Moving iTunes from external drive on PC to external drive on Mac

Aspirations wrote:

I've followed the instructions on here but iTunes doesn't seem to be picking up the library or playlists, and not sure where I've gone wrong.

What instructions?

Note those are for moving your iTunes media folder to a different location on the same computer, not moving the iTunes library to a new computer.

1. Connect drive to old computer.
2. Quit iTunes.
3. Copy the /Music/iTunes/ folder on internal drive to the external drive.
4. On the external drive, move the /iTunes Media/folder into the iTunes folder you just copied to the external.
5. Hold Shift, launch iTunes, select Choose library and select the iTunes folder on the external.

Everything working?

Those instructions tell you how to move media (as they say). A library is more than just media. For people using regular iTunes settings it is everything in the iTunes folder which includes the critical iTunes Library.itl file. This file generates the structure you see in the iTunes application. You need - Moving a library: Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its sub-folders and files) intact to the other drive. Hold down the option (alt) key (shift on Windows) and open iTunes. At the prompt to create or choose a library choose the copied iTunes folder.

Note, I am leery about your "PC & Mac" compatible drive, whatever that is. While it is possible to use a FAT formatted drive with a Mac you have to realize that it has file size limitations and cannot be repaired with any Mac based tools.

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 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6477809?answerId=26404702022#26404702022

Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.

Is one of the files in the iTunes folder you copied across called iTunes Library.itl? It is that file which contains all the information iTunes needs to generate a list of your tracks and where the media files are located which it should play.