Moving iTunes Libary Help

[PAPO]

So I'm about to be building a new gaming PC, and I have my iTunes library on a seperate drive in that PC, so I'm just wondering how I can migrate that library most efficiently, playlists and all, I vaguely remember how to migrate a library generally, but I want to make sure of anything specific I need to do since I have the library located on another drive within the system, and that whole drive will be making the trip across to the new PC.

Also, I hope this is the right place, I haven't been around much in a while and everything's moved around quite a lot since I last used the forum here

 

[xb2003]

What I would do is export my playlists as plain text files and move the music over manually, then setup iTunes as new. It's a little more tedious, but if you haven't done it in a while, it makes iTunes run faster in my opinion.

But basically there is an XML file in your iTunes folder that is all of the configuration in your iTunes library. Move that, and you should be gold, as long as all of your music is in the same place on the new computer.

 

[PAPO]

What I would do is export my playlists as plain text files and move the music over manually, then setup iTunes as new. It's a little more tedious, but if you haven't done it in a while, it makes iTunes run faster in my opinion.

But basically there is an XML file in your iTunes folder that is all of the configuration in your iTunes library. Move that, and you should be gold, as long as all of your music is in the same place on the new computer.

So if I copy the stuff from the default folder, it'll point to the other drive and the folder as soon as I install it? or should I install iTunes THEN copy the stuff into the default folder?

 

[xb2003]

If all of your music is under c:\users\music on your old computer, then you would need it under c:\users\music on the new one. Then if you move that XML file that is iTunes configuration settings (I think its in Program Files, but it might be in the music folder), when you start iTunes it should recognize everything. If you install iTunes first, once you swap the XML files, it will recognize everything.

 

[campyguy]

So if I copy the stuff from the default folder, it'll point to the other drive and the folder as soon as I install it? or should I install iTunes THEN copy the stuff into the default folder?

No. And, yes and...

Copying works just as well as the Consolidation Command in iTunes. The default location is in your user's Music folder on both platforms - and you can simply copy the iTunes directory directly into your local Music folder. The "and" is to open up iTunes's Preferences, click on the Advanced option and confirm or change your iTunes Media folder location - this location is the folder/directory iTunes will look in for your data, including the metadata you've accumulated and the process is identical in both Win and Mac OS apps. QED.

 

[PAPO]

I know WHERE the default location is, I just don't have my music there, I instructed iTunes to put it on a seperate drive, I just want to make sure that the stuff in the default folder will point to the seperate drive on a new install too (as long as I label the drives the same), 'cause then I just have to connect the new drive and the music is moved, I just need iTunes to know before I open it, 'case one time stuff didn't cary across right, and the thing is all the meta data is in the XML's and such because I'm using WAV on my PC, for lossless quality AND compatibility (on my MacBook Pro it's mostly in ALAC, with some AAC I haven't re-ripped yet).

 

[PAPO]

Just a quick update, I set up the secondary (internal) drive to make sure it had the same drive letter it had in the old system, copied what I'd grabbed from the default iTunes location on the old computer into the same place on the new system (the default music folder) and BAM all good as much as I expected it, I was a LITTLE nervous the whole time

Thanks for the help everyone