Windows and iMac iTunes share library?

I have iTunes installed on my iMac with the music files on an external drive.
I have Windows 8 installed using Parallels 8.
If I install iTunes on the Windows side - can I just point it at the iMac iTunes Library file or do I have to have the Windows install completely import and build its own Library?
Thanks.

Yes Windows & Mac can share a library. Only one can access it at a time and it must be in the correct layout. See make a split library portable.
tt2

Similar Messages

I just downloaded the latest version of itunes for Windows and now itunes crashes every time i launch it

I just downloaded the latest version of iTunes for Windows and now iTunes crashes everytime I launch it. I have tried re-downloading and selecting Repair with no luck. Any suggestions?
thanks

For general advice see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.
The steps in the second box are a guide to removing everything related to iTunes and then rebuilding it which is often a good starting point unless the symptoms indicate a more specific approach. Review the other boxes and the list of support documents further down page in case one of them applies.
Your library should be unaffected by these steps but there is backup and recovery advice elsewhere in the user tip.
If you've already tried a complete uninstall and reinstall try opening iTunes in safe mode (hold down CTRL+SHIFT as you start iTunes) then going to Edit > Preferences > Store and turning off Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases. You may find iTunes will now start normally.
tt2

Reinstalling Windows and keeping itunes as it is now

My PC is running slow at the moment so I'm planning on formating it and reinstalling Windows Vista, I have loads of music in my library in itunes (the music is backed up on a seperate hard drive) but if i re-do windows and reinstal itunes is there a way of backing up my library settings? (things like only certain songs have the boxes ticked so when i sync my ipod i only have the songs i like on there, and the play count and last played date) I have 'exported' the library and saved the XML file but will that save all my settings or just the file names and locations? and how do I 'import' the file once I've reinstalled itunes?

I assume all your music files are on the external drive.
If you are going to reinstall windows and you want to keep all your iTunes metadata, you need to save a copy of the iTunes folder normally in Music or My Music for XP.
This contains your library databases and the artwork folder.
I have given the default location for the iTunes folder, but some people using an external drive have it on the external drive as well as the music files if this is the case, you don't need to worry about it.
If your iTunes folder is on your c: drive, your will need to replace the iTunes folder created when you reinstall iTunes with the backup. Then you will need to set the location of the iTunes Music folder in Edit Preferences>>Advanced.
If the iTunes folder was on the external drivem you will need to do a shift key start after installing iTunes to connect iTunes to iTunes Library.itl on the external drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
Message was edited by: polydorus

My computer keeps saying that itunes is not working so i updated my windows and reinstalled itunes but it still doesnt work what do i do?

my computer keeps saying that itunes is not working so i updated my windows and reinstalled itunes but it still doesnt work what do i do?

This link will give service options for your Country ,select from drop down menu
http://support.apple.com/kb/index?page=servicefaq&geo=United_Kingdom&product=iph one
To troubleshhoot restore see document below
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808

Can Windows and Mac OS share same iTunes Library?

I have an iMac with iTunes installed. I also run Windows 8 under Parallels. Can both versions of iTunes share the same library or do I have to have the Windows side see all my music files and do it's own version of the Library files?
Thanks
Steve

I think getting Parallels is probably the best way for you to go, that will let run Windows XP on your Mac as a virtual machine.
http://www.parallels.com/

Macbook Pro and iMac iTunes matching music library

Is it possible for both my computers to have matching libraries?
Possibly using iCloud?

Yes.
I have three computers an ipad, an ipod and Apple TV,
using iCloud they all have the same library and playlists available at all times.
You have to have iTunes Match, which costs about $25 per year. Well worth it.
Basically the "match" feature let's you upload all the content in your itunes account from all your devices,
to the iCloud. Then the you can then download content from the iCloud to your devices or simply
play it from the iCloud.
I have had no issues using iTunes Match and iCloud.

G5 iMac + iTunes Firewire Library = Slow HD Playback?

Wondering if anyone out there has had this experience:
I have a g5 iMac and an 232gig external Nautilus Firewire 400 external drive that I've put my iTunes library on.
I also have a bunch of high def (HD) TV shows and Movies that I've downloaded from the iTunes Store.
When I try to play my HD content in iTunes, my CPU goes to 100% and the playback is so choppy its unwatchable.
I can stream content from my iMac to my AppleTV fine, so I am pretty sure its not a Firewire throughput problem.
My guess is that the g5 iMac CPU can't handle the Firewire transfer AND the HD decoding. But this suprises me.
Anyone else out there have a situation like mine that works or doesn't work?
phil

My guess is that the g5 iMac CPU can't handle the Firewire transfer
FW does not use the computer's CPU. FW uses the FW chip to handle almost everythong for transfers which is why it is superior and faster than USB, which requires the computer's CPU for everything.
The FW is fine.
When I try to play my HD content in iTunes, my CPU goes to 100% and the playback is so choppy its unwatchable.
Your G5 cannot handle HD playback.

When the beta is over and my iTunes cloud library is deleted, what happens to my local copy of the library?

i would REALLY hate to lose my library...........really. lots of ratings/playlists i never want to lose.

I would have thought this unlikely: but really it's no good asking about the iCloud beta here: in order to access it you've signed on as a developer and signed an NDA, and no-one on here is in a position to answer questions about it. You need to ask in the Developer forum.

ITunes 9 - Using 'Home Sharing' between Windows and Mac libraries

I have my main iTunes music library stored on my Windows 7 PC. It is currently around 200Gb in size, so pretty large.
I want to be able to use 'Home Sharing' in iTunes 9 to access this library on my Macbook over my home wireless network.
I don't, however, want to copy the music files themselves over to this laptop, but simply access the library over the network, and play them via either iTunes 9 or Front Row.
I would appear that the Windows and Mac 'iTunes Library' xml files are incompatible. I can't 'Alias' the Windows library on the MacBook for this reason. Does 'Home Sharing' eliminate this problem? Is there a way of accessing the library on the Windows PC without copying all of the files over to the MacBook?
I want to maintain a single library (which is often changing with new podcasts etc), rather than 2 libraries which I have to keep in sync.
Does anybody have any ideas on this one? I'm sure I am not alone in having this problem.
Here's hoping...:)

Welcome to the Apple Community arifbangash.
So far as I can tell you have settle homesharing correctly.
The following article(s) may help you.
Troubleshooting Home Sharing
Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
Recommended Wi-Fi settings
Wifi Diagnostic Software (for Mac users)
You may also find some help on this page, where I’ve collected some of the more unusual solutions to network issues.

New ipod seen in windows and itunes but not in sync diagnostics

I bought a second Ipod. Oldest one works fine. New one is seen in Windows and in ITunes. Diagnostics "finds" new Ipod, but on Sync diagnostics says "no Ipod found".
Ne Ipod looks like it's staring to sync, then just stops after 30 seconds and goes to "connected" screen.
Have done resets of Ipod and reboots of PC.
Driver shows no error in Device Manager.
Have tried three differenct cables and both USB ports on the pc.

I jus tried that. Computer acknowledged Ipod and Itunes performed restore. Afterward, same situation...no sync. Screenshots:

ITunes Agreement Window and Wizard Popup

After installing the latest version of iTunes (iTunes 10), I start iTunes and it shows the iTunes agreement popup and the iTunes wizard assistant. I go through these windows and start iTunes normally.
However, after closing, restarting the computer or not, I reopen iTunes and it shows the iTunes agreement popup again and the iTunes wizard assistant.
I tried reinstalling and I still have this problem.
Anyone have this problem or know a solution/cause?

Many thanks for your reply. Yes I carried out the suggested procedure in safe mode , which did not resolve the issue and so this is what led me to set up a second User account. iTunes opened without problem in this second account and so I looked at the User-specific troubleshooting but I just could not locate the iTunes Preference files no matter how much searching I did.
I also tried uninstalling and re-installing but the problem persists. Would be very grateful for any further advice.
ollie66 Gorran Haven, Cornwall, England.

Home Sharing and multiple access to library

Hello everyone!
I have next situation - there is one PC (Windows 7) with iTunes 11 library on it and 4 iOS devices (2 iPhones and 2 aPads). Home Sharing function is activated on all of these devices with the same account. Actually everything is works perfect - devices sees the library and can play content from it. Only one problem exists - when more than one user wanna play music from library. For the first device (who first accesses to library) - all works fine, but for the following something goes wrong - they sees the shared library, open it even lists the albums and songs (sometimes you can't see even songs in alums) but can't play it. Player begins jump from one song to another without playing the music. How its possible to solve this problem?
iOS version = 6.0.1
PC with Windows 7 and iTunes 11.
Thanks for help!

This could well be a network issue rather than a homesharing issue.

Cannot share library... "must deauthorize other computer". I don't have another computer to deauthorize?

I recently replaced my Dell desktop, wherre I had originally downloaded my itunes. Purchased a Mac book and authorized to share music... no problem. Just downloaded itunes onto new dell (which holds the main itunes library) and attempted to 'share' library with another home laptop computer but get a message that says 'five computers authorized, must deauthorize computer'. Problem is, I no longer have the original dell to deauthorize and I just have another authorization on the mac book.
How can I deauthorize a computer I no longer have?

This forum is for questions from those managing sites on iTunes U, Apple's service for colleges and universities to post educational material in the iTunes Store. You'll be most likely to get help with this issue if you ask in the general iTunes forums.
Regards.

How to compact iTunes music library files

I've been using iTunes for several years, and my iTunes Music Library has grown substantially. Still, with just over 22,000 tracks, it seems that the two library files (iTunes Music Library.XML and iTunes Library.ITL) are inordinately large. Those two files are taking 53MB on my hard drive. Which means that each individual track is taking almost 2.5KB of data! I'm not sure, but that seems like an awful lot of information, just to "catalog" the music tracks.
Is it possible that the library files need to be "cleaned" and/or compacted? Is there a method to use, to compact these two files? Or does 53MB sound like a reasonable size for these two files?
Dell Inspiron 9200 Windows XP

Hi Frank,
You can delete these files, and upon reopening of itunes, they will be recreated fresh and new. However, you will lose song ratings, playlists, playcounts and possibly other information you have diligently passed to iTunes over the years, and you will have to re-add your music...
It might be fun to save backup copies and then "refresh" the files to see how big they are...but I have around 2400 songs, and my files are close to 4MB. So 10x sounds about right.
v.g.
Dual 2.5 GHz G5, 1 GB SDRAM Mac OS X (10.4.6)

How to move iTunes Music Library from an external HD to another?

Yesterday I tried to move all my music from an external HD to a new bigger one.
Well, I encountered various problems, the most important one is that the “iTunes Music Library” file messed up.
I transferred all files and both “iTunes Music Library.xml” and the “iTunes Library” file in the new HD. I have to say that I didn't know so much about those two files and I thought that it was enough to move them in the new location; I discovered that those files included the information about where the music is located (among other infos), so it still redirects to the older HD.
However, now I’m trying to recreate the previous situation on the older HD, and I’m trying to “rebuild” the iTunes Library (I have a back-up of the xml file, even if it is not the running one).
This operation is very important for me because about two years ago I used (for a long time )an earlier version of iTunes that had a bug: even if wrote all the tag infos on an a mp3, the “artist name” and “album name” tags didn’t remained. But I still can see all the informations through the iTunes browser (thanks to the iTunes Music Library DB). So, I cannot recreate it from zero. I absolutely need to export the existing “iTunes Music Library” to the new HD, or at least to use the existing “iTunes Music Library”, leaving it where it already is and moving only the “iTunes Music folder” (even if I don’t want to use two external HDs, the older one holding the existing “iTunes Music Library” e “iTunes Library” files and the newer one holding the “itunes Music” folder I moved!).
As far as you know how can I move safely “iTunes Music Library” e “iTunes Library” files on the new HD applying them to the new “iTunes Music” folder??
I really need your help!
This article http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307074 didn’t help.
Stefano

Sorry, I wasn't responding to you, just the original poster. I didn't look at the date on that posting and didn't realize that you'd added a post that wasn't quite the same problem. In future, you'll find you get better answers if you start your own thread. You're issue really is a bit more complicated.
If iTunes currently recognizes all the music on both internal and the external drives, it should work. You have to make sure that both drives (old and new) are mounted. Make sure you have both "Keep iTunes music organized" (you probably already do) and "Copy files to iTunes..." (you probably don't) checked.
If not all of the music is currently in your iTunes library, perform the procedure with the music that is a part of the library and add the other stuff afterwards.
Best of luck.

Windows and iMac iTunes share library?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for