garcon
26th July 2007, 10:17 PM
hi guys,
I've found a simple method to perfectly sync itunes library between os x & xp on a Mac.
-If you only have 2 partitions (NTFS & HFS) then this solution might be good.
-NTFS is visible in OS X but read-only but HFS is not visible in XP.
-By using MacDrive6 for XP, the HFS drive can be mounted as a local drive in XP will full access (read/write ok).
-Since the HFS is the only drive I can write to under both OSs, I decided to store my mp3 files there so I can perform changes to my itunes library regardless of which OS i'm on.
-To proceed, you need to install MacDrive6. I did it so my HFS drive appears as E:\ on my XP.
-Now you have to tell both versions of iTunes to point to the same location to have access to the iTunes Music Folder.
-For windows iTunes .... Edit->Preferences->Advanced->{censored} iTunes Music folder location->"E:\Users\username\Mu{censored} sic\iTunes\iTunes Music". replace E:\ with whatever letter your HFS drive is assigned with under windows..
-Check "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library"
-Now do the same for your OS X iTunes, make sure the folder location refers to the same folder although the path looks slightly different.
iTunes organizes your music by using a database file called iTunes Library. the iTunes Library files for windows and OS X are named differently but they do the same thing.
-Windows "\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl "
-OS X "/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTun{censored} es Library"
-Please note the OS X library doesn't have a file extension so it might look like a folder, but it's actually a file.
-To sync your itunes content under both OSs, it means both "iTunes Library.itl" and "iTunes Library" files have to be identical. Surprisingly the windows itunes library works under OS X, and vice versa! Looks like the file formats are perfectly identical despite the difference in file names.
So how do they sync with each other? This is the fun part. Since library changes on windows are not automatically reflected under os x (and vice versa), i wrote 2 simple .bat files for simple automation.
i called this "Sync to Mac.bat"
cd\
cd Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
copy "iTunes Library.itl" "iTunes Library"
del E:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\"iT{censored} unes Library"
copy "iTunes Library" E:\Users\username\Music\iTunes
del "iTunes Library"
and "Sync from Mac.bat"
cd\
cd Documents and Settings\Philix\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
delete "backup.itl"
rename "iTunes Library.itl" "backup.itl"
copy E:\Users\philix\Music\iTunes\"iTun{censored} es Library"
rename "iTunes Library" "iTunes Library.itl"
-Now try make some heavy changes to your itunes library in windows. If you want your OS X itunes to update to whatever changes done in Windows, run "Sync to Mac.bat"
-Switch to OS X iTunes and you should see an identical library now.
-Now do some changes on OS X.
-Switch back to XP and open iTunes. You should NOT see the update done in OS X now because the library file isn't updated yet.
-To do so, quit iTunes and run "Sync from Mac.bat".
-Now open your iTunes again and i hope it's done
I hope this solves the sync problem for some people. It's my first attempt working on the solution so suggestions/comments are welcome. I'm sure there's a way to make windows update OS X side automatically and vice versa. This is only the beginning so stay tuned for revisions.
Enjoy! :)
I've found a simple method to perfectly sync itunes library between os x & xp on a Mac.
-If you only have 2 partitions (NTFS & HFS) then this solution might be good.
-NTFS is visible in OS X but read-only but HFS is not visible in XP.
-By using MacDrive6 for XP, the HFS drive can be mounted as a local drive in XP will full access (read/write ok).
-Since the HFS is the only drive I can write to under both OSs, I decided to store my mp3 files there so I can perform changes to my itunes library regardless of which OS i'm on.
-To proceed, you need to install MacDrive6. I did it so my HFS drive appears as E:\ on my XP.
-Now you have to tell both versions of iTunes to point to the same location to have access to the iTunes Music Folder.
-For windows iTunes .... Edit->Preferences->Advanced->{censored} iTunes Music folder location->"E:\Users\username\Mu{censored} sic\iTunes\iTunes Music". replace E:\ with whatever letter your HFS drive is assigned with under windows..
-Check "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library"
-Now do the same for your OS X iTunes, make sure the folder location refers to the same folder although the path looks slightly different.
iTunes organizes your music by using a database file called iTunes Library. the iTunes Library files for windows and OS X are named differently but they do the same thing.
-Windows "\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl "
-OS X "/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTun{censored} es Library"
-Please note the OS X library doesn't have a file extension so it might look like a folder, but it's actually a file.
-To sync your itunes content under both OSs, it means both "iTunes Library.itl" and "iTunes Library" files have to be identical. Surprisingly the windows itunes library works under OS X, and vice versa! Looks like the file formats are perfectly identical despite the difference in file names.
So how do they sync with each other? This is the fun part. Since library changes on windows are not automatically reflected under os x (and vice versa), i wrote 2 simple .bat files for simple automation.
i called this "Sync to Mac.bat"
cd\
cd Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
copy "iTunes Library.itl" "iTunes Library"
del E:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\"iT{censored} unes Library"
copy "iTunes Library" E:\Users\username\Music\iTunes
del "iTunes Library"
and "Sync from Mac.bat"
cd\
cd Documents and Settings\Philix\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
delete "backup.itl"
rename "iTunes Library.itl" "backup.itl"
copy E:\Users\philix\Music\iTunes\"iTun{censored} es Library"
rename "iTunes Library" "iTunes Library.itl"
-Now try make some heavy changes to your itunes library in windows. If you want your OS X itunes to update to whatever changes done in Windows, run "Sync to Mac.bat"
-Switch to OS X iTunes and you should see an identical library now.
-Now do some changes on OS X.
-Switch back to XP and open iTunes. You should NOT see the update done in OS X now because the library file isn't updated yet.
-To do so, quit iTunes and run "Sync from Mac.bat".
-Now open your iTunes again and i hope it's done
I hope this solves the sync problem for some people. It's my first attempt working on the solution so suggestions/comments are welcome. I'm sure there's a way to make windows update OS X side automatically and vice versa. This is only the beginning so stay tuned for revisions.
Enjoy! :)