Member Avatar for Kawasaki8

Hi Guys,
I recently had my macbook taken in for service to due to memory problems or something like that. They upgraded my system to OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard from 10.5 Leopard.
I had backed up all my stuff including Iphoto and my Itunes library. When I got my macbook back, I started putting things from my external harddrive back onto the mac HD. I put the Iphoto onto my desktop first and then dragged it into the Iphoto icon in the dock with no problems. All photos were transferred.
When I went back into my time capsule, I found my I tunes and then dragged it from the external right into the I tunes icon in the dock. All songs transferred etc.
But now when I connect my iPhone, it gives the message that the phone can only be connected to one iTunes at a time to sync my music, movies and ringtones. I assume it means the iTunes in my external harddrive but how can I make this work? I thought I put the iTunes from my external into the new iTunes in my dock of Snow Leopard.
So, I ghave a few questions.
1) is it possible to get my iPhone connected to my new iTunes and sync the music, movies etc that I want?
2) for my podcasts, I just simply chose the option of erasing and syncing with what was in my library because I could easily find them again and download if necessary. I did that with no problems. I was also able to do that with my applications, too.
If I choose that option for my music and movies etc, what will happen? I mean my iPhone is only 16GB but I have alot more music than that in my iTunes library. All the music on my iPhone is also in my iTunes library, so what is the worst case scenario if I erase and sync with the contents in my library?
3) if I erase and sync again, what happens to my photos and recorded movies (from the camera) and my contacts list? do they get erased or is it only the iTunes contents that does that?

If you have any suggestions, I'd be happy to hear them!
I tried to deauthorize and then authorize again but nothing changed. I can't transfer or play music onto or from my iPhone. Help please from those mac experts.

Cheers!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by royng

Dani AI

Generated

Short diagnosis and a safe plan.

That alert means the iPhone is still tied to a different iTunes library; if you choose “Erase and Sync” iTunes will replace the selected media type(s) on the phone with whatever your current iTunes library contains. Do not force a sync until you have a backup and you’ve copied anything that exists only on the phone. (support.apple.com)

Immediate checklist (do these before you try to sync):

  • Prevent accidental auto-sync in iTunes so nothing starts without your permission.
  • Make a full iTunes backup of the iPhone (Back Up Now). Backups include Camera Roll photos and app data so you can restore if something goes wrong. (support.apple.com)
  • Use iTunes’ “Transfer Purchases” to copy store purchases from the iPhone into the library (so purchased music/apps aren’t lost). (support.apple.com)
  • If some songs live only on the iPhone (not on any drive), extract them first with a device-extraction tool (for example iMazing or AnyTrans) so you don’t lose non‑purchased tracks. (imazing.com)

What “erase and sync” actually does, and your questions:

  • It removes and replaces only the content types you choose to sync (music, movies, tones, etc.). Other data (contacts, apps, Camera Roll photos) won’t be erased unless you explicitly have those types set to be synced/overwritten by the new library. Read the sync options and space estimate first. (macworld.com)

Practical next steps (safe order): back up the phone, Transfer Purchases, export any unique music off the phone, then either restore your original iTunes library (so iTunes recognizes the same library the phone expects) or set up carefully selected-playlist syncing so only what fits on the 16GB device is copied. and were correct to push restoring the old library; ’s warning about potential data loss is justified — but you can avoid it by following the steps above.

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for zach&kody

Worst case scenario is you could lose everything, but when I was transfering my itunes data from my hp to my new Mac Air I encountered a similar problem. I actually have a question for you; the music in your itunes library is the same as on your phone correct? Or are there songs that have not yet been synched into the library? If the songs in your library and your phone match, then I see no harm in erasing your old library and synching with the current itunes library. Another question, did you buy your music from the itunes store? or did you buy the CDs? Because, if you buy your music on Itunes, I reccomend backing them up on an external hardrive just in case you would lose your music on your Itunes would crash. My Itunes has crashed and luckily I didn't have too many previously purchased music. If you have all your music on CDs or elsewhere on your computer, synch, if you bought the music, transfer compies to an external hardrive and synch. I hope this was helpful. -From our computer to yours- zach&kody

Member Avatar for macmad

The easy solution is to hold down the control and option buttons while opening up itunes. This will let you select any iTunes database you want. Go to your time machine and replace (keep the old one for now) your music folder. Do the above and all should sync properly.
The control option sequence also works for iPhoto, but has a lot more options that are handy if you are having problems.
This should take care of any problems of loading you iphone. As for getting you pics into iphoto, use an app (already there with OSx) called Image Capture. You can get it to automatically load the pic from your phone into you iPhoto Library. Oh yea, when syncing your iphone, iTunes will state that you do not have enough memory for download and yes erase means erase.
I hope I got all of your questions answered, if not post.

Member Avatar for royng

I agree with macmad. Just go time machine and replace your database. Time machine will prompt you whether you want to keep the old one or both. Choose keep both. The rest you can follow macmad suggestion. I do not have an iphone so i do not know how to help you on that

Member Avatar for royng

If your problem is solved can you please mark the thread as solved. You can do that by going to the bottom. Thanks, i appreciate it.

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