Transferring entire iTunes folder from PC to Mac - doesn't show ratings

I have just bought my first Mac and have tranferred my entire Muic/iTunes folder over from my PC using my external hard-drive into the [Username]/Music/iTunes folder on my Macbook - including all the iTunes Library.xml & iTunes Library & iTunes Library Extras.itdb folders - yet when I start iTunes up on my Mac no ratings or playlists show in my library. When I import all the songs using File > Add to Library or just drag and drop them from Finder into the open iTunes window the same happens, even when I drag and drop the individual files mentioned above. What else do I need to do to transfer all my ratings 'cause I've 7,000 songs and want my Ratings / 'Date Added' / 'Last Played' etc to be intact?

alarne2004 wrote:
Transferring ratings and last played / date added / play count etc. is apparently impossible according to Apple.
yeah, i was almost sure ...
however, the 1st two links made that pretty clear. i better take the 3rd link out of my knowledge base. sorry you had to be the guinea pig
Your most recent link has got my playlists back (with sort of the same parameters determining which songs go into them) but not the other data mentioned above like rating etc.
well, that's something.
happy computing nonetheless !
JGG

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Cannot copy iTunes folder from Windows to Mac because of Permission

I have my iTunes library on a windows machine, running windows 7. The library is organized inside the iTunes folder.
I am trying to put this same iTunes onto my new macbook pro. I tried copying the folder to an external HD and plugging that into my mac. When I tried to just copy the iTunes folder to the Mac HD I got:
I messed around with the permissions in Windows, but I couldn't get it to change. I tried everything I could find in the security tab for the disk and the permissions on the folder.
I decided to try and see if iTunes could just do it itself. So I replaced it itunes library (which was blank) on my Mac with that of my windows. I then opened a song, and followed the promt to locate it. iTunes found all my songs (on the external HD) just as you would expect. Now I tried to consolidate to get everything over to the mac. About halfway through i got this error:
So SOME of the songs and apps and books copied over but only about half and now it won't go any further. I went back to windows and tried to mess with the HD secruities again, but nothing worked.
One more note: when I open the HD on my mac it says "You have read access only" in the security tab. I know every other thread on this like suggests changing that but there is nowhere for me to do that.
Can anyone help me?

I then opened a song, and followed the promt to locate it. iTunes found all my songs (on the external HD) just as you would expect.
That's not what I would expect if you copied the entire /iTunes/ folder to the new computer.
Try this...
Open a Finder window.
Select Users/yourusernname.
Right click - get info.
Scroll to the bottom (Sharing & Permissions).
Make sure you can Read & Write.
Click the gear icon at bottom and select Apply to enclosed items.
Let it finish.
Delete the /Music/iTunes/ folder.
Then copy the entire /iTunes/ folder from the external to /Music/ on the internal.

HT4914 I want to transfer my entire iTunes "folder" from a newer iMac 3.06 GHz Core 2 machine running iTunes 10.7 to an older iMac running OSx 10.5.8. How best to do this and keep all my data, tags and covers in tact?

I want to transfer my entire iTunes "folder" from a newer iMac 3.06 GHz Core 2 machine running iTunes 10.7 to an older iMac running OSx 10.5.8. How best to do this and keep all my data, tags and covers in tact?

Firstly, time to get rid of the 2 x 512MB FBDIMMs in there, they add more heat and use more watts then they add to the system. If you need more, and 4 or 8 DIMMs is ideal, Amazon has 2x2GB sets $22 - about 1/50th what I paid for 1GB new.
Buy a 250GB Samsung EVO SSD $129
Pick up Carbon Copy Cloner http://www.bombich.com to clone the system to the SSD
A sled adapter for the SSD from Icy Dock $14 Amazon.com
7-8 years overdue for new system drive! amazed it lasted this long. An SSD plus some WD Black 2TB drives or larger should do the trick.
you can also put the SSD in the lower optical drive bay and use one of the two ODD "spare" SATA ports for the SSD - an SSD is the best way to improve the performance of our old Mac Pro 2006-7 models.
When you downloaded the Lion installer that was when to create a flash type installer with Lion DiskMaker.
If you have put in a new-ish graphic card then OS X 10.6.0 may not support it.

Transferring entire iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac.

Can someone please leave a simple, step by step guide to help me move my iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac? I want an identical library on my Mac with play counts, playlists, device backups and all of that stuff. I don't care if it takes a long time to do as long as it is simple! Thanks.

I can't find anything helpful! I want a way to copy the entire library with device backups, playlists and all that stuff! I want it to be like a mirror of the library on my PC!

Moving an entire iTunes library from PC to Mac

My Dell Inspiron is basically shot right now and I have to move my ENTIRE iTunes library (literally everything; music, music videos, podcasts, and apps for iOS devices) from it to my sister's MacBook Pro before the Dell is completely dead. My music is already on an external drive, but I think everything else (music videos, podcasts, and apps) is on the main hard drive, which I am planning to move to the external drive. I don't want to lose the data on my apps (such as game high scores and saved to-do lists). I don't want to have to restore and re-sync my iDevice as it takes a very long time. I also don't want to lose minor song information such as year, composer, genre, track number, and album artwork. Basically, I want my iTunes library on the MacBook Pro to be exactly like the one I had on the Dell.
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It's important that you copy the xml file inside the iTunes folder on Windows (Documents / Music) along with all your files. Then you have to transfer the iTunes folder into your Mac (usually is located inside the Music folder) and start iTunes. Inside iTunes pref make sure you select the right folder for your music. Another important thing is to have the same iTunes version on Windows and Mac when doing such operations. I hope that helps, bye

HT4527 I have successfully transferred my iTunes folder from an old pc to my new one. How do I now make this new computer the main synchronising computer for my iPad. Thank you.

I have successfully transferred my iTunes from my old computer to a new one just brought. However when I tried to synchronise my iPad to new computer I had a message that said there was an upgrade available which I said I would like to proceed with. However I then had a message that said I would lose all my apps etc if I did this and that I should use the old computer to do all synching. How do I make the new computer my main computer for synching. Grateful for any help. Sez.

If you migrate your library properly you don't get the wipe & reload problem. If possible revisit your migration, or use the link at the end to associate your device with the new library.
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
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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

I copied my entire iTunes folder to my new Mac and now new playlists won't sync to my iPhone.

Hi. I recently installed a new hard drive to my Macbook Pro and as I wanted a clean start decided not to restore from Time Machine. I just copied the entire old iTunes folder into my new music library. iTunes itself functions normally but it won't sync new playlists to my iPhone 5.
I had similar problems with syncing my iPhoto library to my iPhone through iTunes but I rebuilt the iPhoto library and that seemed to fix it. Is there a way to rebuild the iTunes library? I used this document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
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Any help greatly appreciated.
Max

Hi. I recently installed a new hard drive to my Macbook Pro and as I wanted a clean start decided not to restore from Time Machine. I just copied the entire old iTunes folder into my new music library. iTunes itself functions normally but it won't sync new playlists to my iPhone 5.
I had similar problems with syncing my iPhoto library to my iPhone through iTunes but I rebuilt the iPhoto library and that seemed to fix it. Is there a way to rebuild the iTunes library? I used this document:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
and was given error code -50 saying it was unable to import the playlists.
Any help greatly appreciated.
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What's the proper way to move my iTUNES library from my old mac mini

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Delete the garbage that has been created on the new computer.
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HT1364 can you move an itunes library from pc to mac?

Hi everyone,
The days of my laptop are nearing the end and I'm strongly leaning towards purchasing a macbook. Can you transfer your media library from pc to mac?
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Sorry, I obviously wasn't clear. If you replicate the library from Computer 1 to Computer 2 by copying it, then all will be well. I routinely sync my iPhone and iPad both at home and at work using a single library that I migrate between the two locations via an external drive which is kept up do date using SyncToy.
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Check that content is accessible in the migrated library. (Won't be a problem for a standard iTunes library where all the content is inside the iTunes Media folder which in turn is inside your iTunes folder).
Connect iPod touch to Computer 2.
Sync.
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Note device backups are not stored within the iTunes library and stay on the machine on which they were created. It is theorectically possible to migrate them but there isn't really any point. Once you have synced the iPod with the copy of the library on Computer 2 then Computer 2 will make its own backup of the device.
tt2

How to transfer itunes library from PC to mac

I'm trying to move my iphone from my old PC to my new Macbook pro. I've tried copying the entire itunes folder from my pc and copied it on the Mac. it synced and i didn't lose my information luckily, but i can't listen to any of the music on the Mac. i get an error "The song “ ” could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"
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cjdad7 wrote:
obviously i missed something here.
review your steps with the help of this article.

I imported my itunes folder from an external drive on a freshly wiped computer. My playlists and ratings did not copy over. how can I fix this?

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tt2

ITunes library not in default location doesn't show up as shared library

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Normally all you need to do is copy the entire iTunes folder from <User's Music> on one computer to <User's Music> on the other. If you've made things more complicated see make a split library portable.
tt2

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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.
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Transferring entire iTunes folder from PC to Mac - doesn't show ratings

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