What is the best way to transfer an iTunes library to a new computer?

[oursfan]

I just got a new iMac, and wanted to transfer all of my whole itunes library to the new iMac from my old powerbook. Can anyone suggest a good way to do the transfer without losing any metadata that I have added to my library through iTunes over the years?
Any suggestions would be great. Thanks!

 

[tersono]

So long as you copy over the complete directory, including your library file, then you should be fine. My usual method is to connect the two machines with a firewire cable & start the old machine in target disk mode (CMD + T on boot). You can then browse the old computer as if it was a firewire drive.

 

[skybolt]

Here's what Apple says: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748

 

[oursfan]

So long as you copy over the complete directory, including your library file, then you should be fine. My usual method is to connect the two machines with a firewire cable & start the old machine in target disk mode (CMD + T on boot). You can then browse the old computer as if it was a firewire drive.

Thanks so much. I will give that a try. Is there a way to break up the library? For example.... I have all of my songs and movies on the powerbook right now. I want to take all of the songs and put them on the iMac's HD and take all of the movies and TV shows and put them on an external HD and have the iMac pull the video files from there. The way I currently hive my iTunes preferences set up is to have everything copied to the iTunes music folder. I know that now that I want to house the videos in one place and the music in an another I will have to turn that setting off. My next question is this...

Is there a way to transfer my library over and then split it up like I want without having to go in to each file in itunes individually and link them up with the files new home?

Does this make since?