Moving Library from PC to Mac

Hello All!
I currently have a pc but am pretty sure I will be purchasing a macbook in the next couple of weeks. I want to transfer my iTunes library from the pc to the mac. What I was planning on doing was using the backup to disc feature in iTunes to burn the library to dvds and then using the restore feature on the mac. Will this work? or is there an easier/better way. Thanks!!!

See this -> http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
Personally, I have not tested it yet, but no reason it should not work if the music files are in the iTunes folder so drive paths are irrelevant. If you have music located outside the iTunes folder, it could be a problem (see here -> HiFI Blog - iTunes).
Many others have simply transferred the entire iTunes folder from a PC to a Mac and everything (including date added, ratings, playcounts) was transferred correctly.

Similar Messages

Moved library from PC to Mac w/ iPod now exclamation points next to songs

I used the instructions at http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173 to move my iTunes library from a PC to my new MacBook Pro.
Everything seemed to go smoothly...I moved the iTunes folder from the iPod to the Music folder on the Mac, then opened iTunes. Then something went wrong that I can tell will take me hours to fix. Or at least I hope not:
The first time I did it, all the songs had the exclamation point next to them and when attempting to play, I got the 'file not found do you want to spend hours re-linking all the files?' message. I moved the iTunes folder and tried it again. This time, about 95% of the 1,100+ songs had the exclamation point. And as I clicked on the few without the exclamation point to try and play them, they too developed the exclamation point blues.
Is this fixable? The .itl and .xml files are in the 'Music' folder. Should I try moving the iTunes folder from the iPod again? I also noticed that while my playlists and custom genre tags, etc. made it, the album artwork did not .
Please help! Thanks so much!

It is a likely possibility that the format of the folders is different between the 2 OS. Troubleshoot these
Make sure you have actually music files in the folder from your XP. Make sure you transfered your main music folder (My Music)
Do you have the folders in this order in your music category on your MacBook? iTunes>(iTunes Music Library.xml and iTunes Library data file)iTunes Music>(all of your music
If these dont work, then use Yamipod, a 3rd party utility that can extract all your info/music off your iPod into iTunes...

Problems moving library from pc to mac via external drive

Hi, I have searched hi&lo for an answer to my problem, and now I'm having another problem. I have just got a macbook and had all my music on an external drive in WMA format. I dragged my library into itunes on a pc to transfer it all to mp3 format so I could play it on my mac. That took some time (I have about 50GB worth of music) but it worked. Why can't I just save and replace the old wma library with the new mp3 library? Or do I have to save the new one and then delete the old one? I have just spent hours organizing all the files and artwork, etc. So in order to save the itunes music folder and copy it to the external drive I must consolidate, right? Now the new problem. When I click consolidate library I get an error "Coping Music failed: filename was invalid or too long." I have plenty of space on the pc cdrive and on the external drive. I have done export library and it just puts a small xml file there that obviously isn't 50gb of music! The itunes folder looks like it has most files in it, but no artwork, etc? I have read about the find&replace (can't figure that out either) and other articles, but nothing is working for me yet, any help would be greatly appreciated as I have been at this for days and am getting really frustrated. This is my first mac and use of itunes and I don't see why it's so difficult to transfer your music over! Please help!

This page may be of some help: How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)

Moving Library from PC to MAC without space to Consolidate Files

Hi,
I really need some help.
This is my situation:
- I own a Windows PC with 500GB hard drive, in which i have 350gb of music all included on itunes with covers, ratings, etc. I have never checked the "Keep Itunes Media folder organized" nor the "Copy files to iTunes Media Folder when adding to Library" just because i do not have enough space for it.
- I just bought a 1TB MacBook Pro, and now I want to move everything without loosing anything.
- I also own a 1TB WD External hard drive.
- I have Itunes 11 on both Windows PC and new Macbook
I've read that consolidating library and copying Itunes folder to External Hard Drive might be a solution, but like i said for lack of space in my PC i can't...
I cannot seem to find an answer to my issue in the support site though there probably is.
Anyone that can help me out?
I would really appreciate it!!!
Thanks!

merrick777 wrote:
UPDATE: Apparently I had enough hard drive space to FIRST check the 'Reorganize files in iTunes Music folder' and THEN check 'Consolidate files'. Then I exported the library, but the exported files is only 588 Kb... that can't be right. Pls help!
Exporting the library simply creates a text files of the info.
Exactly (to the folder level) where are all the media files located?
If they are in /Music/iTunes/ folder somewhere, simply copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to /Music/ on the Mac.
That is all you need to do.

I have mac book air os x 10.8.2 i create a photo library on iPhoto and i moved it to my time capsule disk now i try to access library from my wife mac book running on mac os x 10.5.8 i always receive library locked on locked disk

i have mac book air os x 10.8.2 i create a photo library on iPhoto and i moved it to my time capsule disk now i try to access library from my wife mac book running on mac os x 10.5.8 i always receive library locked on locked disk

Unless you can set the Time Capsule's drive to have it's ownership ignored
you won't be able to use the library on the same volume as the Time Machine backups.
OT

Moving Songs From PC to MAC

i have a PC (windows xp) that was my old home computer.
Just yesterday i changed my old computer to the newest iMac (21.5 inch) and want to use it as my iTunes home. Here are some issues i'm having:
1: i need help moving files from a pc to mac KEEPING playlist info, play count info, date added info, etc.
2: when i plug in my iPhone to the new Mac iTunes, all the songs on my iPhone are greyed out and can't be played.
3: i've tried homesharing but apple said it isn't meant to save playlists info.
4: (only at least half of my songs are purchased, the rest are from CD's so i can't do the Transfer purchasing thing)
HELP :O

Hello,
Go here: http://www.myfirstmac.com/index.php/mac/articles/how-do-i-move-my-itunes-library -from-pc-to-mac-and-keep-my-settings-intact
More help here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Carolyn

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.)

Moving iTunes from PC to Mac OSX possible?

Hi,
My friend has bought a new Mac with OSX 10.5 and wants me to move his iTunes from his PC to Mac, now I can get all the music copied over as I have set the network up and can browse to both computers. iTunes is installed on the Mac but empty, what is the next step? On the PC I usually just hold down the shift key and load it and tell iTunes where my music is.

These pages may be of some help:
How to move an iTunes library from a PC to Mac (and back)
How to move your iTunes library from Windows to Mac
Don't forget by the way if your friend has purchased any tracks from the iTunes Music Store to deauthorise his old PC if he's disposing of it so it doesn't use up one of his 5 allowances: About iTunes Music Store Authorisation and Deauthorisation

HT4889 moving files from pc to mac book

Hi have down loaded to set up moving files from pc to mac book pro but keep getting an error message on pc saying error occurred whilst preparing your info for transfer ! i am running visa on pc any help pls thanks

Look at these links.
*How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer*
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/
 Cheers, Tom

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.
(63879)

Can some please provide instructions on how to import an iPhoto library from an old Mac to a new Mac without getting a bunch of duplicates? I tried transferring my pictures using an external hard drive and then copying it to the Pictures folder on my Mac

Can someone please provide instructions on how to import an iPhoto library from an old Mac to a new Mac without getting a bunch of duplicates? I tried transferring my pictures using an external hard drive and then copying it to the Pictures folder on my new Mac. I ended up getting a bunch of duplicates. My old Mac has an older version of iPhoto while the new Mac has iPhoto '11. Is that the cause of the problem? Please advise. Thanks.

Simply copy the iPhoto Library from the Pictures Folder on the old Machine to the Pictures Folder on the new Machine.
Then launch iPhoto. That's it.
This moves photos, events, albums, books, keywords, slideshows and everything else.
Regards
TD

How do I transfer iPhoto library from an old Mac to a new Air and retain the Albums?

I just transferred my iPhoto library from an old Mac to a new Air by dragging the entire Library from my Pictures folder onto an external HD and then dragging from there onto my new Air. Transfer effected fine and all images now appear in iPhoto on the new Air. One problem: the Albums that were present on the left hand toolbar in iPhoto on my old machine are no longer there, so I have 50,000 images with no organization. Events are still there organized by date so that is something, but the Albums are not there and that is what I primarily relied on. Help please??

The left hand pane is the source pane. Were both Macs running the same version of iPHoto?
Try rebuilding the library with the option to Rebuild the iPhoto Library Database from automatic backup.
OT

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

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 purchased a new mac book pro,how can I transfer my music library from my old mac book pro?

I purchased a new mac book pro, how do transfer my music library from my old mac book pro to the new one?

Use the Migration Assistant app.

Moving Library from PC to Mac

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for