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Best way to transfer just iTunes to new MBA?

T

TJC747

macrumors member
Original poster
Jan 15, 2011
57
0
After 6 years of having a 2007 MacBook running Leopard, I now have a 2013 13" 128GB MacBook Air (haven't opened it yet).

The only thing I want to keep from my original Mac is the music on my iTunes (14 gigs).

Is using wifi on migration assistant the best way to do this? I don't have a thunderbolt cable to connect the Macs and I don't know any other way of transferring 14 gigs (I don't have an external hard drive either).

Dumb question - but my playlists, album artwork, and play counts will transfer over as well right?

On migration assistant, I simply will check users --> Tom --> Music?

Thanks All!

Tom
 
TJC747 said:
After 6 years of having a 2007 MacBook running Leopard, I now have a 2013 13" 128GB MacBook Air (haven't opened it yet).

The only thing I want to keep from my original Mac is the music on my iTunes (14 gigs).

Is using wifi on migration assistant the best way to do this? I don't have a thunderbolt cable to connect the Macs and I don't know any other way of transferring 14 gigs (I don't have an external hard drive either).

Dumb question - but my playlists, album artwork, and play counts will transfer over as well right?

On migration assistant, I simply will check users --> Tom --> Music?

Thanks All!

Tom
Click to expand...

not a dumb question at all - it's confusing, but yes that's how it should work.
congrats!
 
Not to go off topic here: I had this same question, but my iTunes library is a bit smaller (about 6 GB), and I am completely new to OS X. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
 
What about creating DVD copies?

A DVD is 4.something gigs so it should take 4 DVDs, simply split the music into 4 parts.

This is the route you should take if migration is giving you a hard time, and since you don't own any external hard drives, some DVDs would be a good solution.
 
TJC747 said:
After 6 years of having a 2007 MacBook running Leopard, I now have a 2013 13" 128GB MacBook Air (haven't opened it yet).

The only thing I want to keep from my original Mac is the music on my iTunes (14 gigs).

Is using wifi on migration assistant the best way to do this?


The Apple Store sells a 'Thunderbolt to Ethernet' cable for about 30 bucks which if you buy I would assume you could transfer your iTunes via that.

However, Wi-Fi should work. I had to use a Wi-Fi connect from my 2013 MacBook Air to my Time Capsule so I could transfer nearly 200 Gig..it took about 5 hours but it was bearable.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
16gb usb thumbdrive is a super cheap way move the files. under $15 at one of the big box stores. and its reusable
 
luisito said:
What about creating DVD copies?

A DVD is 4.something gigs so it should take 4 DVDs, simply split the music into 4 parts.

This is the route you should take if migration is giving you a hard time, and since you don't own any external hard drives, some DVDs would be a good solution.
Click to expand...

It a Macbook air, they dont have dvd drives. Anyway, the time spent burning dvds would be way longer than just a usb drive.
 
I would use a flash drive, but my audio files are all in different folders all over my PC. Any other recommendations?
 
TJC747 said:
After 6 years of having a 2007 MacBook running Leopard, I now have a 2013 13" 128GB MacBook Air (haven't opened it yet).

The only thing I want to keep from my original Mac is the music on my iTunes (14 gigs).

Is using wifi on migration assistant the best way to do this? I don't have a thunderbolt cable to connect the Macs and I don't know any other way of transferring 14 gigs (I don't have an external hard drive either).

Dumb question - but my playlists, album artwork, and play counts will transfer over as well right?

On migration assistant, I simply will check users --> Tom --> Music?

Thanks All!

Tom
Click to expand...

Honestly, the best way to do this and to securely have all your music is by external hard drive or large usb. if you do it this way, you will still have all your music just in case your computer crashes and it's a much easier way to do it. i just highlighted all my songs and placed them into my external hard drive and copied them right into my new itunes library and synced my iphone. so now i have a secure copy on my external and a copy on my new mac without any obstacles. hope this help, enjoy

----------
jadAce said:
Not to go off topic here: I had this same question, but my iTunes library is a bit smaller (about 6 GB), and I am completely new to OS X. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Buy a USB and put it on there, then transfer it
 
Thanks guys for the respones. I think I will either wait for the wifi or buy a 16gb flash drive.

Dumb question, but does anyone know how the play counts and playlists are transferred? Is there a specific file? I see iTunes Library.xml, also iTunes Library.irl or something like that.

I have a bit of OCD with that information so it is vital it transfers, but I am wondering if using a flash drive if I just drag all of the "music folder" on there, if it will work. Thanks!
 
Really - go out and buy some kind of external USB drive. A 512GB model will be inexpensive (maybe $50) and will be plenty large. Then turn on time machine on your new MacBook Air and start using it.

You have been very lucky not to have any data loss on your old machine for the past 6 years, don't keep tempting fate. You really should have a backup. :)
 
Thanks Boyd for the suggestion, but I'm only a college kid - really don't have important files and I think I will just buy a 16 GB USB drive ($11 at Best Buy - typical college kid thinking).

I've been reading this link and I am getting worried that there is so much more stuff to do than I am thinking:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to-a-new-hard-drive

My computer now is on OS Leopard and I will be moving to OS Mountain Lion.

I was just going to put USB into old computer, drag Music folder onto it, and then put it in my new computer and then I assume it will import it into its Music folder. To be honest I've never really transferred music like this so any tips would be appreciated.
 
I just transferred about 10GB of iTunes files to another computer about a week ago. I used a USB stick and dragged all the folders/files I wanted from my iTunes library to it. On the other machine, I opened iTunes and dragged everything from the USB stick into its window.

It imported all the music and everything worked fine.
 
I have 30GB of music and once I receive my MBA this Thursday I plan on using ac wifi via my new 2TB Airport Time Capsule. Shouldn't take too long that way.
 
TJC747 said:
Thanks guys for the respones. I think I will either wait for the wifi or buy a 16gb flash drive.

Dumb question, but does anyone know how the play counts and playlists are transferred? Is there a specific file? I see iTunes Library.xml, also iTunes Library.irl or something like that.

I have a bit of OCD with that information so it is vital it transfers, but I am wondering if using a flash drive if I just drag all of the "music folder" on there, if it will work. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Just follow this guide from Apple and you will get everything including playlists. Follow the section talking about using an external drive.
 
TJC747 said:
Thanks Boyd for the suggestion, but I'm only a college kid - really don't have important files and I think I will just buy a 16 GB USB drive ($11 at Best Buy - typical college kid thinking).

I've been reading this link and I am getting worried that there is so much more stuff to do than I am thinking:

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to-a-new-hard-drive

My computer now is on OS Leopard and I will be moving to OS Mountain Lion.

I was just going to put USB into old computer, drag Music folder onto it, and then put it in my new computer and then I assume it will import it into its Music folder. To be honest I've never really transferred music like this so any tips would be appreciated.
Click to expand...

I would HIGHLY recommend using Migration Assistant. This way, your entire library and its data will be transferred, such as play count, meta-data, etc. It is not the fastest but it will be easier than just doing drag and drop.
 
jadAce said:
Not to go off topic here: I had this same question, but my iTunes library is a bit smaller (about 6 GB), and I am completely new to OS X. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

The correct answer: Just take your backup drive from your old Mac and connect it to your new Mac, then copy anything you need from your backup drive. You do have a backup drive, don't you?

A simple answer: The functionality is built straight into iTunes. If both Macs are connected to the same network, open iTunes, go to the File menu, item "Home Sharing", subitem "Turn On Home Sharing".
 
gnasher729 said:
The correct answer: Just take your backup drive from your old Mac and connect it to your new Mac, then copy anything you need from your backup drive. You do have a backup drive, don't you?
Click to expand...

Read the thread again. The OP states he DOES NOT have an external drive, and when I suggested getting one he said he didn't need one.

He's young, he will learn. Probably the hard way... :D
 
Ok it works for the most part. A lot of album artworks did not transfer over though. When I press "get album artwork", itunes simply says it cant

i used a 16 gb flash drive

should i go back on the old comp, transfer the album artworks (again) and then drag it into the library?

thanks to everyone so far you have all been great

tom
 
TJC747 said:
Ok it works for the most part. A lot of album artworks did not transfer over though. When I press "get album artwork", itunes simply says it cant
Click to expand...

Tom, you can always add each album cover individually. Simply download the images from Google, this is better than "Get Album Artwork" because you can set up your desired resolution. I always find 500x500 images, which are very crisp for the size of the artwork displayed on iTunes, and if you prefer, anything above that resolution looks impressive (but not necessary).

I wouldn't go back to the old computer to find the artwork, it takes longer to transfer those images and you can easily get them like I have mentioned. The old covers may not even look that great either.
 
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