Help with iTunes Shared Library

I am trying to share my Vista-based iTunes library with my new iMac. I have an issue now that iTunes does not let me select the shared iTunes library that resides on the PC. The following is how things are set up

1) I've moved all of my PC-based music, my iTunes Library (.itl) file and the cover art to an external HD on my Vista PC.

2) I've set permissions on all of the Visa files (music, library, art) to be read/write for available to all connected users.

3) I have also mounted the PC-based external drive on my iMac. Permissions seem to be ok, as when I view files via the Finder, they are visable and accessible.

4) However, when I try to open iTunes on iMac to change the shared library (using the OPTION key), the iTunes Library.itl file on the hard drive is completely greyed out. No matter how I change permissions or sharing on the Vista machine, I cannot seem to select the shared library.

5) Interesting that I HAVE successfully accessed the same library through another Windows-based machine (Windows XP). In that instance I can access the network drive and select the iTunes Library.itl file no problem. Music streams fine after I do that.

Any clue why this is happening? It's driving me a little nuts at this point. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thx

I don't know if this is still an issue for you but I have shared libraries working from OSX to Windows XP. It shouldn't be any different for Vista but your mileage may vary.

My first thought is that you are making this over complicated... Library sharing is just a selection in i-tunes on both computers. You select to share your library, and you tell i-tunes to look for other shared libraries. I imagine File sharing must be working between both computers too (same workgroup name, etc.) Also note that shared libraries do not appear if i-tunes is not running. This should be obvious but some applications run sharing features as services (Microsoft media connect for example on the PC) but not i-tunes.

If you want to be able to do more than just listen to the shared music, you will want a networked attached storage solution with both systems pointing to the files on the NAS as the library location. I imagine you could tell one or the other system to use the other as a library location but I wouldn't recommend it unless you leave the machine playing the role of "server" on 24/7. You should also consider the behavior of each i-tunes program when connecting to a central storage area. What if they are both set up to automatically rename files but with different settings?

Hope this helps.