PC to Mac: ITunes library on network share

Hi all,
I am aware that these forums gets lots of PC -> Mac iTunes library migration questions. However, I'm having trouble with my particular situation.
Just got a new Mac Pro yesterday. It came with Tiger installed and a Leopard upgrade disc. So, I've already upgraded to Leopard. Software updater has already updated iTunes to v7.4.3. I have the iTunes library on a network share under folder called "My Music". The Mac has no issues with seeing the shared drive.
How do I go about pointing iTunes on the Mac to the library on the share? I know about holding down the option key while iTunes is starting. I've tried that but I don't know what folder or file the Mac version of iTunes is looking for. I keep getting messsages that iTunes can't find the library.
I'd like to keep the iTunes library in place but will move it if I must. Any help will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Steven

Did more checking and the /My Music/itunes directory on the network share does have a "iTunes Library.itl" file. The iTunes library chooser keeps telling me it can't find an iTunes library.
Thanks,
Steven

Similar Messages

Locate iTunes Library to Network Share

I would like to store the iTunes library on a network resource so that macs and pc's can access it from my network and to facilitate backup and recovery.
Can this be done and if so how?
Thank you

Hi Hugh, happy Christmas...
Sounds like the issue I had with iTunes for a while, before I realised I was starting it BEFORE the network share (remote drive) was mounted. I use a ReadyNAS NV+, but the principle is the same...
Make sure file sharing is properly and securily turned on first on both ends.
A:
You can either connect through finder, once connected to the proper shared folder location drag the relevant folder "itunes music" to the devices list in finder. You should also add the location to you start up items.
B:
You can create a mount point for the drive using "Comand K" (Finder Go menu, connect to server...). If you connect this way its more robust, using either afp or smb you can also add the mount point to your start up items, so you can be sure the share point is available before you start iTunes.
This is how I would connect to my headless Mac mini, where 192.168.2.24 is the local IP of the Mac Mini;
file access... (you will have to double check the syntax here for your setup)
⌘K smb://192.168.2.24/users/woody/music
screen sharing...
⌘K vnc://192.168.2.24
(These shortcuts can be saved in the server list for future use, very handy.)
It should ask you for a password, which you should have set up in file sharing for security.

Sharing Mac iTunes library with Windows PC (I want to be able to read/write)

Greetings from a new Mac user. I recently purchased a 27" iMAC running OS X 10.7.3. This iMac is now connected to my home network/workgroup.
- I want to build a new iTunes Library on my 1TB internal Mac HD.
- I want my 3 non Mac Machines (1 XP Prof and 2 Windows 7 Home) to be able to view the contents of my new (not yet built) iTunes Library resident on my iMac and of course be able to
- play that content.
- have play counts from my Windows-based be saved back to my iTunes Library.
- be able to rate a song from any computer (Mac or Windows) within this iTunes Library and have that rating saved back to this iTunes Library.
I don't want to have to rely on iTunes "Shared Library" function. In other words I want all PCs to be able to read/write to the same iTunes Library file.
Before I purchased my iMac, my iTunes Library existed on one of my Windows-file system external drives. The pre-requisites for allowing multiple Windows PCs to access/share/write to the same iTunes Library was to:
- share the Windows folder on the external drive in which the iTunes Library file was stored (allowing network users to be able to change the files), and
- make sure all Windows-based PCs ran the same iTunes software version.
Assume: I don't want to change the version of Windows iTunes software from the currently installed 10.5.0 version.
Question 1: Can my Windows PCs access and utilize the same iTunes library file that I plan to build on my iMac hard drive?
Question 2: What older version of Mac iTunes software should I install on my iMac in order to allow the Windows PCs to access and use the iMacs iTunes library file?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hmmm... thanks for the reply. This of course, yields another question. When you say 'you could format to FAT32 which both can use'; do you mean format the iTunes Hard drive on which my iTunes music now resides? If so, this would mean I would need to copy the music off the internal iMac hard drive, then format the drive to FAT32, then copy the music back.
Is this what you meant?

How can I move my PC (Windows 7) iTunes library (with my cps ripped) to my Mac iTunes library?

Just for my curiosity and knowledge,
I have a PC (Windows 7) and a Mac (OS X 10.10).
Both of them with the latest version of iTunes.
Both of them with the exact music library (genre, artist, album, etc).
All my music is coming from iTunes Store, so very easy to re download at any time I want with my Apple ID
My PC (Windows 7) computer has a CD/DVD drive. I would like to RIP some music from my CDs and add them to my PC (Windows 7) iTunes library.
Once I finished, how can I move my PC (Windows 7) iTunes library (with my cps ripped) to my Mac iTunes library?
Thank you so much

If you've downloaded the media idependently to each library so far then thet won't be exactly the same as there are different naming rules for the files and folders in OS X and Windows. See Make a split library portable for some general advice. You can move a portable library between Mac and Windows, but there is a delay opening the library after each change of OS.
tt2

2nd home computer can't see itunes library on network server drive

Ripped CD library and streaming Airplay successfully to home system. Moved itunes library to network drive which is a Seagate BackupPlus connected to ASUS ac-68u router with USB 3.0. Have Apple Media server turned on for the asus router. Used iTunes Edit/Preferences/Advanced to change library location, Checked both “keep itunes media folder organized” and “copy music to itunes media folder when adding to library”. Turned on home sharing, used same apple id on both computers. Original computer (Win8.1) I ripped to can see and use the library fine, but the other one (Win 7 hardwired to router) shows only the 4 sample songs. Probably not permissions because I can use Windows Explorer to look at the cd titles in the Music folder. Aloha, Mike

I may have misunderstood, but the iTunes folder will only be there if you have copied it from your old computer to the iPod first. If you no longer have the old computer see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device,
tt2

I have 3 iTunes courses that i downloaded using my iPad. After syncing my iPad with iTunes on my mac, these 3 courses do not appear on my mac iTunes library yet they are still on my iPad.

I have 3 iTunes courses that i downloaded using my iPad. After syncing my iPad with iTunes on my mac, these 3 courses do not appear on my mac iTunes library yet they are still on my iPad.
I have 2 other courses that I downloaded frim my iPad and these appeared on my iTunes (mac) library.
Any idea why the other 3 that i downloaded were not synced in iTunes?

You and the iPad can function with the Remote App from across the room, or in another room.
However, your stereo system has to have a way to communicate or connect with the computer. Unless it has some kind of wifi connector or has Bluetooth, I don't see how you can do this.
There is no app or software to resolve this. You need a way for the stereo to connect.

I want to sync music from iPhone to Mac iTunes library

Im all confused. my existing library on my computer is all messed up. I have a bunch of duplicate song files and some that aren't able to "be found" and I want to somehow wipe all the info and music from my Mac iTunes library and put only my music from my iPhone into a new fresh iTunes library.

Hello Carrie,
I definitely understand wanting to clean up your iTunes library. There are a few resources I recommend looking at.
Firstly, if you wanted to continue with your existing library, you can identify duplicates in iTunes following these steps:
Choose File > Display Duplicates to show duplicate items (matches are based on the song name and artist). If you have multiple versions of the same song (for example, live and studio versions, or versions from different albums) you can hold the Alt or Option key (for Mac OS X) or the Shift key (for Windows) and choose File > Display Exact Duplicates. This will show only duplicate songs having the same name, artist, and album.
If you are using iTunes 11 (the latest version of iTunes at this time), you will need to go to View>Show Duplicate Items (you can hold Alt or Option here as well to get the Show Exact Duplicate Items option). You can find the full article here:
How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2905
If you think the music you are missing in iTunes is located on your computer somewhere, I recommend reviewing this article:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
If neither of those help and you prefer to recreate your iTunes Library, I recommend review this next article. This article outlines what media you are able to transfer from your iPhone to your computer:
iTunes: Transferring media from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or iPod
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1209
I recommend creating the new library and making sure it has everything you want in it before deleting your library that is disorganized. This article outlines creating a new iTunes Library and how to switch between libraries:
iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Convert a Mac iTunes library to a Windows iTunes library?

This sounds like heresy, but I've switched my home system from a ten year old Mac Powerbook, to a screamingly fast, new Dell laptop. I have a large iTunes library on the old Mac; s there a way I can convert my Mac iTunes Library into a Windows iTunes Library, or do I have to (gasp) rebuild the whole thing in Windows?

Hello autochthon,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
To transfer your iTunes library to another computer just follow the steps in the article below.
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Take care,
Alex H.

PC to Mac iTunes library?

I plan to purchase a new MacBook Air. I need to transfer my old iTunes library from Windows 7 to my Mac. I know how to do it using an external hard drive, but I don't have one and I don't plan to buy one. What other ways are there to transfer my library (mainly TV shows and apps, not too much music) from PC to Mac? Will Home Sharing work to transfer my entire library (apps and all) or does that only work for music and video? I have an iPod touch 2nd generation using iOS 4.2.1, but I plan to upgrade that to a new iPhone within the near future. So here are some questions:
1) Will Home Sharing allow me to transfer the ENTIRE library or just music and videos?
-If Home Sharing only transfers music and videos, can I use the "Automatic Downloads" from iTunes on PC to transfer apps to a new Mac?
2) If Home Sharing transfers my entire library, will it stay there on my Mac if I get rid of my PC?
3) I made back up DVD's of my entire library. How do they come in play here?
Thanks.

Did more checking and the /My Music/itunes directory on the network share does have a "iTunes Library.itl" file. The iTunes library chooser keeps telling me it can't find an iTunes library.
Thanks,
Steven

ITunes library on network drive gives "!"

All of my music and videos are stored on dedicated shares on my home server. I created a folder on the server for iTunes to put it's files in when I create a new iTunes library. If I create the library on my mac the files all show up and play fine in iTunes. If I then point my PC to the same library files on the server iTunes sees all the files that I added to it from the Mac but I get the "!" for every file. Same thing happens if I initially create the library and add files to it from the PC. If I then go and open the library thats on the network on the Mac all the files show up but won't play because they show the "!". All I want to do is create one library and have it be stored on my server so all my computers can use the same library and any computer can add and update said library. Any ideas?

I did some more digging and it seems to be a problem with how Macs and PC's name the mounted drive. The Mac is calling the drive volume/music which is fine but the PC's can't find the file because it's looking at volume/music but the music drive for the PC is shown as servername/music. Any ideas how to change this so t hey both are the same? Can you change the Mac so it's mapped drive name is the same as on a PC?

ITunes library on network drive

I want to have all my mp3s reside on a network share, and have multiple computers manage the same library. I have set all iTunes to store their files in that location; however changes made on one computer don't show up in iTunes on the other computers.
Is there a way to do this well?

because iTunes is a Database manager that simply points to where the files are located. And only ONE computer can control that database. Each computer can only operate its own Database and as such cannot tell whats been added to the drive unless it did it itself.
Put all your music on one computer then use iTunes built-in SHaring to access the music on other computers.

ITunes library on network drive, no longer able to download from store

I have my iTunes library stored on a WD My Cloud drive. Suddenly today I have found that I cannot download anything from the iTunes store (movies or music).
I get an error saying "The required folder cannot be found. Please check that the connection to the network is active and try again."
I have the WD drive mapped to Drive M and my iTunes library points to the iTunes folder on that drive. I have confirmed the drive is up and the connection is good.
I can play music and movies in iTunes from that drive.
I have shut down iTunes and rebooted the computer multiple times.
I'm running Windows 8.1 x64
ITunes version 12.1.2.27
I'm looking for any help at all. I'm getting quite frustrated.
I do have iTunes set to Keep iTunes Media folder organized and also set to Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library

turingtest2 wrote:
Is the whole library on the network drive, or just the media folder? Is it a NAS or a shared folder on another Windows machine? A USB connected drive as your primary library with the network drive as backup may be a more robust solution. If you library files are on the system drive see Make a split library portable.
tt2
I had the entire library on the network drive. At one time I used it with just the movies on a drive that was plugged into my router but that was a hassle. So I bought the 4TB network drive hoping this would be an easier solution and I could store everything on it.
It had work fine for a while but I do not know what happened. Nothing I tried worked. I successfully moved my library to my USB 3.0 drive and it is working just fine. I am able to download from the iTunes store now.
Now, I did discover that some movies were missing but I can re-download them easily.
What I don't understand is that if I view my purchases in the iTunes store and tell it to show only movies that are not in my library it shows a whole lot of things that ARE in my library.

PC to Mac: iTunes Library Running on External Hard Drive

Good afternoon all. I just purchased a MacBook 13-inch Aluminum (Late 2008) and am having some trouble with my iTunes library.
On my PC Laptop, I am all set up to run iTunes from an external hard drive, with the library files saved on the external drive as well.
I have searched the internet extensively, but have not found any successful way of loading iTunes on my new Mac while maintaining the date added and play counts.
Apple offers a support document on moving the iTunes library from one computer to another (which is how I moved my iTunes folder off to the external drive), but this doesn't seem to work from PC to Mac.
Do any of you have experience moving your iTunes Library from a PC to a Mac while maintaining your date added and play count data?
Any help that you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Ok, so for those of you that are interested, I figured it out.
I first started iTunes on the new mac and got everything set up, with the library and .xml files in the ~/Music/iTunes folder.
I then opened iTunes and went into preferences, moving the location of the iTunes music folder to the correct location on the external drive (at this point iTunes is pointing in the right direction, but has nothing in the library.)
Next, I deleted the library and .xml file from the mac, and copied over the PC itunes library and .xml files, removing the .itl extension from the PC library file.
Using the mac text editor, I opened the PC .xml file, and replaced all references to the external drive in PC speak (drive letter format) with mac speak (volume format.)
Now, when I opened iTunes it began updating the library and when it finished, all of my music was there with the correct play counts and dates added. Of interesting note, while it clearly used the PC library and .xml files in some facet, it created new mac files in the same location, moving the PC library file to 'Previous iTunes Libraries', and renaming the .xml file.
Finally, I closed iTunes and used finder to move the new mac library and .xml files off to the external drive, dropping the original PC files into a PC folder, should they ever be needed again. I opened iTunes holding option and pointed it to the new library file on the external drive.
Now everything is up and running from the external drive on the mac, just as it did on the PC. It was a bit of a headache to keep all of the information intact, but for me it was worth it. (If you don't care about your dates added and play counts, you could of course simply add the iTunes folder from your external drive to the new mac's iTunes and avoid all of the 'fun', but I've got years of data, and like to know when I added what, and how often I actually listen to it :))
Thanks.

Can't open Mac iTunes library on Windows

I'm wondering how I can make my iTunes library database file work with both Mac and Windows off of an external hard drive. On my Mac the drive gets a firewire connection, and on the PC it gets USB connection. Either way, when I hold shift on Windows and option on Mac to choose a library it won't load the ITL file. It is a valid file because I have used it with iTunes before (only on the Mac) What do I do?

I'mma bump this. Still no solution.

Switching from pc to mac: itunes library help

I recently witched from a clunky old pc to a beautiful new aluminum imac. I imported my itunes library a week ago, and i has been seamless. But today i realize im missing the games in my library. I tried dragging the files to the library, importing it, etc... but it doesnt work. What do I do? I dont want to buy them again.

I used an external HD. I simply copied the entire itunes folder and dragged it into the mac's music folder. Everything, including playlists, ratings, etc. are there. the games files are there too, just not in the itunes library. I drag/import/ into itunes, it doesn't work.

PC to Mac: ITunes library on network share

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for