how do i make iTunes sync between 2 computers using a removable drive as the iTunes directory

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how do i make iTunes sync between 2 computers using a removable drive as the iTunes directory

hi all,

i have itunes on both my mac and pc and store the music on a removeable drive....

I have managed to get them both to recognise where the music is stored....however, i added some music to the removeable drive today through itunes on my pc, when i plug the drive into the mac it doesnt show up the newly added files.

is there a way to get itunes to recognise that new music has been added to the removable drive automatically or will i have to select the folders and add to itunes on each device to make this happen. This issue is currently on my mac as i already added the files on my pc today, though i may want to add files via my mac itunes and then want them to be recognised on the pc when i plug the remoeable drive into it.

hope this makes sense as it has me very confused.

thanks so much

Ian

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Feb 21, 2014 1:45 PM

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Answer 1

Feb 21, 2014 3:39 PM in response to Addouk

iTunes does not work with media files alone on a drive, it works through the library file, library.itl If you have different library files on each computer iTunes won't be up to date on both even though your storage drive has common media. Copy the entire iTunes folder from the most current computer to the storage drive. Start each computer with the option/alt (Mac) or shift (PC) key held down and point to that library.itl file on the shared drive. Only use this one library file for both computers.

What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management

What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html

Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391

iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847

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