How To Transfer Itunes Library From Pc To Mac Youtube

The time has come to move your iTunes data. For whatever reason, your situation calls for a transfer of data from PC to Mac. In this how to we’ll show you how to transfer your iTunes library to a Mac from a PC and still retain your playlists, ratings and other data.

Transfer Itunes Library Between Computers
Switching From Pc To Mac
How To Transfer Itunes Library From Pc To Mac Youtube Video

Sep 30, 2015 Launch iTunes on the Mac and import the iTunes Music Library.xml file from the PC. To do that on iTunes for Windows, you go 'File Library Import Playlist' as per the following screenshot: Browse to the location of the iTunes Music Library.xml file from the other PC, select it and then open it.

What You’ll Need

We are basing this article on iTunes 10, so make sure you are running that version or newer before starting.

If you have a huge library then you’ll need an external hard drive to copy your data to. If the iTunes library is a modest one then a flash drive will likely do.

An alternative to purchasing external hardware is to setup a network connection between the two computers. The setup of such a network is beyond the scope of this article, but if you’ve already got one setup then you can move the files easily with a shared folder.

On the PC Side

Connect your external device (hard drive or flash drive) to the PC. A few items need to be checked off to ensure the library is copied in its entirety.

Click Edit and select ‘Preferences’.
Click the ‘Advanced’ tab.
Check ‘Keep iTunes Media folder organized’ and ‘Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library’.
Click ‘OK’.
Click File and select ‘Library’, then ‘Organize Library’.
Check ‘Consolidate files’.
Click ‘OK’.

Now copy the iTunes folder to your external hard drive, flash drive or over your network. The iTunes folders will be in slightly different locations depending on your version of Windows.

7: <username>My MusiciTunes
Vista: <username>MusiciTunes
XP: Documents and Settings<username>My DocumentsMy MusiciTunes

Note: <username> indicates your login/username on the Windows PC.

On the Mac Side

Now connect the external device (hard drive or flash drive) to your Mac. If you have not yet saved music to your Mac through iTunes, then simply copy the iTunes folder from your external device to your Mac replacing the empty folder at /Users/<username>/Music/iTunes.

If you have already started saving music on your Mac, then you’ll need to move the music out of the /Users/<username>/Music/iTunes folder before copying the PC data over. After the transfer of data from PC to Mac is complete, simply add those files back into the iTunes library.

Move the ‘Music’ folder which is located in the iTunes folder to another location.
After transfer, click ‘File’ and select ‘Add File to Library’
Navigate to where you moved the Music folder and add your Mac songs back in.

After the copy process is complete, launch iTunes. The Mac should read the data and load everything as it was.

Final Thoughts

The process can seem daunting at first, but don’t be discouraged. The process is basically copying from one system to another with a few checks and balances in between. If you store your music in a location other than the default, you’ll need to copy your music/media folder into your iTunes folder on the backup device before transferring it to the Mac.

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How To Transfer Itunes Library From Pc To Mac Youtube

Your Thoughts

Did this method of transfer work for you? Is there another way you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 28th, 2011 at 9:55 am

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Posted in: Apple, Computers, How To, Mac, Microsoft, Windows

Windows Migration Assistant transfers your contacts, calendars, email accounts, and more from a PC. It migrates this data to the appropriate places on your Mac. After migrating data to your Mac, authorize your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content that you download from the iTunes Store.

If you're migrating from one Mac to another Mac, follow the steps to move your content to a new Mac.

Before you begin

To prepare for a smooth migration:

Make sure that Windows is up to date. Migration Assistant works with Windows 7 and later.
Make sure that you know the name and password of an administrator account on your PC.
Connect your Mac and PC to the same network, such as your home Wi-Fi network. Or connect an Ethernet cable between the ports on your Mac and PC to create a direct network connection. Some Mac models require an Ethernet adapter, such as the Belkin USB-C to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter or Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter.
If you're using Microsoft OneDrive on your PC, follow Microsoft's instructions for uninstalling OneDrive before continuing. You can reinstall OneDrive after migration is complete.

Then use the check disk (chkdsk) utility on your PC to make sure that your Windows hard drive doesn’t have any issues:

Right-click the Start button, then click Run.
Type cmd and press Enter. Command Prompt opens.
At the prompt, type chkdsk and press Enter.
If the utility reports that it found problems, type the following, where drive is the letter that represents your Windows startup disk, such as D:
Press Enter.
At the prompt, type Y, then restart your PC.
Repeat this process until the check disk utility reports no issues. If the utility can't fix every issue that it finds, you might need to have your PC serviced. Then migrate your data to your Mac.

Move your data

This section guides you through migration, post-migration, and what to do if the steps don’t work for you.

How to move your information from a PC to your Mac

On your PC, download and install the appropriate Windows Migration Assistant, based on the version of macOS on your Mac:
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Mojave or later
- Windows Migration Assistant for macOS Sierra and High Sierra
- Windows Migration Assistant for OS X El Capitan or earlier
Quit any open Windows apps.
Open Windows Migration Assistant, then click Continue.
Start up your Mac. Setup Assistant automatically opens the first time you turn on your Mac. If you’ve already set up your Mac, open Migration Assistant, which is in the Utilities folder of your Applications folder.
On your Mac, follow the onscreen prompts until you get to the migration pane of the assistant. Select the option to transfer your information “From a Windows PC,” then click Continue.
When prompted, enter an administrator name and password.
Click Continue to close any other open apps.
In the migration window on your Mac, select your PC from the list of available computers. Then wait for the PC to show the same passcode that your Mac shows.
When both computers display the same passcode, click Continue on your PC and Mac.
Your Mac scans the drives on your PC to build a list of information to migrate. When the scan completes, select the information that you want to migrate to your Mac and click Continue. Learn about some of the data that you can transfer.

You can watch the progress and estimated time remaining on both the PC and your Mac. They tell you when migration is complete.

After you move your data

When migration completes, close Windows Migration Assistant on your PC. Then log in to the new user account on your Mac. The first time you log in to a user account migrated from your PC, you’re asked to set a password. You can use the same password that you used on your PC, or create a new password.

After logging in to the user account that you migrated, your computer for iTunes Store purchases. It’s important to authorize before you sync or play content downloaded from the iTunes Store.

If you have issues moving your data

Quit all open apps on your PC, then try migrating your content again. For example, you can press Alt-Tab to choose an open application, then press Alt-F4 to quit it.
If your PC doesn't appear in the Setup Assistant or Migration Assistant window on your Mac, make sure the computers are connected to the same network. You can create an network by connecting a single Ethernet cable between your Mac and PC. If that doesn't help, check for firewall software on your PC and turn it off. Firewall software can block network ports needed during migration. After migration completes, you can turn firewall software on again.
If Migration Assistant doesn’t open on your PC, turn off any antivirus software on your PC. Then try to open Migration Assistant again. After migration completes. You can turn that software on again.
If you still can't migrate your information successfully, you can use an external drive or file sharing to manually copy important data to your Mac.

What data can I transfer?

Migration Assistant lets you choose the data to move to your Mac. Here’s what moves over for specific apps and data types:

Email, contacts, and calendar information
Email messages, email-account settings, contacts, and appointments move based on which version of Windows you're using and which accounts you have.

Outlook¹
Data from 32-bit versions of Outlook in Windows 7 and later move as follows:

People move to Contacts²
Appointments move to the Calendar app
IMAP and Exchange settings and messages move to the Mail app
POP settings and messages move to Mail²

Windows Live Mail
Data from Windows Live Mail in Windows 7 and later moves as follows:

IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
POP settings and messages move to Mail²

Windows Mail
Data from Windows Mail in Windows 7 and later (excluding Windows 8) move as follows:

IMAP settings and messages move to Mail
POP settings and messages move to Mail²
People move to Contacts

Bookmarks
Bookmarks from Internet Explorer, Safari for Windows, and Firefox move to Safari.

Transfer Itunes Library Between Computers

System settings
Language and location settings, and custom desktop pictures move to System Preferences. Your web browser homepage moves to Safari preferences.

Pictures
Photos and other images move to your home folder. You can then add them to Photos, or open Photos and let it search your Mac for photos to import.

iTunes content
Migration Assistant transfers your iTunes media as follows: music to the Apple Music app, videos to the Apple TV app, podcasts to the Apple Podcasts app, and audiobooks to the Apple Books app. What happened to iTunes?

Other files
Migration Assistant also moves these files:

Switching From Pc To Mac

Files from the top-level folder of the currently logged-in user’s home directory
Non-system files located in the Windows or Program Files folders
Top-level folders located on the Windows system disk and other attached disks

1. Migration Assistant doesn’t support 64-bit versions of Outlook. You can manually migrate Mail, Contacts, or Calendars from Outlook 2013 or Outlook 2016 by signing in and entering the content on your Mac manually.