Nix to Norm's infinite playlists
January 14, 2010 11:15 AM Subscribe
How do I rescue my playlists in iTunes after switching computers?
So I got a new laptop. I managed to switch iTunes from the old one to a new one by way of my backup external drive, and that worked. But when I synced it the first time with my iPhone, all the playlists vanished. I'm wondering if there's a trick I missed when transferring all my folders from the drive into iTunes that would transfer my playlists too. What's weird about that theory, though, is that I can't seem to find them in the folders of my iTunes directory. Where do they live? And now that I've gotten rid of them, are they gone for good?
I'd like to have my damn playlists back already. They're not incredible, but they work for me, and it would take many hours to recreate them. And yeah, I saw this question, but it doesn't help on my specific query about the playlists. To be perfectly clear, the only thing I'm having problems with is the lost playlists.
So I got a new laptop. I managed to switch iTunes from the old one to a new one by way of my backup external drive, and that worked. But when I synced it the first time with my iPhone, all the playlists vanished. I'm wondering if there's a trick I missed when transferring all my folders from the drive into iTunes that would transfer my playlists too. What's weird about that theory, though, is that I can't seem to find them in the folders of my iTunes directory. Where do they live? And now that I've gotten rid of them, are they gone for good?
I'd like to have my damn playlists back already. They're not incredible, but they work for me, and it would take many hours to recreate them. And yeah, I saw this question, but it doesn't help on my specific query about the playlists. To be perfectly clear, the only thing I'm having problems with is the lost playlists.
If you're using Windows, here's a guide to backing up iTunes, including your playlists and preferences. It's a little more involved than just copying your music files, but still pretty easy.
posted by rhapsodie at 11:40 AM on January 14, 2010
posted by rhapsodie at 11:40 AM on January 14, 2010
Response by poster: Awesome, Hackworth. That gave me enough to figure it out. I just had to go and re-import the library from the old computer to the new one, and then pick "add playlist" from the menu and point it at the new library file. Much obliged.
posted by norm at 12:03 PM on January 14, 2010
posted by norm at 12:03 PM on January 14, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Hackworth at 11:32 AM on January 14, 2010 [1 favorite]