Safeset way to transfer i tunes library from old laptop to newer Sony Vaio?? I'm concerned about transfering viruses etc...i have an external drive available.

Question

Hiya. I want to transfer my I tunes library from an old laptop I've not used for a couple of years. I've got a sony vaio now, so I guess my options are either Windows migration or use my new external hard drive. I'm worried about any viruses etc being passed across, so what is the safest option??

Answer 1

There should never be a need to turn off anti-virus protection to effect a data transfer.  The key to successfully transferring an iTunes library from one computer to another is to have the library (database and media) in a "well formed" layout that facilitates the process.  In practical terms, this means that all your media (songs, audiobooks, TV shows, ...) is contained within the iTunes Media folder within the iTunes folder that's located by default in one of the following locations:
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
Windows Vista: C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes
Windows 7 and Windows 8: C:\Users\username\My Music\iTunes (in theses "My Music" is one of Windows' virtual libraries and the same path as used in Vista is normally equally valid)
This folder and its subfolders should look like this:
If this is the case, then you can:
Exit iTunes, and copy this iTunes folder, in its entirety, to an external HDD connected to your old machine
In your case, I'd then suggest running a complete virus / malware scan on the external HDD.  It would be unusual to find viruses or malware embedded in iTunes' media files or other data, but doing this step would at least confirm that the data you're moving is infection-free.
Then, copy this iTunes folder to the corresponding location on your new laptop (where iTunes should not be running at this time).  If you've already installed iTunes and haven't added any new content to the library on the new machine you can just overwrite the files/folders that you find there.
Just to make sure that iTunes is picking up the correct library database, i.e., the one you just transferred, hold down the Shift key as you start iTunes, and when you see this prompt:
click on Choose Library... navigate to the location of the folder you just copied (assuming Windows 7 or 8, C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes), select the iTunes Library.itl file you see there, and click Open.
Your library will now be available to you on the new laptop.
Two caveats:
If your iTunes media on the old machine is not in the well formed structure described above (which may be the case if you've added existing MP3 or other formats without having configured iTunes as follows (in Edit > Preferences > Advanced):
see Turingtest2's notes on Make a split library portable on the steps needed to reorganize your library into a more standard layout.  This may be a little tricky for you if the old machine is virus-infected to the extent that you can't run iTunes, but hopefully that won't be the case.
If you've already added anything to the library on your new machine prior to transferring data from the old one you'll need an extra step in the procedure described above, before step 3:
on the new machine (with iTunes not running) rename the C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes to something like "iTunesTemp"
copy the library files and folders as described above, so you have a C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes folder again
copy the contents of the C:\Users\username\iTunesTemp\iTunes Media folder (which will still contain any songs, etc, added on the new machine - you can just select any/all folders you find in that location except "Automatically Add to iTunes" and "Downloads") to C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Automatically Add to iTunes