Categories
Archive

Ask PowerPage: Retaining iTunes Ratings After Reformatting

iTunes My RatingsDear PowerPage,
I am preparing to upgrade to a larger PowerBook hard drive that I received as a Christmas gift and need your advice. I have spent a lot of time working on the ID3 tags in my iTunes library so that they are pristine and have all the correct album artwork, genres, years, etc. but I remember reading that iTunes ratings (and other ID3 tags) can disappear if you move you music library. I am trying to avoid this for obvious reasons.
I remember reading here on the PowerPage that the best way to survive a “nuke and pave” is to keep the hard drive name and Mac OS X user account _exactly the same_ as it was on the old hard drive. The only problem is that I’d like to set up my new hard drive with a different name and even change the name of my OS X user account.
What is the recommended way to upgrade to a new drive and retain all of my precious ID3 tags? What else do I need to look out for if I change my HDD name? (iPhoto library?) Will my permissions be messed up forever if I change my Mac OS X user account?
Any help appreciated!


iTunes My RatingsDear PowerPage,
I am preparing to upgrade to a larger PowerBook hard drive that I received as a Christmas gift and need your advice. I have spent a lot of time working on the ID3 tags in my iTunes library so that they are pristine and have all the correct album artwork, genres, years, etc. but I remember reading that iTunes ratings (and other ID3 tags) can disappear if you move you music library. I am trying to avoid this for obvious reasons.
I remember reading here on the PowerPage that the best way to survive a “nuke and pave” is to keep the hard drive name and Mac OS X user account _exactly the same_ as it was on the old hard drive. The only problem is that I’d like to set up my new hard drive with a different name and even change the name of my OS X user account.
What is the recommended way to upgrade to a new drive and retain all of my precious ID3 tags? What else do I need to look out for if I change my HDD name? (iPhoto library?) Will my permissions be messed up forever if I change my Mac OS X user account?
Any help appreciated!

By Jason O'Grady

Founded the PowerPage in 1995.