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What is the easiest way for me to sync all of my mp3s between computers?

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Emperor Bohe

Member
So I just bought an iMac today. All of my music (at least 100 gb or more of vinyl/cd rips, I'm too lazy to check the exact number) is on my laptop, which is running Windows 8 as the operating system. What is the easiest way for me to access all of my mp3s from my iMac? It would be preferable if I could listen to them in itunes..

Since it is between two different operating systems, I'm not sure what to do. Should I set up a folder for sharing? If so, how do I do that? Can I set up a media server from my laptop? I'm guessing that I would only be able to access the music when my laptop is on (which I don't mind). I also have a external HD, but I would rather not drag around/plug in a huge thing every time I want to listen to music.

This shit is hurting my brain and I don't feel like thinking right now. Help me GAF, haha. I'm not used to having more than one computer at a time..

edit: I don't want to transfer the music to my iMac, I just want to be able to listen to the mp3s from my iMac. Sorry for not being more clear.
 
H

Husker86

Member
It's a pain in the ass if you want it to be in the iTunes library, I think.

I'd use Dropbox.

Maybe if you set iTunes to NOT organize your music folder, and set the music folder to the Dropbox folder that you decide then it will work fine.

edit: nevermind, just noticed your library size. Ummm...Google Music if you don't mind playing from a browser?

I'm very pro-cloud. I'm sure there is a way to set up a network drive with a NAS that's always on or something. But then if you leave the house it's not gonna be with your laptop.
 
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Emperor Bohe

Member
I should mention that I plan on doing all of my music listening within my home network. I don't really need to have access to my music library outside of home if it over complicates things..
 
D

Dany

Banned
dropbox to transfer the music, it would be a pain. Maybe a usb cable? Or itunes home sharing if you dont want to transfer it.
 
S

Somnid

Member
I think iTunes has home sharing so use that.

Otherwise I'd suggest iTunes Match. It'll cost you $25 a year though. Anything else will be more of a pain.
 
P

prettyvacant77

Member
Get yourself a NAS drive, most of them run iTunes server so you'll be set. You can get a decent one for a £100 nowadays, access your music from anywhere you like.

There's a NAS OT if you do a search...
 
F

Fuzzery

Member
A bit off topic, but what's the best way to transfer all my programs/other media in between my computers? Getting a new computer today, have a bunch of crap to transfer over, no external HDD
 
8

8bit

Knows the Score
I do hope you've got backups of those rips and they're not just located on your laptop. That's just asking for trouble.
 
S

Somnid

Member
Fuzzery said:
A bit off topic, but what's the best way to transfer all my programs/other media in between my computers? Getting a new computer today, have a bunch of crap to transfer over, no external HDD
Click to expand...

I know Windows has a computer migration tool, I would be positively shocked if Macs didn't but I've never used it. You just hook it to your network and wait a few hours.
 
C

criesofthepast

Member
I know this may not be a solution to your specific problem, but long term I really suggest getting this music backed up somewhere on the cloud. Google music or iTunes match are good solutions for that. Not sure if you can upload 100gbs of music though. Google has a 10,0000 or 20,000 song limit. I love google music. I can access and stream music anywhere and if I want to download the files for local storage I can do that as well. I have all my music in the cloud as well as on a USB external drive. Don't risk losing all that music not having it backed up.
 
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Emperor Bohe

Member
8bit said:
I do hope you've got backups of those rips and they're not just located on your laptop. That's just asking for trouble.
Click to expand...

Of course, I have run windows backup often and save them to my 2TB western digital external HDD. I've lost all of my music a few years ago, so I'm extra paranoid. I make hip hop beats and I lost all of my beats that I made up until that point. But I don't want to have to have a 2TB external HDD hooked up all of the time..

On a related note, the reason why I want to stream my music to my iMac and not straight up transfer it is because a lot of the songs are linked to ableton live/sony acid pro work files and I don't want to break them. I want to keep y laptop as my music workstation. I don't mind having to keep my laptop on to listen to the music. So I guess a home server would be the best thing in that case?
 
D

dhlt25

Member
amazon mp3 cloud is pretty decent. They let you upload 250k songs for $25 a year. The software is a bit iffy but once you have everything uploaded it's good to go. I'm using it to stream my library to my phone everyday and it works great.
 
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darkazcura

Member
If it is just for music, you could possibly hook up an external drive to your router through USB..that's if your router has a USB port in the first place and USB storage support.
 
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Emperor Bohe

Member
Itunes match is actually kind of tempting. Does anyone use it and have any feedback? Is there anyway I can have it upload my mp3s only, and not replace it with what they have on the itunes store? I'm very OCD with the tags on my music, mainly because I scrobble.

I feel like I'm making this situation extra complicated. I apologize hahaha.

edit: and if I edit a song tag/album artwork on my iMac, will it also sync the changes with my laptop where the files are stored locally?
 
L

lednerg

Member
darkazcura said:
If it is just for music, you could possibly hook up an external drive to your router through USB..that's if your router has a USB port in the first place and USB storage support.
Click to expand...

Came here to post this. Lots of people have a USB port on their router and they don't even realize it.
 
C

cchum

Member
lednerg said:
Came here to post this. Lots of people have a USB port on their router and they don't even realize it.
Click to expand...

Keanu whoa.gif

So my library is on an external drive organized into iTunes folder. So I could hook that guy up to router and pull down from there?
 
Marc

Marc

Member
I don't know anything about mac's but instead of buying anything, why can't you just map a drive with SMB protocol? Share the folder, copy your itunes settings and edit the file (think its an *.itl off hand) with a copy and replace of the share drive directory. Although you can actually share the config folder as well and set any itunes library path to that location I think. The way I do it, I have a secondary drive on my primary PC with a particular drive letter. Map that drive on my laptop and such with same drive letter and use something like synctoy for the settings config to replicate on all devices. I also replicate the folder itself for backup purposes, but don't have as many songs.

Since its a laptop you won't have a secondary drive, but you can still partition the space.

Its only music, should be able to stream fine.

Thats the cheap and easy option, can do a quick walkthrough or find an article for you if that is what you want to try.
 
M

mackattk

Member
cchum said:
Keanu whoa.gif

So my library is on an external drive organized into iTunes folder. So I could hook that guy up to router and pull down from there?
Click to expand...

Yeah, just keep in mind that the transfer speed on a lot of the routers through the USB interface is absolute shit. It works, but it can be pretty slow.

A NAS is definitely the best solution, but also the one that is the most pricey.
 
H

Husker86

Member
HolyBaikal said:
I've tried Dropbox.

It has very little storage for the money. I don't see why everyone sees it as so amazing.
Click to expand...

Dropbox concept is amazing. I personally have 72GB and I haven't paid a dime, though that goes down to 22GB at some point in the future.

I don't store music locally anymore. It's a waste of space and inconvenient. All music is in Google Music and Dropbox has plenty of space for almost anything else I'd want to have on multiple computers.
 
E

Emperor Bohe

Member
on a kind of unrelated note, how do I install Windows 8 on my iMac? As for as I know, you can only purchase Windows 8 as a upgrade and not as a fresh install. Besides, my iMac doesn't have a disc drive.

My Sony VAIO laptop is running Windows 8, is there anywhere that I can just purchase a product key for a full version of Windows 8 and create a boot disc somehow? I'm sorry, this is my first Mac computer (been a Windows dude my whole life) so I feel like I have a lot of learning to do.
 
n64coder

n64coder

Member
reKon said:
Google Music.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's pretty cool. I discovered it over the weekend because of a GAF recommendation. The sync from Itunes seems a little screwy though. For example, I see Led Zeppelin BBC Sessions Disc 1 & Disc 2 in the library. But I also see another copy of Disc 1 with only 3 songs instead of 10. ITunes only shows Disc 1 & 2. There are a few other albums like this but I haven't done an extensive search.

Emperor Bohe said:
on a kind of unrelated note, how do I install Windows 8 on my iMac? As for as I know, you can only purchase Windows 8 as a upgrade and not as a fresh install. Besides, my iMac doesn't have a disc drive.

My Sony VAIO laptop is running Windows 8, is there anywhere that I can just purchase a product key for a full version of Windows 8 and create a boot disc somehow? I'm sorry, this is my first Mac computer (been a Windows dude my whole life) so I feel like I have a lot of learning to do.
Click to expand...

You might want to wait for 8.1 which will be out in a week. It will have a standalone install instead of just an upgrade install.
 
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