How To Transfer Your Itunes Library To Another Mac

Run out of storage on your computer? Thinking about removing iTunes library and sending it to the external hard drive? Well, this article can help you out with two simple solutions on how to move iTunes library to external hard drive.

How To Transfer Your Itunes Library To A New Mac
How To Transfer Your Itunes Library To Another Mac Computer
How To Transfer Your Itunes Library To Another Mac Pro

2014-2-3 I have been syncing my iTunes library on my phone with an older HP laptop. I have a new MacBook Pro that I would like to transfer my iTunes library to. What is the best way to do that? If I just plug my phone into the new MacBook, will it copy library to computer or will I lose my music? 2020-3-18 How to Transfer iTunes Library to New Mac via AnyTrans for iOS. Besides manually moving your iTunes library to a new Mac, there is an easier and quicker way for you to achieve it – AnyTrans for iOS.It is a professional iOS data manager that allows you to simply transfer your iOS data from one device to another. These drives provide another simple option to move your iTunes library to a new computer, especially if you have more content than will fit on your iPod. To transfer an iTunes library to a new computer using this technique, you'll need an external hard drive with enough space to store your iTunes library.

By iMobie | Posted on: Nov. 22, 2018, Last Updated: Nov. 22, 2018

Home > AnyTrans for iOS > iTunes Manager >How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive

When we get a large collection of music in our iTunes library, it would be not easy for us to delete certain songs from the whole collection. However, when you are confronting that there is not enough space on your computer, it would be a better option for you to move it to an external hard drive. Besides, for these beloved songs, you may just like the question above want to transfer your iTunes library from one device to another.

Then here comes the problem: how to move iTunes library to external hard drive? This post can render you two possible ways to achieve it. Read on to learn more.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with iTunes

Step 1To find the location of your iTunes media folder, launch iTunes on your computer > Then click “Edit” (PC) or “iTunes”(Mac) on the menu bar > Preferences > Advanced > Here you will see the “iTunes Media folder location” in your computer.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with iTunes – Step 1

Step 2Then click File > Library > Organize Library > Check the box named as “Consolidate files” > Click OK.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Drive with iTunes – Step 2

Step 3Quit iTunes > Connect your external hard drive to the computer > Open the iTunes media folder from the location in step 1 > Drag the folder to the external hard drive.

If you intend to delete the original iTunes media content in your computer, to make iTunes still work with this iTunes library, you have to open iTunes > then click “Choose Library” in the pop-up window > select the iTunes library folder in your external hard drive.

Remember you have to connect your external hard drive to your computer every time you want to use iTunes with this iTunes library.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with AnyTrans for iOS

Besides using iTunes to move the music from your iTunes library to external hard drive, there is an easier way for you to achieve it – AnyTrans for iOS. It is a professional iOS data manager that allows you to simply transfer your iOS data from one device to another.

Transfer music directly from iTunes to your hard drive or another iDevice without hassle.
Transferring music speedily. AnyTrans for Android supports you transfer more than 1000 songs in minutes.
Manage and transfer almost all your iOS data like contacts, photos, ringtones, music, calendar, from one iDevice to another or from iDevice to computer and vice versa.
No leak or loss of data. AnyTrans for iOS assures that all the data in the process of transferring would not be leaked or lost.

AnyTrans for iOS – iTunes Library Manager

Thinking about a good way to transfer your iTunes library to an external hard drive? AnyTrans for iOS can be your perfect helper. You can easily move iTunes Library to external hard drive or computer or another iDevice without any trouble.

Download AnyTrans for iOS now on your PC/Mac and follow the below steps to know how to move iTunes library to external hard drive.

Step 1Launch AnyTrans for iOS > Click the button in the middle of the top bar > Choose iTunes Library in the drop-down menu.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 1

Step 2Select all the items at once or some of them > Click on Send to PC/Mac button.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 2

Step 3Click “view files” to find the exported files in your computer > Then connect your external hard drive to the computer > Drag the folder to your external hard drive.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive Windows with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 3

The Bottom Line

That’s the two methods on how to move iTunes library to external hard drive. As you can see, with the help of AnyTrans for iOS, you can manage your iTunes library or iPhone data easier than ever. You can also back up your iOS app and restore them to your iDevices at any time. Download it now and enjoy your free trial!

Product-related questions? Contact Our Support Team to Get Quick Solution >

Jul 16,2019 • Filed to: iTunes Music Transfer • Proven solutions

Is it possible to transfer my iTunes library from pc to mac and/or mac to pc?

The brand new expensive computer will not provide you the level of joy that you are expecting from it without the lovely melodic tunes stored in your iTunes library. So you need a reliable and quick way to transfer all your favorite tunes to your new hard drive and start having all the fun. Therefore, the need for transferring iTunes library from your personal computer to Mac computer is inevitable. To transfer the entire iTunes Library from PC to Mac does not need you to be a system engineer. There are however multiple ways to accomplish this task and transfer your files easily from one computer to other. Let us explore some nice ways to use the iTunes backup and restore the wide variety of data to our local machines.

How To Transfer Your Itunes Library To Another Mac

Part 1. Without External Hard Drive – Using iMusic (Highly Recommend) to Move iTunes Library from PC to Mac

Before you start your transfer process, reliable network connectivity between the two computers is needed i.e. between your PC and Mac. The iTunes software must be installed on both computers also. Your Apple id must also be linked to iTunes library in order to proceed successfully. In this first method of transferring iTunes library from PC to Mac machine, we will not make use of any external storage devices or hard drives. Instead, we will make use of the gadgets like iPod, iPad or iPhone. We need to choose a robust tool like iMusic to transfer the iTunes library from Personal pc computer to Mac.

iMusic is a powerful all-in-one multimedia management tool that has built-in features for transferring media files and fixing iTunes-related issues. One particular feature that stands out in this regard is the Rebuild iTunes Library feature that can be used to transfer the entire iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac in no time!

iMusic - Transfer iTunes from PC to Mac without Erasing the Data

Move iTunes library from PC to Mac /Mac to PC Easily.
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Download Music from 3000+ Sites. Download music from YouTube, Dailymotion, Spotify, etc 3000 music sites for free.
Record Music from Radio Stations. Record any song that you can play on your PC/Mac with ID3 tags attached.

Due to the fact that iMusic is compatible with both Microsoft Windows technology as well as Mac operating system, you will find it enjoyable not to run into OS compatibility issues. Follow the steps below to enjoy a convenient experience of transferring your iTunes library from PC to Mac:

Step 1: Download and install iMusic. Connect your device with your computer and click on the “Library” , “Add” button on the top bar. Select the files from PC to iTunes Library.

Step 2: Disconnect your device from one computer and connect it with the other computer. Once you have connected the device, click on the “Toolbox”. Hit the “Rebuilt iTunes Library” on this new computer and select your device from the screen. Click on the “Start” button.

Step 3: Now, select the corresponding tab which is present at the top and click on the “Export to Mac”. This is the last step which may take some time depending upon the music present on your computer. Once the process is completed, you will see the pop-up on the screen showing the successful transfer. Which means that you have finished the process transferring itunes from PC to Mac.

Using the “Rebuild iTunes” feature is easy but you need to be cautious also locate folders yourself. This may take a lot of time to complete depending upon your computer speed and data files, but in the end, it leaves you happy and satisfied.

Related article reading: transfer itunes playlist to new computer.

Part 2. Transfer iTunes from PC to Mac With External Hard Drive With External Hard Drive

Keeping your iTunes files in one location makes your job easier for using this method. Then you can arrange a hard drive to copy all your files to it and enjoy transferring the data to a new location on the new machine. The best way is to you External Hard Drive or the USB depending upon the music library present on your computer. Before you continue, remember that this method will not work the Apple music and you can only transfer the tracks which are already present on your computer or you have purchased from the iTunes Library.

How To Transfer Your Itunes Library To A New Mac

On your Mac computer, click open preferences and click iTunes. Then select advance and keep track of your music folder on your local PC.
Now select Organize Library and click on the Consolidate option. Now all your media and music files will be copied to your computer in the iTunes folder. The larger the size of your files, the longer it will take to complete. As soon as the process of Consolidation ends, you can quit iTunes.
The next step is to plug in the hard drive externally which has large free space available to hold all your desired data. Check the folder size and find out how much the size of your data in the folder properties is.
If your external hard drive is no formatted, format it before proceeding forward. The Apple iPod or iPhone can also be used as an external hard drive depending on how much space they have.
Once the external drive is formatted and connected, you can drop and drag the iTunes folder and start the process of copying the media files to external drive. Click Eject Hard Drive once the copying process is over.
Now move on to your Mac computer and locate your iTunes media folder on the new system. Connect the external drive to this machine and you are ready to transfer the iTunes library to your Mac now. If you do not want the existing music on your mew machine to be deleted, then copy those files and save them on the external disk.
Now all you have to do is to replace the currently existing media folder with the new one. All the playlists, ratings and songs information will be reloaded by the iTunes automatically once it is done.

Part 3. Transfer iTunes from PC to Mac With Home Sharing Method

The Home Sharing Method is relatively an easy method to transfer the iTunes library from PC to Mac. The necessary condition to complete this method is to install the iTunes on the both computers first. Moreover, you will also need to use the same iTunes account on the both computer. Let’s see the step by step procedure to use the Home Sharing Method.

As soon as the Mac and old computer are connected to the same network using the Wi-Fi, open iTunes on them one by one.
Then on the first computer (with Windows), select the Home Sharing icon which will be seen on the left menu. Sometimes this icon does not appear due to Home Sharing being turned off, in this case, turn on the home sharing first.
After the Home sharing is enabled on both of your computers, you can see the Home sharing icon and click it. The Home Share Button can be created here by entering your known Apple password and id.
Now you need to assign permissions to your computer on which you are copying your iTunes library to. Click Authorize Computer on the Store Menu and again enter your Apple id and password.
In the left menu, click the Home Sharing icon now. Select all the files and music that you want to copy or select all if you need everything to the new machine.
Now the final step is to hit the Import button. Once done, the files will start copying onto your new computer without a delay. If network speed is good with a Wi-Fi connection, then the process will take only a few minutes. The transfer speed also depends on the size of your iTunes library items. That completes our third method to transfer the iTunes library from PC to Mac successfully.