Using iTunes w/ Mac AND Windows via Dropbox

I'm doing my best to move my life to "the cloud" and the final missing piece is iTunes. I'm currently using iTunes on a Sony Vaio, storing all of my music and video on a 1TB external hard drive.
I recently got a MacBook Air and want to have access to at least my favorite music from anywhere via Dropbox. Can I copy my music (there's nowhere near enough room for the video) to my Dropbox account and then point the MacBook Air iTunes installation to my Dropbox account?
It seems that all of the library info is kept in a separate file, so I think this should work--but I would really appreciate it if the experts here can point out any problems, issues, or "gotchas" associated with this plan.
Of course I want to be able to enjoy my music anywhere, but I'm planning to make the MacBook Air primary at some point in the future so that I can sync my iPod Touch and my iPad to it.

Wow, first time I've seen this question. You are breaking new ground.
From the discussion I can see on the Dropbox Forums, there are people using it for iTunes backup, but no success using it as a source for streaming music. Take a look at this thread, for example.
Somebody else here may know more, but also you may want to post a very specific question on the Dropbox Forum.

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What type of hard disk should I use if I want to use it on mac and windows?

Hey Forum,
I am using windows xp on my macbook (snow leopard). I came across some dealers who say that there are hard disks for mac only and for both mac and windows. So, I wanted to buy a hard disk so that I can use it both on mac and windows xp, so what type of hard disk should I use? Must I partition into 2?
or are there any harddisk in the market which is compatible for both mac and windows xp without screwing up the format(NTFS/Mac OS X Journaled)? Pls look into this matter and help me with it.
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Thank you.
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Use same external drive for itunes in mac and windows?

Hi,
I have a Macbook Air that has bootcamp and I use 99% of my time under Windows 7.
All of my music and movies are on an external hard drive and I have a problem using
it for iTunes under Windows and the Mac at the same time.
Is it possible to have both versions point to the same external drive?
I tried almost everything but it fails as the file paths are stored once and for all in
the iTunes library file.
When booting under OS/X and opening iTunes, it loads the .itl file and shows all music
but of course it doesn't see anything since the path under OS/X has nothing to do with
the one under Windows.
My iTunes lib was created under Windows and all files are stored in a variation of:
J:\Private\My Music\iTunes[Rock | Classical | Soundtracks]
Under OS/X of course the path is totally different:
/Volumes/DRIVE_J/Private/My Music/iTunes/[Rock | Classical | Soundtracks]
Now if I reimport everything in iTunes for OS/X it will change all the paths and then
Windows will not be able to fetch the files.
Isn't there a way to have relative paths so both the OS/X and Windows versions
of iTunes work flawlessly without caring at all about which OS is running?
This is driving me nuts.
I'm not talking about Sharing an iTunes library over a network. I want to share the
same physical folder between Windows and OS/X
Thanks for any help.
Steve

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ITunes on Mac and PC via NAS (sync'd metadata?)

Hi all,
I have migrated my iTunes media folder from a Windows external USB hard drive to a LaCie NAS (attached via Airport Extreme Base Station).
I have copied my iTunes folder up to the NAS and am pointing both my Windows and Mac iTunes installations to the library db on the NAS.
I'm getting a couple of problems from this setup...When I try to open iTunes on one machine after closing it down on the other, it can take a long time (sometimes hours) for iTunes to finish checking/updating the library (whether moving from Mac to PC or vice versa). I do not have iTunes opened on both machines.
Also, it appears that the Mac version of iTunes handles the organisation of the library slightly differently from the Windows version, and I end up with hundreds of tracks showing up with !'s and telling me they can't be found when I try sync them to my iPod. They are there when I go to locate them, but when I do, this can lead to duplicates in one or the other iTunes instances.
I want to be able to do the following:
1. Play iTunes from both Mac and PC using the same files on the NAS (not on their respective hard drives.)
2. Maintain the same file metadata (ratings, labels, locations, playlists, etc) on both my Mac and my PC.
3. Sync my iPod with iTunes on both machines
4. Open iTunes on either machine (not concurrently) and not have to wait a half hour or an hour before I can use it.
Is there a headache-free way to do it? (I would even be willing to pay for an app that could help accomplish this.)
I have about 19,000 files, and ratings for 12,000 of them...I don't want to have to go back and do that again.

Hi,
I never used it but you might want to consider "Supersync". Available at supersync.com
It looks like you could duplicate your iTunes Library DB and just sync automatically (every hour) your DB to make it work on both computers.

Seamlessly switching between iTunes for Mac and Windows

The path on a Windows machine to my iTunes is something like N:\My Music, where N is mapped as a network drive. On a Mac, that same Drive N is mapped as “fireserver” on the server machine. So on iTunes for the Mac, it would have to be //servername/fireserver/My Music or something along those lines.
Here’s the problem. The iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml are the files in Windows that store the information regarding which iTunes music is there, as well as the playlists and their contents. Therefore, if I move from one machine to another, as long as each has the server’s drive mapped as N, I can copy those two files from one machine to the other and it serves two purposes. First, it is a backup of sorts of my iTunes library. Second, I don’t have to update the information on two computers but rather one, and then copy the files to have an identical library, including playlists.
I would like to sync my iPhone and iPod(s) with my Mac, but I have a Windows machine, and need to continue to use that Windows machine to do other things with iTunes, such as port music to the backyard of my house. I don’t know how to keep the two iTunes libraries in sync since the xml and itl files refer to files and folders within N:\My Music. Even if I laboriously edited those files and did a global replace, that would be a one shot deal, and thereafter, I would have to update on the Windows side and on the Mac side.
So here is the question. Is there a way that I can set up my Mac so that when I refer to N: it knows that I mean //servername/fireserver (I’m not sure if I have the syntax right, but I think I’m getting my point across)? In this way, the files would point to N:\whatever and the computer would know that I mean //servername/fireserver/whatever.
This would solve a major problem for me.
Thanks in advance!

I have been really surprised by the lack of responses to this post. I'm thinking, this is such a typical thing that people would want to do - sharing their music with friends and family - I can't be the first to have the problem. Plus, I've always received such quick, expert advice on this forum to other questions since buying my Mac a couple of months ago.
But now I'm wondering whether there is something else going on that precludes the resident experts from answering. Is sharing music as I've described illegal? Maybe that's why everybody's keeping quiet, i.e., if you tell me how to share my songs with a friend then you're assisting in copyright infringement.
I didn't think it was illegal to share music with a friend in this way, as long as the songs you've downloaded from iTunes aren't shared on more than four devices or whatever. If it is illegal I'd sure like to know. That would also explain the radio silence.
Thanks.

I have a password protected Numbers document I created on my MAC and share via DROPBOX. Is there any way to simply view this doc on my IPAD without purchasing NUMBERS for the IPAD?

I use NUMBERS on my MAC to create a password protected document. I share this doc via DROPBOX. Is there any way I can view the doc on my IPAD without purchasing NUMBERS for the IPAD? The doc opened fine on the IPAD before protecting it with a password.

Using the term "opened" may have been incorrect on my part. Before password protection, I simply viewed the doc by selecting it within my DROPBOX app. No revisions could be made, but I could view the doc. Now, with the doc password protected, the IPAD states this file can not be viewed.
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Using iTunes on Mac and Bootcamp/Vista

Hello out there,
I use Paragon NTFS for MacOSX and plan to migrate the entire iTunes library to the ntfs partition so I can use iTunes on either platform without duplicating the entire library.
However, as I understand it, both iTunes installations have their own admin files, so adding new music on one platform doesn't mean it's listed and accessible on the other.
Does anybody know if it is possible to migrate the admin data, too, and if the win- and mac-iTunes use the same file format?
Thank you in advance and regards.

Just in case my intention didn't come across: The underlying question is, is it possible to make both iTunes installations read the same admin files?

What type of external hard drive do I have to buy that I can use on my mac and windows computer as well

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Can I use icloud between Mac and Windows devices??

I have over 140 gb of music on my windows desktop pc and will be purchasing an ipad soon. I also have a windows laptop which i'd like to share my itunes library with. My current ipod is a 160 gb classic. I have no problems updating that as long as the laptop/pc/ipad are synced. If I purchase the unlimited icloud storage will I be able to push the music to an Ipad or Iphone?? I'm eventually going to switch my next desktop to a Mac, but the incompatibility of the music collection I've collected over the years is my main deterrent.

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See here for compatible machines
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1 hd with 2 file formats for use between mac and windows?

Think this is the right forum...
I want to instal a program onto an external hard drive for use on both mac and windows. The program supports both mac and windows.
My plan is to get an external hd and partition it in half. One half i will format mac os extended and the other i will format ntfs. I'll instal the mac version on the mac partition and the windows version on the ntfs partition.
This should work i'm thinking, yes? I.e. when i plug it into windows it'll run the windows installation no problem and when i plug it into the mac it'll run the mac installation no problem?
Thanks.

An easier solution might be to just connect the drive to a Windows PC and format it as FAT32. Both Windows (98 and higher) as well as Mac allow full read/write access to FAT32 formatted drives. No need to download any drivers, etc. It just works.
Yes, this solution is not perfect, but none are. The free NTFS drivers for Mac are not most efficient drivers for speed/performance, the HFS+ drivers for Windows are not cheap, and have their own performance issues, and FAT32 has the limit of file sizes over 2GB (or is it 4GB now?) not supported. No one solution is perfect, but for the many one is better than the others, but it all depends upon their circumstances which is "better".

How to prevent iTunes for Windows from "Updating iTunes Library"? (Library is on a NAS and managed by iTunes for Mac. Now getting update wars between Mac and Windows versions of the player.

How to prevent iTunes for Windows from "Updating iTunes Library"?
My library is on a NAS and managed by iTunes on a Mac. I can connect from wife's Windows laptop using iTunes for Windows but every time I do, it Updates iTunes Library. Next time I log in from my Mac it Updates iTunes Library in return. It appears I'm experiencing "Update Wars" between the Mac and Windows versions of iTunes. I would like to allow my wife to stream iTunes songs to her new laptop but I don't want any updates from this source... prefer to manage the library from my Mac and not allow Windows to do any thing other than listen to existing playlists.
Thanks for any help/suggestions.

Connect the PC to the library on the NAS. Wait while "updated".
Under Edit > Preferences > Advanced make sure the media folder is correctly pointed at the media folder on the NAS. If not correct, close iTunes, wait a few moments, then open iTunes again.
Close iTunes on the PC. Do not open iTunes on the Mac.
Copy the library files, iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel and the folder Album Artwork into an empty iTunes folder on the PC, for example C:\iTunes.
Click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and hold down SHIFT. Keep holding until prompted to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the copied .itl file, e.g. C:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl
The library should now work properly on the PC, however check the setting for the media folder. If needs be correct, close iTunes and reopen.
Open iTunes on the Mac. It will update again, but that should be last time.
tt2

Previously windows used external drive to be used in mac (and windows)

i´ve just bought a macbook and planned to use a couple of external drives i previously used on my pc with time machine and whatnot. only it seems they are write-protected in mac os, so they can´t be used as back-up drives. do i have to format them again using mac, or do it in windows, or is there a way around this? and can it be done so both mac and windows recognizes it as writable?
thanks

Dave Sawyer wrote:
They're probably formatted NTFS, which Mac OS X can read but not write. There are third-party NTFS drivers, one open-source and one commercial, but you can just reformat the drive as FAT32 (MS-DOS format in Disk Utility) and it will work just fine with both your Mac and Windows systems.
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What format for my external drive allows use with Mac and Windows?

I got an external hard disk (1 tr) and i want to used it for my windows and mac, i read i can have two partitions one for mac and one for windows, but i dont really want to have two parts, and I read i can format it by fat32 and i can write and read on both os, is that true?
I want to use it for movies, os backups, and files..
Is it true that i can only save files up to 4 GB when the format is fat32?
please advise..

It this case you would need to to go to "Disk Utility" on mac and select 3 partions which will be under the Parition Layout in my screen shot below. "Current" is grayed out that will drop down select 3 partitions and make one NTFS, second Mac OS Extended, third FAT32. Using the FAT32 for both Mac and Windows but the files have to be under 4GB each.

Using iTunes w/ Mac AND Windows via Dropbox

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