I've been using iTunes for music on an iMac desktop computer for many years. I recently purchased a Windows PC & installed iTunes on it. Only about half of the music from my library appears in the iTunes on the new computer. I've checked all of the settings (Home sharing is set to ON, etc.). I even found a section called "Hidden" but only a few of my songs were there. My music is a combination of my CDs being imported and songs purchased & downloaded from iTunes. I can re-import my CDs if I have to, but I shouldn't have to do that. I still have the iMac up & running (until I can figure out where all my music went!), so my original iTunes library can be accessed. Can somebody please help me find my missing music? TIA for any help!
Comments
A Solution
Hi Lisa,
First, welcome to AppleVis!
I should say at the outset that I'm a Windows user, so I'm not 100% sure what the equivalent folders are on macOS. I've used this method to help a family member transfer an iTunes library from Windows to macOS, though I haven't done it in the reverse order. I'm guessing it should work, though.
Basically, what you're going to want to do is copy the Music folder from your old computer over to your new computer. The Music folder contains the iTunes folders, subfolders, library information, etc. that will allow you to keep your entire library in tact.
The first step is to copy your entire Music folder from your Mac onto an external hard drive. If you copy the entire Music folder, you will also copy your iTunes library information, as well as everything else--apps, etc. Rather than opening the Music folder and copying everything inside, just copy the entire music folder itself--this will save you time and possible frustration.
After you have that entire Music folder from your Mac copied onto an external hard drive, the next step is to copy it over to your new PC. First, close iTunes if it isn't closed already. Next, assuming you have no other music from iTunes on your new PC in the Music folder that you want to keep... delete everything in the Music folder on your new PC. Once that's done, plug in your external hard drive and copy everything from the "Music" folder on your external hard drive into the "Music" folder on your PC.
Ideally, once you're done, you should end up with the exact same library on your new PC as what you had on your Mac. If you want step-by-step instructions, I can try and write those up for you.
Hope this helps,
Michael
Michael, thanks so much for
Michael, thanks so much for your help. I do have an external hard drive - it's a WD My Cloud. If only I knew how to use it :(. I am literally using it as a cloud because it is connected/wired to my husband's computer (a completely different one that either of mine). I guess hypothetically I should already be able to access all of my music somehow through it. I've tried to read WD's help topics but none of makes any sense to me.