Get a new Mac but don’t know how to transfer your iTunes library from the old computer to the new one? Well, this article can help you out with two simple solutions on how to transfer iTunes library to new Mac.
May 10, 2007 Question: Q: Using iPod to transfer iTunes library I have been following the 'how to' document about using the iPod as a disk to transfer my iTunes folder from my old computer to my new one. In all, the folder consists of about 20GB, so it has taken all morning to upload the file to my iPod. Jul 13, 2007 If you wish to transfer music from your iPod to your new Mac, download senuTi Download Here. Follow the instructions and your new Mac's iTunes library will be able to take any and all songs directly off your iPod. If you have an old PC or Mac and wish to transfer your library to your new Mac by using your iPod as a flash drive. Part 2: Restore iTunes Library from iPod to New Computer via iTunes. There are several methods for restoring iTunes library from iOS 12 iPod to a new computer, but we’ve chosen to discuss iTunes method of restoring iTunes library from iPod to a new Windows computer or Mac. Jan 04, 2020 How to Move Your iTunes Library. You can move your iTunes library to a different folder, computer, or drive. Here's how to do it, even in macOS Catalina, which ditches iTunes for the Music app. 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. Jan 14, 2014 Take our FREE classes at Transfer your music FROM your iPod, iPhone, or iPad to your Mac's iTunes library using this simple piece.
Q: How to transfer iTunes library to my new Macbook? I would like to move my entire iTunes Library from my Windows PC to an external hard drive and I’d like to keep it there because it won’t fit onto my new Macbook Air. I am happy to plug this in whenever I wish to use my iTunes Library.
–A User from Apple Community
With a large iTunes library, it would not be an easy case for you to transfer it to your new Mac. Transfer data between two computers can be pretty annoying. With diverse genres of content in your iTunes library, it would be nice if you can find a good tool to transfer it simply and quickly.
And to help you out, in this article, we shall render you efficient methods on how to transfer iTunes library to new Mac.
Step 1. To find the location of your iTunes media folder, launch iTunes on your old computer > Then click “Edit” (PC) or “iTunes”(Mac) on the menu bar > Preferences > Advanced > Here you will see the “iTunes Media folder location” in your computer.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via External Hard Drive or USB Drive – Step 1
Step 2. Then click File > Library > Organize Library > Check the box named as “Consolidate files” > Click OK.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via External Hard Drive or USB Drive – Step 2 Mac os compress photos library where does it go.
Step 3. Quit iTunes > Connect your external hard drive or USB drive to the computer > Open the iTunes media folder from the location in step 1 > Drag the folder to the external hard drive/USB drive.
Step 4. Open iTunes > Then click “Choose Library” in the pop-up window > Select the iTunes library folder in your external hard drive.
Step 5. On your new Mac, connect your external drive to Mac > Click Finder on your new Mac > Choose the Music folder > Then drag the iTunes library folder in the external drive to the music folder in new Mac.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via External Hard Drive or USB Drive – Step 5
Step 6. Launch iTunes on your new Mac > Hold down the Option key while opening iTunes > Click “Choose Library” in the pop-up window > Select the music folder in your local hard drive > Choose the iTunes library folder > Click Open.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via External Hard Drive or USB Drive – Step 6
If you do have iPod classic, iPod nano or iPod shuffle, you can also use it as a hard drive in iTunes on Mac. Connect the iPod to your computer > Click the device icon on your iTunes > Summary > Select “Enable disk use” > Click Apply.
Besides manually moving your iTunes library to a new Mac, there is an easier and quicker way for you to achieve it – AnyTrans for iOS. It is a professional iOS data manager that allows you to simply transfer your iOS data from one device to another.
Want to transfer your iTunes library to another Mac simply and quickly? You can easily achieve it with this helper – AnyTrans for iOS. It can help you transfer your media content from iTunes to iDevice or computer without hassle.
Download AnyTrans for iOS now on your Windows PC or Mac and follow the below steps to know how to transfer iTunes library to new Mac.
Step 1. Launch AnyTrans for iOS > Connect your iDevice to the computer as an external drive > Click the button in the middle of the top bar > Choose iTunes Library in the drop-down menu.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via AnyTrans for iOS – Step 1
Step 2. Select all the items at once or some of them > Click on Send to Device button.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via AnyTrans for iOS – Step 2
Step 3. On your new Mac, connect your iDevice to the new Mac > Under Device Manager, go to Category Management > Choose Content to iTunes.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via AnyTrans for iOS – Step 3
Step 4. Check the box of the data types you want to transfer > Click the arrow icon to initiate the process.
How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via AnyTrans for iOS – Step 4
That’s the two methods on how to move iTunes library to new Mac. As you can see, with the help of AnyTrans for iOS, you can manage your iTunes library or iPhone data easier than ever. You can also back up your iOS app and restore them to your iDevices at any time. Download it now and enjoy your free trial!
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Apple's iTunes software is, in the main, designed to transfer data to their devices but not in the other direction. In general if you try to connect and sync an Apple device to a new library iTunes will want to erase all the current media content and replace it with items from the new library. See Move your iTunes library to a new computer for advice on moving a working library to a new computer if that is still a possibility.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where your computer has been lost, stolen or damaged and you have no viable backup of your library then you can use the steps below to attempt to recover most, if not all, of your media and other information from your devices. If, however the library that has been lost or damaged was on your current computer see Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash first.
How to Refresh iTunes Library on Mac & Windows PC First quit iTunes app. Re-launch iTunes app while holding down the Option key. Select 'choose library.' Go the iTunes folder and choose it. How to rescan itunes library mac. Re-scan Your Library to Fix the Missing Metadata. Step 1: Open iTunes. Step 2: Click on ‘File’ ‘Add to library’. Step 3: Pick the location of your iTunes library (the ‘iTunes’ folder). ITunes will then re-add all the files you already have in your library.
If you still have the computer, but it is in a non-bootable state, then it may be possible to extract the hard drive, put it in an external drive bay and recover data from it that way. The steps in Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows may help to allow iTunes to properly access any recovered data. If the drive is accessible then using your old drive may well be easier than what follows, though it depends in part on the mix of purchased vs. ripped media and whether or not your device holds all your media, or a subset of it. If you have an iPod classic, nano, or shuffle see Recover media from an iPod instead of this tip.
Sync
Set up your new preferences for syncing Music, TV Shows, Podcasts, Info etc. then click Sync. You may get an erase and sync warning at this point however provided you have recovered all of your content from the device then you can safely proceed. For a device that holds calendar or contact information you should be prompted to restore or merge. Click merge to copy this information into your computer. Your device is now properly associated with your new library and you shouldn't have lost any data.
Media recovery software
This list is by no means comprehensive. Compatibility and feature details may have altered since this tip was published. There is usually a trade-off between cost and ease of use.
Product | Description | Win | Mac | iPod | iOS | Playlists | Ratings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Floola | Free cross platform (Linux too) iPod manager. It appears to have partial support for extracting playlists to m3u files rather than transferring directly to iTunes. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ? | ➖ |
iPod Access | Copies music, videos, playlists, ratings and more. Can extract content from hard drive based iPods with damaged databases. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
iPod2PC | Can copy songs, podcasts and playlists to iTunes or a folder of your choice. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ? |
iRip | Claims it can copy the contents of your iPod or iPhone to your Mac or PC with a single click. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ? |
MediaMonkey | Although primarily an alternative media manager to iTunes, MediaMonkey can also be used to copy files from an iPod or iOS device to the local file system. Tracks can be copied directly into the iTunes Automatically Add to iTunes folder to add and organize them within the iTunes library. Recommended, particularly for retrieving selected files rather than everything on the device. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ➖ |
Music Rescue | Copies music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, audio recordings, playlists and notes. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ? |
PhoneView | Save iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch app data, voicemail, text messages, iMessages, call log, notes, contacts, music and photos to your Mac. | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
Senuti | Transfer music from your iPod or iPhone to your computer with this easy to use application for Mac. | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
SharePod | Free tool that can add, remove and copy media to or from your device. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
TouchCopy | Comprehensive tools for copying media and other items from your device to your computer. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
TuneJack | Can copy all songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC and optionally add them to iTunes. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
iRepo | Can copy selected songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC/Mac and optionally add them to iTunes. (TuneJack with options) | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
iGadget | Can copy selected songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC/Mac and optionally add them to iTunes. Can also add other data as notes to non-iOS devices. (TuneJack with more options) | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
YamiPod | Yet another iPod manager. Mainly designed as a free cross platform (Linux too) alternative to iTunes for hard drive based iPods it includes features for transferring media from your device to your computer. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ? | ➖ |
Metadata only | A Windows script that imports regular playlists from an iPod or iOS device into the iTunes library. Can import from a selected playlist, or playlist folder, or all playlists on the device. Use to extract metadata not recovered with other tools, e.g. the method given in Recover media from an iPod below. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ |
Metadata only | A Windows script that copies highest play count, skip count, rating and most recent played & skipped date of selected tracks or playlist between iTunes and an iPod or iOS device. Use to extract metadata not recovered with other tools, e.g. the method in Recover media from an iPod below. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ |
Recover media from an iPod | This approach is mainly aimed at older devices that can be accessed via disk mode, however free tools such as iFunBox or MediaMonkey which give access to the iOS file system may also allow you to use this method to extract media from an iOS device. Windows users would also be able to make use of the two scripts above to recover playlists and stats. The user tip is an alternative to the iLounge Article: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide that has been previously referred to. Recommended for retrieving everything from the device in one go. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ➖ |
Product | Description | Win | Mac | iPod | iOS | Playlists | Ratings |
See also: