bzales1

Q: How to painlessly transfer itunes library to a new account on a new computer

I recently bought a new laptop (PC). For the past few years, I have been using iTunes with the rest of my family on a shared account. Now I want to have my own account, attached to my own e-mail and credit card, etc on my new computer. Is there a way to painlessly transfer my iTunes library to a new account on my new computer? Or am I going to be stuck uploading music for hours on end (I have a lot of music) into my new account? Please say there is an easy way to do this!!!

iPod touch (4th generation), Windows 8

Posted on Apr 2, 2015 8:32 AM

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Q: How to painlessly transfer itunes library to a new account on a new computer

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  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Apr 2, 2015 8:56 AM in response to bzales1
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 2, 2015 8:56 AM in response to bzales1

    See How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Support.  In summary:

     

    • Consolidate your library on the old computer
    • Copy the complete iTunes folder structure (by default, C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes) to an external drive
    • Copy the complete iTunes folder structure from the external drive to your new computer
      • if you copy it to the default location on the new computer, just restart iTunes and it should show your complete library & content
      • if you copy to another location, hold down SHIFT while starting iTunes, choose Select Library..., and navigate to and select the iTunes Library.itl file you've just copied.
  • by bzales1,

    bzales1 bzales1 Apr 2, 2015 9:36 AM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 2, 2015 9:36 AM in response to hhgttg27

    Thanks for getting back to me so quick hhgttg27.

    I had already consolidated my library and moved it over to my new laptop via my external hard drive.

     

    I had had a problem a few years back with my computer deciding to delete random things, so I had had to create a iTunes Library.itl.bak to get all of my music back. Now when I went to Select my Library, I couldn't choose the itl.bak version, it just kept opening up folders. So I chose the latest 2015 version that was listed under Previous Libraries.

    Now it's having trouble locating my music, because some of my music is located under My Music (a folder within the original My Music folder under My PC), the iTunes library.itl.bak (which should have all of the consolidated current music), and the 2015 Previous Library. By clicking on certain songs and helping iTunes locate them, it's slowly speeding up this tedious process.

     

    Do you have any advice to make sure that everything is in the same place, for the next time that I have to do this task? (Hopefully not for a number of years)

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Apr 2, 2015 9:49 AM in response to bzales1
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 2, 2015 9:49 AM in response to bzales1

    See turingtest2's advice on repairing broken links in this thread: all my music shows a explanation mark and it cant locate my music.

     

    When you attempt to make use of a previous version of your iTunes library database, you need to both:

     

    • copy it to the iTunes folder
    • rename it to iTunes Library.itl

     

    Even though the database holds absolute paths to your media files, it is generally "self-repairing" if the iTunes Media folder is contained in the same folder as the database file.  You should try and have your library in a structure like this:

    Well Formed Library.jpg

    tt2's user tip on Make a split library portable describes the steps that may be necessary to bring your library into this layout.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Apr 2, 2015 10:02 AM in response to bzales1
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Apr 2, 2015 10:02 AM in response to bzales1

    It ought to be possible to rename the iTunes Library.itl.bak file as iTunes Library.itl and open it if it is a valid iTunes library file.

     

    See also FindTracks for a script that may be able to repair broken links.

     

    tt2

  • by bzales1,

    bzales1 bzales1 Apr 2, 2015 10:10 AM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 2, 2015 10:10 AM in response to hhgttg27

    1. My iTunes finally did locate all but one song, so I'm not bothered about that anymore.

     

    2. I tried renaming the itl.bak to just .itl and it says that there's already a folder named iTunes Library.itl . So I searched for that folder and what comes up is a file titled iTunes Library, but it's basically an mp3 with the word itl. written on the file image and when I click it, it loads up my iTunes and assumes I want to play music. How should I create the new iTunes Library.itl folder so I can un-split my library and get it all back into one location?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Apr 2, 2015 10:32 AM in response to bzales1
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Apr 2, 2015 10:32 AM in response to bzales1

    Windows assigns icons on the basis of the file extension of the file. When you install software like iTunes it registers certain extensions such as .itl .itdb etc. provides the icons, and usually opens if you double-click on the file of a type it has registered. In most cases that means open the particular file selected. In the case of iTunes, iTunes will open, but it will open with the last library file that was successfully accessed.

     

    You cannot rename a file or folder to a name of a similar object in the same folder. So if you want to access iTunes Library.itl.bak and it is in the same folder as iTunes Library.itl then rename the plain .itl file before renaming the .bak file. That all said I suspect the .bak file is not a valid file, nor was it likely to have been used by iTunes with that name. More likely is that it was an earlier corrupted copy of your library that was renamed expressly to allow a new .itl file with the correct name to be created.

     

    tt2

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Apr 2, 2015 10:41 AM in response to bzales1
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 2, 2015 10:41 AM in response to bzales1

    iTunes Library.itl is the iTunes database - it may have the same icon as an mp3 file but is very different in content .  It will show in Windows Explorer as "iTunes Library" if you've configured Explorer to hide file extensions.  Three specifics:

     

    • Before you copy the "backup" copy and rename it, find the existing copy (the active library) and either move it to another location or rename it something like "xxxiTunes Library".
    • When you copy the backup file, and you don't see the ".itl" extension, just rename it to "iTunes Library" - it should be listed as follows in Explorer:
      iTunes folder no extensions.jpg
    • Double-clicking on an iTunes Database File will open iTunes but will not necessarily open that specific database - rather, it will run the program and open the most recent active library (which may not be the one that you double clicked on).  To open a specific database file you must hold down the SHIFT key when you start iTunes (either from the Win8 metro screen, or via the iTunes icon on the desktop), and when you see this prompt:
      Shift-Start Dialog.jpg
      click on Choose Library... and then navigate to and select the iTunes Library file you want to open.
  • by bzales1,

    bzales1 bzales1 Apr 2, 2015 12:52 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 2, 2015 12:52 PM in response to hhgttg27

    My head is spinning with all of this information that I had not previously known about iTunes... Wow.

     

    So the iTunes library does have that icon? I assumed I was looking for a folder.

     

    Okay, so what you're suggesting is:

    1. Rename old library to disguise it

    2. Rename new library (to basically get rid of it?)

    3. Rename old library to iTunes Library

    4. Choose the old/new iTunes Library when I open iTunes (while pressing shift)

    5. Now the old iTunes Library is the legit new iTunes Library

     

    Does that sound right? I want to make sure that I know what I'm doing, before I do something crazy.

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Apr 2, 2015 1:05 PM in response to bzales1
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 2, 2015 1:05 PM in response to bzales1

    Not exactly ...

     

    1. Rename or move the current/active library database file
    2. Copy the old library database file to the iTunes folder and rename it to "iTunes Library" (so it becomes the current/active database)
    3. Shift-start iTunes and select the library database copied in step 2

     

    When we refer to "the iTunes library" this actually has several components:

     

    • the iTunes database - the iTunes Library.itl file
    • the iTunes media folders and their contents (plus any other media files that are in other locations)
    • the Album Artwork folders
    • other supporting files in the iTunes folder

     

    ... basically everything included in the diagram in my second post above.

  • by bzales1,

    bzales1 bzales1 Apr 2, 2015 1:28 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 2, 2015 1:28 PM in response to hhgttg27

    I renamed and relocated the two libraries, and the library that was the backup file that I thought was the most current, is not the most current...

     

    Earlier, I had chosen iTunes Library 2015 under the Previous Libraries folder. That seemed to have all of my music and playlists, as far as I could tell. That's probably because of the consolidation of files before I transferred it between computers, right?

     

    So if that previous library is the library, how can I be sure that a) it's the right one and b) how should I make sure that all of my is properly consolidated/in the same place?

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Apr 2, 2015 1:35 PM in response to bzales1
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 2, 2015 1:35 PM in response to bzales1

    Any "backups" of the library database are a snapshot of your library at the time the backup was created.  iTunes will create these automatically during updates if the new version of iTunes includes a revision to the database structure.  The last time this would have happened was when you first installed iTunes 12.x.  You need to work out whether you have a backup copy of the database file that corresponds to the state of the library as it was on the older computer, after you'd run the consolidation process.  The best way to handle this is a to create and maintain a complete backup of your library which can also be used to transfer the library between machines.  Assuming that you haven't done that, the best option you have is to identify the most recent library database, use that a starting point, and update it to make sure that all recent changes are included.

  • by bzales1,

    bzales1 bzales1 Apr 2, 2015 3:07 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 2, 2015 3:07 PM in response to hhgttg27

    Okay, I think I moved the correct music files into the previous diagram that you sent me.

     

    My Music > iTunes > iTunes Media, iTunes Library.itl , etc.

     

                                    iTunes Media > Music > All of my music

     

    But, when I Select Library and I choose iTunes Library.itl none of the music shows up. What do you think happened now?

     

    * Btw, thanks so much for doing your best to answer my questions today, I really appreciate it.

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Apr 2, 2015 3:52 PM in response to bzales1
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Apr 2, 2015 3:52 PM in response to bzales1

    Looks like you have the iTunes Library.itl file one level too deep.  The iTunes folder should look like this:

    iTunes folder listing.jpg

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Apr 2, 2015 4:01 PM in response to bzales1
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Apr 2, 2015 4:01 PM in response to bzales1

    Use the WinLogoKey+E to open Windows Explorer and type *.itl in the search box. Take a look at the results in details view. Locate your most recently modified library files.


    Press and hold down shift as or immediately after you click the icon for iTunes.

    Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library.

    Browse to the files in turn until you locate one that appears to be a complete version of your library.

    Close iTunes and move this file into the main iTunes folder.

     

    Once the correct file is being used we can focus on repairing any broken links.

     

    tt2

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