Transferring iTunes from pc to mac still using my external drive

I have a pc and an external drive with all of my music and videos stored on it the external drive. How can I transfer the library to my new macbook and still have my songs on my external drive?

Take a look at this link, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449

Similar Messages

Why are some of my files now missing when moving from pc to mac when using an external drive

I use an external drive for all my files. I moved to a Mac Mini last week. Now I can not view a majority of my backed up files on My Book external drive.
Any ideas???? Thanks in advance,

See Make a split library portable. A portable library can be stored entirely on an external drive and moved between Mac and Windows computers. iTunes takes a little longer to open the library the first time after each switch. If your drive is currently formatted to NTFS then you will need an additional driver to enable OS X to write to the drive, or simply clone the library to an HFS+ drive.
tt2

Transfering Itunes from PC to Mac?

Hi All,
This is the first time I've posted. Excuse my ignorance but I've never really worked with Mac. I'm really excited to buy my first apple next week!
My question is about transfering my itunes from my PC (XP) to the Imac Dual Core I will be purchasing next week.
I already have my itunes music folder on an external hard drive. The data files although are still physically on my PC (My Documents). Will I have to transfer those as well? What info is acutally on those files? I'm not so much worried about the music because with it being on the external drive they should be easy to transfer (I'm hoping). I would hate to lose all my album art. I would appreciate anyone who could assist this newbie.
Thanks in advance!
david
in SJ

Welcome to Discussions,
You made the first step already by transferring your music to an external HD.
Normally, the album art is stored inside the music files (MP3 and AAC. I don't know how the Windows version of iTunes stores it in WAV or other Windows-specific files.
iTunes stores the locations of the songs and lots of other data in the 'iTunes Library' file (iTunes Library.itl on a PC)
Most data is also stored in the 'iTunes Music Library.xml' file.
Copying this file to the ext. HD and later to the Mac could help you to restore the library.
The next procedure works with the Mac version of the .xml file and it might work with the Windows version.
After running iTunes on the Mac for the first time, select 'Import...' from the File menu in the menubar and navigate to the .xml file.
Select 'Choose' and if it works, your library and playlists will appear.
Read more in this articles:
iTunes: How to copy music between authorized computers
What are the iTunes library files?
17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Several ext. HD (backup and data)

Transferring iTunes from PC to Mac

How can I transfer my iTunes library from my PC to my new Mac?
Message was edited by: Geek888

Choose Consolidate Library from the Advanced menu or the Library section of the File menu in iTunes, find the iTunes library location from the iTunes preferences, and move the folder to the new computer using any method necessary, such as an external drive, optical disks, or a network connection.
(36923)

Transfer songs and library file from PC to Mac KEEPING them on external drive

I am struggling to find a definitive answer to this. I have all my files stored on an external hard drive on a PC.
I recently got a Macbook and want to transfer all my files to the new Mac.
I know that I will need a new Mac compatible external hard drive and that I will have to copy the files onto the new hard drive.
However I cannot find instructions on doing the transfer to the new Mac that explain doing this AND KEEPING the files on the external drive.
To clarify...I don't want to put them on the new Macs hard drive as I have around 300GB of music, I want to keep them on the external hard drive.
its probably very simple simple but am struggling to get a decent answer. have read loads of stuff that explain moving it to the mac hard drive ...buts thats not what I want to do!
thanks in advance

See Make a split library portable. A portable library can be stored entirely on an external drive and moved between Mac and Windows computers. iTunes takes a little longer to open the library the first time after each switch. If your drive is currently formatted to NTFS then you will need an additional driver to enable OS X to write to the drive, or simply clone the library to an HFS+ drive.
tt2

I have v10.8.2 os on my mac. i use an external drive for backup which is on whenever the mac is on. whenever the mac wakes up i get the reminder that the drive was not properly ejected. i did not have this issue with snow leopard?

since i have upgraded to mountain lion i get a popup whenever my system wakes up telling me that my external drive was not ejected properly. i did not have this issue with snowleopard. i leave my hard drive on and connected for use with time machine.

Message was edited by: leroydouglas
better yet, try this solution:
https://discussions.apple.com/message/12351186#12351186

HT3231 Transferring photos from PC to Mac Pro using a DVD-R Disk

I've downloaded some photos from my PC onto a DVD-R disk and my MacPro does not recognize that disk. What am I doing wrong?

Patricia 90 wrote:
I've downloaded some photos from my PC onto a DVD-R disk
You don't download files to an optical disc, you write them (or, informally, burn them) to the optical disc.
and my MacPro does not recognize that disk.
What exactly happens when you insert the disc? Is the DVD-R not mounted on the desktop, although Finder prefs are set to display such devices on the desktop?
What am I doing wrong?
Hard to say without more details. What application did you use on PC to write the DVD-R? What format did you use? By and large Mac OS X should be able to use the usual data formats (UDF, ISO9660). But you will have problems with packet-writing (InCD, DLA).

HT4527 Transferring iTunes from XP to WIN8

I followed all the steps but iTunes doesnt show my old library. I have latest version of iTunes. Very frustrating. I used an external drive.

I followed the steps exactly. How do i just move music? Its all I have i the Library as far as i know. Thanks

HT4796 I used migration to transfer iTunes from pc to mac book. It had me set up another user account. Now i have 2 user accounts and i have the iTunes on the wrong one. How do i get the iTunes on the original account.

I used migration to transfer iTunes from pc to mac book. It had me set up another user account. Now i have 2 user accounts and i have the iTunes on the wrong one. How do i get the iTunes on the original account.

In Mail Preferences/Accounts/each GMail account, set up the SMTP Outgoing Server for each account separately, going into SMTP name/edit/Advanced and specify the Username of each account. The Outgoing servers must be two different servers, authenticated by the Username and Password of each.
Otherwise, the GMail SMTP server will change the from address to that of the account where the SMTP server was setup.
Ernie

I have an iphone 4. I disconnected it from my iTunes account but I am still using the iphone and the Apple ID. If I make a purchase will it work? Also, how can I reconnect my iphone to my Apple ID?

I have an iphone 4.
I disconnected it from my iTunes account but I am still using the iphone and the Apple ID.
If I make a purchase will it work?
Also, how can I reconnect my iphone to my Apple ID?

Do you mean that you removed the phone from the 'manage devices' section of your iTunes account ? If you do then that won't stop you being able to purchase items on your phone - you only need to be logged into an account to be able to purchase with it.
If you do mean the 'manage devices' section then you can associate, or re-associate, a device (or computer) by using iTunes Match, or automatic downloads, or redownloading past purchases on it : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4627

I have recently transferred data from my old Mac to my new one. The result was good, but I have 2 users now, whose data I want to merge into 1 single user, so to avoid having to switch from one user to the other to view and use certain files. How to do it

I have recently transferred data from my old Mac to my new one. The result was good, but I have 2 users now, whose data I want to merge into 1 single user, so to avoid having to switch from one user to the other to view and use certain files. How to do it?

Here's an easy way:
Pick the user that you want to eliminate (making sure that the remaining user has administrator privileges) and move all of the data that you want to keep into the Shared folder. Reboot or log out and login to the user you want to keep. Copy all the data from the Shared folder into your account - placing it neatly in folders (Documents, Music, Movies, etc.).
Once the data is moved, log into the account you want to delete just once more to make certain that you've grabbed all the data you want to keep. Log out and log back into your admin account and go to System Preferences>Users & Groups and delete the 'old' user.
That should do it.
Clinton

Can't find my iTunes library after transferring it from Windows to Mac

Hi!
I've followed all the steps to transfer my iTunes library from an HP laptop with Windows XP to a MacBook Air using the Windows Migration Assistant, but when the process is finished (after waiting for more than 8 hours), I can't find where the library has been saved.
I'd be really grateful if you could tell me where I can find it or if there's a problem with my computers.
Thanks in advance!

Migration Assistant creates a new user with the migrated data, so it probably created another user. To access to it, go to  > Log Out, and log in the new user. Then, your photos should be in Pictures folder.
If you want to merge them with the other user, you can use an external drive or the Shared folder to transfer them to the first user

I'm trying to transfer music from iTunes on an old PC that uses an external storage device to a new PC (Windows 7) that will use that same external storage device. I am also dealing with new iTunes 11. How do I do this?? What folder does iTunes use?

I'm trying to transfer music from iTunes on an old PC (Windows Vista Home Basic) that uses an external storage device to store the files to a new PC (Windows 7 Starter) that will use that same external storage device. I am also dealing with the new iTunes 11. How can I accomplish this successfully? What folder does iTunes use to store the data in? I've tried several things. Home Sharing caused duplicates but not all songs or apps transfered. It is a large library! I've tried just setting the path in the Advanced Tab of iTunes preferences of the new computer with the external drive connected the same as the path when the external drive is connected to the old computer. This was the best solution so far but still a few artists missing and some apps. Any suggestions?

Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
With iTunes 11 you might also have a Home Videos folder inside iTunes Media.
In the simplest cases you copy the entire iTunes folder from <User's Music> on the source computer to <User's Music> on the target machine, install iTunes, and it "just works"TM.
If the media folder (inside the red outline) has been split out to a separate location then you can copy the library folder (outside the red outline) as before and connect the drive holding the media so that it has exactly the same path as before. If the drive appears as D: on one system and E: on the other then the library won't be able to find the media.
The crucial file is iTunes Library.itl - this contains a record of the tracks that have been added to the library, ratings, play counts, playlists etc.
See also: Make a split library portable.
tt2

I have problems transferring files from PC to Mac and from Mac to Mac

I have problems transferring files from PC to Mac, and from Mac to Mac. PC to PC is fine. Nothing but problems with the Mac. One example:
While working on my PC, I open shared folders on an external HDD connected to the Mac. I click on paste to move the files. I get an error after a few seconds to a minute of trying to move several files from my PC Win 7 to Mac OS Maverick, that there is a file already at the destination on Mac. This statement is true, but it was just put there because I am copying them over in that same action. It reads 0Kb and wasn't there before I started. Then I get an error: The Action Cannot be completed because the folder is open in another program. Close the folder or file and try again..
Whether I click on it a bunch right of way or wait, it still takes about 45 seconds. I have to do it with every file and it only happens when copying from a PC to Mac. I have even restarted both computers so nothing is using any files. If I copy one file at a time, I don't get any error.
So I have one file to move, no problem. If move 5 files, The first will go fine, but it shows all 5 files in folder at once. All other files than the first show 0kb. I get the file already existing error once it starts the second file transfer, and I select move and replace. Then I get The Action Cannot be completed because the folder is open in another program. I wait or click repeatedly until it starts to move file. That file will then show something other than 0kb. When it is done, the error process starts all over. I tried checking the PC with unlocker, but the files do not show themselves locked on the PC.

Its not only French. Even certain characters in English will come across as gobblydegook from 1 platform to another. I see this in emails that likely were composed in Word & the characters don't come across.
Not sure if this is still true, but years ago someone explained that there is a standard character set & then I think its extended characters & those vary from platform to platform or language to language, etc.

How do I move my library from a mac to a PC using an external drive?

I have a Mac and have a large library of music (+120GB) which is stored on an external hard drive. I have a windows PC in my basement and I have purchased a 2nd external drive (200GB drive) and copied my music library (music files and iTunes Library.itl file) onto it. I want to attach the 2nd drive to the windows PC and use it to run my music library on that machine.
I recognize that I could use the the sharing feature in iTunes to share the music over a network w/o the 2nd drive but for a number of reasons assume that this will not work for the sake of this question.
What is the best way to add this drive/library to the PC? (the PC has iTunes installed, but no music in the library)
Can I just hold the shift key down while launching iTunes and then select the library on the external drive? Will this be a problem given that the iTunes Library.itl file was created in OS X (file location format differences, etc)?
If the above is a problem, should I just add the music folder (and all sub folders) to the library on the windows machine using File-> Add Folder to Library ...butI do not want to make a duplicate copy of the music given that the library is so large (it is larger than the HD on the PC machine)..so I would have to make sure that the "Copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library" is unchecked, but then after the initial import I would want iTunes to keep any subsequent new additions to the library in the same place as the rest of the music and also keep the files/folders organized, etc. Can this be accomplished by changing the itunes music folder location? If I go the "add music folder" route, what are the steps and the right sequencing to add the music properly (w/o copying ) and then leaving iTunes set up to store/organize new music additions properly?
Way too many words I know...any help very much appreciated.

It sounds like you mostly have everything down on how to do it. The one thing I don't know about is how to transfer the database file from Mac to Windows (or the other way around). I have not tried it nor seen reports from anyone who has tried it, so I am not sure if it will work or not.
As to your last question, plug the external into the Windows machine, open iTunes. Change preferences to use the iTunes Music folder on the external drive. Now add your files. Since they are already in that location and in the order iTunes would put them in, they should be added and not moved or copied again. Since you changes the storage location preference to that location, future additions will go into the same folder on the external.
If you can, please let us know how the Mac to Windows database transfer worked out. Most people either are going from Mac to Mac or Windows to Windows or simply don't care about ratings, play counts, play lists, etc. so starting over with a new database file is no big deal. So I am curious about getting the database file to translate across systems. You might try the XML file first since that should be universal. The other one may be in a Mac specific format.
Patrick

Transferring iTunes from pc to mac still using my external drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for