Sharing iTunes library on an iMac with 2 user profiles

Hi there,
I bought a new Imac and wanted to share my library with my wife who has her own profile set up. I followed the apple instructions given here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1203
I have moved my itunes media folder to the users/shared folder. I have opened my profiles itunes application and through preferences, advanced, changed the library to the shared folder location. Itunes is now showing up with about 23 albums in it (all items I have purchased through itunes store) and before I moved the media folder, my itunes had about 500 albums in it. On my wifes profile, I have done the same preferences, advanced and changed the library to be the shared folder location and it is not picking anything up at all from the folder.
Any ideas as to how to fix this?
Many thanks.

the second user will have to add the new content to his/her iTunes manually.

Similar Messages

How can I synchronise my iTunes Library on my iMac with the one on my MacBook?

How can I synchronise my iTunes Library on my iMac with the one on my MacBook?

Carolyn:
I have almost 10,000 songs/cuts in my music collection and, because of the poor quality of iTunes music, very few of those songs/cuts come from iTunes. My music came from me ripping it disc by disc over hundreds of hours. I would like to be able to add a disc and have both the iMac AND the MacBook music files (plus an external backup) be updated. Surely there is an intelligent, relatively easy to implement procedure for doing this. Perhaps I am missing something but your response doesn't seem to address the sync issue with all its implications...

Sharing Itunes library between an admin and user account on one imac G5

Hello,
Please forgive the repetitive question. i have set up an admin and a user account on my iMac. I set the itunes library to users/shared/music/itunes/itunes library on both accounts. The music shows up on the admin account but not the user account.
Can anyone give a quick step by step including obscure settings that may need to be altered so that I can finally get this pesky stress monkey off my shoulder!
Thanks!
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.3) Ipod video 30Gb

Hi,
Someone recently poasted a similar problem as yours.
Here's the discussion and solution:
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1192454

Sharing itunes library on 1 mac with multiple accounts

I have got my daughter an iphone for xmas and created a new account on my wifes mini mac for her and want to share the main itunes account - i found this explanation (see below) but it still wont work?
I logged into my daughters newly created account then into the itunes account - prefs - look for shared music and....nothing!!!
i moved the "iTunes Music Folder" to the shared folder on my wifes account as described below.
Quit iTunes.
Locate your iTunes Music Folder. It is stored by default:
~/Music/iTunes or ~/Documents/iTunes/.
These folders cannot be accessed by other accounts on the computer. In order for other users to be able to access your music, you must move it to a publicly accessible location.
The Public folder in your home directory (~/Public), or to another folder outside your home directory that other users have access to, such as /Users/Shared. Tip: The tilde "~" refers to your home folder. For more information see Mac OS X: Using Your Home Directory.
Drag the iTunes Music Folder to a publicly accessible location. Important: Do not move the iTunes folder, the iTunes 4 Music Library file or the iTunes Library.xml file.
Open iTunes.
From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences.
Click Advanced.
Click the Change button.
Navigate in the Change Music Folder Location dialog to the location of your iTunes Music folder.
Click Choose.
Repeat these steps for each account that is sharing music with other users.
Note: If multiple users of a computer are storing music in one folder, duplicate song files are generated when a user imports music from CD that has already been imported by another user.
See the "To listen to another account's music files" section below.

Is your wife's iTunes account still seeing all the music ok in iTunes after you moved the music folder?
So what you need to do in your daughter's account is open iTunes, preferences, change the folder location to the same location as the shared folder so when she adds music it will be added to that folder if you want to keep everything in the same folder. To add all that music to her library you have to go to File -> Add to library... then navigate to and pick that iTunes Music folder on the shared directory.
iTunes will now add all the titles to the library. Since the preference is to use that same location for her library and the stuff is already there and organized, iTunes shouldn't make any copies or duplicates.
Keep in mind that what you have done now is you have two iTunes libraries accessing the same media folder. Meaning, that each account can have their own ratings, playlists, etc. but more importantly, each account does NOT know what the other account does, so if your daughter adds a CD to her account, it will go into the shared folder, but it will NOT automatically go into your wife's iTunes library. She would have to add it manually. Likewise, if one account deletes music from their library and tells iTunes to remove it to the trash, the other account will not know and iTunes will still try to access the file from the shared location even though the file is now trashed,
Patrick

Sharing itunes library among more than one user

Hi I would like to know how to share an itunes library. I have 2 accounts on my imac and wish both to have access to the same library.
Thanks.

Have a read here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195
Diane Wordsmith

Hi, I have an iphone 4 with my itunes library on a Windows XP computer. My spouse who has now passed away had an itouch and an Itunes Library on an Imac...so here is the problem I got a new iphone 6 and wanted to update my itunes library from my win

Hi, I have an iphone 4 with my itunes library on a Windows XP computer. My spouse (who has now passed away) had an itouch with an itunes library on an IMac. here is the problem, I bought an new iphone 6 and wanted to sync with my windows xp library and of course my itunes version is out of date and I need to update it...well I try and update the version and it will not update the Itunes library and when I researched it I would have to upgrade from XP to Windows 7...r they kidding me...first of all my computer is old and a pain in the *** but I have my itunes library on it. Sp to get my phone working I sync'd it on the IMac and my spouses Itunes library has been sync'd to my iphone and I don't know how to get my library on it...After thinking about it I want to combine the libraries after all there are some purchases on each one.
I have done some research and you have to buy a 3rd party piece of software...this is not the way I want to go...I do not think i should have to buy one and also when I do a goole search there are a ton of them out there and I am sorry i do not trust the comments as some of them do identify that they will get a kick back.
Can someone help, i should be able to export my itunes library from my iphone 4 to the itunes library by appending/importing it...it is not rocked science on what I want to do and I cannot find out any process...
Can someone help ?

Create a new user account on the computer that he can log in to.

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.

4 people in our family have an iphones or ipod on the same apple id ..so that we can all share the itunes library. however this means that we all get each others imessages. is there a way of sharing itunes library with 4 separate ids?

4 of us in the family with iphonesor ipods share the same apple id so that we can share the itunes library . However , this means we all receive each others imessages, unless we disable imessaging. Is there a way of sharing itunes library (ie.g with 4 separate ids) that avoids the sharing of imessages? .

Thanks, Terence, but if she was inclined to upload things, I wouldn't need access!
Here is an example: we go on vacation, she takes 250 photos, edits twenty of the best shots, and uploads three to facebook. I want to make an album including some of the edited shots and some of the less perfect but still fun shots - so I need all 250 photos - uploading that many photos to a photosharing site takes forever even if she did it - but she won't. I used to just hijack her computer for a day, but I'd like to be able to hijack her iphoto library without stealing her computer...if possible!
Thanks for any help you can offer!
- A

My apple tv 2 says I can't stream music from my iTunes library on my iMac without settng up iTunes Match. I don't want to set up iTunes match. How can I get back to the pre-Match system which let me just use home sharing to stream music from computer to A

When I click on the Music tab on my Apple TV 2, a message tells me I have to set up iTunes Match to stream music from my iTunes library on my iMac. I don't want to set up and pay for iTunes Match. How can I get back to the pre-Match system which let me just use home sharing to stream music from computer to Aple TV

Ditto.
You need to look for your itunes library under Computers and select it, then music.
Music column is for web based content not local content, just to confuse everyone.
AC

Iphone and ipod losing sync with shared itunes library - home sharing not working

I hope this can help some people who have had problems with syncing their IOS devices to their shared itunes library.
Having had a lot of trouble with syncing and sharing my itunes libraries from two PC's to an iphone 4 and 4S via "itunes home sharing", I decided to try and find a solution using typical search engine search phrases. I found a number of issues similar to mine that pointed toward local network protocols such as media serving, and the ability or lack of ability to use these protocols by DSL routers.
My solution was simple, change the DSL router. My ISP supplied DSL router was the problem, not being able to identify that the PC's hosting my itunes libraries become media servers when itunes home sharing is switched on. My DSL box is a Tesco Broadband branded/firmware Thomson TG580. As a test I tried out a box from my previous supplier, an O2 branded/firmware Thomson/Technicolor TG582n. Although this wont work with my ISP connection, it will work as a wirless/wired router. As soon as I connected this all together, it worked first time without any hassle. I was mirroring my shared HD videos via the itunes home shared library to my 4S perfectly.
I know this may not help most people, but if you have the chance to test another wireless router, give it a go. Having had a good look, I can't find an Apple compatibility list. Maybe this is something they could do, or maybe someone can point out a site that may have this info?
I am by no means an Apple Fanboy, but I have to say that a lot of the complaints about the home sharing between itunes, ipods, iphones, Apple TV etc. may simply be the router and not itunes or the IOS devices.
My setup is PC's running the latest itunes with Win 7 32 & 64 bit and my IOS devices on 6, I also tested an iphone 4 on IOS 5 that worked perfectly. My 4S is now a perfect HDMI media player/streamer for my itunes music and videos encoded to H.264 using Handbrake.

Assuimg you have the latest ATV firmware, at the bottom of the general settings menu on your apple TV there is an option to reset your apple TV. Try that and then reset it up back on your network.
Before testing ensure the correct time/date/nearest City is setup in the ATV settings and re-enter your apple ID/password and turn on home sharing. You can connect to your network either via wifi or cable and see if it then works.
Resetting the ATV and then checking and re-entering all my settings worked for me.
I guess if not, then the next step is to disable any firewall on your PC and see if that works after the PC is rebooted.
Hope this helps.
Regards... Ken Griffiths

My iTunes library has been replaced with my husband's iTunes library on our iMac. How do I get my iTunes library from my iPhone back onto my iTunes library on the iMac?

My iTunes library has been replaced with my husband's iTunes library on our iMac. How do I get my iTunes library from my iPhone back onto my iTunes library on the iMac? Help!!!

Well, this is a problem, because the only material you can transfer from your iPhone (using only Apple software) is material you purchased in the iTunes Store.
To do that, plug your iPhone into iTunes, then choose File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from iTunes' menu.
Generally speaking, you should restore your iTunes library from your computer's backup.

Shared iTunes library, store purchases by more than one user

I'm after some advice about a shared iTunes library. The folder is on an external hard drive. There are two user accounts on the Mac and they both make iTunes store purchases. I have had permissions errors for user #2 when trying to add downloaded songs to the library. I noticed the 'Ignore permissions' option was unchecked, but enabling it does not fix the problem (probably should've done it first).
So user#2 has some downloaded songs in a different directory. I'm at the point where I need to bring everything into one shared library folder, on a permissions-ignored drive, making sure both users can download their individual purchases to the same library. Both users also have an iPhone that they would like to add music from this library to. Am I running into any potential problems - even if I backup the music data and begin from scratch?

Use separate Windows user accounts, or press the Shift key when launching iTunes and create a second library.
(48667)

How to split one shared iTunes library associated with two iTunes accounts?

My boyfriend and I share one computer and have one shared iTunes library on that computer. We both maintain our own separate iTunes accounts. We have very different tastes in music, literature, film, etc. the library has become quite large and my boyfriend is frustrated by the complexity of synching his devices to just his selections and would like to separate our purchases into two separate libraries based on our iTunes account purchases. What is the easiest way to split into two different libraries?

To my knowledge, there's no quick way.

Shared iTunes library gets "sticky"

Hello,
I'm currently running iTunes on my MacBook Pro & PC computer (running Windows 7 Release Candidate 2). The libraries of both machines are shared over the network & can be played from the other machine just fine. I've just noticed a few weeks ago that sometimes, the library from the PC computer still shows up in iTunes on the MacBook Pro, even when the PC computer is turned off. I didn't connect to the PC library so when shutting down the PC computer, I don't get a message saying that users are still connected to the library & asking for confirmation of quitting iTunes.
Furthermore, when the PC computer is powered on again & iTunes is launched, a second library with the same name now shows up on iTunes on the MacBook Pro.
I've recently upgraded to Snow Leopard (10.6) but I had noticed the problem already before that. It might have even started with the previous version of iTunes (both machines are running the latest version of iTunes right now). I can quit & relaunch iTunes on the Mac & it disappears, but it's a bit of a chore.
How could I go about fixing that problem for good ?

margemynx wrote:
We have this great shared ITunes library at work. I'd love to grab some songs from people's lists but I'm hitting a wall and Itunes won't let me do it. Is there anything I can do to get around this (short of asking people to burn them for me, which I really don't want to do)?
Sorry, that would be piracy. You do not own those tracks and your co worker does not have the rights to distribute them to you either.

How do I back up my itunes library from my iMac to iCloud?

I want to be able to access my iTunes library on my iMac from my iPhone while away from my home network. I don't want to fill my iPhone with the file as it is so big. Can I move my whole iTunes library to iCloud and then access it from both my iMac and my iPhone through the internet? If I do this, can I delete the library from my iMac as it is slowing it down because of its size?

I use the iTunes Match feature which you subscribe $24.99 / year. Works flawlessly! I can upload up to 25.000 songs there to be streamed or downloaded to all of your devices. Mac/iPhone/iPod or iPad. This way you can free storage on the devices. Great quality on the matched songs too. If you sometime in the future should buy a new Apple device, just log in with your account and your music collection is there for you to enjoy! Home or away, the only thing needed is an decent WiFi connection to use all the above.
Look at https://www.apple.com/itunes/itunes-match/
Lasse

Sharing iTunes library on an iMac with 2 user profiles

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for