Transferring iTunes library with Windows 7

I got a new laptop that is a Dell with Windows 7. My previous library is on another laptop and i was wondering how do I transfer my library? I have already transferred my purchases. I want to transfer the unpurchased music from the previous laptop?

See Make a split library portable.
Unless you are particularly wedded to your haphazard storage system I would recommend you copy your iTunes library files into X:\iTunes (where X: is the externals drive letter), connect to the iTunes library database at X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl, set the media folder to X:\iTunes\iTunes Media and consolidate the library. If there isn't enough room to temporarily duplicate the content, then there are alternative steps listed in the user tip which you can put together to get the library in the right shape for moving.
tt2

Similar Messages

Transferred itunes library from Windows XP PC to new Windows 7 PC. plugged in 3rd gen Ipod. Ipod icon appears along with playlists, music etc. Songs are grayed out and won't play. Please help!

I recently transferred itunes library from windows XP PC to new Windows 7 PC. The transfer was successful, however when I plug my 3rd gen Ipod Nano into the new PC, the Ipod icon appears along with the music, playlists, etc. The songs are shown but are 'grayed out' and wont play or sync.The 'Devices & Printers' window in new PC shows icon for Ipod driver & is OK. The icon for the Ipod appears but depicts a delta shaped warning icon that states that the Ipod is'not operating properly'. Tried troubleshooting. The troubleshooting message states the the Ipod is 'disconnecting'. Can you help me with this problem?

Then, I dropped the entire itunes file from the old PC (XP) into an empty external drive.
That "itunes file from the old PC"? Is that the iTunes folder, from the old PC, that was in the user home folder's Music folder?
All of the library, playlists, etc. from the ipod as they always have been are shown, by they are 'grayed out' and will not open or play.
That's on the iPod, correct? Are all of your old playlists in iTunes, from the old PC, still there in iTunes on the new PC? Are the songs in iTunes still playable?
This document provides the steps to transfer a complete iTunes library between two computers. See the section called External drive.
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer - Apple Support
There are many steps, but this is a summary. (1) On the old PC, consolidate all of your iTunes data into the iTunes folder. (2) Copy this iTunes folder to the external drive. (3) On the new PC (that has iTunes installed but NOT running), replace its existing iTunes folder with the one from the old PC (on the external drive). When you run iTunes, it uses the iTunes folder from the old PC, and it should look like iTunes on the old PC (with all the playlists, ratings, play count, etc.), and your iPod will see the iTunes library as the same iTunes library (because it is the same library).
If you did something different, and the old PC is still accessible, you may want to try it using the method from the linked document.

Can I use my Mac OS iTunes Library with Windows XP under Boot Camp?

Hello. I have a Mac Pro with two drives, a 1TB Mac OS 10.5 drive and a 500GB Windows XP drive. I have a large iTunes library on my Mac OS drive, and I'd like to be able to access it when I'm using XP. I downloaded MacDrive hoping that I'd be able to use the same iTunes library, but I'm stuck as to what to do now. Anyone know if this is possible, and how I can get it to work?

I have my entire iTunes library shared between Mac OS X 10.5.2 and XP (aka. Media Center 2005).
I use an HFS+ volume accessed via MacDrive. In my case I started off with the Windows iTunes as the master (and use it to rip all my CDs). I then set the Mac side running iTunes to use the same iTunes folder as specified in Windows (this is done in Advanced Preferences). I also replaced the Mac "iTunes Music Library.xml" and "iTunes Library" file (both stored in /Users/username/Music/iTunes) with aliases pointing to "C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml" and "C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl" respectively.
Note: I suspect the Mac side will need write access to these two files, and as I used FAT32 for the Windows volume the Mac does have write access. However there are now at least two ways for the Mac to get write access to NTFS volumes (MacFuse being one). It may also be possible to tell iTunes to store these files themselves in a common location (not tried that).
While it is not relevant to your query, I have also managed to share my entire iTunes library with Windows Media Player (and therefore also to Media Center 2005). All my music is in Apple Lossless format and I have a directshow filter for WMP to let it play Apple Lossless (or unprotected AAC). I also have a plugin installed to let WMP read the meta tags in MPEG4 (i.e. AAC and Apple Lossless) files.
When I switch from Windows to Mac and run iTunes it does a brief rebuild, when I switch from Mac to Windows it again does a brief rebuild and the result is that the list of music in iTunes on both operating systems is always the same and successfully accesses the same music files on the shared volume. I rebooted back in to Mac OS X at the weekend and was happily accessing the music in Front Row.

Have problems with transfering iTunes library from Windows to Macintosh

Good afternoon!
I had before Windows PC, where i had iTunes with all my music. And now i bought macbook pro. I tried to transfer iTunes library as it is described in a lot of sites in internet. But maximum what i could made - just to transfer all songs. And if before i have in iTunes folders with different music (David Garrett, Jason Mraz, music for baby, etc) now i have all songs (about 2 000) just in one list.
Could u help me please to transfer all music with folders like it was in iTunes in Windows PC.
Thanks in advance!

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

Best Method for transfering iTunes library from Windows 7 to Mac OSX

I just bought a MacBook Air and am in the process of preparing my file transfer. The only data on my computer I really care about is my school/work files, (which are very easy to transfer), and my iTunes library. What is the best method for transfering music?
I was going to use an external drive and simply drag and drop everything. Last time I did this I needed a special file in order to keep my playlists, top rated, and playcount. Is there an easier and faster method now? I have about fifty gigabites of music so I think it might take longer over wifi.
I also have an iPhone and have already transfered all of the recent purchases. If I export my library, will all my iPhone backup data stay there as well?
If anybody has some insight or a link that outlines all of this that'd be great. Thanks in advance.

Here's a pretty comprehensive "how to"
http://myfirstmac.com/how-do-i-move-my-itunes-library-from-pc-to-mac-and-keep-my -settings-intact.html
Make sure the external drive is foratted so both the pc and the mac can read and write to it.
http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57401784-285/the-best-ways-to-format-an-exte rnal-drive-for-windows-and-mac/
good luck.

Itunes library with Windows 8

I have Windows 8 on my computer. The Itunes library is giving problem. Although I see the songs in the library, it does not play saying that "cannot locate the original file". How can I fix this?

This happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout, or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

Sharing Mac iTunes library with Windows PC (I want to be able to read/write)

Greetings from a new Mac user. I recently purchased a 27" iMAC running OS X 10.7.3. This iMac is now connected to my home network/workgroup.
- I want to build a new iTunes Library on my 1TB internal Mac HD.
- I want my 3 non Mac Machines (1 XP Prof and 2 Windows 7 Home) to be able to view the contents of my new (not yet built) iTunes Library resident on my iMac and of course be able to
- play that content.
- have play counts from my Windows-based be saved back to my iTunes Library.
- be able to rate a song from any computer (Mac or Windows) within this iTunes Library and have that rating saved back to this iTunes Library.
I don't want to have to rely on iTunes "Shared Library" function. In other words I want all PCs to be able to read/write to the same iTunes Library file.
Before I purchased my iMac, my iTunes Library existed on one of my Windows-file system external drives. The pre-requisites for allowing multiple Windows PCs to access/share/write to the same iTunes Library was to:
- share the Windows folder on the external drive in which the iTunes Library file was stored (allowing network users to be able to change the files), and
- make sure all Windows-based PCs ran the same iTunes software version.
Assume: I don't want to change the version of Windows iTunes software from the currently installed 10.5.0 version.
Question 1: Can my Windows PCs access and utilize the same iTunes library file that I plan to build on my iMac hard drive?
Question 2: What older version of Mac iTunes software should I install on my iMac in order to allow the Windows PCs to access and use the iMacs iTunes library file?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hmmm... thanks for the reply. This of course, yields another question. When you say 'you could format to FAT32 which both can use'; do you mean format the iTunes Hard drive on which my iTunes music now resides? If so, this would mean I would need to copy the music off the internal iMac hard drive, then format the drive to FAT32, then copy the music back.
Is this what you meant?

Help! Transfering iTunes library from Windows iTunes to iTunes on a new Mac

I am sure others have asked this -- I was not able to find it though:
I have a Windows machine on which my whole iTunes library sits (both ripped CD's and downloaded music and TV from iTunes).
I need to move that to my new Mac.
I read the article about using my iPod to do this, but it doesn't seem to work across Mac/Windows. The computers are on the same home LAN. My old machine doesn't have a DVD writer or CD writer, so I can't use that option.
So, is there an easy way to just transfer it over to my new machine?
Also, what do I need to do (and in what order) about de-authorizing my old computer?
The Apple help and online resources are shockingly unhelpful on this topic. Thanks for any instructions you can provide.
Thank you!
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)
MacBook Pro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

After you mount the drive, I'd recommend copying the folder over to your Mac desktop. From there, set iTunes to Copy Files on Import (under preferences). Select File -> Add to Library then choose the whole music folder you copied to your desktop. iTunes will load all the songs into your iTunes library and copy them to the appropriate folder in your hard drive.
When that process is complete, you should be able to delete the folder from your desktop and all your songs will be in your iTunes library.
Hope this helps!

I transferred my iTunes library from Window PC to MacBook pro and now I cant play songs that I purchased with an earlier ID and Password. How can I get around this problem?'t

I transferred my iTunes library from Window PC to MacBook pro and now I cant play songs that I purchased with an earlier ID and Password. How can I get around this problem?

Authorize the computer.
iTunes Store: About authorization and deauthorization - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1420 - and another helpful post: https://discussions.apple.com/message/17828050

I have transferred my iTunes library from windows 7 pc to new windows 8 pc. Music was in alphabetical order by surname but new pc has some by surname some by first name and some not in alphabetical order. How can I get sorted?

Question Hi - I've transferred my iTunes library from windows 7 pc to one with windows 8. My library was in alphabetical order by surname but after transfer is now some by surname, some by first name, and some not in alphabetical order. How do I sort this out and also make sure that new downloads list by surname alphabetically?

Sorting in iTunes is often controlled by selecting different column headings. The sort order for any given column may be further modified by a sort value, e.g. Sort Artist affects the sort order of Artist. If you transferred the library properly all of the metadata should have remained intract and you simply need to select the a column that sorts as you want. If you had to import the library then there is the potential for tagging effects that could mean metadata entered previously didn't import with the media. Note that iTunes has no mechanism for automatically deciding which values are in <Forename> <Surname> order and could therefore be sorted as <Surname> <Forename>. The only automatic process drops leading articles (a/an/the) so that "The Doors" sort under D as "Doors".
See also Grouping tracks into albums.
tt2

How can I move my PC (Windows 7) iTunes library (with my cps ripped) to my Mac iTunes library?

Just for my curiosity and knowledge,
I have a PC (Windows 7) and a Mac (OS X 10.10).
Both of them with the latest version of iTunes.
Both of them with the exact music library (genre, artist, album, etc).
All my music is coming from iTunes Store, so very easy to re download at any time I want with my Apple ID
My PC (Windows 7) computer has a CD/DVD drive. I would like to RIP some music from my CDs and add them to my PC (Windows 7) iTunes library.
Once I finished, how can I move my PC (Windows 7) iTunes library (with my cps ripped) to my Mac iTunes library?
Thank you so much

If you've downloaded the media idependently to each library so far then thet won't be exactly the same as there are different naming rules for the files and folders in OS X and Windows. See Make a split library portable for some general advice. You can move a portable library between Mac and Windows, but there is a delay opening the library after each change of OS.
tt2

I am a long time iTunes user but a new MacBook owner! :) I keep the majority of my music files on an external hard drive. I'm trying to view all those files on my MacBook through iTunes. With windows you would go to : File/Add To Library, and iTunes w

I am a long time iTunes user but a new MacBook owner! I keep the majority of my music files on an external hard drive. I'm trying to view all those files on my MacBook through iTunes. With windows you would go to : File/Add To Library, and iTunes would add all your selected files to your music library BUT WOULD NOT COPY THEM TO YOUR HARD DRIVE. In other words, if the external hard drive was connected, you could listen, drag/drop, and edit the files. When I tried the same thing with my new MacBook... it actually started coping the files to my MacBook harddrive. I don't want that, it's millions and millions of mp3's that I don't want to keep on my computer, only my external hard drive. Can anyone help? I'm sure it's something easy, I'm just so new to the Mac world. Being an iPhone owner for many many years I'm picking up things fast, but this is getting the best of me! Help !

In iTunes 11 uncheck the preferences setting in in the iTunes Preferences panel "Advanced > Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to Library"

How do I backup iTunes v10.5 library with windows XP

With iTunes 10.5 there isn't a backup option. How do I backup my entire iTunes library under windows XP? I assume with iCloud the backup is done automatically but iCloud isn't supported under XP.

"how can i reinstall itunes 10.5.2 on windows xp, after i deleted the older version?"
Go to apple.com/itunes/download
Download the current version.
Install it.
When installing, are specific errors being generated?

Transferred iTunes library from pc to new mac, iTunes ; however, when opening iTunes on mac it reports the library was created with a newer version of iTunes and won't open.

Transferred Itunes library from pc to new mac; however, when opening itunes on the new mac it reported that the library was created with a newer version of itunes and could not be opened. It asked if I wanted to download updates and I did. However, the new mac is up to date. Itunes won't open. What to do now? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Jim

Hello, Stephen.
Thank you for the question. You will need to rebuild your iTunes library file in order to open an older version of iTunes. Below, I have included the article that walks you through this process. Start with the section labeled Re-creating the iTunes Library file.
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451
Cheers,
Jason H.

When I open iTunes on my Macbook Pro, I am now getting a small window that says "Checking iTunes Library" with a pinwheel. This goes on for 5-10 minutes before I am able to access iTunes. Help! How do I fix this?

When I open iTunes on my Macbook Pro, I am now getting a small window that says "Checking iTunes Library" with a pinwheel. This goes on for 5-10 minutes before I am able to access iTunes. Help! How do I fix this?

I have the same problem. It is only with tv shows and only with programs I have downloaded after the software update.
Apple support sent me the above link too....but it doesn't solve the problem...my computer is authorized and the content is in my library and will play on my Mac air, but it will not sync the tv shows, it keeps saying my computer isn't authorized for it.
No answers here, but you are definitely not alone with this issue.

Transferring iTunes library with Windows 7

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for