jaikkesant
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Q: Transfer my iTunes library from Mac to Windows PC

Hi there,

 

I bough a new PC and I want to transfer my iTunes library from my Mac to it. I used this article ( Back up your iTunes library by copying it to an external drive - Apple Support ) to put my library on an external drive and followed all the steps, but it seems like my Windows PC is not recognizing the music, both the DRM ones and the non-DRM ones. Can anyone offer some help?

 

Thanks.

MacBook Air, iOS 8.1.3

Posted on Jan 31, 2015 2:36 PM

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jaikkesant

Q: Transfer my iTunes library from Mac to Windows PC

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Jan 31, 2015 2:41 PM in response to jaikkesant
    Level 10 (271,755 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 31, 2015 2:41 PM in response to jaikkesant

    MacWorld - Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac


  • by jaikkesant,

    jaikkesant jaikkesant Jan 31, 2015 2:43 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 31, 2015 2:43 PM in response to Kappy

    Thanks for sharing, but I am actually try to go the other way around: I want to import into my Windows PC. My current library is on my Mac but I want to move it to the PC. Thanks.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 31, 2015 2:50 PM in response to jaikkesant
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 31, 2015 2:50 PM in response to jaikkesant

    If the library is in the standard layout it is normally a case of copying the entire iTunes folder from one machine to the other. The steps you followed may have created a split library in which the media is in one place and the library files in another. See Make a split library portable for details on how to put things back together. Alternatively if you have both the media and the library on the Windows PC, but a library full of exclamation marks indicating broken links there may be a way to fix that.

     

    tt2

  • by Kappy,Helpful

    Kappy Kappy Jan 31, 2015 3:00 PM in response to jaikkesant
    Level 10 (271,755 points)
    Desktops
    Jan 31, 2015 3:00 PM in response to jaikkesant

    Read the article.

  • by jaikkesant,

    jaikkesant jaikkesant Feb 1, 2015 2:39 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 1, 2015 2:39 AM in response to Kappy

    Thanks again. Having read the article, I double-checked that my Windows iTunes had both of those options mentioned ticked off. I also double-checked that iTunes was indeed authorized. I also re-transferred my iTunes music from my external media drive to the Music folder on my Windows PC. I got the following message and I need help fixing this because it says no items match my search:

    Capture.PNG

  • by turingtest2,Helpful

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 1, 2015 3:54 AM in response to jaikkesant
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 1, 2015 3:54 AM in response to jaikkesant

    If iTunes is running the Automatically Add to iTunes folder would be expected to be empty. Your media should normally be in ..\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media. The library file you want to connect to should be at ..\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.

     

    If your library was set up on a Mac some time ago the library file may be called iTunes Library without the .itl extension, in which case you should edit the filename to include it, but only do so if the icon indicates the extension isn't present.

     

    AddExt.png

    I.e. if there is a file iTunes Library represented by a blank sheet, select it, press F2 on the keyboard, edit the name to iTunes Library.itl and confirm the change. Then shift-start iTunes and use the choose library option to open the library file.

     

    tt2

  • by jaikkesant,

    jaikkesant jaikkesant Feb 1, 2015 4:59 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 1, 2015 4:59 AM in response to turingtest2

    Thanks, this helped. There is now a portion of my content on my PC from my iTunes library, songs that I know I purchased online from the iTunes store, but there is a lot of content that did not transfer over including it appears some CD content. Any ideas why?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 1, 2015 5:03 AM in response to jaikkesant
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 1, 2015 5:03 AM in response to jaikkesant

    Assuming the media has copied over, but is not shown in the library see Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. Otherwise see Make a split library portable and revisit your preparations for the move on the Mac.

     

    tt2