Transferring iTunes Media Library

Not sure id this is a dilema or not but here what I want to do.
I have my iTunes media library backed up by Time Machine for my MBP Pro 2010 and I want to transfer the Library from the TM backup to my MBP Pro 2007.
Is this possible?

Connect your Mac's with a FireWire cable. Hold the T key while booting the 2010 MBP (Target Disk Mode). On the 2007 MBP you will see the 2010 MBP as a Disk on the Desktop. Open and navigater to Users->Your Name->Music

Similar Messages

Trouble Transferring iTunes Media/Library from Gateway to new Macbook

Hi everyone,
I tried following the directions on Apple's site to consolidate my iTunes library, copy it to a flash drive and then transfer it to iTunes on a new MacBook I just purchased but I'm encountering an issue. After getting to the "Choose Library" option, I selected the library file I also copied to the flash drive and it will open up the 3300+ songs I had on the Gateway in the MacBook's iTunes. However, when I click on a song, I get the "!" beside each song and error message that iTunes can't locate the file and have to navigate to the direct location of that song (which has now been transferred to the iTunes>Music foler on the MacBook's HD)and the the song will play normally. I really don't want to have to do this for all 3300, so can anyone tell me where I went wrong in the transfer?
Thanks!

I selected the file from the MacBook HD location, but when I was originally copying the folder/files from the Gateway, I opted not to copy the games, iPhone and movies folders. I only copied the "Music" folder and the individual files that were in the iTunes Media folder (I'm not at the MacBook right now so I can't provide the specific names) like the library file. I'll have to wait until I get home from work tonight and I'll be able to provide the exact names of what I transferred.

How can I transfer my iTunes Media Library from one PC to another without losing files and making a mess of the file and album structure?

I have imported a number of Café del Mar CD's to iTunes, and iTunes keeps scattering the tunes into several different folders in iTunes Media. It also has trouble finding album information, unless it has been downloaded from iTunes Store. Previous versions of iTunes I have tried didn't have this problem.
I've tried to tidy the files manually in iTunes Media, but that usually results in duplicates, so I stopped messing with it. I actually wouldn't mind iTunes blowing up my albums into a nightmare file structure of hyper categorization in iTunes Media (Album, Album Artist, Artist, etc.) if only it recognised its own mess when I transfer the library from one iTunes library into another.
An example: I downloaded Cafe del Mar - Essential Elements featuring 13 tunes, two of these can be found in the files Cafe del Mar/Cafe del Mar Essential Elements, iTunes also created the folder Cafe del Mar/Cafe del_Mar Essential Elements containing 0 tunes!?! and the rest of the tunes are found under Rue de Soleil in the root folder, indicating ONE of the artists as the criteria for creating a folder of tunes!?!
I am trying with every fiber NOT to hate this program, and would appreciate it if someone could explain to me how I can move an iTunes Media library of aprox 54 gb from my desktop via an external harddisk onto my laptop. I have tried 4 times, and everytime the result varies. Sometime I transfer 3000 files, other times 4000. Which files follow and don't is random. I lose files tranferring to the external harddisk and lose even more files from the external disk to the new library on my Lap. Do I have to transfer song for song or can this genius program actually transfer a larger amount of files without losing half the files and duplicating the rest?
Is there a limit of size or amount of files?

Backup with this User Tip, restore the library to the new computer using the same tool, keep the backup up-to-date in future. Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer need to access protected content on it.
As to your issues with compilations albums select all the tracks, set the Album Artist to Various Artists and on the options tab set Part of a compilation to Yes. See Grouping tracks into albums for details.
tt2

I moved my itunes media library to an external drive to free up 40gigs. How do I recoup my 40gigs?

I moved my iTunes media library to an external drive to free up 40gigs on my hard drive. When I checked in about this Mac to see if the space was gained it now seems to be replaced by a category "backups". How do I recoup my 40gigs?

When you moved the iTunes data to the external HDD, I assume you deleted it from your MBP. Backup are not to worry about. Read this:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14329
They will be deleted when disk space is required.
Ciao.
In addition, read this Apple support article:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4878

Cleaning up hidden files after deleting iTunes media library

Recently I have been struggling with an almost full hard drive. Daisy Disk Utility revealed that a major culprit was a bulging iTunes - 90 GB!
In order to free up space, I have just copied iTunes media library to an external hard drive, successfully changed my iTunes preferences to point to the hard drive...that all worked.
I then moved my iTunes media library to Trash.
Most of it has now been deleted (there are still a few recalcitrant items I am trying to work out how to get rid of).
I now have about 20 GB more free space on my hard drive....much less than I had hoped to gain.
Daisy Disk Utility tells me that I now have around 68 GB in hidden files.
What can I do to finish the process of creating more space on my hard disk?

Yes. The following files and folders are in the Mac iTunes folder:
Album Artwork
iTunes Music
Mobile Applications
iTunes Previous Libraries
iTunes 4 Music Library.itl,
iTunes Library Extras.itdb,
iTunes Library Genius.itdb,
iTunes Library.itl,
iTunes Music Library.xml
iTunes Library.xml **this file not in PC iTunes folder**
.DS_Store and sentinel (icon for both is a blank sheet) are in the PC iTunes folder, but did not copy to iTunes folder on hard drive.
The day before you responded to my question, I read a support document (in Home Sharing section) that had instructions to import the playlist by copying iTunes Library.xml to external drive and importing it to iTunes. I imported it by going to iTunes, File, Library, import playlist. It worked, but again, no playcounts ratings.
I thought iTunes Library.xml file was simultaneously removed when I removed the iTunes Folder in the Mac music folder, but somehow, I did something to get it back in or didn't properly remove it. The .xml that's on my PC and in the ITunes folder on my external hard drive is iTunes Music Library.xml. iTunes Library.xml is also on the external drive as a separate file but not in the iTunes folder that's on hard drive. I did nothing to alter file names.

Import iTunes Media Library, some files were not found problem

Hi guys,
I am trying to restore my music library info via importing from iTunes Media Library xml file I backed up. During import, iTunes gave me error message box saying that some files were not found and therefore won't get imported. After it's done, I checked the iTune and I noticed many of the music files did not get imported at all, even their locations are correct. Is it because iTunes stopped importing at the first entry that it found its location not existed and therefore skipped the rest all along? Even later ones might be valid. Is this the case?
Is there an easy way to find out what those entries are? So perhaps I could go and edit them directly in the xml file. The message box did not give much information
Any help would be really appreciated,
Thanks alot
Windows XP Pro
Windows XP Pro

Hi Chris
I have now experimented a little more and discovered that although Time Capsule (TC) is showing in Finder as a Shared Drive at laptop startup (and showing a status of a connected user, me) it is not actually 'mounted' in the true sense of the word i.e. the unmount/eject symbol is not showing next to it nor either of the drives connected to the TC. By clicking on either of the 2 drives (i.e. the TC 'Data' disk or the TC USB-connected drive) the status changes to show the dismount symbol on both the selected drive and the TC in the Finder side bar. Launching iTunes after this intervention works every time as per your advice. Not the Apple 'it just works' that I have come to expect and appreciate but at least I now understand how to make it work reliably..........many thanks and I hope Apple just makes it work sometine in the future

Bought an iPod Classic. First iPod, had a Zen for years, I want to transfer my music library, approximately 15,000 songs without creating an iTunes Media library.

Bought an iPod Classic. First iPod, had a Zen for years, I want to transfer my music library, approximately 15,000 songs without creating an iTunes Media library. All of the music is currently in WMA format. As you can imagine, 15,000 songs takes up a lot of space and I do not wnat it duplicated on my harddrive in an iTunes Media Library. What are my options?-Shawn

Change your mind, or change your device.
You can't put wma files on an iPod classic. You can't put files onto an iPod without adding them to a media library first.
tt2

HT1364 My iTunes media library...

My iTunes media library resides on a WD "My eBook", I connected it to a new PC running Windows 7 and iTunes 10 and I need to get my iTunes library here instead, how do I do this? Thanks!!!

Do you also have the iTunes Library.itl file that normally resides at <User's Music>\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl?
If you do then having installed iTunes on the new computer, close iTunes, then click the icon to lauch it and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the library file.
Otherwise use the same shift-start iTunes process to create a new library at X:\iTunes where X: is the letter of your drive. Once the library has been created merge your current media folder with X:\iTunes\iTunes Media then use File > Add folder to Library to import the folder X:\iTunes\iTunes Media.
If you have any Apple devices see also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

How to automatically add new files to external iTunes Media Library

I have an external hard drive that I store all of my music on and have set as my iTunes media file location. When I connect it, I open iTunes and can play all of my songs off of the hard drive with no problem. But many times I do not have my external hard drive plugged in when I purchase and add new files onto iTunes. Because of this, even though I have my preferences set to automatically add new iTunes files to the external media folder, when I connect my hard drive, the files will not be on the hard drive's media folder and they will not immediately transfer over to the hard drive, and I will then have to add them manually. Is there a setting that I can use that will set all new or recently added files on my iTunes to be transferred over to my external hard drive once it is connected? Or maybe a command that compares my iTunes with my external media file folder and transfers all new media over to my external folder? Any help would be appreciated.

Well I actually found something that was fairly close to what I was looking for. If you right click a file or selection of files then click the option 'consolidate files' you can copy them to the media library. I guess I'll just have to filter my recently added playlist by the right amount of time then use the consolidate option. I still think that making a feature that automatically copys newly added files to the external media folder once it is connected would be a very worthwile investment in Apple's time

I want to centralize my Itunes Media library to a Mybook Live drive.

I have bought a My Book Live drive as it said I coudl run an iTunes Server. I want to be able to have one central Itunes Media location for all my music and apps etc. So I have moved this to the My Book live. When I open Itunes I see all my music under the LIBRARY and under SHARED/MyBookLive. I don't see my apps or other items? Also if I add a new album to my music library it shows up in both on the PC I add the music from but not on any of the other PC I have in my house. So I want to have a simple solution with all mymusic and apps etc in a single place that looks the same on each of my PC's?
Any ideas

Thanks for the quick reply!
No, I simply went to Itunes, Library, Music. As you mention, I can't click and drag the folder, so I click and drag a section of songs at a time, but then they are all resorted to "by artist" instead of "by title".
All I am trying to do is create space on my internal hard drive by transferring ITunes to an external hard drive (so Time Machine is not an option). Any suggestions, or is what I am trying to do not possible?

How To: Change iTunes media library location/folder

*PLEASE READ THIS ENTIRE POST BEFORE ATTEMPTING THIS PROCESS. IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE, BUT IT IS FAIRLY INVOLVED AND ENTAILS SOME RISK. THERE ARE SOME WARNINGS AT THE END.*
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REQUIREMENT
Move iTunes media (music, videos, podcasts) to another folder and update the iTunes library to reference all the media from that new folder.
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Example cases: Move iTunes media from C:\ drive to D:\ drive; Change iTunes folder name from Music to Media.
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Note:
Special action is only necessary if the +Keep iTunes Media folder organized+ option is not selected. If this option is selected, iTunes will move media to the new location when the +iTunes Media folder location+ is changed. More info can be found here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
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PROBLEM
When the location of iTunes media files changes (files are moved, folder name/drive letter changes), iTunes cannot automatically locate these files. iTunes entries can be updated to point to the new location one at a time or by deleting all entries and re-adding all files. Updating one at a time is time consuming, and deleting and re-adding causes a large amount of metadata (play count, date added, rating, etc) to be lost.
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SOLUTION
The iTunes library can be exported to an XML file, modified, and re-imported.
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Process:
- *Backup the iTunes library data:* Make sure iTunes is closed, and then backup the folder containing all the iTunes library data. This can normally be found in +<user-folder>\My Music\iTunes+ for Windows, or in /Users/<username>/Music/iTunes for Mac. The +iTunes Media+ and +Mobile Applications+ folders can be excluded from the backup since they will not be affected by this process. If this process does not work for some reason and you need to restore the previous state of your iTunes library, you’ll need to use this backup as the source for restoring.
- *Move iTunes media files to new location:* This may be changing which drive is used to store iTunes media files, renaming a folder, or whatever. This can be done for the whole library or for only part of it.
- *Export the iTunes library:* In iTunes, select File -> Library -> Export Library... and save the file somewhere for editing (Desktop is a good location).
- *Open Library.xml in a decent text editor:* Notepad is not recommended, since Library.xml can be very large. Some free options include PSPad, Notepad++, Smultron, and Text Wrangler.
- *Update Library.xml:* Locate the files that have changed location and update their path accordingly. The XML file has the metadata for each file labeled with XML tags. The file location is denoted by <key>Location</key>. If the whole library is being moved, a find/replace on the whole file is recommended. Once a file is located in Library.xml that needs to be updated, copy the part of the string that has changed starting with <key>Location</key>. Use that as the find parameter, and enter the replace parameter in the same format. Include as much of the string as possible to prevent unintentional replaces. Save and close the file when done.
- - - Example: Find: <key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/C:/Data/iTunes/
Replace: <key>Location</key><string>file://localhost/D:/Data/iTunes/
- - - Note 1: This step may require adjustment to match your situation. You may want to count how many files need to be updated and make sure that the find/replace only changes that many or edit them by hand if the location of all files have not been changed. It shouldn’t be difficult, but it may require some thought.
- - - Note 2: Music, TV Shows, Movies, and Podcasts are stored in this file, so make sure to account for all media types. If the location of all types didn’t change, the find/replace strings will need to take that into account.
- *Remove all modified media entries from iTunes:* For any of the files that are being moved, the associated metadata must be removed from iTunes to avoid having duplicates in iTunes. This can be done by selecting all entries in iTunes that will be modified, right-clicking the entries, and choosing “Delete”. After confirming that you want to remove the selected item from your iTunes library, make sure to choose to keep the file in the iTunes Media folder if prompted.
- *Import Library.xml:* Import the modified Library.xml by selecting File -> Library -> Import Playlist... and selecting the modified Library.xml in the file open dialog that appears. Depending on the size of the iTunes Library, this could take a while (10 minutes or more).
- *Test results:* Locate a file in iTunes that has been moved, right-click on the file, and choose “Get Info”. The “Location:” field should indicate the new location of the file. Close the Info dialog and try to play the file. If the file plays, the process was successful.
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_*DISCLAIMERS/ADDITIONAL NOTES*_
- I tried this out a couple of times, and it worked fine for me. I can’t guarantee it will work for everyone, but I thought I’d share since I couldn’t find instructions for this situation anywhere else.
- If the process fails, you SHOULD be able move the iTunes media files back to their old location and restore the backed up iTunes library data to the iTunes folder to restore your previous configuration.
- I wouldn’t recommend attempting this if you don’t feel comfortable with backing up your iTunes library data and editing the XML file.
- I don’t know if this process will preserve whether videos and podcasts have been played or if it will preserve the play position where items were last paused.
- If you are moving all of your iTunes media files, you’ll want to update the “iTunes Media folder location” under the “Advanced” tab in preferences. This appears to be the folder that iTunes will use for some of its basic operations, such as storing synced audio notes, Podcasts, and the “Automatically Add to iTunes” folder.
- This process duplicates playlists, probably because you are importing your entire library again. I just deleted the duplicates when I was done.

If all the media is on one drive and you're not letting iTunes manage it then you can achieve the "portable" status simply by moving the library files high enough up the tree, i.e. the root of the drive if necessary, letting iTunes know where the nominal iTunes media folder is and then moving the library to the new drive keeping the relative paths from the library files to each distinct set of media folders unchanged. Personally I don't like iTunes cutting my file & folder names short, but the advantages of a portable library mean that I'm quite happy to organise my media inside the iTunes Media folder, albeit largly on my own terms. Indeed all my non-iTunes multimedia is now also organised in the same folders. The only media files iTunes organises, temporarlily, are rips & downloads apart from active Podcasts whose folder names I leave unchanged. Everything else gets sorted just the way I want it - full length filenames, different character replacements, folder art etc. I used to do it by hand, deleting, tweaking & reimporting, but these days I use a custom script which does it all automatically - renaming files just as I want and reconnecting iTunes to the newly moved file so that no iTunes-only metadata is lost.
There are similar XML-editing how-tos elsewhere on the web, I just wanted to make the point that there may still sometimes be a way to achieve the desired result which isn't quite as complicated but nevertheless leaves the user fully in control of their file structure.
Anyway, at least you took the trouble to find a method that works for you first. There are sadly too many tales of woe on these boards from people who've moved all their files around first only to discover that they've broken their libraries and can't work out how to undo the damage.
tt2

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.

Problems transfering iTunes Media folder from one external HDD to another.

Hey Yinz.
I'm running a MBP 13" 2.7Ghz Intel Core i7...OS X 10.6.8. Recently the NAS that hosted my iTunes Media folder and library failed. I recovered the drive from the NAS...a WD Caviar (WD2500JS), which was originally written in XFS. After substantial effort, I found a process that would enable me to access this drive, and have my Mac read it. This involved a Newer Technologies Voyager Q, coupled with a recent version of (whatever they're calling) MacFuse. It did so sucessfully. Now what i want is to take my iTunes Media folder and library off of the WD, ex-NAS HDD (its original location), and transfer it to a new HDD.
I bought a Toshiba Canvio basics usb 3.0/2.0.
Most online tutorials describe dragging and dropping the folder in the new location. I can connect both HDDs to my MBP, and the transfer will begin...
But.
After the first few minutes...The Finder will not allow me to complete the transfer. I keep getting an error code -8084.
I'm almost certain that the new HDD (which i formatted as Mac OS X Journaled in Disk Utility) is not recognizing special characters in certain file names in my iTunes Library. I have some artists in my folder that require special characters to display their names properly. I realize these were originally written in a Linux format.
So, is there a way around this...other than changing the filenames? I really don't want to destroy the integrity of my library by changing a bunch of characters that accurately identify artists. I guess if all i had was Billy Joel and the Beatles in my library, i'd be Okay...but i don't.
I also read a thread somewhere that suggested that error code -8084 relates to inadequate power distribution of an attached HDD. This also complicates my problem...as the new external HDD (Toshiba) is bus powered, and lacks an option for a dedicated AC power supply.
While i am able to access and use my iTunes as normal...i'm tied to that WD HDD, which is like, over 5yrs old, and i'm really hoping to get my media off that old HDD, and onto a new HDD with the files intact and accurate.
Any help would be much appreciated and welcome.
--j.m.
P.S. I'm running iTunes 10.7

No solid data here but it just seems to me that when I see issues arise about copying data and strange error messages that it has to do when people are using non Mac-formatted drives. I think they kind of work but once you put them under real pressure you just get problems. Maybe I'm just thinking of all those vague error -50 "communications difficulties" messages from people trying to copy their libraries to FAT drives. I wonder if using Terminal to do the copying would help.
Now, there is a difference between placing your media on a drive and your library on a drive. Your library is your whole iTunes folder along with files such as the critical library.itl file and artwork files, etc. Media are just what's in your media folder - music, movies, etc. If you are moving your whole library you can drag and drop copy. If you are moving your media you can drag and drop but then the new drive has to have the identical drive name as the old one (the old and new pathnames have to remain unchanged). Usually the best way to move media is to use iTunes' preferences setting to consolidate your media to the new location. iTunes very easily loses track of files unless you let it do the moving (exception: moving the whole iTunes library folder).
iTunes 10 for Mac: Consolidate your iTunes library - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH990
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
vs.
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 library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

Is it possible to save an iTunes media library on an external hard drive that is connected to a wi-fi router?

The external hard drive is connected, through USB, to a wi-fi router. So, can I save my entire iTunes library on that external hard drive and access the files wirelessly and also use that library to sync my iPhone 4S? I have a limited hard disk space on my MacBook Air and don't want any itunes media on my computer, so would it be possible to have it all on the external hard drive while maintainig the ability to sync/play those files saved on the external hard drive without the original files being on the MacBook Air? Sorry for the long question I just want to make everything as clear as possible. Really thanks guys!

Unfortunately, I don't see a solution to your problem.

Help with transferring ITunes media files to external HD

Hi!
I'm trying to free up space on my MacBook by moving all my ITunes media files to an external HD.
I followed the support instructions which told me to go to ITunes preferences, advanced, and choose a new location for the files. I did that part and files were copied across to the external HD. However, the next step is to move the original files from my macbook into the trash. I've gone to home/music/Itunes to delete the originals, but they don't seem to be exactly the same as the ones copied across to the eternal HD..? For instance, the size of the ITunes folder is different, and inside the folder some files are not there, and all the music is not there either (in the external HD copied location).
I'd just like to know I'm going to be deleting the right files before I do it, so if anyone can help that would be really appreciated.

For instance, the size of the ITunes folder is different, and inside the folder some files are not there, and all the music is not there either (in the external HD copied location).
Then the first thing to do would be to consolidate your new iTunes library as well: Open your new iTunes Library in iTunes and
Open iTunes Preferences:
Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
Click Advanced.
Make sure the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" is selected.
Click OK.
Choose File > Library > Organize Library.
Then check if now your music is included in your new Library.
To see where iTunes stores a song, select the song in the iTunes Browser and control-click (or right-click) it and from the pop up menu select "Show in Finder".
If you see that the songs are inside the new Library, you can delete them from your old library.
The structure of your Library depends on your iTunes Version, so I can't tell you where to look - please post the version of iTunes you are using and the OS:

Transferring iTunes Media Library

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