craigfromwimborne

Q: Transferring all music from an old PC to a Macbook

I was wondering if anyone could help? I recently bought a Macbook and previously i have been using a PC and I can't seem to transfer all my music across.

I have tried using the cloud but it only enabled me to transfer music I had purchased through Apple and won't let me down load the rest from the cloud to my Macbook.

Unfortunately a lot of my music was copied from CD's to my PC years ago and I no longer have these CD's. The PC is stand alone and does not have wifi just ethernet connection.

If anyone could help I'd be grateful.

Craig

MacBook, iOS 9.3.5, My PC is operating Windows 7

Posted on Sep 4, 2016 5:59 AM

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Q: Transferring all music from an old PC to a Macbook

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Sep 4, 2016 6:01 AM in response to craigfromwimborne
    Level 10 (311,916 points)
    Sep 4, 2016 6:01 AM in response to craigfromwimborne

    Use an Ethernet to wireless bridge, or put the song files on an external drive.

     

    (144419)

  • by craigfromwimborne,

    craigfromwimborne craigfromwimborne Sep 4, 2016 6:07 AM in response to Niel
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 4, 2016 6:07 AM in response to Niel

    Thanks for your reply.

    I don't have an ethernet connection on my Macbook. I tried copying the entire iTunes folder from my PC to hard disk but it only transfered my music purchased through Apple, same result as using the cloud.

    Craig

  • by Niel,

    Niel Niel Sep 4, 2016 6:12 AM in response to craigfromwimborne
    Level 10 (311,916 points)
    Sep 4, 2016 6:12 AM in response to craigfromwimborne

    1. You don't need one; many routers are capable of connecting them, either directly or as part of a larger network.

    2. Open iTunes on the PC, organize the library, and repeat the transfer.

     

    (144420)

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Sep 4, 2016 7:26 AM in response to craigfromwimborne
    Level 9 (53,643 points)
    Mac OS X
    Sep 4, 2016 7:26 AM in response to craigfromwimborne

    Apple's 6 page, exhaustingly meticulous step-by-step instructions: How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - https://support.apple.com/HT204318  It is handy if you suspect any of your media are not in the standard location.

     

    My one-sentence summary if you use iTunes' default preferences settings:  Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its sub-folders and files) intact to the other drive, hold down the option/alt key (shift on Windows) while starting iTunes, and when requested to select a library select the iTunes Library.itl file in the copied folder (Open a different iTunes Library file or create a new one - https://support.apple.com/HT201596).

     

     

    When this is to a new drive/computer put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music  (or Home > Music) then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there.  (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)  Remember to authorize the computer in iTunes to your Apple ID if you use this to sync to Apple mobile devices or play DRM protected media (e.g., movies).

     

    Certain items used in iTunes related activities are not stored in the iTunes library folder but in special folders.  If you are moving a library to a different computer you may wish to copy these too:

     

    - Apple Music cache files: http://dougscripts.com/itunes/2015/09/new-flush-apple-music-cache-files/ - ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.iTunes/SubscriptionPlayCache/ folder, which is sort of like an “iTunes Media” folder for Apple Music

     

    - iOS device backups, various preferences files: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3285925

     

     

    Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381#18879381

     

    Consider moving everything from your Windows PC to your Mac in a single move, including your iTunes library: About Windows Migration Assistant - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4796 - Learn about how to use Windows Migration Assistant to migrate your files from a Windows PC to a Mac.  Additional tip by ChrisCA 05/2014 - https://discussions.apple.com/message/28178940#28178940