Can't find iTunes Library on external drive after iTunes 8 install

My music library (50GB) has always been on an external drive. After installing iTunes 8 I went to preferences to change from default to this drive but nothing showed up. The complete library is still on the disk. Tried reinstalling V 7 but still no luck.
Any ideas how to "reconnect" the library ?
iPOD is also still complete. Is there a reverse recovery that my iPOD content could be retrieved to my external drive as the library ?
Message was edited by: samben52

Changing the Library location within iTunes instructs the program were to store future music when Importing - not where to go look for current music.
You music files may be on the ExHD, but your music metadata (Playlists, Playcounts, Ratings, and other potential important attributes) are kept in the Library Database file. See: What are the iTunes Library files?
If you did not save a copy of this file, you may be in for a long recovery.
This well-written iLounge Article is a must-read for anyone who wants/needs a better understanding of how iTunes manages your music. It may shed some light on what you need to do next. or at the very least, help you describe your specific problem here a bit better.
Also see: Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive
Best of Luck

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Hello there FunkyMuzak,
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To have iTunes open the alternate library on the drive use this option:
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If iTunes is running, quit iTunes.
If you are using Windows, hold down the Shift key and from the Start menu and choose All Programs > iTunes > iTunes.
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From: iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1589
And to tell iTunes to save your new media when you buy songs or movies, etc., use this part of our article named Where are my iTunes files located? found here http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
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I figured it out!
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I actually did this :
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thanks for the help tt2, really usefull!
Just to be sure i'm doing things right, let me explain more in detail what is my actual setup to know how your explainations applies to it.
Ok. First, my main goal here is to consolidated all my music in one place on one external HD. Let's call it ExHD1.
Actually, my setup involved that all my dj music (1600 tracks in wav format) and my iTunes music are on another external HD, we will call it ExHD2.
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So, this is my actual setting of my iTunes, where I have copied my iTunes folder on my new ExHD1 and set iTunes to point his library to there.
Also, this is my settings in Preferences/Advanced
Note that before yesterday, the Keep itunes Media... and Copy files were unchecked.
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Thanks for the help tt2, i know there's a lot, hope I have well explained it. Hope you can answer shorly because my gig is tommorow
regards

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Message was edited by: CindyLoo

I want to back up every thing, but I can't find a way to do it. That is the problem. Apple recommends if you are backing up to an external drive to copy folder the music folder to the drive via drag and drop. But I know when you do this that if you try use the backup you will only have the songs as if they were first added to iTunes.
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That was it! Thanks! During the straight-up copy of the iTunes Music folder, the operation crashed because "some data could not be read or written." Had the iTunes error message been similar, I would have known that was the case.
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JS,
I had some trouble following macmenno's instructions, but have had almost complete success. If you DO have your original itunes library file, this should work for you too.
Background, my situation:
My harddisk was failing but warned me, so i copied the ENTIRE itunes folder to an external drive. The iTunes folder includes the "itunes library" file, the music folder, and the xml file. This was suggested in a book i have on iLife as the best way to backup itunes to an external HD to preserve playlists, et al. But the book failed to say how to copy the folder back if needed.
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SB
imac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.7) itunes 6.0.5

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Can't find iTunes Library on external drive after iTunes 8 install

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