How to Copy or Move Your iTunes Library

[gls6755]

Oops, I forgot to mention that I am a computer dinasaur so pretend you are talking to your mum when explaining...if that doesn't put you off! :)

Thanks,

[gls6755]

I have been struggling for several days to copy my itunes library into a separate folder on my computer because my music which is not downloaded from itunes will not play in itunes.

Can anyone help me please. I have read all the comments about moving from one computer to another, but i just want to have my music in a second place so that I can access it more easily....i don't like itunes!

[xORaptureOx]

You are great man! thank you very much!

[Chessey24]

Really helpful thanks :)

[sman640]

Will it be able to transfer the iPod backups to the new computer?

[akj2012]

can anybody tell me how to get the music already in my ipod to my itunes library

[AlmightyBungholio9]

wait - so what can i use to export my itunes onto? and where can i buy it? can i use a usb? or is there something better i can use thats not too expensive? thank you

[gravyhouse]

problem is I can't find Itunes in my start menu

[thegreatNEb]

Windows 7

tried with latest itunes, and with itunes 7.1.4 downloaded from the link above.

i follow the steps exactly, but it keeps saying

'some files were not imported because they cannot be found'.

the only thing that gets imported are my playlists but they and my music library are empty.

do i need to copy all of the music files manually after I import the library in Step 3?

[jweze08]

@thegreatNEb HEY, how did you fix that problem when it kept on saying that "some files were not imported" I AM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM PLEASE HELP.

[thegreatNEb]

@jweze08

Hey, I did manage to fix the problem in the end, and it really isn't that complicated....

if i remember...

I think I basically moved the library files manually to an external drive, moved all my music to the external drive, then changed my itunes media folder in itunes from my old comp to the external directory. Open the new itunes on the new comp. there is a button to hold that makes itunes ask you which library you want to open. Just choose the library you moved to the external.

[knisely2007]

I tried it but it only exports my nero media player media files. i even did a 'select all' in itunes and it still exported only the nero media files. could anyone help me with this? thanks

[TheMightySoundwave]

to complicated

[juntao7575]

Thank you so much!!!! It worked like a charm. I transferred my iTunes from a PC to a MAC and also thanks to "AshHelpTutorial & jrdjarrold" for the added support. Thank you guys!

[heubelmans]

really great, thanks allot!

[die390]

what about apps ??

[kathryng1978]

That was absolutely genius. Thank you so much. You are a legend. =)

[zzman0618]

Where does he come from in step two.

[alubad1]

How can I move my apps that I have on my iTunes in my pc to a iTunes in my MacBook

, thanks

[amb1226]

@alubad1 so you havea Mac and this worked for you?

[amb1226]

@alubad1 so you have a Mac and this worked for you?

[caseyo456]

This is so dumb it only copied like 6 out of my 400 songs and the six songs are awful

[caseyo456]

This is total BS! It doesn't work at all

[CourtneyMuscato]

when i clicked FILE in the top left corner, "export Library" did not show up.

[jrmy198523]

Don't forget to consolidate AFTER you transfer to the new computer also!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!!!!!!

[TBabiiex33]

Will this work for a different account too?

[jrdjarrold]

.........NEWER iTUNES.........

for some reason PyjamaBoy93 method didn't work for me.

if you are having the same problem as me do the following

1) get an older version on itunes from here :

google 'itunes versions'

click on the first link (should be oldapps dot com

2) the older version will have the 'Import' option

3) follow the video

[Mmccormick88]

Here's my issue: for years now, I've kept a backup copy of everything in my iTunes on an external hard drive, along with the copy I work from on my PC's hard drive. Now, I want to get rid of the copy on my PC and just work from the external, as I have next to no space on my PC thanks to the 35 odd gigs of music on there. I haven't found an easy way to do this, however. For what it's worth, I'm using Windows XP and a newer version of iTunes (I think 11?). Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[fviteric]

does it work with iphone/pod apps and podcasts? i mean.. the xml file will include that information?

[PyjamaBoy93]

>>> NEWER iTUNES <<<<

If you have the newer iTunes, there is no "import" option, and the "import playlist" option is not very reliable.

Rather than importing the files back, just:

1) Plug your USB Drive into the new computer (The device that contains your copied library)

2) Find the songs themselves, not the .xml file

3) Select them all, then drag and drop them into iTunes.

iTunes will then sort them with everything they had on your old computer (Name, Artist, genre, Album art)

[Vimerola7]

I just backed up my library into a CD before watching this video. It works the same way, right? RIGHT???!!!

[gemgemxlilxstuzx]

never mind my last comment, i have a new version of itunes so it was a bit diffrent, ignore my last comment.

[gemgemxlilxstuzx]

my itunes doesnt say "export" on the menu

[CIWRS]

@gemgemxlilxstuzx its now in file>library and it has the import and export options

[stoner420niggers]

I hit go on the itunes library mover, and it said it could not find the file specified. Help?

[StuningRedneck]

Could i just plug my ipod into another computer and extract the songs?

[vrdeepakprakash]

Awesome!! Thank you soooo much!!

[pixelbrat]

This worked like a champ! Thanks a million!

[SuperCoolPerson281]

when I try importing the library it says that iTunes isn't working, help!

[THEMONITOR72]

What if you typed in the wrong destination can you some how go back without needing to use the application again?

[THEMONITOR72]

ADDENDUM: Can you change it to it's proper location without recopying Itunes to the hard drive again? Because that took forever because my library is 12,000 songs.

[AshHelpTutorials]

***THUMB THIS UP***

Go to edit > prefrences > advanced and tick Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library

then click File > Library and click organize. Then click consolidate files. It will copy everything not in your itunes media folder. THEN start this video! :)

[fmafanxiii]

For the portable devices can it work for a flash drive?

[AshHelpTutorials]

@fmafanxiii yea

[dcwhite2009]

all i get is a message saying that iTunes cant find some of the songs... and then nothing happens. i have followed each and every instruction on 3 separate occasions and am getting a bit annoyed now.

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

did you go into edit>preferences>advanced and check the box "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library"? before copying over the new xml file?

this is CRUCIAL.Without it, your songs won't actually copy over from the portable hard drive to the new pc, so every time you try to play a song, it will say that it can't find the song, as it is trying to find the song on the portable. if you check the box, all the songs will be copied over and itunes will be able to find them on your pc

[AshHelpTutorials]

@dcwhite2009 go into edit>preferences>advanced and check the box "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" then do it again

[seahawksfanatic]

you kick azz!!! It works perfectly, you will have follow it completely, thanks!!!

[chexmex54]

I was wondering if you could put the .xml file onto a flash drive because I don't have a portable hard drive. And does this copy over all of your audiobooks, podcasts, etc as well?

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

anyone with itunes 10 (like me) will realise that there is no 'import' button. oh well...

instead, file > library ---> import playlist. works exactly the same

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

@GoldenbanjoDJ

Remember to follow ALL of his instructions on the website. Some of the steps necessary aren't mentioned in the video that are CRITICAL ie. "Make sure before you import that you have the new iTunes configured to "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library." You can check this option in the Advanced tab of the preferences."

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

it works! brilliant utility thank you very much!

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

if this works this guy will be my hero

[Stigmatikk]

Holy fuck, I was doing this song by song and it's very frustrating losing things like play counts when you use last.fm.

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

@Stigmatikk

when you use this method, given that itunes 10 doesn't have import but does have "add file to library", if you use this "add file to library" function on the xml file will it still do the same thing?

[Stigmatikk]

@GoldenbanjoDJ I'm not sure, I was using an older version.

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

@Stigmatikk

thanks for response! i think i figured it out now :)

Merry Christmas!

[Stigmatikk]

@GoldenbanjoDJ Thanks, Merry Christmas to you too. :D

How did you transfer it from itunes 10 though? I just realised that was the version I have on my new computer so if this one crashes, it's back to transferring song by song.

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

@Stigmatikk

All I did was follow the instructions on his website page (it's a bit more thorough) exactly except instead of trying to import (as there is no import option in 10) i just went down file > library> import playlist and select the new xml. file off the external hard drive :)

happy days!

[thegreatNEb]

@GoldenbanjoDJ

i tried this and it did not work :(, says some songs were not added because they could not be found.

nothing was copied except for my playlists which were blank.

any tips?

[GoldenbanjoDJ]

@thegreatNEb

All I can think of is - did you check the 'copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library' box in edit>preferences>advanced within iTunes?

Other than that I really don't know :(

[zero716]

I tried using this utility on my new Win 7 laptop and it caused it to dump the memory and restart. Is this only for XP or something?

[boykohome]

my new computerhas itunes 10 that does not have theimport option can I still make this work?

[Jymnest04]

Question, if I use a flash drive, do i still do the same process?

[Zally23]

Google "Matt Harward, Salty Droid"

[Zally23]

Google: "Matt Harward scam"

[mlmat]

Matt - you rock.  Simple and free, what could be better.

[lg123xyz]

Thanks for this, great video and utility.

[MetallicaRepublic]

album covers?

[Nimes4512]

How can I do this in reverse? My hardive was set up as the location where all my music went, but something happen. I get a meesage stating that was cannot be used because the original file could not be found. The hardrive is plugged in turned on! What can I do to fix this?

[Bratwurst86]

Ok, i have just found out that 40 songs are missing in my new library. (counting about 3600 songs)

Now i'm checking manually whichs songs are missing, by comparing my library to the one on my old notebook pc.

It occurred to me that all the songs with strange letters in them (eg: é, ë, à etc) are the ones missing !

Maybe a suggestion for a iTunes library mover 2.0?

Anyway, your program was the most helpful to find so thanks !!

[Bratwurst86]

Does this retain the album covers?

[mnsith]

@sk8inmygarage, 2 day old question so i assume u have already figured your problem out but if not. if you only deleted your music from your itunes library then it should still be in the recycle bin unless you emptied the recycle bin with the itunes music, if not just restore the itunes music back to your library from recycle bin and it should be back in there. otherwise just plug your ipod back into you computer and it should sync them back into itunes library, not sure but it should work.

[ibbi270]

i got 11275 songs how long will it take me to do this?

[44saintsman]

THE BEST way to transfer your itunes to a new computer, thanks dude

[SailorTaurus]

I've tried this and it doesn't work. I get the new library file and all the songs get copied, I typed in the correct drive letter while doing it, but there's no "Import" option in iTunes anymore.

[YumYumBananas1]

@SailorTaurus I've got the same problem as well, does anyone know how to get around this?

[gloinsir]

When transferring to a Mac, the path isn't Volume\ExternaDrive\Folder.

The path is Volumes\ExternalDrive\Folder . Note the all important S.\ The author actually says VolumeS while he types Volume. It won't work unless you have the S in there. As I don't work on Mac's frequently, I didn't auto-correct the path error...

But now I know. Thanks G.I.Joe 411!

[654rakib]

@gloinsir Thank you so much buddy!

[nushienoriz]

You are genius!! Big THX!!

[kingofidunno]

Thanks, I was looking for a solution like this. Now I can have all my songs on my new PC build.

[kl2488]

Does this also work for apps, videos even videos that werent purchased as well cuz thats the most important to me please reply

[isaac000016]

There's no "import" option under file on my second computer's iTunes.

And when I try to import it as a playlist it says:

"The file "Library.xml"cannot be imported. An unkown error occurred (-50)."

[aeroplano]

@isaac000016 Yeah that option is no longer on Itunes10...i wonder how to do it now...does anyone KNOW??? Help!

[cookiesrule444]

@aeroplano yeah i thought so too but just go to file then library and then it shows up export library...

[serneuro]

@aeroplano It does work on itunes10 - file, library, export...and thats it...It's a good way to backup your library too

[aeroplano]

@serneuro the thing is my library is scattered all over as i never told itunes to organize it...so what do i have put in the NEW SOURCE FOLDER....i have to put the folder where my NEW LIBRary is located? is there any other tutorial for this? HELP! hahah bear with me im desperate :(

[slyman928]

a way easier way i just figured out is to just save ur "itunes library.itl" then when ur on ur new computer or whatever u put ur old .itl file in the place where ur itunes library is by default (usually in the itunes folder in ur my music folder) then load up itunes itll start to load all ur old stuff in there but every song will have an exclamation point in front of it. now what u have to do is go to itunes and go edit>preferences and click the advanced tab then just change where ur library...

[slyman928]

@slyman928 ... is to where ever u have ur music and it will take the !s off every song. note this only works if u have all of ur music in one place. this helped me a lot because i had all of my music on my second hd and my main one died but i had it all backed up so i had the .itl file.

the folder im talking about in the parentheses in the above comment is C:\Users\*Username*\Music\iTun­es

[Mp3dog]

Here's another solution... WẆW.tỉnyurl.cὈṁ /move-itunes-library

[boy652]

thanks ! worked like a charm

[littlemonkey161]

u are awesome! this works soo smoothly :) couldn't be any happier

[jlcool007]

did it copy the recently added playlist, and data like "date added" "last date played" "play count" as well?

i LIVE my life through sorting everything by "date added" so i have a nice chronology of all my songs in different points of my life haha.

[alexeberle69]

do you still have the itunes on your old computer

[BMWboy6]

the link doesnt work for mac!!

[cheekygirl07]

Thanks for the help but it moved only 133 of my songs when I have over 600 to move can someone help me?

[xxxH2OPoloManxxx]

Thanks man helped me out a lot and easy to follow ^_^

[Zook025]

It worked like a charm ,transferred everything, lyrics, artwork, podcasts, videos, everything. Nice job man!

[bellini1992]

YOU ARE THE MEN!!!!

[mozartman2000]

I'd just copy & paste the entire iTunes folder to the new destination drive. Voila!

[celliztdude14]

it really does work. your the best mean!!!

[FreestyleHondy]

This works man, this guy is legit. No payments no nothing like that, he helped me a lot.

Thanks man ;)

[bg546]

Now does it move and remember that songs that I unchecked and checked as well for my ipod not to play

[03kitleh]

does it copy all your album artwork and lyrics over as well?

[Hannah6412]

i did this, and it worked! it took a WHOLE lot longer than 7 minutes, though.

[jonybonygon]

@Hannah6412 did you also use the newest tunes, cuz i cant find my import library button x.x

[xdanierox]

@Hannah6412 well he edited his haha 

[Studmuffin6694]

do you keep the songs even that you didnt download from the itunes store?

[joeruns26]

I think this method is obsolete under iTunes 9.

[Sakura0fLight06]

Okay, my question is, how do you do that with a Windows 7 computer? I just got my new laptop not too long ago and now I need to transfer this playlist that has a TON of songs on it, close to two thousand...XD; And it's neatly labeled and such, I don't want to lose all that data and have to resort it out again, unless I have the attention span for it, but, please, tell me later if you can through a PM message in my Inbox, thank you.

[TMStopmotion]

@Sakura0fLight06 same way broseph i got windows 7 too the same way just do what it says lol

[strawburrychapstick]

THIS IS AWESOME.

[WhatsUp20201]

u sound like a pedephile

jk

[jeff9559]

awesome dude

[bannanatube]

Is it LEGAL to move it to a portable hard drive to post on U2ube?

[mrchams]

Awesome Util. Thanks

[gunot5827]

when i try to import the .xml file i get a message saying that some songs could not be found and so this didnt work could somebody please help me out

[gunot5827]

dw all sorted

[TLR91]

@gunot5827 its probably because their in different folder like some may be on my downloads and others on my recieved files folder and they all have to be on the same folder

[xdanierox]

@gunot5827 i get the sameee =(

[markiasu]

can anyone explain how to do the source destination folder thing? i've alr exported playlist etc, but im stuck at the source destination folder.

what i wanna do is to copy my songs everything, into my laptop. but..it seems to be stuck on my harddisk . anw just fyi, when i attach my portable hdd to my laptop, its in drive D, the main drive is C drive. also, my itunes folder is actually

C:\Users\User\Music\iTunes\iTu­nes Media

can someone help me w this? thanks :>

[SilverWing9999]

thanks for the video

now i have one less thing to worry about when i get my new computer :)

[yarney100]

It work great on windows 7 thanks

[pcfix411]

squark192, This video rocks.

[thatheathergirl1]

amazing, thank you so much! I had spent so much time on this only to get the exclamation points from hell! This really saved me a lot of frustration, and all of my music!

[walkersullivan]

where did you get the itunes library mover from?

[RZ3Productions]

Can you read? Look at the bottom of the video.

[Maxcloudy]

i...freaking...HATE the damn itune grrr, it literally deleted all my songs when I tried to plug in my old ipod to a new computer. My old computer with all the original songs won't even start up no matter how hard I try to fix it. What a waste of all my itune cards money for buying songs

[mlb6d9]

Nicely done!! Thanks Squark 192!!

My daughter's computer was running like molasses but she wouldn't let me revamp it because of her precious itunes, and itunes is not accomodating if the CD burner on her computer sucks.

This thing works like a champ, and thank you for the tutorial & for making it available!!

Dad is a hero!

[Lronaldo9]

Is it possible to use this mover when you didnt export the xml file from itunes frist ? when i backed up my itunes I copied the whole folder, it included everything on my itunes as well as an itunes music libary Xml but the mover does not seem to work with that Xml file? any suggestions I am going out of my mind with this one.

[crypt645]

Hey, thanks alot, i really Appreciate this, ive been searching on and off for about 4 years now!!! finally I found a decent way... thanks!

[JHix37]

thanks for the free software man. great help! god bless.

[zandrbob]

I can't seam to find my audiobooks in my iTunes Music folder. There is a file for TV Shows, but there isn't a Audiobook folder nor are they filed individually by name. Are they kept somewhere else or maybe under a different name?

[luna7pa]

i am trying to import the library files copied from my old laptop to my new laptop with windows 7 and version 9.0.2.25 64 bit for itunes...following the tutorial...however i did "export" under file>library>export and now i have to file>library>import but this option isn't there? it was short cut control shift O before when there was an actual "import" there under file>library ...tried that short cut and that didn't work either....how do you follow your tutorial and import your xml files then?

[seasideisme]

I am just in the process of doing this right now and I clicked on import playlist and it seems to be working okay.

[Super88mustangGT]

Thanks, good video. Question: Does it matter if I'm exporting from windows xp to windows 7? Also, does it need to be the same version of itunes? Thanks

[kraft04610]

no it doesnt matter i just went from xp to vista and it worked fine

[jameslano]

Excellent! Thanks for the application.

[rennemig]

Nice information. But in that last minute, when You were realising that one could have or could not have more than one library.

That's my question. I unfortunately have two iMacs and a Mac Bookpro. So that leaves me with three iTunes Libraries. And it would be helpfull to merge them into an external Hard Drive. Hand Picking them all could be an option. But the collection has grown rather large. (126GB, 76GB and 38GB).

Any suggestions welcome.

[hardkicker92]

does it copy over the date added from the original computer?

[seasideisme]

It copies the date last played but the date added will be the date of the transfer

[melanzzzz]

I hate itunes they never explain anything good

[nzmq]

Hello squark192. Thank you for this video.

best regards from copenhagen, Denmark

[leerey14]

y cant i just sync my ipod to another laptop and get that to work like i want my itouch to get my fn songs god this is so dumb

[DasKomet]

@leerey14 cuz that makes Apple lose money...it really is stupid. THey want you to spend more money basically

[seasideisme]

As far as I know, if you try to sync your iPod to another computer, it won't work. Itunes will update information from a previously synced ipod but will not transfer files unless you have special software to do it.

[niickyy91]

its still too confusing lol

[playstation94396]

hey,

can you add music to a memory stick and then open/play it on your new computer?

(though it would have to be a big memory stick)

plz reply

[phoneveiwer]

can i use a flashdrive?

[iliveforcandie]

i did everything but when i import it to my other itunes it says "the file library.xml cannot be imported. an unkown error occured (-50)." whats wrong?

[totalgeekman01]

does the "P" drive work for all computers, or will i have to change it to "F" if that's what USB drive my other computer is?

[ttimothyp16]

there is a way easier way. just use homeshare in itunes and you can transport you library through the internet connection and it shows up on the other connection. then just highlight and drag into the library on the computer you want and done.

[iiLoVeYou1506]

my library wont import. it says there is an unknown error ? im lost ?

[DjPat6]

try opeing your folder with the music. and open itunes and drag the files into the proper area.

[stjohnproduction]

you are absolutely amazing. thank you so much. i have had so much success.

[tphongsak]

Didnt work for me. All songs only have 10 secs of play time. My songs r stuck in the external hard drive. I tried to delete itune folder but it wont let me. I m stuck!

[acdc1496]

Is it possible to just move Tv shows to another computer, and keep my other music?

[dpbaseball9]

does this work if you have a lot of songs that are on your library that were from a cd and not just purchases?

[danfratamico]

FYI: Apple changed the previous "Import Library" function and renamed it to "Import Playlist"...same thing.

[bmoregan]

Thanks. Though I had to "Consolidate" after I Imported the PlayList to get the songs onto the C:\ of the new PC. They appeared in iTunes after running the get411 utility but stayed on my USB drive.

[ArararoZamora]

4:45 lol 4th on the list, rudolph the red nose reindeer. well thanks for this very good program, 5 stars.

[marcipangris]

Yeah, confirmed. This doesn't work anymore....

[ajsmoke]

i think this doesnt work anymore cuz iTunes updated with the latest verison and removed the import library theres only import playlist if any 1 havein the same problem plz give a reply

[ArararoZamora]

im not sure about ver. 9.0 because i have 8.2 (for jail breaks and stuff) if you have 8.2 go to file>library>import/export

[ajsmoke]

i dont get why use this program when u can just do it manual ...just export then import whats the differents with this program? i dont get it does it coopys the playlists in my itunes to and not just the library as in playlists i created in itunes

[sourplumberry]

Guys, I'm using iTunes latest version. How do I import the library. I can only see an option to export the library.... Please help!