New computer, itunes backed up on portable hard drive, how to transfer?

I have just received a new laptop. I connected my portable hard drive on which i had backed up my itunes library from my old pc. On the new computer i used the "add folder to library" function in itunes. All the songs from my hard drive appear in the iTunes library on my new laptop, but when i try to play the songs, iTunes asks me to locate each individual song file on my portable hard drive. i have tried using the consolidate library function but this hasn't done anything. I don't want to have to "locate file" for each of the thousands of tracks i have stored on my portable hard drive.

if you want easy point and click stuff Home Sharing is pretty easy.
iTunes 9: Understanding Home Sharing
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3819
iTunes 9: Troubleshooting Home Sharing
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2972
You can set it up to automatically transfer a purchase made on one computer to the other using Home Sharing.

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rnavarrette wrote:
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Sounds like a part of a plan. However:
1.Should itunes work so I can use by CD/DVD
drive--and how should I set up my itunes 6 so that it
does work.
2. Along the same line, since I dont have any music
on my computer yet that I need to save or protect,
and considering all the hassles I (and everyone) has
had so far, any suggestions on what steps to take?
Thanks
Dale I'm not sure I understand your questions. I'll respond with what I think you may be asking.
It should not make any difference if iTunes is installed and working in order to transfer files from your DVD to your hard drive.
First create a new folder on your main drive and give it a name. Then put your DVD in your drive. In My Computer right click on the drive your DVD is in and chose Open or Explore. You should now see all the files that are on your DVD. At the top of this window select Edit and in the drop down menu click Select. All the files will highlight. Select Edit again and click Copy this time.
Now go to the folder you created on your main drive. Right click on it and select Paste. All the files from your DVD should now transfer into the new folder you created. Depending on how many they are it may take a bit.
I don't know what format these files are in as you never made any mention of that. If they were iTunes protected format you won't be able to use them without iTunes. If they are MP3 you should be able to play them using any player that is installed on your system that plays MP3 format.
If these files were your entire iTunes Library before let me know.
Sorry it took so long to reply. I was in the mist of a reformat and was offline for a bit.
Hope that helps.

New computer, itunes backed up on portable hard drive, how to transfer?

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