Ask Jacob
Home » Resources » Ask Jacob » How can I move my iTunes library from one machine to another?
How can I move my iTunes library from one machine to another?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 / Laptops & Notebooks, Media Center, iPod / iTunes
Jacob:
I just got a MacBook Pro (&) I want to upload massive numbers of ripped lossless CDs onto a terabyte HD, then connect my MacBook to a stereo receiver and use the MacBook as a CD server. I’ve been told I’ll have to set up a wifi network to accomplish this because iTunes won’t see the external HD.
What’s the most elegant way to solve this problem?
There are probably many ways to accomplish your digital Jukebox project. You certainly can use your MacBook to play all your iTunes directly to a stereo. All you would need is a 1/8th inch to RCA cable like this one. Connect the line out from your Mac computer to the stereo.
Then you would just need to move your iTunes Library to the external drive by following these instructions from Apple regarding Moving your iTunes Music folder.
This would require you to keep your Mac connected to both the stereo and the hard drive, in-order for you to play the music. If that sounds OK to you then it is a fairly easy setup. Otherwise you may want to look at some wireless streaming options.
A truly slick option would be to use the cable above attached to an Airport Express. The Airport Express could be connected to the Wireless network in your house. Your router at home, that hosts the wireless network, would then have a LaCie network drive attached to an ethernet port. The LaCie 1 TB Drive would have your Music stored on it and then shared by the iTunes-compliant server component of the LaCie drive. All your MacBook Pro would need to do is play the music from the drive over to the Express, all wirelessly.
- Jacob
