Transfering iPhoto '08 library to new mac iPhoto '11

I have a new iMac OS Lion with iPhoto '11. I wanted to migrate my huge (67,000 photos) iPhoto '08 library from my older Snow Leopard iMac. I've got them hooked up via ethernet.
Since it looked like the newer iPhoto had some different little files inside the "iPhoto Library" compared to the older version, I showed contents on both and transfered the older files/folders into the new virgin library, so as to keep the fresh empty files untouched, just in case there were new prefs etc.
But when I open the new iPhoto it still seems to think its empty.
Should I have just copied the entire old iPhoto library over and replaced the new one? Or is there a special command to tell the new iPhoto to start whatever conversion process etc?
Thanks.
ps: I didn't use the migration assistant since I didn't want any legacy crap from the past three mac to move over, so that is why I am manually moving music, docs, etc over.

Should I have just copied the entire old iPhoto library over and replaced the new one?
yes
NEVER make any changes of any sort to the contents of the iPhoto library - it is a SQL database you there are no user servicable parts within it
Migration assistance does not handle the iPhoto library well sometimes - the best way is to drag the existing iphoto library from the pictures folder on the new system to the desktop if you have any photos you want in it, connect the two systems together (network, firewire target mode, etc) and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the old system to the pictures folder of the new system and launch iPhoto on the new system - it will open and convert the iPhoto library as necessary and you will be fine - once you test the iPhoto library you can delete the one on the desktop
LN

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Transferring externally stored library to new mac?

Hi, i currently have my music library stored on an external hard drive and have changed the file path of the library in itunes to the section on the external drive where the music is kept
now i'm expecting my new 24" imac to arrive on monday and didnt really want to bother with the migration assistant so i was wondering if i just plug the external drive into the new imac, and change the filepath to the same location, whether itunes will show all the songs there like it does now?
or is there something else i have to do?
thanks!

there's another important point. you need to find out where your itunes library file is stored. if the library file is in the same directory on your external disk as your music, then it might be alright. however, if the itunes library file is stored in the music folder of your home directory on the internal hard drive, you will need to copy that file over to your new imac. otherwise, your new imac won't have any of the library information, like your ratings, play counts, play lists, etc...
when you use the itunes preferences to use another location for your music files, itunes keeps the itunes folder in your home director with the library file and then it has another directory where the actual music files are stored... if you manually move the whole music folder to another location and use a symbolic link to make your mac think the music folder is still in your home directory, then you can have the whole music folder somewhere else... lastly, if you just manually copied the files to the external hard drive and keep the "move songs into itunes folder" option turned off in your itunes preferences, then you may have to do a lot more work to preserve your meta data... this may be more than you want to know, but it does matter how you've gotten your music onto the external hard drive.
before your move anything around, go into itunes, and use the menu option to back up the library file, in case anything goes wrong. then you can use that back up library file if something doesn't go well in the transfer. after you've made a back up copy, make a duplicate of it and lock the file so nothing happens to it. if you need to use it, make a duplicate and unlock the duplicate and use that one.
i speak from experience here. i had to do a large amount of repairs to my itunes library so i wouldn't loose my meta data when i changed external hard drives. i had my music files spanning 2 disks. so i had my itunes preferences set the 3rd way i stated above (don't copy songs into the library). even with a back up of everything, i either had to relink all the itunes items with the actual files on my new external hard drive, or regenerate all of the meta data from scratch... with 5000 songs, it was easier to manually relink all the songs that create all the meta data... the various options i tried to automatically rebuild my library kept messing up the library file, until i gave up and manually relinked the files... if i hadn't kept a pristine copy of the library file i never could have relinked the songs... (relinking is when you click on a song and itunes says it can't file the file and ask you to find it... then you us the supplied dialog box to find the file and click on it so itunes knows which file belongs to that song title) it took me more than 10 hours to relink all the songs...
anyway, good luck with your venture-

Transferring iTunes music library from a mac to a PC

Hi
Does anyone know how i can transfer all the songs on my mac iTunes to my new windows iTunes? I followed the instructions on the msn support website but these instructions must only be for transferring the iTunes library from a mac to a mac, or from a pc to another pc, and not from a mac to pc or vice versa.
I`ve just bought a laptop to take to university and i want to bring my music library with me.
When i loaded up my itunes from mac onto the pc it just keeps saying windows does not recognise the type of file. Is there a way of changing the settings so that windows will recognise and run a mac file?
If anyone knows that'd be of great help

The music files will transfer and play without a problem.
You will need to download a Windows version of iTunes and the iPod Updater in order to use the PC. The Mac versions will not work.
iPod Updater
iTunes Download Page
There may be some problem with the Windows version of iTunes reading the Mac's iTunes Library file. This may prevent you from completely moving over some of the music meta-data from the Mac to the PC.
There have been some posts on this, but I'll need to search for them.
Also see this for the transfer process: Buegie, "transfering music to another pc." #4, 11:22pm Oct 14, 2005 CDT
EDIT: Based on an old post I had copied into my "iPod Hints" file, here is how one contributer gave a high-level process:
i 1) copy the iTunes Music folder to your Windows machine, replacing the existing folder (back up the existing one first)
i 2) copy the iTunes Music Library.xml file to your Windows machine, and change the name to e.g. iTunesMac.xml so iTunes won't write over it.
i 3) delete any "iTunes Library.itl" file (back up the existing one)
i 4) run iTunes, and do File > Import... and pick iTunesMac.xml
Hope this helps.

I transfered my music into my new mac into itunes media folder from an external, but it dosnt show in itunes. I have to click on each one to activate it on itunes. there has to be a better and easier solution. help

i transfered my music into my new mac into itunes media folder from an external, but it dosnt show in itunes. I have to click on each one to activate it on itunes. there has to be a better and easier solution. help

Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow? In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

IPhoto albums and folders lost after transfer of library to new Mac

After transferring iPhoto library from old Mac Book Pro (running OS X 10.8.5, iPhoto 08 7.1.5) to new Mac Book Pro (OSX 10.9.1, iPhoto 9.5) all of the albums and folders from the old library have been lost and photos are just listed as events. It would take a long time to rearrange all the photos into the original albums and folders. Apple one -to -one sessions in store x2 unable to solve just said that the old library must be corrupted
I still have the old photo album arranged in albums and folders on the old Mac.
I also have iPhoto buddy installed on old Mac and have tried transferring to new Mac with and without iPhoto installed but either way albums and folders were lost.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Would upgrading old Mac Book Pro to Mavericks and then upgrading iPhoto before transferring the library be a solution?

I tried again with iPhoto updater and this time it worked on 2 of my 3 libraries so the albums and folders were preserved. I also had not realised that iPhoto updater needed to be opened from Utilities folder nad had thought it would work automatically once downloaded (one -to -one in store trainer had not realised this either).
I then remembered that there was one .mov file shot on my " still "digital camera in an iPhoto album. Once I removed this iPhoto updater worked on the 3rd library so old folders and albums preserved.
Even then there was one small folder of images which has not transfered via Target mode. For unknown reasons when I transferred these images from camera to old MCP they were jumbled and not in normal date order. I will try transferring these images to new MBP on a memory stick.
Thanks for persuading me to persist

Copying iPhoto Library to new Mac

My entire iPhoto library with over 4000 pictures and 30 albums is on my iMac G5. I would like to know what is the best way to "mirror" my iPhoto library to my MacBook without having to manually create each album and drag the pictures into it (which would take forever!). I have an external hard drive I can use.
Any suggestions?

If you want to mirror it up to the time you make the copy: Just copy the entire iPhoto library folder to your new Mac and point iPhoto to it there (option-launch and navigate to the iPhoto library folder)
Since that was too easy, I'm assuming you want to have both Macs to use the same set of images - i.e. when you add photos to one Mac, they should show up on the other's iPhoto as well?
You'd have to use something like iSync but I'm usually afraid to trust the application's view of what is "newer". Things could get messy.
Your album data is stored on the Library6.iPhoto file, so as long as you keep your Originals, Modified, and Data folders in sync, you should be able to copy the latest Library6.iPhoto file to both iPhoto Library folders.
Still, this method is fraught with peril so do it at your own risk.
You could share your entire library on each Mac and then use one Mac to look for new albums on the other one, and drag the entire album to the current Mac. A little less painful but not sure what you lose accessing a shared library's album. I don't know if RAW images would copy as RAW or JPEG.

How best to restore iPhoto library to new Mac mini

So I have a brand new Mac Mini and my iPhoto library from my old iMac is backed both on Time Machine and via CCC on different external HDs. I want to transfer my iPhoto library(>200 GB) to the new Mini. Is there any reason to restore from Time Machine versus CCC? Are there advantages to using one versus the other? I would like to keep my events, albums, etc. if possible. I made the CCC backup just to have an extra backup.
Thanks in advance.
Jim

You can use the one you prefer because it's the same. With Carbon Copy Cloner, you just need to go to the folder of the external disk with the library and copy the library to Pictures folder, and with Time Machine, you can use Time Machine UI to restore the iPhoto library

Migrating old iPhoto Library to new Mac

Hi,
I recently experienced a hard drive crash on my 5 yr old iMac, so I've purchased a new one instead of repairing and upgrading the old one. I now have a large iPhoto library on a backup drive (drag file copy, not Time Machine, and yes I am using Time Machine now...). Since I started with an older version of iPhoto, I have the Library folder with all the folders visible inside, like the Originals, Modified, etc. I was surprised to see that the iPhoto Library on my new system is a single file. I had hoped to just drag the existing folders to the appropriate location on the new Mac. Barring that, I tried importing the Library from my backup drive into iPhoto '11 on my new system (by just highlighting the Library folder in the import window), and boy what a mess I have now. Most events appear two or three times, with some folders containing all the photos, some containing smaller versions (some type of thumbnails I presume). I had around 25K photos on the old system, now I have over 55K after importing them to the new Mac. After having spent a gajillion hours editing the original photos for dust, color correction, etc, I'm not at all interested in re-doing all this work. I've done some searching but can't find any documentation on moving my old Library to my new iMac. Any suggestions or a good URL would be great.
Thanks
Lou

Never import one Library to another. Every version and thumbnail is imported like a distinct photo, you lose all your Albums, Keywords etc., the link between Original and Previews is destroyed, the non-destructive editing feature is ruined and so on. In summary: it's mess.
In your case I woukd simply start over. Trash that Library on the new machine.
To migrate a Library to a new machine is simple:
Simply copy the iPhoto Library from the Pictures Folder on the old Machine (or in your case, from the Hard Drive) to the Pictures Folder on the new Machine.
Then launch iPhoto. That's it.
This moves photos, events, albums, books, keywords, slideshows and everything else.
I was surprised to see that the iPhoto Library on my new system is a single file.
Since iPhoto 7 (iLife 08) the old iPhoto Library Folder is a Package File. This is simply a folder that looks like a file in the Finder. The change was made to the format of the iPhoto library because many users were inadvertently corrupting their library by browsing through it with other software or making changes in it themselves.
Accessing the files in the Library via the Finder has not been supported on any version of iphoto. As an FYI:
There are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Command-Click for selecting multiple pics.
(Note the above illustration is not a Finder Window. It's the dialogue you get when you go File -> Open)
You can access the Library from the New Message Window in Mail:
There's a similar option in Outlook and many, many other apps. If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
If you want to access the files with iPhoto not running:
For users of 10.6 and later: You can download a free Services component from MacOSXAutomation which will give you access to the iPhoto Library from your Services Menu.
Using the Services Preference Pane you can even create a keyboard shortcut for it.
For Users of 10.4 and 10.5 Create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use this free utility Karelia iMedia Browser
Other options include:
Drag and Drop: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
File -> Export: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
Show File: a. On iPhoto 09 and earlier: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected. 3.b.
b: On iPhoto 11 and later: Select one of the affected photos in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Reveal in Finder -> Original. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.

Transfered Library to New Mac but Albums Didn't Make It

I recently transfered my old iphoto library to my new mac using an external hard drive....I simply saved the library and then dropped it into my new iPhoto.
All the photos made it but the albums didn't (the photos in them obviously did)
Is there any way (apart from manually rebuilding them from the new iphoto) to bring them over?

and then dropped it into my new iPhoto.
Which imports one Library into another. This means that you lose all your organisation, metadata and end up with a mess of duplicates.
Simply copy the Library to the Pictures Folder on the new machine and then launch iPhoto. There's no importing involved.
Regards
TD

Moving photo library to new mac

I have a G4 iMac with 13,000 photos organized in iPhoto. My new iMac just arrived. Other than migration assistant, how can I move the photos, albums etc to the new iMac. I know about target disc mode, but what do I move and where do I put it. The old iMac is iPhoto 6, the new one has the new iPhoto.
Thanks.
Paul

Paul:
Welcome to the Apple Discussions. To be sure all of the files in the library have the correct permissions after copying to the new Mac download and run BatChmod on the iPhoto Library folder with the settings shown here, putting your administrator login name, long or short, in the owner and group sections. You can either type in the path to the folder or just drag the folder into that field.
Do you Twango?
TIP: For insurance against the iPhoto database corruption that many users have experienced I recommend making a backup copy of the Library6.iPhoto database file and keep it current. If problems crop up where iPhoto suddenly can't see any photos or thinks there are no photos in the library, replacing the working Library6.iPhoto file with the backup will often get the library back. By keeping it current I mean backup after each import and/or any serious editing or work on books, slideshows, calendars, cards, etc. That insures that if a problem pops up and you do need to replace the database file, you'll retain all those efforts. It doesn't take long to make the backup and it's good insurance.
I've written an Automator workflow application (requires Tiger), iPhoto dB File Backup, that will copy the selected Library6.iPhoto file from your iPhoto Library folder to the Pictures folder, replacing any previous version of it. It's compatible with iPhoto 08 libraries. You can download it at Toad's Cellar. Be sure to read the Read Me pdf file.

Transfering PC iTunes Library To New iMac

Hi Everyone
I am very very new to macs and have been a pc user for the last 10 years. I have recently bought the new iMac and was wondering how to transfer all my music from the PC to it??
I sort of have an idea how to do it but I do not want to lose any of my playlists as I am a DJ and have somewhere in the region of forty. I have started by coying the entire iTunes folder on my PC harddrive onto a portable harddrive. Is all I have to do is connect this to the Mac and then copy the music files into iTunes and then go to consolidate library which will make a copy onto the Mac?? It seems simple enough but is this how to do it and will this keep all my playlists??
Any help is great
Al.

How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply it to your specific situation and resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure, rather than just copying just the song files. By copying the entire ‘iTunes’ folder and all sub-folders, you capture not only the music files, but the all-important ‘iTunes Library.itl’ database file (usually located in the ‘iTunes’ folder), which contains all the data about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). See: What are the iTunes Library files?
Install iTunes on the new computer. Then go back to your old computer and move (copy) the "iTunes" folder which usually resides inside your "My Documents\My Music" folder from the old computer to the exact same place on the new computer. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will look and behave exactly the same way it did on the old, Play Counts, Ratings, Comments and all!
NOTE: It is usually safer moving files between computers with the same version of iTunes!!
Here's a list of methods to copy and move your music files from one computer to another:
1) Use an External Hard Drive (ExHD) to move the complete files and Folder structures from one computer to another (my preferred option). You can clone’ the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure in one very easy step. Also great to have available for complete backups of your Library. External hard drives now run less than $100 for 200-250GBs of storage. See This Link
2) Directly connect the two computers:
2a) Connect them through a Router
2b) Connect using a Direct (w/Mac) or Crossover (PC/PC) Ethernet cable (See: http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/3001.html)
2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. See: here as an example. There are many out there (Google).
Copy files from one computer to the other.
3) Use the iPod as a transfer device, as this extensive Apple link explains. It will be a bit easier if your iPod has a larger capacity than your music collection, otherwise you will need to perform multiple copy/move transfers. This well written process also works fine while using any other data transfer medium (ExHD, Flash Drive, DVD, CD, Zipp, Jazz, etc.).
4) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7GBs each) with your music data files and folder structure, and load them onto the new computer. Re-writable DVDs are more cost effective (if your DVD drive can manage these types).
5) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #4 above and load the files and folders on the new computer. Re-writable CDs are more cost effective (if your CD drive can manage these types).
6) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB - 4GB) to move the files and folders. Best if the flash drive is larger than your Library, otherwise you will need multiple copy/move transfers.
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

How to set up iTunes library on new mac

I have a new mac and I'm wanting to set up my current Itunes library on it. I went from a PC...that is now dead. I do use an Ipad and Iphone that has my music on it...any help as to how to do this?

Copy everything from your backup copy of your old computer to the new computer.
The iphone/ipad is not a backup device. The sync is one way - computer to iphone/ipad. The exception is itunes purchases:File>Transfer Purchases

Manually Copied iTunes Library to new Mac -- Will iPhone sync be messed up?

Hi. Apologies in advance if this has been addressed elsewhere in the forums. I have found no clear answers though in my relatively thorough search.
I just bought a new Mac to replace my old one. I decided to start as cleanly as I can by only migrating documents.
After reading a thousand different ways to copy my library from my old Mac to the new one (and maintaining playlists, ratings, etc.) I ended up copying the full contents of my music folder from old to new via Firewire and then I option-clicked to tell iTunes to use the Library I just copied over.
A few questions for all of you:
1. Is this a decent method for recreating my prior iTunes experience on my new computer? Any pitfalls of which I should be aware? I'm going from 8.2 to 8.2 by the way.
2. What will happen when I try to sync my iPhone with the new computer? I want to make sure I'm not about to wipe it clean or otherwise mess it up. Again, I copied the full contents of the Music folder in my user account, so assuming my iPhone settings, backups, etc are in there, they hopefully will still work?
iTunes looks like it did before, but I'm nervous I might be deluding myself.
Thanks for the help and suggestions!

You got most of it, but you missed your backups which are in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup. If you don't copy them, iTunes will make a new backup.
Also the software update files are elsewhere, but iTunes will download them again if needed for a restore. If you really want to move them, they are in ~/Library/iTunes/iPhone Carrier Support and iPhone Software Updates (but you don't need them unless your internet connection is dial-up and you don't want to wait for iTunes to redownload them).
BTW, the ~ symbol indicates your home account.

Apple TV switching primary library to new mac from PC

i just bought a new Mac and have an extensive itunes library. i have migrated the files over to the mac, and now want to make it the primary computer on the wireless network for my apple tv (the pc is running out os space and is old). how do i switch it over?
thanks

I'm having the same issue- is there any way to do this without losing everything on the Apple TV? The library has already been ported to the new computer, so it's identical to what's already on both the old computer and the Apple TV.
Thanks.
-Ryan

Transferring my iTunes library to new computer

My old laptop has given up the ghost, so have transferred my iTunes library to my my computer. However - although this new computer is authorised - when I try to do anything in iTunes, all the options, (Library, Ringtones, Apps etc.) are greyed out and I'm not able to make any changes or updates, but for some strange reason syncing to my iPhone still works.
Anyone got any ideas. All help is much appreciated.
Thanks

Sounds like your authorization is screwed up. Try this:
1. Open My Computer from the Desktop or Start menu.
2. From the Tools menu, choose Folder Options.
3. Click the View tab.
4. In the "Advanced settings" pane under "Hidden files and folders," make sure that the "Show hidden files and folders" option is selected.
5. Click OK.
6. Navigate to the following location by either typing it into the address bar, copying and pasting it into the address bar, or clicking through the folder hierarchy listed:
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\
7. Right-click the SC Info folder shown and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.
8. Restart the computer.

Transferring complete iTunes library to new computer

Hi everyone, I have tried transferring my iTunes library to my new computer using home sharing but some of my artwork and all of my play history is missing. Is there a fix to transfer my COMPLETE library onto my new computer. I am running the latest version of ITunes on both machines.

Quit iTunes, go to the copied my music folder en double click the iTunes library file. Now it'll see your old library in stead of the standard empty library which was created by iTunes.

Transfering iPhoto '08 library to new mac iPhoto '11

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