How To Sync All the iTunes Libraries In Your House

Posted 11/08/2010 at 2:17pm | by Cory Bohon

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A massive iTunes library is great for pumpin' up the jams at home, but what if you want to take those tunes out on the road with you? If you've got two main Macs, but only your desktop is loaded with all those awesome b-sides, maybe it's time to consider setting up a NAS to get your iTunes library synced across all your systems. While Apple does include a Home Sharing feature, it doesn't work when you're far away from your headquarters.

And that’s where MediaRover comes in: this little piece of software enables you to have your iTunes library sync across your entire home network. So, when you bring your MacBook home, MediaRover will automatically sync with any NAS device on your network.

Read along to learn how to set up MediaRover on multiple Macs, configure a NAS device using an AirPort router, and then sync and manage your libraries.

What You'll Need:

>> Free MediaRover account (http://mediarover.com)
>> NAS-compatible router (or another NAS device)
>> USB external hard drive large enough to hold iTunes library
>> Multiple Macs and/or PCs (with iTunes)

1. Getting Started

Before we can get started setting up MediaRover on your Macs, you will need to visit the MediaRover website and sign up for a free account, which will allow you to sync with as many as eight different Macs and PCs. This account will also let you manage your different computers.

2. Download and install MediaRover

Log in to MediaRover and select the Download link near the top of the account page. From here, you’ll be able to select either the Mac or Windows version of the application. At the bottom, you’ll have your account information, including email address and account access code. You should note both of these as you will need to provide them during the MediaRover Setup.

3. Set up a NAS drive using an AirPort router

Before we can begin the MediaRover setup, we need to first configure our NAS (Network Attached Storage) on the network. A NAS works just like an external hard drive, except that it's connected to the network and accessible to all computers.

We’re going to use the USB NAS feature on the AirPort Extreme to accomplish this, but you could use any USB-compatible router or NAS drive.



Locate the USB port on the back of the device, then plug in an external drive. If another device is already occupying the USB port, you can then use a USB hub to connect multiple devices to your AirPort Extreme, though may have to opt for a powered USB hub.

Next, launch AirPort Utility on your Mac, located in Applications > Utilities. Dismiss the setup wizard that appears by clicking the Manual Setup button in the bottom-left corner; or Select Base Station > Manual Setup from the menu bar. Enter your base station password if prompted. Then, once you’re in, select Disks from the toolbar up top, which will display a listing of all the connected hard drives.



Click on the File Sharing tab in the Disks section of AirPort Utility. Most of the options here callibrate automatically when you plug in a hard drive, but you still need to change a few items.

Check the box labeled Enable File Sharing, then select With Accounts under the Secure Shared Disks drop-down box. Next, ensure that AirPort Disks Guest Access is not allowed.

Next, click the “Configure Accounts...” button that appears under the Secure Shared Disks section. This will take you to a tab where you can configure different user accounts for hard drive access. Click the plus button (+) to add an account.

In the resulting drop-down panel, type in a username, password, then verify the password by typing it again. Under Sharing Access, select Read and Write to give both read and write permissions to this account. When you are finished, select the Done button.



When you're finished adding all the accounts you need, select the Update button in the lower right-hand corner of the window to save the settings and reboot the AirPort router.

...Pat yourself on the back, because we're half way done!


>> Next: Setting up the MediaRover