iPod Switcher music problem

[timmyb]

I will be getting a Mac in the next month, (or whenever iBooks are next updated) and have a query about transferring mucis. I currently have about 12GB of music on the PC (with iTunes) and am wondering what is the best way to get this all on the my Mac. Not all of the music is on CD and I don't own a portable hard drive. Are there any high capacity disks, (1GB+) which I could use to transfer chunks of music? As well as the transferring, is there a way to preserve my ratings and play counts as i have various smart playlists which rely on them.
Any advice would be gratefully received.

 

[hob]

I will be getting a Mac in the next month, (or whenever iBooks are next updated) and have a query about transferring mucis. I currently have about 12GB of music on the PC (with iTunes) and am wondering what is the best way to get this all on the my Mac. Not all of the music is on CD and I don't own a portable hard drive. Are there any high capacity disks, (1GB+) which I could use to transfer chunks of music? As well as the transferring, is there a way to preserve my ratings and play counts as i have various smart playlists which rely on them.
Any advice would be gratefully received.

As far as I know there isn't currently a program dedicated to such a task - transferring your library to your mac, however there are several things you might want to try:
1. Ethernet - use a crossover cable (that's all you need) between the two machines and transfer at speeds of 100Mbps
2. Firewire - use a 6-pin to 6-pin between the two and get speeds of up to 400Mbps. The iBook will have the appropriate, port does your PC?
3. Wireless? Only 54Mbps...
4. DVD - get an external dvd writer and use it to burn DVD's of your music, then load them onto the iBook. When your finished you can still use the DVD burner on your iBook in the future!

Also, consider moving the file iTunes 4 Music Library which should be in your music folder before the iTunes music folder (e.g. c:\my music\itunes)

Hope this helps! If you go with firewire, PM me and I'll show you how to set up your iBook for FireWire Networking

 

[timmyb]

Thanks very much for the help. Unfortuantely my PC doesn't have Firewire so I think i'll get the ethernet cable.

 

[LeeTom]

Yeah, you can just copy your iTunes folder over to the proper spot on your Mac (into the Music folder in your home folder), and iTunes will see it.