I will get a new computer. How do I EASILY transfer my iTunes files to the new computer's iTunes library? I have all files stored as backup in Dropbox in an .itl file. It is 574 KB large. Can I do this through a USB stick if I copy the files to the USB stick from Dropbox? 574kb should not be too much for a USB stick, I guess?
Hang on, the .itl file does not contain your music. Instead, its a management file that iTunes uses to keep note of where the music files are located. You need both the .itl file, and the actual music files and there is no way that 574KB is all your files.
I'm not the expert on this, but as an example, my iTunes Library needs the following files (all of which should be used for your new library). Note that the "date" in the file name will be unique to your library, so unlikely to be the same as mine which is 2011-11-16:
There are other file formats, but those are the most likely.
I have a large library, which may explain the size of the .itl file for it (at 25,573KB). While 574KB might be correct for your library, it is not the music. A typical song, three minutes long, in MP3 format, would be anywhere from 2.2MB (that's 2200KB) to 8.1MB (which is 8100KB). Don't forget, many of your songs are likely to be longer than three minutes, which means a larger files size for those files.
Hopefully, all your music is in the Music/iTunes folder, along with the .itl file. In my Music folder are various sub-folders which have the music and the .itl files. So my backup (and what I will use when I create a new library) is the Music folder.
Hang on, the .itl file does not contain your music. Instead, its a management file that iTunes uses to keep note of where the music files are located. You need both the .itl file, and the actual music files and there is no way that 574KB is all your files.
I'm not the expert on this, but as an example, my iTunes Library needs the following files (all of which should be used for your new library). Note that the "date" in the file name will be unique to your library, so unlikely to be the same as mine which is 2011-11-16:
There are other file formats, but those are the most likely.
I have a large library, which may explain the size of the .itl file for it (at 25,573KB). While 574KB might be correct for your library, it is not the music. A typical song, three minutes long, in MP3 format, would be anywhere from 2.2MB (that's 2200KB) to 8.1MB (which is 8100KB). Don't forget, many of your songs are likely to be longer than three minutes, which means a larger files size for those files.
Hopefully, all your music is in the Music/iTunes folder, along with the .itl file. In my Music folder are various sub-folders which have the music and the .itl files. So my backup (and what I will use when I create a new library) is the Music folder.
Follow the link that Jim provided.
christoffer33 wrote:
than i should perhaps save all the relevant files to my computer
They are already on your computer as they form the iTunes Library that you are using. Basically, you need to copy the Music folder to an external drive (I doubt that your USB will be large enough*) and paste that onto the new computer. But again, follow Jim's link.
* You can find out how large your music library is by looking at the bottom edge of the iTunes window:
In most cases you simply need to copy the entire iTunes folder from your old computer into the user's music folder of the new computer, then deauthorize the old computer if you no longer wish to access protected iTunes content on it. For more info, see:
Move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Community
You can copy your library over a network share, or copy it to an external drive, move the drive between computers, then copy it into the new computer. However a better approach is to maintain a regular backup of the iTunes library, update the backup when you want to switch computers, restore the library to the new machine, then regularly maintain the backup going forward. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suggested backup strategy. Backing up the library in this fashion ensures you have a working clone of the library on an external drive that you can connect to at any time if needed.
If these are all songs that you purchased from the iTunes Store, you can always redownload them as long as you use the same Apple ID on your new computer:
Redownload music - Apple Support
I forgot to mention that the files I need to transfer are ONLY the music I bought through iTunes. They perhaps don't need to be transferred? Shouldn't they already be in my iTunes library when I log in on iTunes on the new computer? Then I just need to import them? Everything in my iTunes library consist of music or a couple of movies that I bought on iTunes.
than i should perhaps save all the relevant files to my computer and then somehow import them into iTunes.
thanks. yes, they are all songs that I purchased from the iTunes Store
transferring iTunes library to new computer
