iTunes - sharing mp3's between Mac and PC

[johnnylexus]

My PC and Mac are connected over a home network

I keep all my MP3's stored on my Mac G5

My PC is usually where I control iTunes, and I was successful in telling my PC installation of iTunes that the library of songs to play is on the G5 ... pretty cool

Well, I was just in my Mac and deleting a boat load of duplicates from iTunes

When I went back over to the PC I kinda expected the song list to reflect the deletion of the duplicates, but it doesn't

How do I refresh the list of songs on the PC?

(My fear is that if I "add the folders" on the Mac again that I will get massive duplicates on the PC)

[krmathis]

It does sound like you share the music folder on the Mac (using regular Folder Sharing), which you then add to your MS Windows iTunes Library.
I suggest you turn on "Share my library on my local network" on your Mac iTunes, and "Look for Shared Libraries" in the MS Windows iTunes. Then the Library will update dynamically.

Or am I missing out on something?

[poo]

Have looked into this at length as I'm in the same position (although the other way around - PC is server, Mac is player). Doesn't seem to be a way to make this happen because PC an Mac can't share libraries. They can access the same files and compile the same libraries, but not share one single library (does that almost make sense at least?)

If I'm wrong, I'm happy for anyone to point out the solution.

Best I've done so far is to create the original library by dragging the folder that contains your music files into iTunes. The library will compile, then add album art and sort out other info (takes a while obviously). Once you have the library set up, when you add files to your server machine, you can replicate the library on the other machine by dragging and dropping that original folder into iTunes again. It will recognise the files it already has and only add the newer files that it was missing.

Simpliest way I've found so far... hope it helps.

[ingwe]

Originally Posted by poo

Have looked into this at length as I'm in the same position (although the other way around - PC is server, Mac is player). Doesn't seem to be a way to make this happen because PC an Mac can't share libraries. They can access the same files and compile the same libraries, but not share one single library (does that almost make sense at least?)

If I'm wrong, I'm happy for anyone to point out the solution.

I just got a MAC last week and am in the same situation.

Originally Posted by poo

Simpliest way I've found so far... hope it helps.

That is a great solution for synchronizing two libraries! But make sure to quit all running iTunes completely before the copy.

Here's what I've learned the hard way regarding using one iTunes libarary on multiple computers (or iTunes instances):

Scenario:

• Two computers: A and B
• iTunes library is on A.

Then, the following holds true:

• You can point iTunes on both A and B to the library on A.
• You can use either A or B to modify the iTunes library.
• When you quit iTunes, iTunes updates the library (on disk) with its current state.

So, if iTunes on both A and B are running and you modify iTunes on A then quit, its state will be written to the iTunes library on A.

But, B is still open. So when you quit iTunes on B, its state is written to the iTunes library on A--overwriting any previous state.

So, run one, and only one, iTunes instance at a time. Make certain you completely quit any iTunes instance you are not using before launching the iTunes you want to use.

-m

[poo]

Originally Posted by ingwe

Two computers: A and B--according to poo, both must run Windows or OSX (no mix-n-match)

Don't think I said that... I run both in my example... XP as my 'server' and OS-X on the Mac Pro.

If you want to 'share' an iTunes library (as in iTunes definition of 'share iTunes library' withinn the program) you have to have the same OS on each, but I get around that (sort of) by doing what I explained (poorly) in my prior post.

[johnnylexus]

Originally Posted by poo

Best I've done so far is to create the original library by dragging the folder that contains your music files into iTunes. The library will compile, then add album art and sort out other info (takes a while obviously). Once you have the library set up, when you add files to your server machine, you can replicate the library on the other machine by dragging and dropping that original folder into iTunes again. It will recognise the files it already has and only add the newer files that it was missing.

Simpliest way I've found so far... hope it helps.

What exactly do you mean when you say "drag the folder into iTunes"?

This sounds like something you might do in File Explorer as opposed to the iTunes program.

In my scenario, where the Mac is the server, I was able to open iTunes on the PC and point to the music folder on the Mac. But when I add new songs to the Mac, they don't show up (you can't see them) on the PC.

[xxbaker]

Originally Posted by johnnylexus

What exactly do you mean when you say "drag the folder into iTunes"?

This sounds like something you might do in File Explorer as opposed to the iTunes program.

In my scenario, where the Mac is the server, I was able to open iTunes on the PC and point to the music folder on the Mac. But when I add new songs to the Mac, they don't show up (you can't see them) on the PC.

if you have explorer (or finder) and itunes open, you can grab the folder and drag it (just like moving a file to the desktop or something) and drop it on top the the itunes window. it will automatically import the files

[ingwe]

Originally Posted by poo

Don't think I said that... I run both in my example... XP as my 'server' and OS-X on the Mac Pro.

If you want to 'share' an iTunes library (as in iTunes definition of 'share iTunes library' withinn the program) you have to have the same OS on each, but I get around that (sort of) by doing what I explained (poorly) in my prior post.

Thanks for the clarification.

Originally Posted by xxbaker

if you have explorer (or finder) and itunes open, you can grab the folder and drag it (just like moving a file to the desktop or something) and drop it on top the the itunes window. it will automatically import the files

This is great information for an old fart like me with 20+ years hard-core computer experience--and (as of this post) five days with a mac. Thanks!.

[poo]

Originally Posted by xxbaker

if you have explorer (or finder) and itunes open, you can grab the folder and drag it (just like moving a file to the desktop or something) and drop it on top the the itunes window. it will automatically import the files

Yep - that's exactly what I mean. Sorry - I know my initial explanation isn't too clear. I found it hard to explain without being confusing for some reason...

[scompton]

This doesn't make me happy. I was thinking of getting a Mac. My library is on a USB drive. I was hoping I could just connect the drive to the Mac and open the library in iTunes. I have almost 40,000 tracks. It'll take a long time to import that.