Transferring iTunes Library from old Macbook to a new Retina MacBook Pro

Hi,
I had a mid-2010 white Macbook which was running Mavericks. It was running iTunes 12 and the entire 'iTunes folder' is about 37GB.
I have recently got a new Macbook Pro which is running Yosemite. I backed up the whole Macbook using Carbon Copy Cloner so I have now all my data on an external USB hard disk.
I read and was under the impression that if I copied the 'iTunes' folder from inside my user directory from my external disk, into the exact same location on my new computer, i.e. inside the user's music folder and I made sure the path was correct in the iTunes settings that when I opened iTunes on the new computer it would work exactly as it did on my computer.
However, this isn't the case and it doesn't seem to work. Can any help and advise if I'm missing something please? I'm desperate to get my iTunes library copied over and can't figure out!
Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance....
Tom

It has nothing to do with the path set in preferences. That only tells iTunes where to store media in the future and does not "point" to a library. Don't touch preferences settings.
If you have been using iTunes default preferences then putting the iTunes folder where I believe you said you put it should work automatically. Basically replace the empty iTunes folder on your new computer with the one you are moving.
No matter, start iTunes while holding down the option/alt key. Select a library and guide it to the iTunes folder you wish to use, or even more specifically, the .itl file in the folder you wish to use..

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I transferred itunes library from old PC to new PC. The content all shows when I launch iTunes on the new PC now. The previous content does not show in iTunes but folder still looks like it is on hard drive on new PC. Suggestions on how to properly merge?

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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.
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Then use a 3rd party piece of software to transfer your content
I have found Senuti useful but there are others listed in the article I linked to in a previous post.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
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Hello,
I recently purchased a new laptop and am having trouble getting my library to transfer to my new laptop, i followed this step by step process http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1329?viewlocale=en_US and in the end ended up with no music on my ipod and no music in the itunes library on my new computer...
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So not sure where i should go from here, i have already Authorized my laptop with the itunes store , i was thinking of uninstalling Itunes on my laptop and starting over from scratch, will this help?
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The method you used should work if followed exactly.
The key points are - is your music all together? It must all be in the iTunes Music folder in the iTunes folder.
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Since you had trouble doing this with the iPod, why not try copying your iTunes folder to the external drive.
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Vista file folder permissions help
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/2464a180-e5dc-45d1-a2b8-3c8a 2b571e9d1033.mspx
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/05/25/how-to-take-ownership-and-grant-permiss ions-in-windows-vista/

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!http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54486/122/A57996D55BE7ABB4A67DE686D381A27 4.png!

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tonybassplayer wrote:
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Heyy guys, hopefully someone can help me here because I'm not the smartest when it comes to computer stuff.
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[email protected]

Amanda,
I don't know exactly, but I don't think you need to transfer your files from your laptop to a blank cd and then to your macbook. When I got my laptop, someone transferred music and all the items in "My Documents" from my desktop computer with a few clicks of the mouse! It was transferred wirelessly! I'll try to find out what he did and then let you know, hopefully someone else will be able to help you in the meantime though. Have a blessed day, and God bless you!
T

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If you have any iTunes purchases in your library don't forget that you'll need to authorise your new computer to play them. Also if you are disposing of the old PC remember to deauthorise it so you don't use up one of your allowances: About iTunes Music Store Authorisation and Deauthorisation

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How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply and adapt it to your specific situation and equipment resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder (directory) 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 (both Drive Letter and complete Path) 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 &/or Network
- 2b) Directly connect using an Ethernet cable: Straight for using at least one Mac; or Crossover for PC/PC Instructions here.
- 2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. Example here. There are various types out there (use Google).
....Then copy the 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.
These are links to various additional instructions on performing the transfer (read them all, but some listed steps may not be required depending on your specific situation):
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

Transferring iTunes Library from old Macbook to a new Retina MacBook Pro

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