Setting up iTunes on new computer for two users

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Setting up iTunes on new computer for two users

I just got a new Windows 7 laptop and I'm trying to figure out how to transfer two distinct user libraries to the new computer.

A little background: My wife and I have been using the same computer for years with different user accounts - she had her 30 GB iPod with all her music, and I had my 80 GB iPod with all my music and playlists. All of our music, however, has been saved and configured to work with an external hard drive (E:\iTunes).

I'm keeping the external hard drive with the new computer, and since all the file paths are configured to match up with E:\iTunes, it seems like it should be really easy to make the switch to the new computer. But so far it isn't.

I installed iTunes 9 on my new computer and set the default file path to the E: drive, enabled my iPod for disk use, and tried synching my iPod, but the only songs that transferred were those that I had purchased via the iTunes store -- which wasn't very many.

What am I doing wrong? What do I need to do so that when I plug in my iPod the iTunes on my new computer replicates my old library, playlists and all? I don't want to manually copy over the entire E:\iTunes folder because there are a lot of tunes on there that I don't want or need -- files that I will eventually have to upload for my wife's account and her iPod.

Any help the users on this forum can offer would be appreciated. Thanks!

Lenovo, Windows 7

Posted on Dec 11, 2009 4:09 PM

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Answer 1

todd_stl Author

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Dec 21, 2009 2:52 PM in response to todd_stl

Any help?

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Answer 2

varjak paw

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Dec 21, 2009 2:59 PM in response to todd_stl

It depends on whether the entire iTunes folder, including all the library files, are on the external drive, or that drive contains only the music.

First, resetting the location of the iTunes Music folder in the iTunes preferences, by itself, only sets where future purchases and imports go. In and of itself it won't reset where iTunes looks for tracks already in the iTunes library. That's all contained in your former library files. If those were on the old computer and no longer available, use the Add Folder to Library command in iTunes and select the folder on the external drive that contains the tracks. That will get them into iTunes, though you'll have lost all your playlists, ratings, and playcounts (which are also in the iTunes library files).

If the iTunes library files are also on the external drive, launch iTunes while holding down the Shift key and navigate to and select the folder containing the library file.

If the library files were on the old computer but you still have access to it, you may be able to copy the library file to the same place on your new computer, presuming the path to the external drive remains the same.

Hope this helps.

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Answer 3

todd_stl Author

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Jan 2, 2010 10:31 AM in response to varjak paw

Thanks, Dave! This was even easier to fix than I imagined -- the old iTunes library files were still on my old computer, so I just copied them to the new laptop, selected the library using the Shift key during the initial launch, and set up was a breeze.

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