically slow (hours restarting and horsing around).
One of my goals was to get the machines talking to each other, having accomplished this, it think it is not a worthwhile effort.
Best of luck to you,
Mike

How to move iTunes library from Mac to external HD

I have my wifes itunes music on a macbook pro, and my itunes music is on an old Desktop G4. I have just purchased a Lacie 1TB external hard drive and would like to move both sets of music onto this external hard drive, and delete the music from the Macbook pro.
Does anyone have any information on exactly how to do this without causing any problems?
Many thanks, Ian

Ian Thompson4 wrote:
Thank you. I am guessing that I can then either import the music on the DVD's from one library onto the external hard drive with music from another library, and it will consolidate into one big library?
i should think so. the trick is to have iTunes authorized to the iTunes account(s) with which you and your wife purchased content. i'm guessing you have separate accounts ?
I have basically copied the iTunes library from the macbook pro onto the external hard drive. If I do the same with the G4 iTunes library, will they sync together in one complete single library?
you will have to to add the media files from the G4 library to the iTunes library that is now pointed to the external drive or iTunes won't know.
Would it be easier to import the music from the G4 library that is now backed up on DVD's onto the external hard drive?
i would do it like this:
connect G4 and MBP via firewire cable. start the G4 in target disk mode. in iTunes (pointing to the external drive and authorized to play purchased content from both accounts), choose +add to library+ from the file menu and navigate to the *iTunes music* folder on the G4.
my guess is you can also pop in the DVD but i haven't done it myself (don't trust DVDs), especially importing media files purchased with a different account, so i wouldn't be happy to give advice here.

Moving iTunes library from PC to Mac using iPod as external disk drive

O.K. I read the tutorial on this website on this topic and found it helpful though I haven't tried it yet. My question is - the tutorial examples assumed I would be using 2 macs. But, I am moving the iTunes library from a PC to a Mac (using the iPod as an external disk drive). Is that possible?

Thanks Erik. O.K....one more question... My PB obviously came w/ iTunes installed, and I have already added to it's library. So, is it possible to move my old iTunes library (on the PC) onto my new PB and keep the all of the songs from the PC's library and the Mac's (basically consolidate both libraries into one)? Or will it replace the Mac's library with the imported library from my PC? Thanks for your help.

Move itunes library from PC to MAC

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