iTunes multiple library problem

[GT Pro]

My problem is this: I am trying to manually add an album from my iTunes (a Coldplay music album) to my mother's 3GS iPhone. I've connected this iPhone once to an Itunes library set up on the office PC and also have more recently connected it to my laptop's iTunes. When I go to sync the said album, it tells me that 'an iPhone can be synced with only one iTunes library at a time'. It then worryingly asks me, 'Do you want to erase this iphone and sync with this itunes library?

An iphone can be synced with only one itunes library at a time. Erasing and syncing replaces the contents of this iphone with the contents of this itunes library.'

What the hell? The incredible user-unfriendliness posed here suggests Apple is retarded (the difficulty posed by the iOS5 update reinforces this), and yet their recent profits are incredible...

Anyways, what are my options here? Can I 'disable' the iTunes account on the old computer to prevent this message popping up?

I only ever used iTunes on the other PC to download iOS5 and then restore the apps, photos etc which it backed-up prior to that upgrade.

Please reply.

 

[Schwartz]

Are you kidding me? This isn't a problem. This is how it has always been. I see nothing wrong with apple not allowing music bought on one account to be shared with another. If they let everyone do this x amount people would just plug their ipods/phones into someones computer and then you have a super library of free games music, etc. Then apple will lose money. Its like duplicating cars over 1 million Cr. in GT5, its a cheap way to get free stuff.

If you want to share music, find the CD at the store and you can both burn it on to your accounts. Call me captain heinsight but what you really should have done originally is been on the same itunes account with your mom, because one iTunes account can be on multiple computers, but multiple iTunes accounts can't be on one computer. You can each control what music/apps can go on to your iPods/phones separately.

 

[GT Pro]

Are you kidding me? This isn't a problem. This is how it has always been. I see nothing wrong with apple not allowing music bought on one account to be shared with another. If they let everyone do this x amount people would just plug their ipods/phones into someones computer and then you have a super library of free games music, etc. Then apple will lose money. Its like duplicating cars over 1 million Cr. in GT5, its a cheap way to get free stuff.

Why not digitally tag purchased items from iTunes so that stuff ripped from personal CDs and material downloaded from elsewhere that is placed in iTunes is still able to be imported?

If you want to share music, find the CD at the store and you can both burn it on to your accounts. Call me captain heinsight but what you really should have done originally is been on the same itunes account with your mom, because one iTunes account can be on multiple computers, but multiple iTunes accounts can't be on one computer. You can each control what music/apps can go on to your iPods/phones separately.

The current set-up is that me and my mother's phones are connected to my laptop. I updated my iPhone on this laptop, but my mother's iPhone had to be connected to the office PC to update. Does Apple allow a family with multiple iPhones (in my case, it is three) to use the same computer and thus iTunes program? Multiple iTunes accounts be run on the same computer, can't they? Forgive my lack of awareness of how Apple runs its warez, as I've only ever owned their iPod and iPhone.

 

[BNGTracer]

Yes you can have up to 5 computers registered to the same account, go to the 'authorize this computer' menu in Tools, and then set the account name and p/word for each seperate computer (I have a MBP and iMac both sharing from the smae account.

Now onto the devices attached, I have 4 iPhones and an iPad all synced on the same account (not all mine, iPhone/iPad for me, iPhone for the wife, iPhone for the son, and iPhone for Mother in-law)
All thses devices are registered on the 1 iTunes account and I have never had an issue with it telling me it want's to perform a restore on the phone prior to syncing?? I can sync all 5 devices on either the MBP or the iMac as all the files in iTunes are shared between the 2 computers anyway.

Maybe start by trying to add your mothers iPhone to the same iTunes account (although I don't think this will fix it, you may need to authorise the original computer it was synced from to your iTunes account to allow the sharing of purchased items.

Hope this makes sense.

 

[Touring Mars]

I've no idea why, but seemingly I can no longer transfer downloaded TV programmes onto my iPod without it deleting what is already there... this wasn't the case a few months ago, and I can put music onto the iPod with no problem, but for some reason it won't allow me to put a newly purchased TV series onto my iPod because my iTunes account is linked to a different library (my laptop)... I don't understand what has changed. Any help?

 

[EF12345678]

I've no idea why, but seemingly I can no longer transfer downloaded TV programmes onto my iPod without it deleting what is already there... this wasn't the case a few months ago, and I can put music onto the iPod with no problem, but for some reason it won't allow me to put a newly purchased TV series onto my iPod because my iTunes account is linked to a different library (my laptop)... I don't understand what has changed. Any help?

This is the best thing I can come up with, but your case is slightly different (having just one computer).