Multiple iTunes users on single computer

First, I would like to point out that I am sonehwat comp savvy but not an expert. Here is my deal..my son and I each have an ipod and we both use iTunes. I am trying to find a way to have a single iTunes library that either of us can access taht will hold all of our music. I have been using iTunes longer and initially gave him access to my library by copy the link and the xml files to his iTunes. The librayr is intended to reside on my external Maxtor Hard Drive. Now however, when either of us updates our libray, the other doesn't get updated automatically. Can someone give me proven, specific instructions on how to achieve my single, synched library goal? Thank you. I hope that isn't too wordy or selfish sounding.
Gateway PC Windows XP Pro Maxtor External HD

These links should help:
Natalie Beresford: Multiple iPods/iTunes Installations
How to use multiple iPods with one computer
How to share music between different accounts on a single computer
Also See: How to Transfer Music Between the Computer and iPod
The iPod offers three ways to transfer music from your computer. You can select one of the following update modes from the iPod Preferences menu in iTunes (Edit=>Preferences=>'iPod' tab):
1) Automatically update all songs and playlists. This is the default mode, in which your entire music library, including playlists, is automatically synced to your iPod. If the music library on your computer exceeds the iPod storage capacity, you are prompted to select a different update method.
2) Automatically update selected playlists only. With this option, iTunes automatically copies the playlists you have selected to the iPod when you connect it to the computer.
3) Manually manage songs and playlists. You can also choose to transfer music to the iPod manually. This allows you to drag and drop individual songs and playlists from iTunes to the iPod.

Similar Messages

Question: Multiple iTunes users w/ single music library on file server

My son and I (separate computers) host all of our music on a common file server. Initially, it was my music library...when he loaded iTunes, it imported everything and all was fine.
However, now if I add a few songs to the library (I can see them in the shared folders that we both have setup as our music folder within iTunes) they don't show up in his music library unless we either import them or drag them from File Mgr into iTunes.
There has to be an "automatic" way...doesn't there?
I'm eager for suggestions.
Thanks much,
Rick

Sorry to say, there is not an easier way and folks have been requesting it from Apple for years.
You are running into the situation noted in this article, towards the end
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
+When another user of the computer has imported new music from CD, repeat steps 6 through 8 to add the music to your library.+

Sharing iTunes on a single computer with multiple users

Greetings,
I have been troubleshooting a problem sharing iTunes on a single computer with multiple users that cropped up a few weeks ago and have not had very good luck.
Several months ago I successfully set up my wife’s G4 Laptop (PowerPC processor) so that we could share iTunes on that computer. I had just gotten her an “My Book” external hard drive (Western Digital). The iTunes Library will go on this new unit because the internal drive was running out of room. I successfully set the privileges, moved the entire library onto a “Share” directory and everything worked fine.
In this way, when I got a new CD I could add it to iTunes (under my login, administrator privileges) and she could access it (under her login) to listen to while working on the computer or using her iPod. This arrangement went well for quite awhile.
About a month and a half ago, when I tried to launch iTunes from my login I received this message:
“The iTunes Library file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file.”
I think the permissions must have changed when there was an update because my wife is pretty careful about what she does on her computer. Updates were the only thing I could think of that had changed since I had set her computer up. I also noticed that some of the iTunes defaults were different from the last time I had used it to add a CD.
So, I did some reading and went back through the motions of trying to set it up again. I re-formatted the My Book hard drive to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) added the files back to the external, reset permissions on the external hard drive. (Owners: System, Access: read and write - Group: wheel, Access: read and write – Others: read and write).
When I now launch iTunes under my login I get this message:
“The operation cannot be completed because you do not have sufficient privileges for some of the items.”
What gives? I am the original owner and have always had top-level privileges.
Can someone point me to any articles or clues as to how I need to set-up iTunes on a single computer to be shared by more than one user? Also, I am considering upgrading to the newer system in a few weeks, so if a solution for OS X 10.5 is available, that would work too.
Tim

Was your wife logged into the libray at the time you tried to log in? I have had a similar problem and it was because another user was logged into the library when I attempted to. I got the permission denied banner.

Multiple Libraries on a single computer

Is there a command line switch which can be included in the iTunes shortcut to replace using the SHIFT key used to prompt for Creating and/or Selecting from multiple libraries on a single computer?

Sorry.
If you just want to have your iTunes content spread across multiple drives, you can just uncheck the Copy to media folder option in iTunes Preferences> Advanced

Multiple iTunes Libraries on single Mac

I have somehow managed to create libraries of music/podcasts/videos in 5 different places on my iMac. I would like to consolidate all of them into one spot that can be shared by all accounts. Is there a way to merge them easily, that is without copying song by song or rewriting the entire library, potentially losing some files that are more current? For example, I have 3 folders of the Killers, only 1 of which has all downloaded songs. Thanks.

If you want to do it that way, each person should have their own computer login which will give each person their own iTunes library.
This would be far easier than using multiple iTunes libraries in one computer login.
To do different content on each device, select the device in iTUnes (menu View > Show sidebar), click the tabs acroos top and select what you want to sync to that device. Do the saem for all devices.

HT1689 How do I download multiple itunes accounts on one computer under one user?

Recenlty moved to one account on our windows 7 computer to cut down on potential malware issues that allowed malware to migrate over to other user accounts. However, we have different iTunes accounts and want to be able to download our individual music from each of our devices that include an iphone 4, iphone 4S, and ipod. How do I create this capability under one windows 7 user account?

It certainly is possible.
How to use multiple iOS devices with one computer
A single computer can be authorized for multiple iTunes accounts but only one account can be signed into the store at a time.
Frankly, you are better off with unique Windows User accounts for each user.

Multiple itune users on the same computer

Is it possible to have two seperate itunes running on the same computer? My husband and I share a computer and both have ipods. We both have different tastes in music so we would like to be able to access our own itunes instead of having to share a library with all the music together.
He currently has itunes set up with all his music on the computer at home. I have been running my itunes at work and would like to be able to bring my stuff home. Is this possible?

When the iPods belong to different people, there are basically three ways of using multiple iPods on a computer and these involve:
a) Sharing a single iTunes library
b) Creating Multiple Libraries in a single user account
c) Creating multiple user accounts.
Note: When you are sharing an iTunes library, you don't have to set each iPod to update in the same manner, you can mix and match from the options below as each iPod has it's own update settings
Sharing a Library and/or User Account
If you want to share the one library, you can set either or all of the iPods so that they only get updated with only certain playlists (you can update from more than one if you wish): iPod - Syncing Music
Choosing the update option "Sync Music - Selected playlists" allows you to create a playlist specifically for the iPod and drag the tracks you want into it. If you tire of the list and want to change it, you just add or remove the songs you don't want. The ones you take out out remain in the library to be used some other time if you choose. You can read more about playlists at these links:
iTunes: Creating playlists of your favorite songs
How to create a Smart Playlist with iTunes
Or you can choose to update any or all of the iPods manually and just drag whatever content you want to them: Managing content manually on iPod
Loading the iPod shuffle differs slightly but it can still be used with the others, for details have a look at this page: Adding songs to iPod shuffle - Windows
Multiple Libraries
It's also possible to have multiple libraries in a single account. To create or access a second (or more) library, hold down the Option key (or Shift key in Windows) when launching iTunes 7. In the resulting dialogue you will get the option to create a new library or navigate to the other Library.
Note: You can only have one Library open at a time and iTunes will default to the last library opened if you don't use the keyboard command to choose one. This can prove tricky when using multiple iPods, if you don't use the keyboard command you can risk syncing to the wrong library: Using multiple iTunes libraries -Windows
Separate User Accounts
Another option is to create a separate User account for each person on your PC or Mac. Different accounts by definition would give you completely separate libraries. Each account has it's own iTunes folder, Library and iTunes Music folder and you load it with CDs etc just as you did with your original one. The iPod can be set to update however the owner chooses, sync all, manual or sync specific playlists
I don't use Windows so I can't give you a step by step on that one, however I can point you to another web page which should help you out. You can read about Windows user accounts here:
Using Windows XP User Accounts

Multiple iPod users on one computer, one iTunes

Need help.
We have 3 iPod 5th generation using one computer and each of us have different tastes in music/movies/games etc. I just spent 6 hours redoing my personal setting to resync my iPod after my son reset it for his tastes. Is there any way of setting up preferences within iTunes for each iPod to prevent or elivate this total waste of time. When adding new music, audiobooks, and/or movies it should be a no-brainer to resync them but it is a total pain-in-the-arse.
Thank you

When the iPods belong to different people, there are basically three ways of using multiple iPods on a computer and these involve:
a) Sharing a single iTunes library
b) Creating Multiple Libraries in a single user account
c) Creating multiple user accounts.
Note: When you are sharing an iTunes library, you don't have to set each iPod to update in the same manner, you can mix and match from the options below as each iPod has it's own update settings
Sharing a Library and/or User Account
If you want to share the one library, you can set either or all of the iPods so that they only get updated with only certain playlists (you can update from more than one if you wish): iPod - Syncing Music
Choosing the update option "Sync Music - Selected playlists" allows you to create a playlist specifically for the iPod and drag the tracks you want into it. If you tire of the list and want to change it, you just add or remove the songs you don't want. The ones you take out out remain in the library to be used some other time if you choose. You can read more about playlists at these links:
iTunes: Creating playlists of your favorite songs
How to create a Smart Playlist with iTunes
Or you can choose to update any or all of the iPods manually and just drag whatever content you want to them: Managing content manually on iPod
Loading the iPod shuffle differs slightly but it can still be used with the others, for details have a look at this page: Adding songs to iPod shuffle - Windows
Multiple Libraries
It's also possible to have multiple libraries in a single account. To create or access a second (or more) library, hold down the Shift key in Windows when launching iTunes 7. In the resulting dialogue you will get the option to create a new library or navigate to the other Library.
Note: You can only have one Library open at a time and iTunes will default to the last library opened if you don't use the keyboard command to choose one. This can prove tricky when using multiple iPods, if you don't use the keyboard command you can risk syncing to the wrong library: Using multiple iTunes libraries -Windows
Separate User Accounts
Another option is to create a separate User account for each person on your PC or Mac. Different accounts by definition would give you completely separate libraries. Each account has it's own iTunes folder, Library and iTunes Music folder and you load it with CDs etc just as you did with your original one. The iPod can be set to update however the owner chooses, sync all, manual or sync specific playlists
I don't use Windows so I can't give you a step by step on that one, however I can point you to another web page which should help you out. You can read about Windows user accounts here: Using Windows XP User Accounts

Multiple users on single computer

We're helping a church train their volunteers to use
Contribute. In their small computer lab, volunteers will edit their
particular directories/pages. We can easily create keys for each of
them with their specific allowed directories - can multiple users
share a single computer and let us achieve limited access for each
user? How do we set up Contribute or the connection key to demand a
user log-on? This church has no publishing server. Is this
possible?

I don't think so because Contribute does this weird thing
where it stores sftp / ftp information in your registry key
(encrypted) and then regardless of what you enter when it prompts
you to enter that data it still uses whatever was first stored for
that domain in your registry. So if anyone ever opts to "save" the
login information, ever, then it's set until you clear your
registry key chain. (annoying)
It would be possible if you made each computer specific to
role, like all roles that use this computer uses a sftp / ftp
information that is on the same level.
Long story short, you can do this, but it might cause
problems when users don't understand why they can't do things they
normally could do (sftp information was saved as a lower level
user) or a low level access user who has privledges they should not
have (sftp information was saved as a high level user).

Multiple users on single computer mounting same RAID drive

Hi I'm a newbie:)
I have multiple users on a single computer which need to mount the same RAID drive on a different networked computer. I have no problem making the mounts, the only thing is that when each user makes its mount the drive appears multiple times when doing an ls /Volumes. Ie, the first user mounts sparkle and it appears as sparkle. The second user mounts sparkle and it appears as sparkle-1. The third user mounts sparkle and it appears as sparkle-2. In the finder they all show up as just plain sparkle, but for running scripts, the hyphen-# screws things up. Does anyone know of a way to have the same drive mounted without the hyphen-#s?
Many thanks!
Megan

What kind of scripts? I don't think there's any way around the naming problem, but you could use regular expressions. I don't see why sparkle* shouldn't do the trick, or add sparkle-[0-9$] to whatever constuct you have.

Set up multiple iTunes accounts on one computer?

I bought each of my two daughters their own iPods for Christmas, and when I set them up, I used my iTunes account login for both of them. It has become an issue sharing my account on their devices, because all of my information comes up on their iPods (like my messages). How can I set up new accounts for each of them, since I only have one computer? I want each of them to have their own iTunes accounts so they can stop using mine. Please help!!!

How to use multiple iPods, iPads, or iPhones with one computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495
Chris CA's 2009 instructions on sharing iTunes music libraries between multiple user accounts - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8973804
How to use multiple iPods, iPads, or iPhones with one computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1495 - Method #1 using separate user accounts. Method #2 using separate playlists in one library. Method #3 using multiple iTunes libraries.
iTunes Home Sharing now works between users on same computer - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3865597
You could set up two completely separate libraries and share music via Home Sharing.
iTunes: How to share music between different accounts on a single computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203 - relocating iTunes' media folder to a shared area but leaving separate library files - extra tip at https://discussions.apple.com/message/17331189
Also consider getting them their own AppleID, setting each person up with their own user account on the computer, and look into Family Sharing possibilities. Family Sharing - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT201060 - "Family Sharing makes it easy for up to six people in your family to share each other’s iTunes, iBooks, and App Store purchases without sharing accounts. Pay for family purchases with the same credit card and approve kids’ spending right from a parent’s device. And share photos, a family calendar, and more to help keep everyone connected."
If you use multiple AppleIDs on a computer make sure you maintain a backup of all media. There is a 90 day wait time between using different Apple Ids with the iTUnes Store for the purposes of re-downloading past purchases.

Multiple ipods users and one computer

Our household has several iPods but use one computer. I just purchased a new iPod and when I connected to the computer (Windows XP) it allowed me to identify my ipod but sunced the other ipod user's music. I'm lost - how can I or can I maintain 2 different syncs?

When the iPods belong to different people, there are basically three ways of using multiple iPods on a computer and these involve:
a) Sharing a single iTunes library
b) Creating Multiple Libraries in a single user account
c) Creating multiple user accounts.
Note: When you are sharing an iTunes library, you don't have to set each iPod to update in the same manner, you can mix and match from the options below as each iPod has it's own update settings
Sharing a Library and/or User Account
If you want to share the one library, you can set either or all of the iPods so that they only get updated with only certain playlists (you can update from more than one if you wish): Loading songs onto iPod automatically - Windows
Choosing the update option "Sync Music - Selected playlists" allows you to create a playlist specifically for the iPod and drag the tracks you want into it. If you tire of the list and want to change it, you just add or remove the songs you don't want. The ones you take out out remain in the library to be used some other time if you choose. You can read more about playlists at these links:
iTunes: Creating playlists of your favorite songs
How to create a Smart Playlist with iTunes
Or you can choose to update any or all of the iPods manually and just drag whatever content you want to them: Managing content manually on iPod
Loading the iPod shuffle differs slightly but it can still be used with the others, for details have a look at this page: Loading songs onto iPod shuffle - Windows
Multiple Libraries
It's also possible to have multiple libraries in a single account. To create or access a second (or more) library, hold down the Shift key (or the Option key on a Mac) when launching iTunes 7. In the resulting dialogue you will get the option to create a new library or navigate to the other Library.
Note: You can only have one Library open at a time and iTunes will default to the last library opened if you don't use the keyboard command to choose one. This can prove tricky when using multiple iPods, if you don't use the keyboard command you can risk syncing to the wrong library: Using multiple iTunes libraries -Windows
Separate User Accounts
Another option is to create a separate User account for each person on your PC or Mac. Different accounts by definition would give you completely separate libraries. Each account has it's own iTunes folder, Library and iTunes Music folder and you load it with CDs etc just as you did with your original one. The iPod can be set to update however the owner chooses, sync all, manual or sync specific playlists
I don't use Windows so I can't give you a step by step on that one, however I can point you to another web page which should help you out. You can read about Windows user accounts here: Using Windows XP User Accounts

2 iTunes Users Sharing a Computer

Can I have two different iTunes users/libraries on a single computer? If so, how do I set this up? My husband has recently gotten himself a shuffle and he is putting all his "music" in my library. I would much rather it went into a library of his own as our tastes are vastly different!

To create or access a second (or more) library, hold down the Option key when launching iTunes. In the resulting dialogue you will get the option to create a new library or navigate to the other Library.
Note: You can only have one Library open at a time and iTunes will default to the last library opened if you don't use the keyboard command to choose one. The new library will be empty until you add content to it. To get back to your original library you need to close iTunes and open it again while holding down the shift key, this time choose to open an existing library and navigate to its location: Using multiple iTunes libraries -Mac
Another option is to create a separate Mac User account for each person on your computer. Different user accounts by definition would give you completely separate libraries. Each account has it's own iTunes folder, Library and iTunes Music folder and you load it with CDs etc just as you did with your original one.

How do I consolidate multiple Itunes folders on one computer?

I had a mishap with my external hard drive (I didn't know how to use it properly..yup USER ERROR!) so I have three different Itunes folders intertwined in my music folders with different previous Itunes libraries. I made a backup of the entire music mess on a flash drive, have a new computer and finally an ipod to put my music on...
Can someone give me some detailed steps to be able to consolidate all of my many Itunes libraries and let me know how I can access the music in my previous Itunes libraries? I want to make sure that I still have the rights to the music that I purchased in the past. I had some music in the Itunes cloud which is great but not nearly all of it...DRATS!
I found some steps to consolidate music from different computers onto one but I'm not sure that the same steps apply to my situation. Here are the links that I was looking at in eHow: http://www.ehow.com/how_5704389_consolidate-multiple-itunes-libraries.html and http://www.ehow.com/how_8149083_can-itunes-libraries-two-computers.html.
Thanks so much in advance!
Itunes libraries make my brain hurt!

Import everything into one library and then dedupe it.
tt2

Multiple Ipod users for one computer

How do you set up Itunes for 2 Ipods running through one computer/Itunes?
Thanks!

If both iPods have all the same music in their iTunes libraries (or if they're using the exact same iTunes Library) and both have the option selected to Sync All Selected Songs ... then they'll both have everything on them.
If you go by the two user accounts method, make sure the iPod is set to sync only selected songs/videos/etc, and then that ONLY the songs, etc, they want are selected.
If you use the playlists method, make sure that each iPod is set up to sync only the playlists they want. Personally, I'm using the playlist method for my two iPods. The other iPod's in the house use yet another method that is much more complicated and involves creating multiple iTunes libraries for the same account.
To answer the question of the "Privaledges" question, I think you were trying to go by the two accounts method. If so, the account installing iTunes has to have Administration rights. But once it's installed once, you can RUN it from multiple accounts without installing it again. Just browse to the iTunes.exe file and run it in the other account. When it runs, iTunes will probably load with an empty Library.
This happens because iTunes just created a new library file in the new account's "My Music\iTunes\" folder. That's a good thing. Then if you go to iTunes Preferences and change the location of the iTunes library to where all the music is, and let iTunes manage your music folders, it will add everything to the new library file.
Now, both accounts have the exact same files added to their independent Libraries. From here, they can Un-click or delete the songs they don't want in their library--just make sure to let the users/kids know NOT to Click "Move to the Recycle Bin". That will delete the file so that neither account can access it. When they delete files the other user may want, they'll have to select "Keep File(s)".
But then, they should have their own private music libraries WITHOUT actually having the music stored in two separate locations, possibly making lots of duplicates and wasting hard drive space. I'm pretty sure in both Windows XP and Windows Vista you can change the permissions of user accounts to where they CAN'T delete files, and that may actually be something you'll want to try if you think they'll just end up deleting each other's music permanently.

Multiple iTunes users on single computer

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for