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User profile for user: cittarosa
cittarosa Author
User level: Level 1
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How to safely update my old iTunes library & migrate to Music

So I have a large iTunes library with tons of playlists that I do not want to lose. Years ago, I subscribed and to Apple Music, synced my library, and then lost all of my playlists when I unsubscribed (many came up blank or could not find the music).


Recently I was able to restore my music library from a backup to a 2012 Mac mini running High Sierra (had previously tried transferring the folder to my 2020 MacBook but could not get it to work, the playlists would show up but it could not find any of the music).


I want to be able to safely upgrade this library and transfer it to my MacBook but am not sure the best way to go about it. Should I simply upgrade the Mac Mini to Catalina and then try transferring it from there? Is there any precautions I should take before upgrading the Mac Mini from High Sierra to Catalina? Is there a better way of going about this? The back up I have is quite old, I think from around 2015. It is simply a copy of my old music folder.


Any help would be so much appreciated. Thanks

Mac mini, macOS 10.13

Posted on Oct 12, 2022 10:49 AM

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
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Posted on Oct 12, 2022 12:37 PM

See Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community. In general if your library is in the usual layout then you should be able to restore the iTunes folder, then option-start-Music to access the iTunes Library.itl file and convert it to Music. When upgrading to Catalina from Mojave or earlier Music should convert your existing iTunes library automatically on first launch, but I would certainly advise taking a new backup of your iTunes library and other important data before you start. If you were planning on going to Monterey then that seems to have an issue converting .itl files right now. Details and workarounds if needed.


tt2

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User profile for user: turingtest2
turingtest2
User level: Level 10
273,081 points

Oct 12, 2022 12:37 PM in response to cittarosa

See Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community. In general if your library is in the usual layout then you should be able to restore the iTunes folder, then option-start-Music to access the iTunes Library.itl file and convert it to Music. When upgrading to Catalina from Mojave or earlier Music should convert your existing iTunes library automatically on first launch, but I would certainly advise taking a new backup of your iTunes library and other important data before you start. If you were planning on going to Monterey then that seems to have an issue converting .itl files right now. Details and workarounds if needed.


tt2

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User profile for user: cittarosa
cittarosa Author
User level: Level 1
6 points

Oct 12, 2022 12:44 PM in response to turingtest2

Thank you - I believe I had tried to follow that guide when trying to transfer my old backup directly to my MacBook, but I could never get it to fully work. I assumed my library may have just been too old, but I also might have been on Monterey at the time so maybe that was an issue. I'm hoping that going from High Sierra to Catalina on the Mac mini works out fine. I do have everything backed up.

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How to safely update my old iTunes library & migrate to Music

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