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TICKET ARCHIVE -> Sharing An Itunes Library On a Pc And a Mac
jeffbridges - Jul 7, 2005 - 10:17 pm
I'm not quite sure if this is where I submit something like this, but here goes....
I'm trying to use the same NAS drive to house my iTunes library for both a PC and a Mac. Here's what I've done so far...
On Windows machine:
1. I mapped the shared folder on the NAS to drive letter "L:"
2. On the Windows PC, I used regedit to set the My Music folder to L:\My Music
3. iTunes on Windows now uses "L:\My Music\iTunes" to keep its music database, "iTunes Music Library.xml"
4. Under the Window's iTunes' preferences "Advanced" tab, I set the music directory to "L:\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\" and consolidated the library to this location, so all of my music files are stored in this directory on the shared NAS drive.
On Mac Mini:
1. Made an alias of the network share drive's "My Music\iTunes" directory and put the alias into the "Music" folder on the mini.
2. Renamed the alias "iTunes" instead of "iTunes alias" (This is a trick I adapted from people who put the iTunes music folder into the shared drive of their Mac and use an alias that points to it, which allows multiple users of the same Mac to use the same iTunes library.)
3. Under the mini's iTunes' preferences "Advanced" tab, I set the music directory to the share drive's "My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\"
--So now both the Mac and the Windows machine are using the same iTunes library database, and both have the same location assigned to house their music collection. All should work great now, right? Well, here's where I'm stuck.
PROBLEM: Within the iTunes database file, "iTunes Music Library.xml" the Mac sets the location of each file differently than the Windows machine does.
In the Mac locations look like this: "file://localhost/Volumes/[Name of Share Drive]/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/"
In the Windows database, locations look like this:
"file//localhost/[Drive Letter Assigned to the Shared Drive]/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/"
As you can see, there's no "Volumes" reference for the PC, and the Mac doesn't use assigned drive letters, so I'm stuck.
PLEASE HELP!!!
I'm trying to use the same NAS drive to house my iTunes library for both a PC and a Mac. Here's what I've done so far...
On Windows machine:
1. I mapped the shared folder on the NAS to drive letter "L:"
2. On the Windows PC, I used regedit to set the My Music folder to L:\My Music
3. iTunes on Windows now uses "L:\My Music\iTunes" to keep its music database, "iTunes Music Library.xml"
4. Under the Window's iTunes' preferences "Advanced" tab, I set the music directory to "L:\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\" and consolidated the library to this location, so all of my music files are stored in this directory on the shared NAS drive.
On Mac Mini:
1. Made an alias of the network share drive's "My Music\iTunes" directory and put the alias into the "Music" folder on the mini.
2. Renamed the alias "iTunes" instead of "iTunes alias" (This is a trick I adapted from people who put the iTunes music folder into the shared drive of their Mac and use an alias that points to it, which allows multiple users of the same Mac to use the same iTunes library.)
3. Under the mini's iTunes' preferences "Advanced" tab, I set the music directory to the share drive's "My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\"
--So now both the Mac and the Windows machine are using the same iTunes library database, and both have the same location assigned to house their music collection. All should work great now, right? Well, here's where I'm stuck.
PROBLEM: Within the iTunes database file, "iTunes Music Library.xml" the Mac sets the location of each file differently than the Windows machine does.
In the Mac locations look like this: "file://localhost/Volumes/[Name of Share Drive]/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/"
In the Windows database, locations look like this:
"file//localhost/[Drive Letter Assigned to the Shared Drive]/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20Music/"
As you can see, there's no "Volumes" reference for the PC, and the Mac doesn't use assigned drive letters, so I'm stuck.
PLEASE HELP!!!
earthsaver - Jul 8, 2005 - 12:59 pm
First of all, a regular alias to the library and xml files probably won't work. You might try creating symbolic links instead, more solidly linked than aliases that treat the "aliases" as originals. If you're comfortable with Terminal, use the command
link -s path/to/original path/to/alias
If you create symbolic links on the Mac to both files on the NAS, does it work?, regardless of the OS naming conventions.
Now, why do you need to manage your library on two different machines?
- Ben
link -s path/to/original path/to/alias
If you create symbolic links on the Mac to both files on the NAS, does it work?, regardless of the OS naming conventions.
Now, why do you need to manage your library on two different machines?
- Ben
jeffbridges - Jul 9, 2005 - 11:19 am
Well, I'm actually just using an alias in the "Music" folder on my Mini - it works great! I learned the trick from another post (I think it was on this website) on how to share a library between different users on the same Mac. Their solution was to put the iTunes folder into the Shared folder, and then use an alias in each user's Music folder named iTunes that pointed to the iTunes folder in the shared directory. So that part's actually working just fine!
Which means that both the Windows machine and the Mac are using the same iTunes database file, named "iTunes Music Library.xml" The problme is that the Mac and the Windows machine store file locations differently in the database.
For example, the windows machine uses the format: "file://Name_Of_NAS/Shared_Folder_On_NAS/iTunes"
On the Mac it loos like this:
"file://localhost/Volumes/Name_Of_NAS/Shared_Folder_On_NAS/iTunes"
So each time I open iTunes on the Windows or Mac machine, it spends a long time "Updating iTunes Database" and rewriting all the file locations to the way it likes to see them.
Is that clear? The idea here, and there have been quite a few people on the web asking about how to do this, is that I'd like to use my Mini as a media center but still use my PC to buy and listen to music and whatnot. I'm SLOWLY transitioning to the Mac! But I need my Windows safety-net for a little longer....
Thanks!!!!!
Which means that both the Windows machine and the Mac are using the same iTunes database file, named "iTunes Music Library.xml" The problme is that the Mac and the Windows machine store file locations differently in the database.
For example, the windows machine uses the format: "file://Name_Of_NAS/Shared_Folder_On_NAS/iTunes"
On the Mac it loos like this:
"file://localhost/Volumes/Name_Of_NAS/Shared_Folder_On_NAS/iTunes"
So each time I open iTunes on the Windows or Mac machine, it spends a long time "Updating iTunes Database" and rewriting all the file locations to the way it likes to see them.
Is that clear? The idea here, and there have been quite a few people on the web asking about how to do this, is that I'd like to use my Mini as a media center but still use my PC to buy and listen to music and whatnot. I'm SLOWLY transitioning to the Mac! But I need my Windows safety-net for a little longer....
Thanks!!!!!
earthsaver - Jul 9, 2005 - 8:31 pm
If you want to use your Mac only as a media center (for playing music) and you're for now going to continue managing your music on the PC, then why not just connect to the PC within iTunes (using music sharing) to listen to music on the Mac? There's no need have management access to the library when all you want to do is play.
- Ben
- Ben
jeffbridges - Jul 9, 2005 - 11:28 pm
Well, I suppose I could do that, but then my playlists aren't shared, my song ratings aren't shared, I can't buy music from the iTunes music store and have it show up on both machines, and then on my iPod. I'd have to designate one machine as my "buy music on this one" computer. I'd just really like to share across platforms. Any ideas?
earthsaver - Jul 10, 2005 - 10:46 am
Well, your playlists would be shared. Your purchased music would also be shared as long as the second computer is authorized to listen to it. I agree you'd be better off choosing one machine on which to buy tunes; that's something you said in your previous message, where the Mac would only be the media center (for playing).
I guess the only other thing I'm grappling with is what safety net there is in Windows and why you're still holding on.
- Ben
I guess the only other thing I'm grappling with is what safety net there is in Windows and why you're still holding on.
- Ben
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