How to Set Up Home Sharing for ITunes

When Apple iTunes version 9 came out, Apple added a great new feature to their leading music player, Home Sharing. The Home Sharing feature allows you to do more than just stream music on other computers in your home, it actually enables you to transfer files. You can transfer music, movies and iPhone and iPod touch apps to any computer in your home. iTunes allows you to setup Home Sharing on up to five computers in your house. Once you have Home Sharing setup, any new purchase you make from iTunes will automatically be added to each to computer.

Step 1. Upgrade to iTunes 9.

Make sure you are using iTunes 9 or higher. To upgrade to the latest version of iTunes, simply go to Apple.com and download the latest upgrade. Then run the installation process. By default, iTunes will usually notify of new updates on startup, so another way you can upgrade is by quitting the application and restarting it. If you don't get an update notice, you're fine.

Step 2. Launch iTunes.

Open up iTunes and go to the "Advanced" menu at the top. When the "Advanced" dropdown menu opens select "Turn On Home Sharing."

Step 3. Enter account details.

Enter your iTunes account email address and password on the Home Sharing screen. Then his the "Create Home Sharing" button. Then click "Yes" to authorize your account.

Step 4. Confirm authorization.

When you get the notification that authorization was successful, click "Ok" to confirm. Then click done. You will see the Home Sharing icon appear in the left menu in your iTunes.

Step 5. Repeat on each computer in your home.

Repeat the four steps above on each computer in your home that you want to use Home Sharing with. Make sure you use the same iTunes account details/login info on each computer.

Step 6. Select the shared computer.

Go to the "Shared" option in the menu on the left in iTunes and select the computer you want to share from. Expand the selected computer's library by click the right-facing arrow next to it. You can now browse the computer's music, movies, and apps.

Step 7. Transfer media.

To transfer media from one library to another, simply click on the file you want to copy to your iTunes and drag and drop it into your library. Continue to repeat this process on any other computers you want to copy media files to.