Need iTunes expert! Help!

[MacBH928]

So I have old computer with iTunes and newer one with iTunes 12.7 on High Sierra. I wanted to move exactly everything from the old to the new so I copied the entirity of (music->iTunes) folder from one to the other. Then upgraded to Mojave. PLEASE HELP!

1)The old library has a folder called "iTunes Music" the newer library one had "iTunes Media" ?​

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2)There is a folder called "Previous iTunes Library", what is this? Can I delete it?​

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3)There is a file called "iTunes Music Library.XML" not in folder of the newer library. Whats this? There is another "iTunes Library.itl"​

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4)There is a folder called Scripts with an app inside it called "Music Folder File Not Added" the icon of it has a white stop sign on it.​

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5)There is a folder called "Automatically Add to iTunes", whats this?​

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6)There is a file called "Movies" it has files from old video podcasts and videos i added but they are not showing up in iTunes 12.9​

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7)Due to old iPhone backups there is a file called "Mobile Applications", this too does not show up?!​

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8)There is a "Voice Memo" folder with snipets recorded. Can't see them in itunes 12.9​

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9) There is a newer iTunes out there 12.11 but I don't get updates shown for it? I also heard Apple split iTunes 3 apps I also do not see that or updates for it?​

 

[Rodan52]

I'm not sure exactly what you did or what your problem is.
I get that you copied everything in your Music folder on an older computer to a newer computer. That's a good thing because it means you have all of your data.

The newer version (on your newer computer) will have it's own iTunes Library so it has differentiated between that and the one you imported by calling that "Previous iTunes Library". Definitely do not delete that!

A .xml file extension is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file. These are really just plain text files that use custom tags to describe the structure and other features of a document. Don't delete that.

A file with the ITL file extension is an iTunes Library file and I would not delete that unless it somehow effects function.

You can Right click on any of these files and go to "Get Info" to check their size. If they are small then general rule of thumb would be to leave them unless they conflict with existing files. If they are very large as I suspect your "Previous iTunes Library" may be then definitely do not delete unless it's duplication.

I should ask at this point does iTunes actually work, does it have all your music in it?

Lastly, you mention, "I also heard Apple split iTunes 3 apps I also do not see that or updates for it?" that did not happen till macOS Catalina which you do not have.

 

[MacBH928]

I'm not sure exactly what you did or what your problem is.
I get that you copied everything in your Music folder on an older computer to a newer computer. That's a good thing because it means you have all of your data.

The newer version (on your newer computer) will have it's own iTunes Library so it has differentiated between that and the one you imported by calling that "Previous iTunes Library". Definitely do not delete that!

A .xml file extension is an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file. These are really just plain text files that use custom tags to describe the structure and other features of a document. Don't delete that.

A file with the ITL file extension is an iTunes Library file and I would not delete that unless it somehow effects function.

You can Right click on any of these files and go to "Get Info" to check their size. If they are small then general rule of thumb would be to leave them unless they conflict with existing files. If they are very large as I suspect your "Previous iTunes Library" may be then definitely do not delete unless it's duplication.

I should ask at this point does iTunes actually work, does it have all your music in it?

Lastly, you mention, "I also heard Apple split iTunes 3 apps I also do not see that or updates for it?" that did not happen till macOS Catalina which you do not have.

Thanks for your attention.

I fiddled with the Library and hoped for the best. What I did is the following.

1)Cleared iTunes Folder.​

2)Changed folder name from iTunes Muisc to iTunes Media and placed it along with Album Artwork folder(don't know whats here) in the iTunes folder.​

3)Launched iTunes ->preferences->choose to not copy files to library.​

4)select all that is in iTunes Media->Music and dragged and dropped on iTunes window​

5)Copied similar approach to podcasts and movies.​

Seems like it built a new library and everything worked except for Voice Memo which I didn't have much so I cleared the folder, cleared whats in the Voice Memo app , and manually copied the files to Voice Memo App.

What was most imporant to me was not to lose the meta-data, I didn't want copies of the files I wanted the exact files to keep stuff like creation date. Using this approach seems to preserve it but I lost my star ratings.

The only caveat now is that I am on iTunes 12.9.5.5 and there seems to be an iTunes 12.11 which I am not getting. I am guessing thats Catalina only?!

 

[Boyd01]

I am guessing thats Catalina only?!

Not likely. Apple no longer supports iTunes on Catalina.

Apple Music User Guide for Mac

Learn to use Apple Music on Mac to listen to all the music in your collection, discover new artists, and add more songs to your library.

support.apple.com

 

[MacBH928]

Not likely. Apple no longer supports iTunes on Catalina.

Apple Music User Guide for Mac

Learn to use Apple Music on Mac to listen to all the music in your collection, discover new artists, and add more songs to your library.

support.apple.com

I am confused. On Apple website they say the latest release is a 12.8 , on Wikipedia they say there is a 12.11 version, and I have 12.9 installed!

 

[DeltaMac]

Yes, not on Catalina, either.
If you go back to your Wikipedia article, you will see that iTunes 12.10 and newer are Windows only. There's no Mac version after 12.9.5.5 (and no iTunes at all is installed with Catalina, replaced by Apple Music and the Finder for some functions.) You CAN install iTunes on Catalina and later, but Apple doesn't support it.