Merge media libraries from different iTunes computers. Using one iTunes for multiple devices. Instructions. Are photos duplicated when imported from iPhoto library?

In the fight against unlicensed content, Apple has introduced a number of restrictions on the operation of iTunes. So you can add music and movies to an iPhone only from one computer. When you try to add files from another iTunes library, the program offers to completely replace the contents of the device.
But there is a way to bypass this limitation.

A typical situation: you wanted to rewrite music that you found in your friend’s library.

When you connect your device to someone else’s computer, iTunes will display a warning “iPhone is synced with another library. Erase contents and synchronize...”

iTunes determines whether a specific device is linked to a given library. To do this, the program checks the data stored in two files from the directory

• C:\Documents and Settings\Username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes

iTunes Library.itl

iTunes Music Library.xml

(for Mac ~/Music/iTunes - iTunes Library(no extension) and iTunes Music Library.xml.)

But if replace these files with those stored on your computer in the same directory, then iTunes will behave as if nothing had happened.

To do this, close iTunes and first create copies of the original files iTunes Library And iTunes Music Library.xml. After that in the folder ~/Music/iTunes rewrite your files with the same names, and launch iTunes.

Now you will see your media library in the program window. True, this will be just a set of links to files that are not physically on this computer. But your iPhone icon will appear in the sidebar. And you can copy any media files from this computer to your device.

After you copy everything you wanted and synchronize your iPhone. turn off iTunes, and return the original iTunes Library and iTunes Music Library.xml files to the ~/Music/iTunes directory. Launch iTunes again. You will see your “native” media library safe and sound.

If you constantly use several computers, then it makes sense to correct these files and enter the same device identifier everywhere. Then the connected iPhone on these computers will be recognized as their own. The problem is that one of the files (iTunes Library.itl) is binary, and to change it you need a special HEX editor.

Using programs

If your phone has passed the procedure, then you can use the SwapTunes program. The program is installed on the iPhone from Cydia and, until the time of writing, was free.

This application allows you to synchronize media files from two computers, switching from one library to another by simply clicking on an icon. However, according to user reviews, it does not always work correctly on new firmware.

There are a number of third-party programs that can almost completely replace iTunes. One of these is TouchCopy.

This program will help you transfer music, playlists, covers, etc. from two or more computers to one iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad. The application is available for Mac and Windows platforms.

The fact is that when synchronizing various devices with a computer, it erases the contents of one iPhone and duplicates the information of another into it. Not everyone is satisfied with the same information, so there are several solutions on how to synchronize two iPhones with one computer:

• Two iTunes for two iPhones in one PC

We looked at the first method earlier, its essence is to create two (or several) different media libraries in one iTunes and use them for each iPhone personally, the solution certainly works, but some information after synchronization is still duplicated in two different iPhones, for example – contacts that each user wants individual.

If you are completely individual, living under one roof with one computer, people who want to store different contacts, different photos, calendar notes, etc. in their iPhone, then the second method is for you:

Creating a new user account in the OS

In order to implement our idea, that is, install two iTunes programs on one computer, you need to create a new account in the computer’s operating system. We need the account we create for the subsequent installation of another iTunes in it. We will show you how to correctly perform this simple procedure using the Windows XP operating system as an example. If you also have XP, you can repeat after us:

In the lower left corner of any Windows XP operating system there is a button Start, press it, select - Control Panel. Depending on the design, you may need to choose Settings – Control Panel.

User accounts will help you install a second iTunes for a second iPhone

In the window that opens, select – User Accounts. It is in this section that a new account for the operating system of our PC is created. Click on it twice and continue.

The Account Wizard starts where we select – Create an account.

We enter the name of the new account, we decided to use the name of the second owner of the iPhone, so we write - Varya, you can specify anything. Name input field press the button Next

Select account type - Computer administrator, so that there are no restrictions. And click - Create an account.

A new Windows XP operating system account has been created. Here you can choose your favorite logo image.

Changing your account and installing a second iTunes

Now two accounts have been created in the operating system of our computer; to move between accounts, follow these steps:

We are in the account - Sam, to go to your account – Varya, you must click Start and select – Log out

Now owners of 2 iPhones have two accounts where they will install iTunes

In the operating system user selection window that appears, select – Varya

Create a new account and install iTunes in it

A new work environment is loaded with a completely new desktop, which Varya will use for herself. Here Varya will install the new iTunes and use it as she wants. That is, under this user she will have a personal iTunes, using which there will be no problems with synchronization.

If you also created a new user on your computer, then just like us, go to it and install new iTunes there. For complete beginners, instructions -.

If your family has more than two iPhones, then it doesn’t matter, using today’s instructions, you can create an account in the operating system for each and install your own iTunes in each account.

We used the iPhone as an example in this material, but in fact, personal iTunes can be used for both iPad and iPod touch. Read other equally useful instructions for beginners -.

If you are using operating systems other than XP, then you also need to learn how to create user accounts; in some operating systems the steps are approximately the same, in others they are significantly different. We wish you good luck!

Apple does not allow you to synchronize your iPhone with several, because then users will be able to easily exchange content with each other and applications. When you connect your smartphone to another computer, you see the familiar message that “this device can only sync with one iTunes library.” Otherwise, most of the files on iPhone will be replaced.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem too. The way a device “recognizes” its native library is in a special file hidden on your Mac or PC. If you copy it from one of your computers and move it to another, the smartphone will think that it has been reconnected to the original iTunes library.

To get started, open Finder and use the keyboard shortcut Command+Shift+G. In the window that appears, type ~/Music/iTunes and press enter.


Next you will see a list of files. Be sure to back up all the contents of this folder in case something goes wrong.


After that, open the iTunes Music Library.xml file using a text editor (TextEdit). Here you will see the required key (highlighted in the screenshot), which should be copied or written down on a piece of paper.


On the second computer, repeat all these steps. Make sure iTunes is not running and be sure to delete the .itl files in the Previous iTunes Libraries folder. If you don’t have this folder, then you don’t need to delete anything.


Then, as you may have guessed, you need to replace the key from the iTunes Music Library.xml file with the key from your library. Next, open the iTunes Library.itl file and delete all its contents. Be sure to save your changes.

Open iTunes. You will see an error message, but you can safely ignore it. Just connect your iPhone to your computer - no files will be replaced.

IMPORTANT!

Computer owners should perform the above steps in the C:\Users\USERNAME\Music\iTunes folder, and use Notepad to edit files.

Good day, Habr!

Synchronization for money

Free storage

I chose between three data storage services: Google Drive, Bitcasa and SkyDrive.

• Google Drive is an excellent service for storing data, but it stores a lot of documents, books, photos and other files, which together with the iTunes library can exceed 5 GB in size and therefore you will need to pay additional money for space, which you don’t want to do .
• Bitcasa - offers a lot of space for storing data, but, as it turned out, this service can only synchronize data from one computer. Select a folder on your computer and create a mirror in the storage. Second computer - second folder.
• SkyDrive is a direct competitor to Google Drive. 7 GB available for free. It’s quite enough to store a media library (for me), but it’s worth considering that the speed of uploading and downloading files leaves much to be desired.

So I chose SkyDrive. I created a SkyDrive folder on my computer, created an iTunes folder in it and moved the entire library into it. All files immediately began to be uploaded to the cloud. Next, I created a SkyDrive folder on the second computer and files were automatically downloaded from the cloud. All that remains is to indicate in the iTunes program the “iTunes Media” folder in SkyDrive.

Setting up iTunes

1. “iTunes Library.itl” - contains ratings, comments, additional information about playlists and more.
2. “iTunes Music Library.xml” - contains information about the location of media files in the library.
3. “iTunes Library Genius.itdb” - recorded after launching the Genius function, your musical preferences.
4. “iTunes Library Extras.itdb” - contains information from the music CD database.

Of these files, we are only interested in two files: “iTunes Library.itl” and “iTunes Music Library.xml”. There is an ID in these files that blocks iTunes from syncing from another computer (wants to replace all files with those stored in the new library). You can change the identifier in each file, or you can simply save the specified 2 files in the cloud and download them when you need to update your media library. These files can be stored in the same SkyDrive, but create a separate folder. When you need to update your library, you will need to copy these files to "...\Music\iTunes", and after updating the library - back to SkyDrive. Alas, I couldn't come up with anything better. Well, perhaps, store these files in Google Drive or synchronize via Bitcasa into separate folders (for each computer). But this doesn't change things much.

Now you're ready to sync!

Everything is ready for synchronization, but one more point needs to be clarified:

• When adding "iTunes Library.itl" and "iTunes Music Library.xml" files to the main iTunes folder, the library files may not be found. The fact is that on another computer the files are located in a different folder and the wrong path is specified in the files that describe the media library.
  • The solution to this problem is to explicitly indicate the location of the media file when trying to listen to (view) it. iTunes will find the rest of the recordings itself. Well, or you can use AutoCorrect to try replacing part of the path pointing to the media files. I have not tried to do this, since you need to make replacements in two files and, moreover, you need to store a line containing the path to the file on the new computer in order to know what to change to.

Conclusion

I will be glad to receive useful comments, advice and tips. I apologize for indicating the wrong hubs for the post: none of the others came close to this topic, at least in name.