Transfer Itunes Library From Pc To Mac

08.04.2020
6 Comments

Geek

18th April 2010

So your first question is probably: Why on earth would you want to move your iTunes library FROM a cool Mac TO a boring old PC? Well it’s a good question and I do feel rather like I’m going the wrong way on a one-way street. But my trusty iMac just turned 9 years old and has only a 55 GB hard drive (my ipod has 64!) and less than a GB of RAM. So it’s not much fun to use anymore and I just don’t have $1200 to shell out on a new one right now. My PC laptop that I use for work is not sexy but it’s bulked up like an East German athlete in 1984.

That’s why I made the move, and my hat’s off to Apple because it was simple and straightforward. The only real danger here is that you may think too much and over-complicate it. If you want to know the logic behind why you’re doing all these things you can read a very informative article here… I’m basically just showing you the Cliff’s Notes version of how to do it.

Also, unless you know how to network a PC and Mac together, you will need a Portable Hard Drive to make this happen. I used an 80GB Iomega drive that I’ve had forever… you can get these very cheaply now.

It is the nature of the beast, as they may be so pleased with their exclusive Mac environment that there may suddenly be a MacBook or an iMac in the house where there may have been only one Mac computer previously. Moving my itunes library from pc to macbook. Part 1: How to Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to MacOften, Mac users will have more than one Mac in their home.

Jul 16, 2019 So you need a reliable and quick way to transfer all your favorite tunes to your new hard drive and start having all the fun. Therefore, the need for transferring iTunes library from your personal computer to Mac computer is inevitable. To transfer the entire iTunes Library from PC to Mac does not need you to be a system engineer. Oct 07, 2019 Before you transfer or restore your iTunes media library on your PC, consolidate it and create a back up. Here are some things to know Your iTunes library, a database that's made up of all of the music and other media that you add to iTunes for Windows, is organized into two iTunes library files and an iTunes Media folder. There are a few ways to transfer your iTunes library from one computer to another: When you get a new Mac, use Setup Assistant (or Migration Assistant, if you’re switching from Windows) to move files—including your iTunes files—from your old computer to the new one. See the Apple Support article Back up and restore your iTunes Library. Move your iTunes library to another computer. If you get a new computer, you can transfer your iTunes library by connecting computers or by using iPod or a portable drive. See the Apple Support article Back up and restore your iTunes library on your PC.

Feb 13, 2020 Open iTunes and connect your device to your computer with a USB cable. Click the device icon in the upper-left corner of the iTunes window. Learn what to do if you don't see the icon. From the list under Settings on the left side of the iTunes window, click the type of content that you want to sync or remove. Jan 16, 2020 On a Mac, the easiest way to transfer an iTunes library to a new computer is to use the Migration Assistant tool. Migration Assistant attempts to re-create your old computer on the new one by moving data, settings, and other files. It transfers most files well and will save you a lot of time.

Here’s how to move your iTunes library from your Mac to your PC

STEP ONE: Open iTunes on your Mac. Go to iTunes > Preferences. When the pop-up window appears click the Advanced option in the top menu. Then you should see this screen:

Now if your “Keep iTunes Media folder organized” box is already checked, then you need to UNCHECK it and select OK. Then go back to the same screen and check that same box and click OK. There will be a short progress bar and then you can continue.

STEP TWO: Still on your Mac, go to File > Library > Organize Library

Now select “Consolidate Files” and click OK as seen below.

It will let you know that it cannot be undone which is fine, so just click Continue.

Transfer Itunes Library From Pc To Macbook

STEP THREE: Now it’s time to move those songs. Plug your portable hard drive into your Mac. Go to your Mac Hard Drive menu and confirm that it’s there. Now click on your Mac hard drive and you should see a foldeer called “Music” under that will be a folder called “iTunes”. Double click the iTunes folder and you will find two things we need to move: a folder called “iTunes Music” and a file called “iTunes Library”. Drag both the file and the folder to your portable hard drive.

Export Itunes Library From Pc To Mac

Depending on the speed of your USB connection and size of your library you may now have time to take in a movie. Or in my case with my 9-year-old Mac, the entire Wagner Ring Cycle.

STEP FOUR: Now we move over to the PC. If you don’t already have the latest version of iTunes on your PC you’ll need to download that now. Eject your portable drive from the Mac, then disconnect it and plug it into your PC. Go to “Computer” in the Start menu and confirm the drive is there. Now open your “Music” folder on your PC and you should see an “iTunes” folder. Drag both the iTunes Library file and the iTunes Music folder from the portable drive to this folder. Again, this may take a while to transfer.

STEP FIVE: This is where I got stuck but the solution is very simple. I was able to see the music files in the folder and play them directly, but iTunes wasn’t seeing them and listing them out for me. That’s because the file that we moved called “iTunes Library” needs a different extension for the PC to recognize it. So right click on that file on your PC and add “.itl” to the end of it. Now close iTunes if you have it open, and re-open it while holding down the SHIFT key on your PC. You’ll get a window that says Choose iTunes Library. Click “choose library” and then double click on the iTunes Library file (which should now have the little iTunes logo next to it instead of a blank page).

iTunes will now index all your songs and display them along with all your playlists. I hope this worked as well for you as it did for me, but if not I refer you to the much more complex and detailed article here: http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to-a-new-hard-drive/.

Transfer Itunes Library From Pc To Mac Using Home Sharing

Cheers!