How do I get all of the items added to iTunes in my old profile to the new one? I know one way would be to drag-drop all the items from the external hard drive back to iTunes in the new profile. But is there a saner way, that is, to copy some configuration files from the old profile’s X location to the new profile’s X location? Apr 17, 2019 Creating a New iTunes Library Location. ITunes can move the original library media files for you. Letting iTunes perform this task will keep all of the playlists and ratings intact. Screenshot courtesy of Coyote Moon, Inc. Move your iTunes library to another computer. If you get a new computer, you can transfer your iTunes library by connecting computers or by using iPod or a portable drive. See the Apple Support article Back up and restore your iTunes library on your PC. Nov 30, 2019 If you want to place your library on a different path, typically the root of a drive, then press and hold down shift (Win) or option (Mac) as you start iTunes to get the option to create or choose a new library, select choose, then browse to the folder that contains your library and select the iTunes Library.itl file inside.
In most cases you simply need to copy the entire iTunes folder from your old computer into the user's music folder of the new computer, then deauthorize the old computer if you no longer wish to access protected iTunes content on it.
This approach works well as long as your library is in the usual layout where all of the media connected to the iTunes library is inside the iTunes Media folder, which in turn is inside the iTunes folder holding the library database file. If your library is not in this standard shape, perhaps because you've placed the media folder on a different drive, or have added media from various different locations without making copies in the media folder, then you either need to copy each of the components of the library to matching paths on the new computer or see Make a split library portable for advice on manipulating the library into a portable layout that can be copied to a new location without breaking the links to the media.
You can copy your library over a network share, or copy it to an external drive, move the drive between computers, then copy it into the new computer. However a better approach is to maintain a regular backup of the iTunes library, update the backup when you want to switch computers, restore the library to the new machine, then regularly maintain the backup going forward. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suggested backup strategy. Backing up the library in this fashion ensures you have a working clone of the library on an external drive that you can connect to at any time if needed.
A portable library can be copied or restored to a location other than the standard user's music folder, which is probably the best approach if your computer has a small SSD system drive. If you want to place your library on a different path, typically the root of a drive, then press and hold down shift (Win) or option (Mac) as you start iTunes to get the option to create or choose a new library, select choose, then browse to the folder that contains your library and select the iTunes Library.itl file inside. See Open a different iTunes Library file or create a new one - Apple Support for details.
If you think that you've moved your library correctly but cannot see your expected content when you open the library, or you see cloud links to items which should be stored locally, then see Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash. If you have difficulty updating content see Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows or Repair security permissions for iTunes for Mac as appropriate.
As long as you move the library properly any devices that you have will sync with it as if nothing has changed. Note however that if you have iOS devices and haven't moved your contacts and calendar items across to your new computer then you should create one dummy entry of each in your new profile and iTunes should merge the existing data from the device. Otherwise the data on your device may be replaced with the empty lists from the computer.
You don't generally need to copy over your iOS device backups if your devices are working normally as fresh backups will be made during the first sync on the new computer. If you still wish to keep your old backup sets for any reason, e.g. moving backup data from a Vista or XP system to restore to an iOS 10 or later device in a newer version of iTunes, then see Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support for information on the folder you need to copy across. See Relocate iOS device backups if you want to move the backup data from the system drive for reasons of space.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you have replaced your computer and are no longer able to access your original library or a backup of it then then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
See also How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Support for Apple's approach to this topic.
macOS 10.15 Catalina
The same basic approach as above will work for moving a library from one Catalina system to another. If moving an iTunes library from an older version of OS X/macOS to Catalina then it will be best to start with the library in the portable shape. In Catalina you can then option-start-Music to access the iTunes Library.itl file and migrate it into Music. You can repeat with TV.
Everyone knows that iTunes is a great platform that provides a lot of stuff regarding entertainment and fun. However, most users don’t know where to find iTunes library on their computer when transfer them to a new computer. Don’t worry, we will teach you where to find it without any hassle.
If you don’t know where your iTunes library is on your computer, don’t worry about it. Here are the detailed procedures of finding it on your computer systems.
If you are using a PC, you can find your media files in the iTunes library folder. The media files contain imported songs, downloaded stuff and purchased items from iTunes. You can also find individual folders containing songs and movies etc. Here is the complete address of iTunes library on windows: C:UsersusernameMy MusiciTunes.
Oppositely, if you are on a Mac, follow the process below. You can do the same steps including finding the media files including songs and other stuff.
Step 1: While you are in the Finder, click on Go button on the menu bar. The menu bar is located on the top of your screen.
Step 2: Now click on Home>Music>iTunes.
Everything you see on iTunes including your songs and other media files can be located on your computer. All you need is to find the media folder locations which you can do easily from iTunes. Here is how to locate a specific file or media folder of iTunes.
Step 1: Choose the item and click on Edit>Get Info from the top menu.
Step 2: Choose the File tab.
Step 3: Here you will see the location of this item with its complete address. This item may stored in your computer or a cloud server.
By default, your songs and movies will be downloaded in the media folder location. It doesn’t matter if you have manually set it or not, iTunes will save your files in the media file folder by default. However, if you want to change that location and want to set up a new location for all of your media files and songs, here is how you can do it.
Step 1: Go to the Preferences menu under iTunes in Mac and Edit in Windows.
Step 2: Now click on the ‘Advanced’ tab.
Step 3: Now you will see the location of your folder with option Change in front of it. Click on it and choose a new location for your folder.
iMyFone TunesMate is a professional iOS media transfer software. Whether you are unable to transfer your files or you are having problems with your iTunes library, iMyFone TunesMate can do a lot of stuff for you. It can do all the tasks you perform with iTunes. In other words, if you are having any type of problems with your iTunes, get iMyFone TunesMate for your computer system.
Here are some great features from iMyFone TunesMate.
You can use iMyFone TunesMate to transfer iTunes library to your iPhone within seconds, here is the process to complete this job.
Step 1: Open iMyFone TunesMate on your computer and connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable.
Step 2: On the Home screen, click on Transfer iTunes Media to iDevice tab. It will scan the entire iTunes library and show them in a list.
Step 3: Now select the entire library or the media files you want to transfer and click on Transfer button. (It will only transfer the items which exist in iTunes but not in your iPhone)