Itunes folder mess, help sync Iphone to new computer

[honoringveterans1000]

Hello,

Until a short time ago i had an windows laptop that i used along with iTunes to add music libraries to my iPhone and make backups before iOS upgrades.

Unfortunately i destroyed it, but I managed to save the hard drive by pulling it out and putting it in a enclosure. So, the HD is saved.

Now I’m using a MBP e-08 of my friend with a fresh El Capitan installed on it. I would like to connect my iPhone, but I'm confused and terrified.

I know that i can simply replace the iTunes folder of the Mac with the iTunes folder from my HD, turn off auto sync from iTunes and that’s it.

But.. i’m a f****** idiot!
I always had a bad management of my old computer, always moving default folders, and changing settings continuously.
So, my problem is the following.
C:\Users\username\My Music\iTunes\ is empty. After a long search in the HD, i discover various iTunes folders, but there's only one that seems to me to be the right one. But here lies another problem. Rummaging in folders within \ iTunes \ and specifically in Music folder, I noticed that there is only 1/10 of the music that I currently have on the iPhone. In apps folder, there are apps that were in my old iPhone and not in the current one. So, I think before my old computer died, 'Copy files to iTunes Media folder' was turned off.

What is the best thing to do in this situation, losing as little as possible from iPhone?
I am willing to lose my music library but not apps, settings and the rest.

I’m able to enter in AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\ but the last backup is 4 months ago.

At the end i’m an idiot.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

 

[tjwilliams25]

Did you have any other drives that the music would be on, or was that the only one? If that was the only one then the music has to be somewhere on the drive. When you sync with iTunes it makes sure that the libraries are exactly the same, so if it can't find that file on your computer (i.e. it was deleted or moved) it would delete it from the device. So, since you said you have a larger library on your phone than computer the files have to be somewhere. There are also utilities for extracting data from your phone which I wouldn't suggest as they aren't officially supported by Apple and I don't trust them, but it's an option.

 

[honoringveterans1000]

First of all, thanks for your response.

Regarding the music. Yes, all my music is on the HD, but outside /iTunes/iTunes media/music/ folder. So, from your consideration, I desume that if i put exactly the same music that i have in my iPhone, in /iTunes/iTunes media/music/ and then replace the iTunes folder with the iTunes folder from my HD, I'll be ok, right?

And what about apps? I mean, in this /iTunes/iTunes media/ folder, i have also a /mobile applications/ folder. This folder contain old apps from my old iPhone of which i no longer need. If I replace the actual /iTunes/ folder with the /iTunes/ folder from my HD and then connect my iPhone (with iTunes auto sync turned off) what will happen with the apps on my iPhone?

Here's a screenshot of the alleged iTunes folder http://imgur.com/a/sVmuj

Thank you for the help and sorry for my confusion.

 

[sohanangal]

First of all, thanks for your response.

Regarding the music. Yes, all my music is on the HD, but outside /iTunes/iTunes media/music/ folder. So, from your consideration, I desume that if i put exactly the same music that i have in my iPhone, in /iTunes/iTunes media/music/ and then replace the iTunes folder with the iTunes folder from my HD, I'll be ok, right?

And what about apps? I mean, in this /iTunes/iTunes media/ folder, i have also a /mobile applications/ folder. This folder contain old apps from my old iPhone of which i no longer need. If I replace the actual /iTunes/ folder with the /iTunes/ folder from my HD and then connect my iPhone (with iTunes auto sync turned off) what will happen with the apps on my iPhone?

Here's a screenshot of the alleged iTunes folder http://imgur.com/a/sVmuj

Thank you for the help and sorry for my confusion.

[doublepost=1477745863][/doublepost]Sorry, the earlier post was sent by mistake. I have a similar issue.

My wife's iPhone 6 is currently synced with her Dell laptop. It is about to crash so want to shift the entire backup to my MacBook Pro. I am not worried about the music syncing as I have the entire library on my MBP. However, I do not want to lose the photos, apps and other data. Would connecting the iPhone to my MBP clear all the previous data from the device? Or is there an easier option to shift the entire back up to the MBP?

Thanks in advance!!!