Moving itunes to a media pc

I have used the home share option to copy my iTunes from my basic PC to my new media PC.
Can I delete the 293 GB of music and films from my basic PC without it affecting the media PC?
Do I turn home share off first and select all the files in my basic PC's library and press delete?
If and once deleted from my basic PC can I still access the media PC library via home share without copying it all back?
Any help gratefully received, thank you.

One way to make sure you get everything in iTunes from one Computer to another...
From your Old Computer... Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive... and then from the External Drive to your New Computer..
Backup iTunes to an External Drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
An Added Bonus is that you will then have a Backup of iTunes...
Also there is this
By Turingtest2 See this User Tip. for Backing Up to Ext Drive

Similar Messages

I moved iTunes 10.5 media folder and hard drive is now empty?

I moved iTunes 10.5 media folder to my D Drive which is larger and after importing my library and everything, iTunes worked fine. Except my D drive is now completely empty including files, music and pictures. How can I get my files back?

Snow Leopard/10.6.x Requirements...
General requirements
   * Mac computer with an Intel processor
    * 1GB of memory (I say 4GB at least, more if you can afford it)
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Which apps work with Mac OS X 10.6?...
http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/
It's been pulled from the online store & Apple Stores, so you have to call Apple to buy it, last I heard.
Call Apple Sales...in the US: 1-800-MY-APPLE.

Since I moved ITunes media folder to an external bkp unit upload of my home shared videos on Apple TV is very slow. Is there anything I can do?

Since I moved ITunes media folder to an external bkp unit, Apple Tv uploads my shared videos very slowly. Is there anything I can do?

USB 3 should be more than enough for what you want.
I don't know anything about Pinnacle but iMovie (assuming you are going default) does produce movies with a datarate of around 10 Mbps, which is quite high in comparison to iTunes movies from the iTunes Store. I don't know if you might want to try custom exports.
Although saying that I have plenty of movies at around 10 Mbps on my eSATA external which doesn't have any problems.

HT1364 If I already moved Itunes media folder to external drive and now music is not matching up in iTunes?

Dear Itunes Community~
This is my first time using glad you are here, but all the passwords!!
Question/Quandry:
If I already moved Itunes media folder to my external drive and now my music is not matching up in iTunes, what should I do? I have tried my solution !?, and now I have 17,000 songs, instead of 9,000!
Should I just uninstall Itunes, and then reinstall Itunes, and let it do it's thing, and then figure out how to move to the external hard drive later?
Help, I screwed it up all on my own!
Any/all help and Itunes educated suggestions appreciated!
Thank you very much,
Doris =:o
PS ~~ Is there anyway to easily delete duplicates?? Seems not?

I have a very similar problem. Hope I don't confuse people trying to help us since the solutions may be different.
I had my iTunes path directed to a 2nd internal hard drive. Everything was working fine - except I found that purchased Apps were still being downloaded to the Mobile Applications folder on my main hard drive instead of the 2nd internal drive. I decided to retry directing the iTunes path to my 2nd internal drive, hoping that might get iTunes to save my Apps there. Big Mistake. Suddenly, there were no Apps showing in my iTunes Library Apps window at all. I verified the downloaded apps are still in my main hard drive's Mobile Applications folder, but I cannot get iTunes to display them in my Apps Library window anymore.
I decided to try downloading a new app and, sure enough, iTunes once again downloaded it into the very same Mobile Applications folder on my main hard drive, where all my (now orphaned) original apps are, but the only one iTunes will only display in my Apps window is the new one. I read you can redownload purchased apps, but my apps are not missing. iTunes just won't display them in the Apps window anymore.

I moved itunes Media around and now the problems

I moved iTunes Media to a D:/ drive, removed it back to C:/. There was a problem with the move back.
Result: iTunes now thinks that my ipad is synched with another library...
I can't see my apps or my stuff anymore.
Since there was a problem with the move back from D to C, I have files in both locations, don't know which one are important.
What can I do to fix this?

I used the trick shift when opening itunes to select a previous itunes library and things are a bit more normal.
But are they?

Moving iTunes Media create aliases or something?

Want to clear space on primary HD. Moved Itunes Media to expansion drive inband as per your documentation. There is an old Music folder on the primary. If I trash a folder from there it dissapears from expansion as well. If I "ls -al"inside a folder on the expansion all the permissions have @ after it. However these files don't getinfo as alias type. Confused. Please help. I don't WANT aliases, symlinks or whatever. I WANT the files on the expansion NOT on the main.

Not sure about question 1...
What I think you should do is try to copy the existing iTunes library folder from <User's Music>/iTunes to <1Tb Drive>/iTunes then hold down option as you start iTunes. You should be asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the library file at <1Tb Drive>/iTunes/iTunes Library.itl (BTW if the the .itl extension is missing you should probably add it match the current format, but it will work either way).
The new copy of the library should work just as before, but check a few random things first, you can always revert to the previous library with option-start-iTunes if it doesn't work.
Under iTunes > Library > Orgainze Library if the option is available tick Reorganize files in the folder <Media Folder>. This will make sure the new version of your library is as portable as possible. Next under preferences > Advanced make sure that the media folder is given as <1Tb Drive>/iTunes/iTunes Media. If needed you can change this value. If you change the folder at this point iTunes should offer to copy your existing media into this new location. That ought to work, thought it will take some time. Alternatively you decline the offer and then selectively consolidate the library in batches, e.g. by selecting the tracks of all Artists beginning with A, and consolidating just those tracks, then repeasting with, B, C etc. followed by other types of media. If iTunes didn't prompt, or the folder was already correct, you can decide whether to try in batches or use iTunes > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files.
tt2

Moved itunes now i have lost all sound with my media

I moved itunes and the library....now i have no sound for any of my music on my computer or through my videos...even putting in a cd there is no more sound...it just doesnt play. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

If for some reason you have failed to backup your computer ( not good) then you can redownload itunes purchases in some countries:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

Moving iTunes from PC to Mac - problem...

When moving my iTunes folder from PC to Mac (via hard drive), the following error message appears: The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items". Anyone come across this before?

My feeling is there isn't much you can do about it since standard things such as changing file permissions won't work if you can't write to the drive. You could try formatting the drive to FAT so both the PC and Mac can use it (as long as you don't have any huge files). Alternatively, if you have a smaller flash drive formatted FAT you can move the library in groups of folders as long as you make sure it all goes back together properly again.
Here's my standard post on moving libraries:
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.)
Longer answers if for any reason you do not think all library files are inside your iTunes folder (changed preferences settings at some point):
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.
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
2011 ilounge article: 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 (similar to the links above), particularly if you are not sure your media files are all grouped for quick answer above. Unfortunately under the single term "transferring library" it describes two very different moves; relocating just your media (not really transferring your library and 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.
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

I have followed Apple support Article HT4527 for moving itunes but have insufficient space on my new PC for the complete library of. How can I leave music on the external HDD but associate the content on my external HDD with my pc itunes when it is open?

I have followed the Apple Support Section Article HT 4527 and have moved itunes media onto an external Hard Drive. The complete file is 103GB in size.
I have downloaded the latest itunes onto my new PC.
When I follow the article and try moving the itunes file onto the new PC, I am informed that there is insufficient space on my new PC.
In any case, like my old system, I want to leave my music on the external HDD and just have the music library displayed in itunes when I click on the "Music" folder.
How can I get itunes on the new computer to interogate my external HDD to just list the library and leave the music on the external HDD?

you can do this by keeping the external hard drive connected and doing the following
-hold shift key down on computer while opening iTunes and a prompt will appear to choose a library
-select choose library, iTunes should bring up your explorer windows where you can search for the external HD
-after you find the external HD find the iTunes folder you just copied to it
-after opening the iTunes folder look for the file that says iTunes library.itl or if you can't see that extenstion just look for a document looking thing in the iTunes folder that shows up as a database file
-double click the database file and boom iTunes should load your library without having to copy it to the computer
PS: do make sure that if you are going to do it this way, make sure that the external HD is connected at all times, because if you don't then you will get exclamation marks next to your iTunes songs
double PS: if you are unsure how to find out if the iTunes library file is a database file just right click it and choose properties and under the type it should say database file
hope this helps:)

HT203167 Moved iTunes library from one computer to another using external hard drive. Cannot play many files. Says they are missing but locates them in an archive file but still won't play them. Are the files themselves part of the .itl files?

Moved iTunes library from old computer (PC Windows 7) to new (PC Window 8) using external hard drive. Library listing shows all music but can only play a fraction of it. On the ones it cannot play it asks to locate, then refers to an archived version (an .itl file), and still cannot play them. Do I just need to copy the archived .itl over, or is that not where the actual media are (do the actual media files even exist on the new computer?)? Any advice or information on this would be helpful.

*Also...is there any way I can filter out all the tracks with the ! so I can delete the unplaying copies as they're taking up room in my iTunes? I know how to find duplicates, but then I have to go and delete each one individually...*
*Thank you!*

Moving iTunes library to new pc on Windows 8

I have moved my library across using an external hard drive and following these instructions http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4527
It still doesn't work and I get an error message saying "The iTunes Library.itl file cannot be found or created. The default location for this file is in the "i Tunes" folder in the "music" folder
But the iTunes library IS in that folder - see screenprint
Help!

Thanks.
So your current library folder is C:\Users\Sam\Music\iTunes your media folder is D:\iTunes, and your media folder appears to be in the old school layout.
To fix up your library first use the menu option File > Library > Organize Library... Tick both of the boxes Rearrange files and Consolidate files. This should ensure that any stray files linked to the library from say your desktop, are copied into the media folder, and the media folder transformed into the modern layout.
The only file you should see in D:\iTunes at this point is called .iTunes Preferences.plist. Please remove any other files present into say D:\Temp and check the iTunes still works properly. I suspect that at some point you either copied some of the iTunes installer files to this path, or tried to install the application on this drive instead of the system drive. The file dates suggest an older version than the one currently in use so that should not be an issue. The following unwanted folders may also be present and should be removed:
CD Configuration
iTunes.Resources
iTunes.Helper.Resources
Mozilla Plugins
Now close iTunes and copy the following items from C:\Users\Sam\Music\iTunes into D:\
Album Artwork (folder)
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
sentinel (hidden file, you can use options in Windows Explorer to show this)
Ignore the .xml file at this stage iTunes is going to make a new one with a slightly different name.
When all of the files have been copied across press and hold down shift as you launch iTunes. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to D:\iTunes Library.itl. iTunes should open normally and your library should function as before but now using a database file on the external drive.
Assuming all has gone well close iTunes and rename the folder D:\Itunes as D:\iTunes Media. For the sake of my OCD please observe the lower case i, and the capitals T and M. Start iTunes. iTunes should automatically adjust the path to the media folder under Edit > Preferences > Advanced to D:\iTunes Media. If it has failed to do so please make that correction manually then close and reopen iTunes. Check that content still plays.
Close iTunes again. Create a new folder in D:\ called iTunes (again the lower case i and the capital T please). Now move the following items from D:\ down into D:\iTunes
Album Artwork (folder)
iTunes Media (folder)
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library.xml
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
sentinel
Launch iTunes. It will complain that the library is missing. Click choose, then browse to and open D\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl. Check that the media folder has automatically corrected itself to D:\iTunes\iTunes Media and that your media plays.
Congratulations. Your library is now fully portable. You can connect the drive to your new computer, delete the existing iTunes folder inside your user's music folder and copy in the one from this external drive.
I suggest you keep the two copies of the library in sync with the techniques in Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer need to access protected media on it.
<Edit>
Ah, seems you've managed to get there without needing all of the steps, however if you have trouble getting content to play you may still need to do so, or you can adapt them to get your library fully portable and backed up for the future.
</Edit>
tt2

Moved Itunes library now imovie cannot find the audio in my project

I just moved itunes library from my external drive to an internal drive on my Mac laptop. Now iMovie cannot find the music tracks for my project. How do I tell iMovie where to look for the new location of iTunes library

I'm the same as you with this one.
I had to move my itunes library to a new hard drive because it was taking up too much space. Now my imovie projects can't find my itunes library. One sound track when I right clicked in imovie I had the option to find media so I just located the same file but in a new location. This, however, doesn't work for all audio in my many projects.
I'm feeling very disheartened with the whole thing.
Any help would be appreciated.
Poppet

Different way of moving iTunes library - will it work?

At our house we run one iTunes install and it is on my iMac. We have two Apple TV's and two iphones that we sync to this install.
We have purchased A LOT of movies, tv shows and music over the last year since we have had the APPLE TV's as well as burned a lot of our personal DVD's to the hard disk (we still have the DVD's which we purchased so all is legal) so that our entire collection can be accesssed.
Currently our collection takes up 1.6TB and lives on a 2TB Firewire disk connected to my iMac.
We just got my wife a Mini Mac and we want to make her computer the main iTunes computer in the house.
Now I have read lots of articles about moving your iTunes library between computers but they all involve moving the files to a portable disk and then copying them to the new computers drive.
Being that we have so much space in our library and that they are already on a portable disk is there another way?
I would love to just unplug the firewire disk from my computer and plug in hers and have it moved over but I am guessing there is more to it then that, and since there is so much data there I do not want to risk it and have anything go wrong.
Any ideas on how to best move the library to my wife's computer?
Thanks in advance.

There are two main parts to the iTunes library - the database files & the actual media. Usually the database files are placed in *<User Folder>\Music\iTunes* with the media placed in *<User Folder>\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music*.
If you have the standard layout then, in principle, your library should be "portable" and you can move the top level iTunes folder to another path or connect the drive to another computer with ease. To open a library in a different location click on the iTunes icon and immediately hold down Option(Mac) or Shift(PC) until a prompt appears, navigate to the new folder location and open the *iTunes Library.itl* file therein - iTunes should resolve all the file pointers and be able to access all your media. Simply connect the drive to the other machine, install iTunes and connect to the library using this method.
If you've kept the database on the internal hard drive, but moved the content folder (iTunes Music or iTunes Media with iTunes 9.x) to the external drive then things are little more complicated however it may still be possible to make your library portable. Copy the database files (iTunes Library Extras.itl, iTunes Library Genius.itl, iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library.xml & sentinel) plus any other subfolders (Album Artwork, iPod Games, Mobile Applications) to the parent folder of the media folder on the external drive. I.e. if your media folder on the external is called *...\Music\iTunes Music* then copy the files into the ...Music folder. Now use Option/Shift to open the library database on the external drive and test that you can still access your media. If that works, install iTunes on the other machine, connect the drive & use Option/Shift to open the libray on that machine. If any step fails simply go back and open the previous library - you're not doing anything destructive here, or asking iTunes to take charge of moving 1.6Tb of data about which could potentially go wrong.
If you've split the content between different locations, e.g. put all your movies in a separate folder outside of iTunes Music, then you should be able to use the general method as above, delete (from iTunes only - NOT the files) any content that is not inside the iTunes Music/iTunes Media folder, then reimport from it's new location on the relocated drive.
tt2

Moving iTunes library from external HD to MacBook Pro

Ok, so a while ago, my iTunes library had grown so large I was running out of space on my Mac, so I moved all the files to an external HD. Of course, I could only listen to my music (as well as sync my iPhone and iPod) with the external device plugged in.
Fast forward to today, and I've decided that I'd like to reverse this process, as it's far too big a pain in the rear to continue, not to mention the fact that I'm a little sick and tired of entire albums disappearing for no apparent reason.
That said, if I simply go to Files>Add to Library and click on the iTunes Music file on my external HD, will I end up with duplicates of all 2300 of my albums? This is what I'm dreading, as I have nightmarish visions of my sitting here all weekend deleting duplicate files.
Sorry if this is a ridiculous question, but there it is...
Danke schoen!

Did you move the whole library or just media (there is a big difference)?
Whole library:
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
Just media:
Consolidate is how you move your iTunes media files to a new location. Consolidate simply looks at everything you have in iTunes and copies them to the iTunes media folder location specified in iTunes prefs -> Advanced.
iTunes 11 for Mac: Change where your iTunes files are stored - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12165 - more information at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/22026652

Externally Yours....moving iTunes

I'd like to know EXACTLY how to get my iTunes off my main computer's drive (to free up space) and over to an external and operate iTunes from there.
I have an older eMac running OS10.3.9 and iTunes 7. I tried to do this at first myself by just dragging my iTunes music folder over to the external and changing the iTunes advanced preferences to the external, but that didn't work......when I went to play songs that I had deleted off my main drive (just a few as a test that were now stored on the external), I got the "can't locate-exclamation mark" message. I moved everything back and reloaded the few songs I'd deleted and everything's back to normal....but also back on the main hard drive.
I've since talked to three Mac techs....two by phone and one at an Apple store. Two said my mistake was that I didn't drag the ENTIRE iTunes (not just the music sub-folder) folder over to the external. They said it should be as simple as that. Just do that, change the preferences to the external and I should be good to go. Is it that simple?
An advice page on the Apple site says nothing about dragging your file over. It's sort of change your iTunes preference over to the external, and then the "consolidate " function moves/copies things for you. But it still seems rather simple - although the "can't be undone" part is a bit foreboding. As I understand it, this method moves only the content, keeping a library database still on the main drive. A longer explanation of this procedure I found says it's preferable to the one above for large song libraries (mine's13,000+). Says that even a few songs out of whack in your library could foul up the whole process mentioned in the previous paragraph. It also suggest that a backup of the database is a good idea if you do want to "undo" as that gets updated with the new location. Is the database the file labeled iTunes Music Library.xml? The article says it ends in ".itl", but maybe that's for a PC?
This morning an Apple phone tech said that as far as he knew, iTunes would not operate off an external at all!
Anyone have any advice....thanks !

Copy the entire iTunes folder to the external.
Click the iTunes icon to launch it then immediately press and hold Option.
Select Choose existing library then pick the iTunes library file on the external.
That's it.
Thanks, Chris....
When you say to click on the iTunes icon, do you mean the one in the toolbar, or one somewhere now on the external? And do you press the option button after or before launching? Or does it matter.....
Is what that is doing essentially the same as changing the iTunes destination thru the advanced preferences?
Here's a detailed set of instructions for transferring that I've seen linked to on the Apple site in a couple of places. This seems to be a bit different in steps, but is it essentially the same operation? To me, it implies the consolidation function is actually doing the moving, after you've redirected the location. There is no mention of dragging the entire iTunes folder anywhere.
Actually, somewhere in iTunes "help", what I believe is the same procedure is described - in a little less detail.
==================================
Consolidate Library: The Right Way
So, knowing that these pitfalls exist, what’s the best way? Remember that iTunes’ philosophy of managing your media is actually to insulate you from having to worry about the underlying file system. On the basis of this approach, it makes sense that it should provide the necessary tools itself to facilitate moving your library to a new location.
So in other words, rather than messing around copying/moving files through Finder or Windows Explorer, why not let iTunes deal with this for you? This is handled in iTunes through the Consolidate Library option, found under the Advanced menu in iTunes.
What the Consolidate Library option actually does it to essentially consolidate all of the files listed in your iTunes library into the iTunes Music folder. It does this by copying any referenced files into the iTunes Music folder, renaming them with the proper track name, and organizing them into its standard file and folder structure (ARTIST\ALBUM, essentially). This option is at least partly intended to allow you to bring “referenced” files into the iTunes Music folder from various other locations in the event that you may have added them to your library with the “Copy Files” option disabled.
However, the only real distinction between a file that is “managed” and a file that is “referenced” is the actual iTunes Music folder path. Files in this folder are considered managed by iTunes, and anything outside is a “referenced” file. So, if you change the location of the iTunes Music folder to a new path and then use the “Consolidate Library” option, iTunes will happily copy all of these files into your new location, updating all of the file location information in the iTunes database in the process.
Performing the Move
So, the actual process of moving your iTunes media content is quite straightforward:
First, go into your iTunes advanced preferences, and change the iTunes Music folder path to whatever new location you want your iTunes media files to be stored in. This will usually be an external hard drive, but it can be any valid path, including a secondary hard drive or even a network share:
Once you have updated the iTunes Music folder location, simply select Advanced, Consolidate Library:
iTunes will advise you that it is about to copy all of your content into the iTunes Music folder, and warn you that this cannot be undone.
Simply click “Continue” and iTunes will begin the process of copying the files into their proper locations and updating these locations in the iTunes library database.
Note that this process copies the tracks to the new location rather than moving them. Although the original tracks still exist, the iTunes library database is updated with the new location, which makes the process difficult to undo unless you have kept a backup of your iTunes library database from before the consolidation. Making such a backup is certainly an option, although not normally required.
The other important note is that this will reorganize your entire library file system into iTunes’ own way of laying it out (ALBUM\ARTIST\TRACK.MP3). This may not be a desirable option for those who have their media file system laid out in their own organizational structure, or who use other third-party applications that expect media files to be organized a certain way. Unfortunately, if you’re in this situation, there really is no easy way to move your iTunes media content without creating a whole new iTunes library and reimporting all of your tracks into the new library from their new locations.
Confirming and Cleaning Up
Once this process has completed, you should be able to confirm that the files have been copied to the new location and that iTunes is referencing them properly from there simply by selecting a track at random and choosing File, Get Info. The “Summary” tab for the file properties will indicate the physical location of that track, which should reflect the new iTunes Music folder path.
Since iTunes copies the media content rather than moving it, you will also likely want to delete the your iTunes media files from their original locations.
Remember that this process only moves the iTunes content however. Your iTunes library database will still be located in its original location, likely on your primary hard drive in your “Music” or “My Music” folder, as described above.
Thanks.

Moving itunes to a media pc

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