How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To New Mac Rating: 9,0/10 144 votes

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.

  1. How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To New Mac 2017
  2. How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To New Mac Computer
  3. How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To Mac
  4. Transfer Itunes Library Between Computers

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.

How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To New Mac 2017

How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via External Hard Drive or USB Drive

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.

How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via AnyTrans for iOS

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.

  • Transfer media content selectively or wholly from iTunes to your hard drive or another iDevice without hassle.
  • Transferring music speedily. AnyTrans for iOS supports you transfer more than 1000 songs in minutes.
  • Manage and transfer almost all your iOS data like contacts, photos, ringtones, music, calendar, from one iDevice to another or from iDevice to computer and vice versa.
  • No leak or loss of data. AnyTrans for iOS assures that all the data in the process of transferring would not be leaked or lost.
AnyTrans for iOS – iTunes Music Transfer

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

The Bottom Line

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!

Product-related questions? Contact Our Support Team to Get Quick Solution >

85 37 likes 308,670 views Last modified Feb 3, 2018 4:15 AM

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.


  1. Preparation
    Before you connect any device to a new library go to the Devices tab of the the preferences panel via Edit > Preferences (Windows - press CTRL+B to reveal the menu bar if needed) or iTunes > Preferences (Mac) and ensure the box next to Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically is ticked. You can now safely connect the device to your computer without the danger of media being automatically deleted or overwritten. If your device doesn't register in iTunes see iOS device not showing in iTunes for Windows.
    If this device contains contacts or calendar items that are not already on the computer you are using, and that you wish to recover, then make sure you have at least one contact & one event in the applications that will sync with the device (e.g. Windows Address Book or Outlook under Windows, iCal & Address Book on a Mac). Dummy entries will do, but there must be at least one if the data is to be retrieved from the device in step 7 below.
  2. Transfer purchases
    You can transfer your iTunes Store purchases into a new library, after connecting the device, with the menu item File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from '<DeviceName>'. You should be prompted to authorize the computer to your iTunes account if you have not already done so. If your device holds content from more than one account you will need to authorize each one. To avoid duplicates it may be easier to extract all media at one time at step 4, then come back to this step to recover any Apps or iPod Games if you are running iTunes 12.6.3.6 or earlier. Note that with the introduction of app thinning in iOS 9 your device may no longer contain a complete version of each app, so app transfer from device to library is disabled, and with iTunes 12.7 most app management features were removed altogether. See Managing apps with iTunes 12.7 or later for details.
    See also: HT201267: Redownload or transfer your iTunes Store purchases from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod to a computer (retired document, archived version)
  3. Back up (iOS only)
    If this is an iOS device you should now right-click on it (control-click on a Mac) in the left-hand column of the iTunes window and click Back Up to make a backup of the current settings and application data on the device.
    See also HT201302: Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Although a backup should include the contents of the camera roll it is probably best to copy off your photos and videos to local storage at the same time. See HT204136: About backups for iOS devices for more details about what is and is not included in the backup.
  4. Recover other media
    iTunes only permits the transfer of iTunes Store purchases. If your device contains other media that you've ripped from CD or downloaded from other online stores you can either go back to the original sources or use third party software to extract your data from your device. There is a list of some of the software available below. Note also that photos synced to the device from a previous computer are not necessarily included in the device's backup so should be extracted now if possible.
  5. Recover other purchases
    Your device may not have held all your iTunes Store purchases. You can recover qualifying purchases from your account by visiting the music home page of the iTunes Store then clicking on the Purchased link in the Quick Links section in the right-hand column.
    See also: HT201272: Redownload music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, and App Store
  6. Restore (iOS only)
    Having backed up your device, and rescued all the media from it that you can, you should now restore the device from the backup that you took earlier to ensure that the device is properly associated with this new library. Right-click on it (control-click on a Mac) in the left-hand column of the iTunes window and click Restore from Backup..
  7. 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.

  8. Backup your library
    For the future you should backup your library to a separate hard drive or network share as restoring a backup is much easier than the process above. The user tip Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy gives a suggested way of doing this effectively for Windows users. Mac owners can make use of Time Machine, or tools such as Carbon Copy Cloner or Synkron which can do a similar job to SyncToy.
  9. Remove old authorizations and associations
    If you've lost access to an old computer, or it will no longer boot up, it may still be authorized to or associated with your Apple ID. See Deauthorize your computer using iTunes - Apple Support and use the Deauthorize all computers option to remove all authorizations, then authorize the computers you still wish to use. See View and remove your associated devices in iTunes - Apple Support to manage any unwanted associations.




How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To New Mac Computer


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.

How To Transfer Itunes Library From Ipod To Mac


Transfer Itunes Library Between Computers

ProductDescriptionWinMaciPodiOSPlaylists Ratings
FloolaFree 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 AccessCopies music, videos, playlists, ratings and more. Can extract content from hard drive based iPods with damaged databases.
iPod2PCCan copy songs, podcasts and playlists to iTunes or a folder of your choice.?
iRipClaims 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 RescueCopies music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, audio recordings, playlists and notes.?
PhoneViewSave iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch app data, voicemail, text messages, iMessages, call log, notes, contacts, music and photos to your Mac.
SenutiTransfer music from your iPod or iPhone to your computer with this easy to use application for Mac.
SharePodFree tool that can add, remove and copy media to or from your device.
TouchCopyComprehensive tools for copying media and other items from your device to your computer.
TuneJackCan copy all songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC and optionally add them to iTunes.
iRepoCan copy selected songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC/Mac and optionally add them to iTunes. (TuneJack with options)
iGadgetCan 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)
YamiPodYet 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.

ProductDescriptionWinMaciPodiOSPlaylists Ratings


See also: