Moving Playlists and Preferences

How can I move my iTunes playlists and/or preferences from my old (Windows XP) computer to my new (MacBookPro2.2) computer?
Thanks.
Steve
MacBookPro2.2 Mac OS X (10.4.9)

I'm confused--if your laptop is authorized to play all of the songs in your mini library, why can't you just burn a DATA DVD (if you have a DVD burner) of everything on the playlist. This should work on your laptop (as long as it's authorized to play purchased tunes). Post back if you have questions, but I don't know why this won't work!

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Moving playlists and podcast to new machine

How can I move all of my iTunes playlists and podcasts to my new machine? is there any way of keeping all of the settings the same? thank you.

Found that Apple's _Mac OS X Advanced System Administration v10.5_ book says that cloning works to migrate between machines. Boot from install DVD after cloning and run disc's upgrade. PPC to Intel requires special consideration - recommended to archive old, demote to stand alone, promote, and finally restore from archive.
If anyone has any experience with this, please report how it worked for you.

Moving playlists AND songs from one computer to another

Hi there,
I need to move several playlists and the songs in those playlists from my Mini to my laptop. Why? The laptop is going to be playing the music at my wedding, and the Mini's staying home.
I have 6 different playlists. I know how to export the playlists as an XML file and import that file onto the laptop. But what about the files themselves? Between the 6 playlists, there's probably over 200 songs. I'd rather not hunt them all down, move them manually to the laptop, export XML playlists, lather, rinse, repeat.... but I suppose I will if I need to!
If it help, my Mini's entire iTunes library lives on an external hard drive.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Moral support?

I'm confused--if your laptop is authorized to play all of the songs in your mini library, why can't you just burn a DATA DVD (if you have a DVD burner) of everything on the playlist. This should work on your laptop (as long as it's authorized to play purchased tunes). Post back if you have questions, but I don't know why this won't work!

ITunes crashed...and I lost my playlists and preferences

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but iTunes crashed...and it took almost all of my playlists with it as well as resetting my preferences. Very strange. Is it possible to get it back to where I want it? I have (had) hundreds of playlists for various different things and it's exremely important to me to get it back right.
Thanks in advance!
tr

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

Where are the PLAYLIST and EQ preferences for iTunes located?

Somehow I lost my iTunes Playlist when I moved the audio files to another hard drive on the same computer. Does anyone know where the PLAYLIST and EQ preferences for iTunes located on a Mac? Also can I make a copy or backup of those preferences? Thanks!

There are no Playlist Preferences - playlists are saved into the iTunes Library database file (what we call "the Library" in these forums).
There is however a com.apple.iTunes.eq.plist file - it's in the ~user/Library/Preferences folder. Individual EQs for your tracks are stored in the iTunes Library file.

Moving music to a new PC missing playlists and burned music

My playlists and burned songs did not move from iPod to iTunes library when I moved to a new PC - just my purchased music came over. Is there a way to get those songs or do I have to start over...

Depending on the ipod, this is the way it works.
You need to move the music from you old computer to your new one first.
You can use home share, your backup copy, cds, dvds, etc.

Help moving all songs. playlists, and apps to a new computer ?

so i've finally gotten a new laptop to replace my old dell one and now i am faced with the problem of moving my library to my new computer. my old computer is still in use, however, and so is my old external harddrive. i have bought a new external harddrive to go with my new laptop.
is there a way that i could copy all my songs into my new harddrive, keep the playlists, playcounts etc. but organise the songs differently on the new harddrive ? because i want to reorganise all my music before putting it into itunes, however i still want the playlists and playcounts to be there. so i guess what i'm trying so ask is if theres a way to completely reorganize my music on the new harddrive, then import that into the itunes on my new computer, complete with playcounts and playlists ?
also, i own an ipod touch 3G, so how would i move all my apps to the new computer as well ?

Click here and follow the instructions.
(33125)

How to restore playlists and ratings after hard drive format

Several people have reported problems restoring paylists and ratings after reformating a hard drive. Here is what worked for me and what did not.
I had to reformat my hard drive. Before doing that I exported my playlists from itunes to another hard drive as an xml file. I also copied the folder with all my songs to another drive. (Also of course had it backed up on DVDs.)Then I copied the itunes library files (see url http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732) to anoher drive.
After reformating my hard drive and installing the lastest verion of ITunes, I copied the actual songs back into a subfolder in my music folder. I then told iTunes to import the subfolder with the actual music. That resulted in a restored library that lacked playlists and ratings.
Don't do this
I purchased Anapod ($30.00) because its web page said (http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/):
"Anapod CopyGear is an easy-to-use, compact utility for copying music tracks, playlists, podcasts, photos, and videos from your iPod back to your PC."
Well, I did transfer 104 playlists back to my iTunes library through the Anapod backup function. However, the transfer also put more than 20 gigs of duplicate songs into the library. All of the songs listed in the playlists were duplicated in iTunes. I could find no way in Anapod to simply copy the ratings and the playlists. Anapod documentation was outdated. For example the online help pages said that playlists could not be backed up. This was confusing because I had just done that.
"In a future release we will be adding the ability to backup your iPod playlists. This will allow you to generate backup files of your iPod playlists on the computer. These files will not be usable on your computer though. They can only be used to restore playlists at a later time on your iPod (assuming it still carries all the audio files referred to in that playlist)." This text is from url http://www.redchairsoftware.com/anapod/support/tome/tx2pc.php#5.1.2
I sent requests to Anapod for help today, but they have not been answered yet. Docs truly did not seem to help. Would have been good if there was a pdf file rather than just an online help html file that seemed outdated.
This worked for me:
I ended up having iTunes wipe out the entire library because of all the dups Anapod made. (Made sure that iTunes only wiped out library and did not delete actual songs from hard drive. Then I had iTunes import my subfolder with songs again. That brought me back to where I was before wasting money and much time on Anapod.
After I had my iTunes library up (without ratings and playlists and after finding Anapod did not meet my needs.
1. I imported the xml file to which I had exported playlists before reformating hard drive. That gave me the playlists back although an error message said some items not copied because the music tracks listed in playlists were not in my iTunes library. --Possibly I deleted songs after playlists were downloaded some time ago to iPod. Importing the xml file is probably not necessary because of what I did below.
2. Quit iTunes
3. Because my song ratings were still missing, I then moved the iTunes library files made by the new version of iTunes into a different folder.
4. Then I put my old version 4 library files into the place where the library files should be.
5. Then I crossed my fingers and restarted iTunes. It took awhile to start and said it was updating my library files. Now I have back most or all of my playlists and ratings.
If problems develop, I will probably wipe out iTunes library and use Anapod to move everything from my iPod into a folder and tell iTunes to import that folder. That approach might avoid the dups that Anapod makes when restoring playlists to iTunes.
So my message is keep your actual songs backed up somewhere (such as DVD's and anotehr hard drive) and keep a duplicate copy of your library files somewhere not on your hard drive. With these items you should be able to restore iTunes library to its former status.
Sorry for the length of this message. Hope it helps someone.

The simple version of above:
iTunes Files to Backup (anytime you make additions or changes to the Music or Library that you want to retain)
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 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.”

ITunes won't recognize "library files" of playlists and ratings

After a Restore and putting iTunes onto an external hard drive, I can't get iTunes to recognize the library files that have my playlists and ratings.
How do you get the library files (itl and xml) to be recognized after moving all your music and iTunes to an external hard drive?
I just did a Restore on my iPod. Just before that, I had backed up my iTunes folder to an external hard drive and bought a new laptop. After I did the Restore, I was able to iTunes to recognize that my library is now on the external hard drive (to free up space on my laptop). The Apple Genius told me I could get the existing library files to work by just moving them into my iTunes folder on the external hard drive.
But iTunes doesn't recognize that I have any playlists, etc.

I think the library database files have to be in your "My Music" folder under the folder "itunes". I have not found a way of changing this. The music library can be elsewhere, but you need to have itunes do the move to keep the library database files in sync.

ITunes Fix for Manually Moving Music and other Media

Intro
Any iTunes 7.x user who manages their own music library outside of the "iTunes Music" folder might be able to tell you that iTunes DOES NOT respond well after manually moving tracks from one place to another on their computer systems. In fact, any file you move becomes immediately unplayable in iTunes. And, if you're anything like I am, losing several years worth of song rating metadata and playlists is not a good incentive for change. However, one thing others might not be able to tell you is that there's an easy workaround for the problem and you get to keep your playlists, ratings and other info. Read on to learn about the workaround.
About the Workaround
The workaround is a simple hack I devised after recently transferring a good portion of my music library between hard disks and running into problems with iTunes. The fix steps provided below are intended to circumvent the problems with iTunes and give users the freedom to move songs and other media files on their computers while maintaining the integrity of both the ratings and the playlists. Meaning you won't need to manually update the song locations in iTunes one-at-a-time, which, at version 7.02 is the only way to accomplish this task using the program.
Please be aware that not all information is retained using this workaround. What will be lost are the following: the "Recently Added", "Recently Played" and "Top 25 Most Played" iTunes Smart Playlists; any media file play counts; last played information; and possibly some other data used only internally by iTunes.
So, if you're comfortable parting with some metadata while keeping your cherished song ratings and playlists intact during file relocation, read on to learn how to use the workaround.
Workaround Steps
The following instructions walk step-by-step through the process of this workaround.
Note: All backslashes used in file paths have been converted to forward slashes so that they will adhere with MySpace XSS security validation checks. These altered paths can still be copy/paste into Windows Vista's Explorer program once the Username is changed to the User Account where the iTunes files reside.
Preparing for the Move
Before you move your files, do the following:
1. Close iTunes.
2. Create a backup copy of the following files:
iTunes Library XML (iTunes Music Library.xml)
Note: Vista users can find the Library XML at C:/Users/Username/Music/iTunes
iTunes Music Database (iTunes Library.itl)
Note: Vista users can find the Music Database at C:/Users/Username/Music/iTunes
Moving Your Files
This part should be self explanatory, but while you do it make sure to note the following two things:
1. The path where the files were previously stored (e.g. D:/Music).
2. The path where the files will end up (e.g. E:/Music).
Execute the Fix
After your files are moved, complete the following steps to implement the fix.
Note: Do not open iTunes during this process.
Hack the iTunes Library XML
Once the files are moved the Library XML file locations will be out of sync. Follow the steps below to update them so that they now reference the correct file locations.
1. Open the iTunes Library XML with a Text Editor with a Find/Replace function.
Note: Vista users can find the Library XML at C:/Users/Username/Music/iTunes
Tip: Do not try to do this with Dreamweaver if your Library XML is greater than 10MB.
2. Perform a Find/Replace using the following inputs:
Find: Path from Step 1 of Moving Your Files
Replace: Path from Step 2 of Moving Your Files
3. Confirm your results, and then save and close the Library XML.
Delete the iTunes Music Database
Hacking the iTunes Library isn't enough to fool iTunes. Like the Library XML, the Music Database also holds the file locations of all of the media stored within the program. And it's smart enough to wipe out the Library XML hack if iTunes is opened before completing this step.
Ensure you have backed up the iTunes Music Database (iTunes Library.itl) and delete the file.
Note: Vista users can find the Music Database at C:/Users/Username/Music/iTunes
Back in iTunes
Once the fix is in place you can now open iTunes again. You will notice that all of your playlists, music and other items have vanished. In order to recover them all (with the exception of the Smart Playlists mentioned in the About the Workaround section above) we'll need to import the hacked Library XML file back into iTunes.
1. Open iTunes and press CtrlShiftO or go to File > Import…
2. Navigate to and Open your modified Library XML (as pictured below).
3. iTunes will then begin importing the contents of the XML file (as pictured below).
Note: This process may take a while, depending on the size if your library.
Wrapping Up
Once the import process is complete iTunes will look almost exactly the way you left it, with the exception that some playlists have been duplicated and the number of songs may be a hair off. To fix this problem delete any duplicate playlists in the "Library" panel in iTunes. You can now test out the changes by selecting an item moved earlier and testing it out. All that's left from there is to let iTunes perform any automated analysis it needs to do and rock on.
Other OS

Holy Smokes:
I appreciate your detailed workaround post. My question is this: I use iTunes to keep everything organized (though I'm well aware of the shortcomings...) and can use the simple solution that Chris from CA posted, but I don't have room to consolidate everything. My read on consolidating is that you copy from wherever you have your music located (and right now my music is outside of the MyMusic/iTunes folder, as that backs up to my work server) and so you have to have enough room for all of your music to be copied (and then you delete it from its prior location). That's how Apple describes it in, e.g., http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748. I ain't go that kind of room. Is there any way to make the move to a completely different PC by following the simple option? From the posting I just linked it sounds like you MUST consolidate whether you use you iPod to move things or use an external drive.
Of course, I can use your workaround, but I thought I'd ask first. Many thanks.
Windows XP Pro iPod Video 60gb

When I export a playlist and then open in excel, do whatever sorting I want, I then save the file and reimport into itunes but not all the songs are there. It appears to be from "comma's" in the song name. Any solutions?

I see songs such as "Monday, Monday" or "Paint It, Black" or even the artist name such as "Fireballs, with Jimmy Gilmer" which have comma's in them, being a problem when I try to do the following:
1. Export a playlist which contains songs which are all there and play fine, but some have comma's in the title such as listed above.
2. I then open that file in Excel and bring it in as a Tab-delimited file. Everything lays out fine, and all the songs are thing (including those with comma's).
3. I then sort the varoius fields I want (which I can't do in i-tunes because i-tunes won't sort it properly), and resave the file as a newly named file, which is also a .txt file.
4. I then import that playlist into my itunes. It is exactly the same songs that I just had exported but i-tunes says some of the songs can't be found.
I have traced this problem to comma's in the file name of the song such as listed above. There must be a solution to this either as the file is opened in excel or in how it's saved or some other solution short of having to rename song/artists without using comma's.
Thanks.

The additional problem is the file name of the song itself. Even if I were able to delete the commas or replace with a space for example, changing the file name would result in itunes not being able to find the file. I would have to go through each file (out of about 15,000+ songs) to find any that have titles such as described in this thread and change not only the song and artist in the fields, but changing the mp3 file itself.
I fear that I am really pretty much going to have to start with a list of songs that have no comma and then do a file compare to find those songs with commas and then just physically moving them into a new playlist I'm trying to create, but this is a royal pain as I want to be able to create a variety of playlists based on these chart dates/peak positions.
I'm trying to sort the songs in this manner: I use different fields in itunes so that I can put the "peak position" of each song based on Billboard charts, as well as the date the peak position was acheived. I use the "comment box" for that. I use the "grouping" field for my peak position.
So I end up with something like "10/14/1980" in the comment box as the peak position for a song which is in the grouping field, and so forth. If I try to sort the comments column in itunes for example, it won't sort properly. If I sort the Grouping field, it will bring up all the "1's", but that's followed by "10", 11, ...19, then "2", etc. This is why I want to export the playlist and sort it as I want, and then reimport the playlist into itunes.
What I'm ultimately trying to achieve is a year-by-year peak position playlist so that I end up with every #1 song (in this case) from, say, January 1st 1980 and then every #1 song in sequential order for the rest of the year falls in line. I have chart position dates from 1955 through 1999. I have entered in all the data from Billboard books I own so I can really create some amazing playlists, but these commas are problematic. Had I known this ahead of time I would have made "Monday, Monday" as "Monday Monday" and not included commas, but it's too late for that.
Any suggestions?

I deleted my "iPod Slection" playlist and now my iPod won't update.

I don't know exactly how it happened but the songs on my original "iPod Selection" playlist got messed up and so iTunes automatically created another "iPod Selection Playlist" and I didn't want the songs it put in that playlist on my iPod so I deleted it. But now my iPod won't update because it says "your iPod cannot be updated because all the playlists selected for updating no longer exist." If anyone could help me I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!

Seems like you've got auto sync with your iPod and it is looking for a specifically named playlist.
Check your preferences.
Create a new playlist and sync that.
Regards,
Colin R.

I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air. I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but i

I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air. I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but it didn't work. The files copied fine, but when I tell iTunes on the Air to look at the external drive for the library, it doesn't find anything. What I copied was the entire iTunes Media folder. So, how do I move the necessary iTunes files from my old Pro to a external drive so I can access them from my new Air? Whew!

iTunes- How to move the library to an EHD
After you move the library you need to open iTunes by first depressing the OPTION key then launching iTunes. You will be given a choice of which library to use. This can then be made a permanent change, if you wish, in the Advanced section of iTunes preferences.

How to import iTunes Lib from ext disk w/o losing playlists and rating

Situation:
PC is newly re-installed.
Back up of music on ext disk D:\My Music and exported .xml file from iTunes with all playlists and ratings
What is the best way to import the music, playlist and ratings on the newly installed pc?
The way I tried: in preference set the music library on D:\My Music and choose Add folder to library and select the D:\My Music folder.
All music correctly imported into iTunes.
Now import the .xml file.
All playlists appear back in iTunes but my ratings are gone.

If you have an ipod, connecting it to the PC should load the ratings back

Moving music and duplication

Hi,
I have searched about 5 or so threads that i thought might be relevant to my query, but whilst they address some of the issues, I hoped someone might be able to help with all of the issues i have.
First up, i have and Ipod and and Iphone.
What i need to do:
My music seems to be spread out in about 4 different locations on two seperate hard drives. I tend to upload music from CD's, purchase from Ituns and download music.
I have just moved house and have come across about 500 old cd's, of which i would like to put a number of CD's onto the computer and i see this as an ideall time to perhaps purchase a new hard drive or perhaps and an external one and move all of my music to one location.
My worries are the following:
1. How do i maintain my playlists as they are crucial to what goes onto my Iphone (space is at a premium).
2. How do i maintain my ratings and other information.
3. Whenever historically i have moved music around and then changed the location on itunes, i seem to get tons and tons of duplicate songs, which i then have to go through and delete.
4. If i am okay with losing my playlists, is there an easy way of itunes 'forgetting' everything and then starting over, or would i need to remove and install itunes and if this is the case, what happens with my iphone syncing?
Can anyone please help me?
thanks in advance
LEe

If it copies the music then can i assume that i can safely delete the older copy of the two?
Yes.
Do yuo think consolidating the library before moving it is the best option......
Only if you want iTunes to keep track of everything (yes, it is the best option).
if i change the location of the music folder, then consolidate, will it move ALL my music the new folder location?
Yes, this is exactly how you should do it.
Consolidate copies everything in iTunes to the location shown in iTunes prefs -> Advanced - iTunes music folder location.

Moving Playlists and Preferences

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