iTunes Library on 2 computers?

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iTunes Library on 2 computers?

I currently have my iTunes library on my desktop computer. I recently got a laptop and would like to transfer the library from the desktop to the laptop. Can this be done. I downloaded the iTunes on the laptop and plugged in my ipod. It says something to the effect that you cannot have 2 libraries for one ipod. It would only sync songs that I had purchased thru the itunes store. I also have alot on my ipod that I downloaded from my cd's. I also just downloaded 2 new songs from iTunes today on the laptop. I then plugged in my ipod but I did not see them transfer to the ipod. Should I have just done these on the desktop so they would have transferred or am I doing something wrong. I know this is getting confusing so let me say "The desktop is old and slow and the laptop is new and fast. Can I transfer everything over to laptop?". Any help is appreciated.

DELL INSPIRON 1501, Windows Vista

Posted on Aug 25, 2007 11:48 AM

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Answer 1

Zevoneer

Level 9

52,705 points

Aug 25, 2007 12:16 PM in response to KELSNKASS

Connect your iPod to your computer. When you get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual and use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default. You also need the iPod to be in manual mode if you want to use it with multiple computers:
Using iPod with Multiple computers
Managing content manually on iPod
iPod 101: Fill 'er Up

Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to copy the songs iTunes on your laptop. If you have any iTunes Music Store purchases the transfer of purchased content from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. You'll find details in this article: Transfer iTunes Store purchases using iPod

The transfer of content from other sources such as songs imported from CD is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can also read reviews of some of them here: Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes

TuneJack Windows Only
iPod2PC Windows Only
iGadget Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
iRepo Windows Only
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions

There is also a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs back to iTunes on Windows or a Mac. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available at this link: Two-way Street: Moving Music Off the iPod

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Answer 2

KELSNKASS Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 26, 2007 1:01 PM in response to Zevoneer

Thanks so much for the great info!!! I did what you said and changed over to the manual mode. The step by step instructions were very helpful. I decided that for now I will leave the libraries separate but I do want to try to get them all in one at some point. I do have one more question for you. I tried to import songs from a disc but it never brought the song list up on iTunes. I tried everything but still nothing. I checked the iTunes help and did some of the things they suggested. Still nothing. I then tried it on the desktop and the song list came right up. I then imported the songs and added them to the ipod. I just don't understand why it did not work on the laptop. The laptop has the latest version of iTunes and the desktop has an older version. Is that maybe the problem? Hoping you can help.

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