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Kali's Mommy

Q: I will soon be getting a new PC and I'd hate to lose all the music I've purchased/downloaded from places other than iTunes , is iMatch my solution or am I out of luck?

From what I've read I think this is my solution , but I'm still unsure.

Posted on Aug 25, 2014 1:19 AM

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Q: I will soon be getting a new PC and I'd hate to lose all the music I've purchased/downloaded from places other than iTunes , is iM ... more

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  • by hhgttg27,Helpful

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Aug 25, 2014 4:28 AM in response to Kali's Mommy
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 25, 2014 4:28 AM in response to Kali's Mommy

    See iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer.  I've found the "external drive" method to be the most useful, though this does require that your existing library is consistently organized so that you know what files and folders to copy from old to new.


  • by Chris CA,

    Chris CA Chris CA Aug 25, 2014 6:54 AM in response to Kali's Mommy
    Level 9 (79,584 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 25, 2014 6:54 AM in response to Kali's Mommy

    Why not simply copy all your user data (including iTunes and everything else) from old computer to new computer?

    When you move, you don't leave everything you own at the old house and start from scratch in the new house, do you?

  • by Kali's Mommy,

    Kali's Mommy Kali's Mommy Aug 26, 2014 8:50 AM in response to Chris CA
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 26, 2014 8:50 AM in response to Chris CA

    Thats the problem I'm not sure how. Could you let me know how please?

  • by hhgttg27,Solvedanswer

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Aug 26, 2014 9:44 AM in response to Kali's Mommy
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 26, 2014 9:44 AM in response to Kali's Mommy

    The general question of copying all user data and settings to a new computer is really out of scope for this forum - however, Microsoft does have tools and tutorials on their site on how to do this (details will vary depending on the version(s) of Windows running on your old and new computers.  A Google search for "Windows transfer data to new computer" should provide useful results.

     

    Detailed instructions specific to iTunes also depend on the version(s) of Windows you're running, and on how your current iTunes library is organized.  If you can post a response with answers to the following questions I can point you in the right direction.

     

    • What version of Windows in running on your old computer?
    • What version of Windows is running on your new computer?
    • Do you have either:
      • a network that both old and new computers are connected to, or
      • an external (USB) hard drive?
    • What version of iTunes are you running on the old computer?

     

    Now, on your old computer run iTunes (I'll assume for now that its running version 11), press Ctrl-B if the menu bar is not visible, then select Edit > Preferences > Advanced.  You should get a window that looks like this:

    2014-08-26 12_40_02.jpg

     

    • What is shown as the "iTunes Media folder location" (1)?
    • Is the box labeled "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" (2) checked?
    • Is the box labeled "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" (3) checked?


  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Aug 26, 2014 10:51 AM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 26, 2014 10:51 AM in response to hhgttg27

    I should have added that, depending on how your iTunes library is set up, Microsoft's tools for automated transfer of user data and settings between computers will not necessarily copy all the data needed by iTunes.  The MS tools are - not surprisingly - primarily set up to copy data associated with Windows user accounts, MS Office files, Outlook email accounts, etc.  In many cases this will include everything created and used by iTunes, but there are definitely cases where this isn't the case - that's why I was asking for details of your iTunes setup.  Also, by handling your iTunes data separately you can get it set up such that future transfers are easier and you can readily set up a procedure to take regular backups of your iTunes library.

  • by Chris CA,

    Chris CA Chris CA Aug 26, 2014 10:57 AM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 9 (79,584 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 26, 2014 10:57 AM in response to hhgttg27

    hhgttg27 wrote:

     

    I should have added that, depending on how your iTunes library is set up, Microsoft's tools for automated transfer of user data and settings between computers will not necessarily copy all the data needed by iTunes.

    All the data needed by iTunes is in the /Music/iTunes/ folder.

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Aug 26, 2014 12:12 PM in response to Chris CA
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 26, 2014 12:12 PM in response to Chris CA

    "All the data needed by iTunes is in the /Music/iTunes/ folder."

     

    Not true - it may be here in some (indeed, many) cases but it very much depends on how users have set up iTunes (or not).  For example, on my primary system C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes only contains a "dummy" library that I use for testing - my actual library is on a different drive, under K:\iTunes.  My daughter's setup has music imported from CDs or bought from the iTunes Store in C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes, mp3's purchased from Amazon on a high capacity SD card (D:\Amazon MP3), and Audible audiobooks in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Audible\Downloads. I've seen examples of really disorganized iTunes libraries with data all over the place - in My Music, My Documents, on the desktop, in the root of the C: drive ...

     

    C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes may be the default location, and may be the only location depending on the configuration settings in Edit > Preferences > Advanced, but its misleading to suggest that this will always be the case.

  • by Chris CA,

    Chris CA Chris CA Aug 26, 2014 1:25 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 9 (79,584 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 26, 2014 1:25 PM in response to hhgttg27

    hhgttg27 wrote:

     

    "All the data needed by iTunes is in the /Music/iTunes/ folder."

     

    Not true - it may be here in some (indeed, many) cases but it very much depends on how users have set up iTunes (or not).

    However, based on the OP's post and what was written, nothing has been moved (because she wouldn't know how or why).

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Aug 26, 2014 2:22 PM in response to Chris CA
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Aug 26, 2014 2:22 PM in response to Chris CA

    You may be right, but many years' experience in software development/support/services has suggested that it pays to never make assumptions about what users do - especially those who don't "know how or why" .  The more extreme examples I've seen of disorganized iTunes data have been on systems used by people who are definitely not "tech savvy".