iTunes Library PC > MAC

Tommy B

Tommy B

Tommy B

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I'm off to uni in September and as soon as I've finished doing A levels I'm getting a Mac. Over the past 4 years I've built up a fairly large iTunes library of over 100GB with lots of ratings/play counts which I really don't want to lose.

Is it possible to somehow get this library onto the Mac, or is it an extremely difficult process? Obviously I know of how to copy the songs, but it's the library file I'm worried about.

Apple are extremely selfish for not providing an easier export option on iTunes. If they would let you export everything to a removable hard drive and then let you import it on the Mac, life would be easier, but several people have told me you can't do this.

Cheers
 
unknowndomain said:
I think you can just copy it over? The library file is xml and i think cross compatable.
Click to expand...

Iirc it is, I've just moved over about 3 thousand tracks myself and will certainly give the xml a try later when I can be bothered to boot my pc. :p
 
Cool, let us know what happens.

There are some guides but the feedback is a bit dodgy. Some people say it works, some don't etc
 
copying the library xml will not work. It contains all the info about the tracks including the file path, which obviously wont be the same on the mac no matter what you do. I'd say there is little chance of not having to rebuild the library.
 
Clarkey said:
copying the library xml will not work. It contains all the info about the tracks including the file path, which obviously wont be the same on the mac no matter what you do. I'd say there is little chance of not having to rebuild the library.
Click to expand...

One of the guides said you could use "Find & Replace" to replace the windows paths with the mac ones, but some people reported they still lost playcount and other meta data.
 
i have seen some guides out there... check em out and report back on your success! :)
 
yeah you could do that, but it will be a mission. I tried similar with notepad++ and it just crashed. 13MB XML file is a bit heavyweight!
 
v. good point didnt think about that although it would make sence to make the file paths relative, worth a try as im not sure if you mean it wont work or it doesnt work.
 
If the DVD backup definitely works, then I'll just have to buy 30 DVDs and transfer the library that way.

Why you can't just backup the library to a removable HD and then import it on your mac, I don't know.

Maybe if Apple weren't idiots regarding these (PC to MAC) matters more people would make the switch.
 
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