Setting up new library

Hi,
I set up a new library by holding down the shift key. Now my existing library with all my songs is gone. Please help. How do I get back all my songs.
Thanks.

Click on Choose Library from the resulting dialog box and navigate to the old library, which is at \Users\yourname\Music\iTunes by default on Windows Vista.
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Set up new iPhone 5 with iCloud restore, then iTunes created new library with only content already on phone. How do I find and sync everything in original library?

My daughter got a new iPhone 5 and we set it up using the option to restore her iPhone 4 backup from iCloud. This worked great and everything on the old phone showed up on the new phone. Because we were traveling, we weren't able to sync the iPhone 5 with iTunes at that time.
She purchased new apps and music on the iPhone 5. When we returned home she synced with iTunes, and it seems to have created a new library, with only the content currently on the phone. I don't know if it prompted her to do this on the first sync or not - she doesn't remember.
So in iTunes, the library now only shows the music on the phone. A sync isn't doing much now because when choosing the phone in iTunes and selecting each content type across the top (Apps, Music, Movies, TV Shows) the box is unchecked to sync that content. When I check the box to "Sync Music", iTunes gives a warning:
Are you sure you want to sync music? all existing songs and playlists on the iPhone Becca's iPhone will be replaced with songs and playlists from your iTunes library.
Same goes for apps, except that warning also mentions that the apps and their data will be erased and replaced.
At some point she was also getting a message that this iPhone was associated with another library, but I'm not sure how she had triggered that. She says she canceled out of that. I can see all of the music
How do we get iTunes to see the "old" library of songs, videos and apps without losing the ones she's purchased already on the iPhone? The music files themselves are still on the computer, and include music both purchased from iTunes as well as music ripped from CDs. Thanks for any advice!

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

Is it possible to set up a new library that accesses referenced files from an old library AND retains all my Aperture adjustments

I am moving files from one external hard drive to another, using the 'relocate originals' file command. This is very slow & tedious. Is there away to shortcut this? I was hoping to just set up a new library that would access the same files & folders on the new hard drive but this only results in preserving my original files, not all the Aperture data, the adjustments and metadata.
Is there no better way than the 'relocate originals' file command?

Just copy the library over to the new drive?

Setting up a new library from an existing one

Due to lack of Genius mixes I have decided to set up a new library from my existing one but what I wandered was is there anyway of retaining my ratings/play counts etc by copying the iTunes database file from my original library folder.
I have over 100gb of content in my library and don't really wish to have to go through the process of rating everything again as my 'main' library is over three years of tweaking,adding & modifying etc.
Upon setting up this new library (which is taking ages to load)I have the "Turn on Genius" option down the right hand side which I cannot get in my main library.
I have just purchased a 5th generation Nano but cannot access Genius on it as it says my iTunes library doesn't have Genius enabled but it is I just can't get any Genius mixes.

Try this.
Quit iTunes.
Drag the *iTunes library.itl* file and *iTunes library.xml* to the desktop. Do NOT delete either of them.
Launch iTunes.
Do NOT add anything.
Go to File -> Library -> Import playlist and select the iTunes library.xml file on the desktop.
See if the ratings and the Genius mixes appear.
If so, you are good to go and can delete the *iTunes library.itl* file and *iTunes library.xml* on the desktop.
If not, don't delete anything and post back.

Ahhh! New iPod, setting up another library with my old iPod!

So, I got a new iPod5 to replace my old iPod4, and gave said iPod4 to my sister. How on Earth can I delete all the stuff from the iPod4 and set up a new library with it? I had no trouble Putting my iPod5 on MY library, but since my sister and I have VERY different music tastes, she has her own library on a different user name. Can anyone tell me how I can put this old iPod4 on that library?
Thanks in advance,
Kristina

Kristina,
Restoring your iPod does not delete iTunes. All they are saying is that as you are about to remove everything from your iPod make sure you have a back up. Common sense really. iPods are often restored as a method of troubleshooting problems so you want to make sure you have something to put back. You should back up iTunes as a matter of course especially if you have purchased downloads, your own CDs can always be re-added even if it's a pain but other stuff you can lose forever. Just for additional info, here's a link on the subject "How to back up your media in iTunes 5 or iTunes 6" http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302392

HT1349 My library is backed up to the cloud, my old computer w/ itunes died. How do i access my library and set up new itunes on my new computer?

how do i set up new itunes on new computer. old computer is dead. library is backed up to cloud.

iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
smasma64 wrote:
... library is backed up to cloud.
Are you sure..?
What gets Backed Up > iCloud > http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2584
smasma64 wrote:
how do i set up new itunes on new computer.
From your OLD computer or it's Backup...
Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive... and then from the External Drive to your New Computer..
Full Details Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751

Setting up new computer - duplicates in library

I just got a new HP computer, running Vista, so I needed to transfer my music. Here's my problem. I used my iPod and the Transfer Purchases from iPod option under the File menu to copy songs into my new library. But, (user error) this was done twice, so now I have duplicates of almost 500 songs, so deleting manually is not a good choice. In addition, there were about 40 new songs in the new library, so they weren't on the iPod that was synced on the old computer, so I can't really delete everything and start again, without somehow preserving these new songs first. Any ideas?

Have a look at Teridon's iTunes Scripts there's a script in there for dealing with duplicates: Teridon's iTunes for Windows Scripts

Setting up existing library in new computer

I'll try and give as much info as possible! Was running iTunes on my XP based machine, library stored on 320 GB slave drive (G:\Music\iTunes) in computer. Master drive crashed, and I thought it time to upgrade the home PC.
Bought an Acer Aspire - with 320 GB hard drive, partitioned into C: and F: sections. I also installed my old slave drive in an enclosure, where its now the D: drive on my new system (G: is assigned to the CD/DVD drive).
I installed iTunes on C:, and pointed my library default to F:\Music\iTunes (where it will be on my hard drive in a separate partition from the main one). I plan on using the external drive as a backup for my PC hard drive once I move the library to the F: drive location. I authorized the PC to my iTunes account, and all seems to be good to that point.
My question is, what steps do I need to take to move my library over to the F: drive, and have iTunes recognize that library? I've already tried to consolidate my library; but, that doesn't do anything. I also tried to install my existing play lists, with no luck.

Aw too bad, but it's also wise to be cautious at times.
+When you say export a playlist, where am I exporting from?+
Any previous library that has the playlists showing that you want, for instance "Fresh Mix" or whatever you named it. Just right-click on the words "Fresh Mix" and choose Export Playlist...
Save it as an XML file and then later you can use itunes menu > File > Library > Import Playlist to get it back.
+Should I move a copy of that file to the F: partition, would that work?+
yes, just put your exported playlists files where you can remember where they are, so you can import them later.
+Will the PC version of the playlist update when I plug in an iPod that has that playlist on it? (that would be more recent than that XML file) Or will I get some sort of 'out of synch' error?+
Any plays on the iPod should get synced back to iTunes. iTunes syncs track info back. Entire playlists from the iPod do not get synced back (unless they are On-the-Go playlists that you created on the iPod). If you have a playlist on your iPod that is not in iTunes, next time you sync your iPod, that playlist will get removed from the iPod.
+If I simply copy the song files to the F: drive (using Windows Explorer, correct?),+
Yes, Win Explorer
+how do I get iTunes to accept these songs in a new (*.itl) library?+
Either drag them over from a Win Explorer window into the itunes source list (left column)
I always drop it on the word LIBRARY
or
use itunes menu > File > Add folder to library and browse to the top-level F: drive
iTunes will always try to use the last ITL that it opened. So you need to be careful you are opening the library you really want, when using hte shift-start or not.
To start a new library, you can choose to create a new library using shift-start. It will be totally blank. Then you can add all the content from F: into it. iTunes will use that new library until you shift-start it again.
+Will the app be able to tell purchased music from CDs & MP3s that I've loaded to my library?+
Yes and no. If you try to play a DRM song, iTunes will ask you to authorize if you haven't done so already.
But your old purchases won't show in the Purchased playlist until you add them. Here is a post I wrote on that; easy to do with smart playlists
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9792872

I did allllll that is listed below, but when I get to sync iPad, it won't sync, what do I do? Preparation Before you connect any device to a new library go to the Devices tab

THis is what I did, but when I get to sync, it won't sync.....what do I doLynnLynn
Preparation
Before you connect any device to a new library go to the Devices tab of the the preferences panel via Edit > Preferences (Windows) or iTunes > Preferences (Mac) and ensure the box next to Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically is ticked. You can now safely connect the device to your computer without the danger of media being automatically deleted or overwritten.
If this device contains contacts or calendar items that are not already on the computer you are using, and that you wish to recover, then make sure you have at least one contact & one event in the applications that will sync with the device (e.g. Windows Address Book or Outlook under Windows, iCal & Address Book on a Mac).Dummy entries will do, but there must be at least one if the data is to be retrieved from the device in step 7 below.
Transfer purchases
You can transfer your iTunes Store purchases into a new library, after connecting the device, with the menu itemFile > Transfer Purchases from <Device>. You should be prompted to authorize the computer to your iTunes account if you have not already done so. If your device holds content from more than one account you will need to authorize each one.
See also: HT1848 - iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer.
Back up (iOS only)
If this is an iOS device you should now right-click on it (control-click on a Mac) in the left-hand column of the iTunes window and click Back Up to make a backup of the current settings and application data on the device.
Recover other media
iTunes only permits the transfer of iTunes Store purchases. If your device contains other media that you've ripped from CD or downloaded from other online stores you can either go back to the original sources or use third party software to extract your data from your device. There is a list of some of the software available below.
Recover other purchases
Your device may not have held all your iTunes Store purchases. You can recover qualifying purchases from your account by visiting the home page of the iTunes Store and clicking on the Purchased link in the Quick Linkssection in the right-hand column.
See also: HT2519 - Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
Restore (iOS only)
Having backed up your device, and rescued all the media from it that you can, you should now restore the device from the backup that you took earlier to ensure that the device is properly associated with this new library. Right-click on it (control-click on a Mac) in the left-hand column of the iTunes window and click Restore from Backup...
Sync
Set up your preferences for syncing Music, TV Shows, Podcasts, Info etc. then click Sync. For a device that holds calendar or contact information you should be prompted to restore or merge. Click merge to copy this information into your computer. Your device is now properly associated with your new library and you shouldn't have lost any data.
Backup your library
For the future you should backup your library to a separate hard drive or network share as restoring a backup is much easier than the process above. The user tip Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy gives a suggested way of doing this effectively for Windows users. Mac owners can make use of Time Machine, or useCarbon Copy Cloner which does a similar job to SyncToy.

This is the ipod touch forum.
Try posting in the ipod nano forum.

I HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRING MY ITUNES/IPOD TO A NEW COMPUTER WHICH HAS ALL WORKED EXCEPT MY OLD LIBRARY, PLAYLISTS ETC SHOW UNDER MY IPOD ON THE NEW COMPUTER BUT NOTHING IS IN THE NEW LIBRARY - HOW DO I GET IT THERE?

How do you get everything off the ipod into Library on new laptop & free up the space that was used when transferring (using ipod as hard drive to move over to new computer)? Also when try to sync music a box pops up saying are you sure as everything on the ipod will be removed & replaced with the items in the library but at the moment there's nothing in the library so don't want to lose everything?! Thanks for your help

These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
Method 1
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
Method 2
Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
I'd recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library.
Note if you have iOS devices and haven't moved your contacts and calendar items across then you should create one dummy entry of each in your new profile and iTunes should merge the existing data from the device.
If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See make a split library portable.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library or a backup then then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
tt2

How to replace Match library with new library

Been using iTunes as my music manager/player since 2003. Currently have about 5,000 songs which are a mix of selective CD song rips, iTunes purchases and Amazon Mp3 downloads. Lots of missing artwork, incomplete albums, wrong genres, etc. I use iTunes Match to sync across multiple Macs and iOS devices, including 3 Apple TVs. It all works OK, but I recently undertook a major project to re-rip all of my CDs/Box Sets in their entirety – about 20,000 tracks. I performed the new rips on a Mac Mini running Windows 7 in BootCamp using Roxio Creator to get a 'universal' Mp3 (256kbs) format and keep everything separate and apart from my current iTunes/Match libraries. Total library size came out around 80-85GB, saved on an external USB HDD.
Recently had my iMac 1TB HDD replaced under Apple’s recall program and looked at it as an opportunity to totally rebuild my iTunes library from scratch using the new, complete album rips. I’ve loaded the new 80GB library onto the iMac and am currently using TuneUp Media to ‘clean up’ metadata and album artwork on the new library. I've turned off iTunes Match to isolate the iMac during this stage of the process.
When cleanup is complete, I would like to totally replace my current iTunes Match library with the new larger library. I think the songs will sync OK, but I’ve put a lot if effort into cleaning up the album artwork and am afraid that, if I don't take some precautions, iTunes Match will overrule and mess up my new artwork when I activate it.
My plan is to
From the iMac, first copy (or should I export) the entire rebuilt library to an external drive as a backup, hopefully preserving all of the artwork and metadata corrections in the process (true?).
On my MacBook Pro, copy my current Match library to a different external drive to ensure preservation of any unique tracks I may have missed in building the new library. Then delete the entire library – both local and Cloud. I should then have an empty iTunes Match library, correct?
Then, on my iMac, activate iTunes Match and let it upload/match all the new songs/data to create a new Cloud library with all the new albums, descriptors and artwork.
Do I need to individually deactivate Match and delete local libraries on all my other devices also, or does the total Cloud library delete I perform on my MacBook Pro then transfer to all my other registered iOS and OSX devices that have Match activated?

Quick question, Michael
When I copy the iTunes folder to an external drive, does all the iTunes metadata and associated album artwork travel together with the raw music file?

I have my iTunes library on my iPad. My husband wants to set up a library on his iPhone. How can we do this without screwing up my library or losing it altogether?

I Have a iTunes library with approx. 3000 songs on it and my husband has an iPod that has his music. He wants to create a new library for his new iPhone. I would like to know if we can create a new library for him without effecting my library. And we don't want to sync my whole library to his phone. I am also afraid of losing my library. Is there a way to have 2 separate libraries for 2devices? if it's possible, how do you set it up on a Mac?

Hello dartal,
Indeed, a new library can be created on your Mac. In order to create a new library and to switch between the libraries, hold the Option key on your keyboard while you open iTunes.
iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
Cheers,
Allen

HT1495 I recently "held down the shift key" and created (and named) a new library, it's completely lost all my music on my iTunes ac! I still have it on my iPad, can I transfer all my iPad music from my iPad to a new iTunes ac (as I had to uninstall and i

Ive had an iPad for a year or so, it's got tons of music on it. I recently got myself an iPhone. I read on here about how to set up a completely separate library using my same account (as my iphone couldn't possibly hold the same amount as my pad I thought it made sense!). Trouble is....as I set up a new library it asked me to name it, which I did. The trouble is now, every time I log in to iTunes it logs into the new library which is completely blank. It has of course not effected my music on my pad (phew!), I cannot find my original iTunes a/c anywhere on my pc. In desperation I tried to uninstall the iTunes off my pc, then reinstall, and log into my original a/c hoping all would be revealed thanks to the iCloud, but no.....it's blank! Is there anyway of copying (safely) all of my music and films FROM my iPad ONTO my new blank iTunes account?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

The trouble is now, every time I log in to iTunes it logs into the new library which is completely blank. It has of course not effected my music on my pad (phew!), I cannot find my original iTunes a/c anywhere on my pc.
Okay, try launching iTunes while holding down the shift key (again) but this time, click "Choose library". Browse to the location of the old library file. The default locations of the library file are inside the iTunes folder described in the following table:
Operating System
Default location of iTunes Folder
Mac OS X
/Users/[your username]/Music
Microsoft Windows XP
\Documents and Settings\[your username]\My Documents\My Music\
Microsoft Windows Vista
\Users\[your username]\Music\
Microsoft Windows 7
\Users\[your username]\My Music\
Find and open the library file. Are you seeing your normal library now?

When browsing a new library that I created, the browser shows dotted lines around grey rectangles, no images. When I double click on a rectangle the image appears. How do I get images to appear in the browser rectangles?

When browsing a new library that I created and exported onto an external hard drive, the browser shows dotted lines around grey rectangles, no images. When I double click on a rectangle, the image appears, but all the other rectangles remain empty - no image. How do I get images to appear in the browser rectangles? I am viewing this on a second computer (an older intel duo iMac), not the one I created the library on (a MacBook Pro). Both computers have Aperture 3.2.4 installed. When I return the external to the MacBook, all images appear in browser rectangles. What's happening on the iMac?

You may have a problem with the permissions on your external volume. Probably you are not the owner of your library on the second mac.
If you have not already done so, set the "Ignore Ownership on this Volume" flag on your external volume. To do this, select the volume in the Finder and use the Finder command "File > Get Info" (or ⌘I).
In the "Get Info" panel disclose the "Sharing & Permissions" brick, open the padlock, and enable the "Ignore Ownership on this Volume" flag. You will have to authentificate as administrator to do this.
Then run the "Aperture Library First Aid Tools" on this library and repair the permissions. To launch the "First Aid Tools" hold down the ⌥⌘-key combination while you double click your Aperture Library. Select "Repair Permissions" and run the repair; then repeat with "Repair Database". Do this on the omputer where you created the library and where you can see the thumbnails.
Then check, if you now are able to read the library properly on your iMac.
Regards
Léonie

How do I correctly go about syncing my iPod touch to a new library?

Hi, I have a 3rd generation iPod Touch. Back in 2009, I synced it up to a pretty old computer. At the time, the newest version of iTunes worked perfectly on it. But since a few months after that, my computer was not able to support the most current version of iTunes available at the time. After a while of trial and error, I gave up on syncing my iPod Touch to the computer. But now, I have ordered a 5th generation iPod touch, and would like to transfer what was on my old iPod, to it. I do have a different (and newer) computer that I am now wanting to sync up both iPods to, so they could share information. I'm thinking I need to re-sync my old iPod to my old computer and transfer all the new apps, songs, and what not. But I'm not sure what to exactly do after that. If syncing to a new library only erases songs and video, I could put them on a USB and download them to my new computer. So when I sync my old iPod to the new computer, the erased data would be already there. And I could just re- download it. The main problem with my theory is, I'm not sure what syncing to a new library actually does to an iPod Touch, or any iPod for that matter. I've been anxious about this, since my iPod Touch is very important to me. I've been using it almost everyday since I first received it. Any help on this would would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!!
-Becca

I tried to sync my iPod to my laptop because i was on holidays and found out i needed to download all of the apps that were on my iPod into to the AppStore before i plugged my iPod into it otherwise when you sync it, it will copy what apps are on the computer/laptop AppStore (if there arent any it wll erase all of the apps on your iPod) so just simply download all of the apps that are on your iPod on to your computer and then sync it but remember to set up a backup! (i dont know how to set up a backup so dont ask me) Good Luck !

Setting up new library

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