The simplest way to back up your collection is to copy your entire iTunes folder to any backup media (DVD, thumb drive, hard disk, etc.). Be sure to include the "itunes Music Library.xml" file. You may or may not be able to get anything useful back out of that file, but it can't hurt to have it.
You can restore all your iTunes music in one fell swoop by simply dragging and dropping the "iTunes Music" folder onto the open iTunes window.
Then, you can SUPPOSEDLY get information like playlists, ratings, etc. back out of the XML file using the menu item File->Library->Import Playlist. Good luck getting that to work. I got all my playlist NAMES back, but most of the playlists are empty. And almost all of my ratings are lost. Lots of other people have had this problem too. I'm perusing some of the Q&A online.
I'm suspecting that I should have used File->Library->Export... to save the library file in the first place instead of simply copying the file, but I'm not sure.
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You can restore all your iTunes music in one fell swoop by simply dragging and dropping the "iTunes Music" folder onto the open iTunes window.
Then, you can SUPPOSEDLY get information like playlists, ratings, etc. back out of the XML file using the menu item File->Library->Import Playlist. Good luck getting that to work. I got all my playlist NAMES back, but most of the playlists are empty. And almost all of my ratings are lost. Lots of other people have had this problem too. I'm perusing some of the Q&A online.
I'm suspecting that I should have used File->Library->Export... to save the library file in the first place instead of simply copying the file, but I'm not sure.