Sep 11, 2017 Every now and then, an iTunes Library has problems. You may have tracks or songs that disappear in the library, but that are still in your iTunes Media folder. Or playlists may change or disappear. Or there may be other, inexplicable problems. One way to try and fix these issues is to rebuild your iTunes library. Mar 16, 2020 Launch iTunes on your new Mac Hold down the Option key while opening iTunes Click “Choose Library” in the pop-up window Select the music folder in your local hard drive Choose the iTunes library folder Click Open.
Apple's iTunes software is, in the main, designed to transfer data to their devices but not in the other direction. In general if you try to connect and sync an Apple device to a new library iTunes will want to erase all the current media content and replace it with items from the new library. See Move your iTunes library to a new computer for advice on moving a working library to a new computer if that is still a possibility.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where your computer has been lost, stolen or damaged and you have no viable backup of your library then you can use the steps below to attempt to recover most, if not all, of your media and other information from your devices. If, however the library that has been lost or damaged was on your current computer see Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash first.
If you still have the computer, but it is in a non-bootable state, then it may be possible to extract the hard drive, put it in an external drive bay and recover data from it that way. The steps in Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows may help to allow iTunes to properly access any recovered data. If the drive is accessible then using your old drive may well be easier than what follows, though it depends in part on the mix of purchased vs. ripped media and whether or not your device holds all your media, or a subset of it. If you have an iPod classic, nano, or shuffle see Recover media from an iPod instead of this tip.
- Preparation
Before you connect any device to a new library go to the Devices tab of the the preferences panel via Edit > Preferences (Windows - press CTRL+B to reveal the menu bar if needed) or iTunes > Preferences (Mac) and ensure the box next to Prevent iPods, iPhones, and iPads from syncing automatically is ticked. You can now safely connect the device to your computer without the danger of media being automatically deleted or overwritten. If your device doesn't register in iTunes see iOS device not showing in iTunes for Windows.
If this device contains contacts or calendar items that are not already on the computer you are using, and that you wish to recover, then make sure you have at least one contact & one event in the applications that will sync with the device (e.g. Windows Address Book or Outlook under Windows, iCal & Address Book on a Mac). Dummy entries will do, but there must be at least one if the data is to be retrieved from the device in step 7 below. - Transfer purchases
You can transfer your iTunes Store purchases into a new library, after connecting the device, with the menu item File > Devices > Transfer Purchases from '<DeviceName>'. You should be prompted to authorize the computer to your iTunes account if you have not already done so. If your device holds content from more than one account you will need to authorize each one. To avoid duplicates it may be easier to extract all media at one time at step 4, then come back to this step to recover any Apps or iPod Games if you are running iTunes 12.6.3.6 or earlier. Note that with the introduction of app thinning in iOS 9 your device may no longer contain a complete version of each app, so app transfer from device to library is disabled, and with iTunes 12.7 most app management features were removed altogether. See Managing apps with iTunes 12.7 or later for details.
See also: HT201267: Redownload or transfer your iTunes Store purchases from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod to a computer (retired document, archived version) - Back up (iOS only)
If this is an iOS device you should now right-click on it (control-click on a Mac) in the left-hand column of the iTunes window and click Back Up to make a backup of the current settings and application data on the device.
See also HT201302: Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Although a backup should include the contents of the camera roll it is probably best to copy off your photos and videos to local storage at the same time. See HT204136: About backups for iOS devices for more details about what is and is not included in the backup. - Recover other media
iTunes only permits the transfer of iTunes Store purchases. If your device contains other media that you've ripped from CD or downloaded from other online stores you can either go back to the original sources or use third party software to extract your data from your device. There is a list of some of the software available below. Note also that photos synced to the device from a previous computer are not necessarily included in the device's backup so should be extracted now if possible. - Recover other purchases
Your device may not have held all your iTunes Store purchases. You can recover qualifying purchases from your account by visiting the music home page of the iTunes Store then clicking on the Purchased link in the Quick Links section in the right-hand column.
See also: HT201272: Redownload music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books from the iTunes Store, iBooks Store, and App Store - Restore (iOS only)
Having backed up your device, and rescued all the media from it that you can, you should now restore the device from the backup that you took earlier to ensure that the device is properly associated with this new library. Right-click on it (control-click on a Mac) in the left-hand column of the iTunes window and click Restore from Backup... Sync
Set up your new preferences for syncing Music, TV Shows, Podcasts, Info etc. then click Sync. You may get an erase and sync warning at this point however provided you have recovered all of your content from the device then you can safely proceed. For a device that holds calendar or contact information you should be prompted to restore or merge. Click merge to copy this information into your computer. Your device is now properly associated with your new library and you shouldn't have lost any data.- Backup your library
For the future you should backup your library to a separate hard drive or network share as restoring a backup is much easier than the process above. The user tip Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy gives a suggested way of doing this effectively for Windows users. Mac owners can make use of Time Machine, or tools such as Carbon Copy Cloner or Synkron which can do a similar job to SyncToy. - Remove old authorizations and associations
If you've lost access to an old computer, or it will no longer boot up, it may still be authorized to or associated with your Apple ID. See Deauthorize your computer using iTunes - Apple Support and use the Deauthorize all computers option to remove all authorizations, then authorize the computers you still wish to use. See View and remove your associated devices in iTunes - Apple Support to manage any unwanted associations.
Media recovery software
This list is by no means comprehensive. Compatibility and feature details may have altered since this tip was published. There is usually a trade-off between cost and ease of use.
Product | Description | Win | Mac | iPod | iOS | Playlists | Ratings |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Floola | Free cross platform (Linux too) iPod manager. It appears to have partial support for extracting playlists to m3u files rather than transferring directly to iTunes. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ? | ➖ |
iPod Access | Copies music, videos, playlists, ratings and more. Can extract content from hard drive based iPods with damaged databases. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
iPod2PC | Can copy songs, podcasts and playlists to iTunes or a folder of your choice. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ? |
iRip | Claims it can copy the contents of your iPod or iPhone to your Mac or PC with a single click. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ? |
MediaMonkey | Although primarily an alternative media manager to iTunes, MediaMonkey can also be used to copy files from an iPod or iOS device to the local file system. Tracks can be copied directly into the iTunes Automatically Add to iTunes folder to add and organize them within the iTunes library. Recommended, particularly for retrieving selected files rather than everything on the device. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ➖ |
Music Rescue | Copies music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, audio recordings, playlists and notes. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ? |
PhoneView | Save iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch app data, voicemail, text messages, iMessages, call log, notes, contacts, music and photos to your Mac. | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
Senuti | Transfer music from your iPod or iPhone to your computer with this easy to use application for Mac. | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
SharePod | Free tool that can add, remove and copy media to or from your device. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
TouchCopy | Comprehensive tools for copying media and other items from your device to your computer. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
TuneJack | Can copy all songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC and optionally add them to iTunes. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
iRepo | Can copy selected songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC/Mac and optionally add them to iTunes. (TuneJack with options) | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
iGadget | Can copy selected songs & playlists from your iPod/iOS device to your PC/Mac and optionally add them to iTunes. Can also add other data as notes to non-iOS devices. (TuneJack with more options) | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ |
YamiPod | Yet another iPod manager. Mainly designed as a free cross platform (Linux too) alternative to iTunes for hard drive based iPods it includes features for transferring media from your device to your computer. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ? | ➖ |
Metadata only | A Windows script that imports regular playlists from an iPod or iOS device into the iTunes library. Can import from a selected playlist, or playlist folder, or all playlists on the device. Use to extract metadata not recovered with other tools, e.g. the method given in Recover media from an iPod below. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ |
Metadata only | A Windows script that copies highest play count, skip count, rating and most recent played & skipped date of selected tracks or playlist between iTunes and an iPod or iOS device. Use to extract metadata not recovered with other tools, e.g. the method in Recover media from an iPod below. | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ➕ |
Recover media from an iPod | This approach is mainly aimed at older devices that can be accessed via disk mode, however free tools such as iFunBox or MediaMonkey which give access to the iOS file system may also allow you to use this method to extract media from an iOS device. Windows users would also be able to make use of the two scripts above to recover playlists and stats. The user tip is an alternative to the iLounge Article: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide that has been previously referred to. Recommended for retrieving everything from the device in one go. | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➕ | ➖ | ➖ |
Product | Description | Win | Mac | iPod | iOS | Playlists | Ratings |
See also:
Transfer iTunes
- 1. Music Transfer
- 2. iTunes Playlist
- 3. iTunes Tips
- 4. Others
Is it possible to transfer iTunes library from mac to pc and/or pc to mac?
Many people have such puzzles, because iTunes is likely best known for its Mac associations, it’s quite likely that there are many households that only have their iTunes library on a Mac. If, however, a family member with a PC is heading off on a holiday and wants to bring their tunes or entertainment selection with them, it may be difficult to simply leave the copy of iTunes on one machine. It therefore makes sense to learn how to copy iTunes from a Mac to a PC to allow for greater portability for either system or either system’s music and entertainment files.
Part 1: Simplest Way to Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to PC
When it comes to how to move iTunes libary from Mac to PC, here we highly recommend iMusic from Aimersoft to you. It is a All-in-one-music management tool to tranfer, backup, restore your iTunes library Music from Mac to PC. Besides, it could also download , record music from over 3000 sites including DRM protected music, check the following more features:
Export iTunes Library from Mac to PC with Simple Clicks - iMusic
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Guide to Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to PC by iMusic
To transfer iTunes library from Mac to PC, here we could use iMusic's Backup iTunes library function.
Step 1. Run iMusic on your Mac Computer
Come to iMusic 's official website to download it's free trial version or click the following box to download it and then run it.
Step 2. Enter into the 'Toolbox'
Click the 'Toolbox' on the ribbon to enter the toolbox window, then choose the 'Backup/Restore iTunes' icon.
Step 3. Choose the 'Backup' option
Next the interface will pop up two icon mark, choose the 'Backup' option.
Step 4. Select the content you want to backup
Follwoing it's procedures, you will go to choose the music, movies, and other downloaded content to backup.
Step 5. Finish the process to backup iTunes Library
After choosing the music you want to backup to iTunes Library, then choose the foler route on your Mac and click 'ok'.
Step 6. Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to PC
Open one of your other PC like Windows computer, and download the iTunes,and iMusic as well, launch iMusic, go to it's music icon on the left top corner, and then click the 'Add' icon on the right top corner to add the files from your iTunes file.
Part 2: Free Way to Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to PC
There are only a few steps involved with transferring your iTunes library from one computer to the other, and it does not matter, at least as far as iTunes is concerned, whether you are transferring from Mac to PC or the other way around. It is not a terribly complicated process, but it is one that must followed accurately in order to ensure the successful transfer of iTunes from your Mac to a PC.
Step 1. Open iTunes on your Mac
Lost Itunes Library On Pc
You need to open iTunes on your Mac in order to access your Preferences settings on your iTunes for Mac. Without working on your Preferences settings, you cannot successfully transfer iTunes from one computer to the next.
Step 2. Go to iTunes > Preferences
From here, you need to hit the Advanced settings in order to set the Mac to be able to transfer iTunes successfully over to your PC.
Step 3. Under Advanced in Preferences, click “Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized”
This will ensure that all your files are pointing in the right direction for your library, which ultimately makes the transference of your files easier. With an organized iTunes Media folder, your job in transferring iTunes from one system to the other becomes far less complicated.
Step 4. Click File > Library > Organize Library
This will help you to keep your songs organized in order to ensure they are in the same spot when you transfer them over to your new computer. You should also click “Consolidate Files” at this point as well; that will also help you by putting copies of all media files in the iTunes Media folder and keeping all original files in their original locations. This way all the files are pointing where they should to the locations on your drives and they should be accessible when you complete the transfer to the new computer.
Step 5. Plug your portable hard drive into your Mac
This gives you a hardwired location to which to transfer your iTunes from your Mac. On this new computer, try to take the time and put your iTunes files in the same location that you want to put it on the PC, more or less. Certainly, PC’s have a slightly different naming convention than for Mac. Confirm that there is a Music folder on your PC, and within that folder should be the iTunes folder. You can transfer the iTunes Library file and the iTunes Music folder from the portable drive to this folder.
Step 6. Change the name of the iTunes Library file
Because PC systems always need file extensions on them in order to be recognized and opened appropriately, you need to take the iTunes Library file that you just transferred from your Mac and change the name so that it has the right file extension. Right click on the iTunes Library file and rename it to iTunes Library.itl, and that should allow you to open every file that you had working in the Mac version of the program.
It should be noted that when you migrate iTunes from one computer to the other, the backups that you might have made of Mac handheld devices, such as iPhones, iPads and iPods, through iTunes will likely be lost. In addition, if you do not migrate your iTunes to the exact same location on the new PC, iTunes will not be able to find the media files, and then you might have a problem effectively using the program. So, take the time to migrate the files to the right location to ensure that you will be able to find them on the new PC.
At times, though, you may find it extremely helpful to transfer your iTunes library to an external hard drive simply in order to have a backup of your iTunes library. Having your iTunes library on an external hard drive also means that should you want to share that library with another computer or another person, you will be able to do so quite easily; if you have your external hard drive with you, it is simply a matter of taking the copy of iTunes and moving it you’re your portable hard drive to the system of your choice. Having a copy of iTunes on an external hard drive also gives you a certain degree of calm, as there have been multiple times where people have inadvertently lost everything on their computers, their iTunes files included. This can be incredibly distressing when it happens, and people want to be able to avoid this. It can sometimes take hours to build up an iTunes library, and this is time that many people do not always have.
Itunes Lost Music Library
Sometimes, people want to be prepared in the event they lose all the information on their computer, and an external hard drive can be a great tool to back up an entire hard drive on a laptop or on a desktop computer. This includes your iTunes library. Music and entertainment appear to be what make the world go round; after all, music is frequently used as a method of stress release, and we now live in a society where many expect to have a variety of forms of entertainment right at their fingertips. Having your entire iTunes library go missing on your computer can be distressing, but it does not have to be, as backing up the library to an external hard drive can prevent a great deal of stress.
iMusic - Most Excellent Music Tool to Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to PC
Lost Itunes Library Mac Os
- Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to PC without erasing or lose the files.
- Record music in original quality and automatically split the ads.
- Discover and download music from more than 300,000 songs.
- Transfer music between any two devices directly without iTunes.
- Fix music library intelligently with correct ID3 tags.