Upgrading from Tiger to Snow Leopard

[MykullMyerz]

Hey guys, I'm getting ready to upgrade from Tiger to Snow Leopard and since I'm doing a clean install, I wanted to know if there's anyway I can preserve my Itunes Library so that after I do the install, all of my playlists, ratings, play history, etc. will still be there. My entire library is already on an external harddrive, but once I upgrade my software, and import my library back into iTunes, will I have to re-create my playlists and everything?

[Eric S.]

There are two folders you have to preserve - iTunes and iTunes Music. It sounds like your iTunes Music folder is already on an external drive (right?), so that should be fine. The iTunes folder should be under your Music folder in your home directory. You want to copy that somewhere and restore it later. You can also control-click on the iTunes folder and choose "Create Archive" (under Tiger) from the pop-up menu. That will save the folder contents into a single file. Save the file, restore it later, then double click on it.

[applebobber]

Hey MykullMyerz - curious if all went well with the advice there as I have been scratching my head a bit on the process myself. Here's what I plan to do:

160gb to 500gb harddrive upgrade on macbook pro with a Tiger to SL upgrade.

Have had previous versions of itunes, but am up to date now with 9.1.1...recently did the library organize / consolidate feature, unsure if that could be an issue when reinstalling? The hierarchy of my itunes folder is currently...

home(user)/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Music (subfolder)

Hoping to:
Backup my current 110gb+ library of itunes on external, then reinstall on same machine once harddrive and Snow Leopard is installed / upgraded...while retaining all the artwork, ratings, playcount, etc.

Any follow up on your success with the itunes reinstall? Are the steps Eric S. covered all good?

Thanks in advance for any help on this... ; )

[duky]

home(user)/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/Music (subfolder)

Hoping to:
Backup my current 110gb+ library of itunes on external, then reinstall on same machine once harddrive and Snow Leopard is installed / upgraded...while retaining all the artwork, ratings, playcount, etc.

If you already keep all of your music organized by iTunes (ie. Its in the folder you mentioned above) then just take the iTunes folder (located in ~/Music) and copy it to an external hard drive. When you install SL just copy that folder back to the same location and you'll be golden.

That's the easiest way, I've done it tons of times

[kepner]

When you install SL just copy that folder back to the same location and you'll be golden.

It doesn't even have to be in the same location. Just hold down the Option key when you open iTunes, and it'll let you choose any existing Library, in any location.