Moving iTunes from an external drive

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

I need to move iTunes from my old Mac mini to my new one. This is all fine if the library is contained in the iTunes Library folder but I keep my iTunes music organized on an external drive rather than in the normal folder within the Music folder on the system drive.

I'd like to move the external drive over to the new mini and have everything function the same along with keeping playcount, etc. I've played with modifying the iTunes library xml file to update the path on previous moves but this causes iTunes to rebuild the library file which loses play counts and date added which I want to retain.

Ideas on the best procedure to move this content?

[rkaufmann87]

Originally Posted by OldSchoolMacGuy

I need to move iTunes from my old Mac mini to my new one. This is all fine if the library is contained in the iTunes Library folder but I keep my iTunes music organized on an external drive rather than in the normal folder within the Music folder on the system drive.

I'd like to move the external drive over to the new mini and have everything function the same along with keeping playcount, etc. I've played with modifying the iTunes library xml file to update the path on previous moves but this causes iTunes to rebuild the library file which loses play counts and date added which I want to retain.

Ideas on the best procedure to move this content?

To move the library it's a simple drag and drop process from the old location to the new one. For things like settings and apps and other file your best bet is to follow the on-screen instructions for migrating using Setup Assistant when the new machine arrives. If you have already set up the new machine then run Migration Assistant. You will find MA in Applications - Utilities - Migration Assistant.

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Originally Posted by rkaufmann87

To move the library it's a simple drag and drop process from the old location to the new one. For things like settings and apps and other file your best bet is to follow the on-screen instructions for migrating using Setup Assistant when the new machine arrives. If you have already set up the new machine then run Migration Assistant. You will find MA in Applications - Utilities - Migration Assistant.

I've already got the mini setup using Migration Assistant from a previous laptop and want to stick with that configuration. It would be nice if you could just bring parts of the other mini's profile into my current profile rather than having to bring over another user account.

I'd like to bring over all the iPad and iPhone backups, etc too. I know where they're located so it shouldn't be an issue to move those.