How to backup and restore iTunes library?

I've had to transfer my iTunes library to a new computer a few times in the past and I've run into this problem. I lose all my playlist information etc. and have to re-create it. If there's some utility that assists in restoring ALL the meta data in the iTunes library I'll pay money for this...
Thanks,
Kevin.

OK, while that is good for what most people want to do it isn't good enough for what I want to do. It doesn't cover the two requirements that I need:
1. I want to keep some music files in a different folder. I don't want iTunes to manage these files.
2. The source path may be different from the target path. i.e. on my old machine it was D:\Music\... but on the new machine it was C:\Music\... (and I've even changed sub-folders in the past to better organize things).
The article you referred to requires that I either:
1. Get iTunes to manage my music.
2. OR copy my files to the same path (I didn't even have a C: drive!!!!)
I've actually written my own utility that hacks around this issue but it screws up playlists so it isn't perfect. I just don't have the time or patience to figure out exactly how Apple processes its XML file format (they made it harder in one version of iTunes because it now uses the .itl file when it used to simply pick up the changes I made to the .xml file itself).
So, I now want someone else to go to the effort of doing this and I'll pay something to buy their utility if it works well. I imagine there are probably other customers out there for this type of utility.
Ideally, Apple should provide a "Backup" and "Restore" menu item that would handle this kind of thing for us and prompt us for destination path mappings when the "Restore" feature is used.
So... does anyone else know of a utility to do this or if Apple is going to provide this in the not-too-distant future?
Thanks,
Kevin.

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Backup and restoring itunes library from external hard drive?

is there a way to backup and restore my itunes library to external hard drive and not through the internal itunes backup utility cos i have over 20gbs of music and i want to keep my album art and renamed songs etc. because i will be reformating my pc and dont want to go through painful task of manually adding stuff again.

Try this...
*Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows Only)*
Grab SyncToy 2.0, a free tool from MS. Use it to create a backup copy of your iTunes library & any other media folders onto another hard drive or network share. After making the initial backup copy use SyncToy to periodically synchronise the backup copy with your library and only the changed files will be copied saving lots of time.
When the time comes to reformat your PC, do a final sync, then open iTunes & deauthorise the PC, reformat & rebuild Windows, copy the backup folders back to the same location as they were previously, install iTunes and it should all work perfectly.
tt2

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When you connect your phone and start iTunes on the left side you will see your phone listed under devices.Click on te icon next to it that looks like a battery. Click on the music button at the top and uncheck the sync music box.

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how to backup and restore iphone 4

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iMessages are backed up in the normal backup of your phone so it will be restored when you restore the backup.

How to backup and restore working Mac OS 9 computer ?

I have a working G4 running OS 9.0, and I would like to backup and restore that hard disk to a second G4 computer that is OS 9 bootable.
I have a CD backup taken by Toast v4, of the entire disk, but I do not know how to restore the contents to the second computer. My previous attempt hosed the hard disk inside the second computer.
I'm thinking I can boot up the second computer via cd-rom or external hard disk, but I'm not sure I can copy the contents from the cd-rom correctly. In particular, I'm guessing the boot sector is challenging to restore.
I probably have some old OS 9 cd-roms around here, if I need to go that route.
I've thought about removing the working hard disk, and using dd on a linux machine to make a clone of the drive. I'd prefer not to go that route, as I don't want to touch working hardware.
I've also thought about hooking up a portable USB disk drive to my working OS 9 machine, and doing some sort of cloning. I'm not sure what program I would need to do that, and whether it's part of the OS 9 suite of tools, or a 3rd party tool. I used to own some various disk tools, but it's been so long I'm not sure I can find the cd's.
So if anybody can point to some instructions on the net for me to follow, or have any suggestions, I'm all ears.
Thanks
mark

If the second computer originally shipped supporting a newer OS 9.x
system than the first 9.0, the other computer's OS9 version probably
won't work since it would be too old. In the case of drag and drop,
you can get away with a lot more than what an installer package may
allow, since the installer's software can be avoided with Pacifist. So
another computer's OS9.2.2 basic system could be used as a boot
volume even if it is sparse and not the fully complemented OS 9.2.2
that a full retail build would install from a rich full retail install disc.
Usually the retail path was an OS 9.2.1 retail and the update to 9.2.2;
but machines requiring OS 9.2.2 won't like a 9.2.1. Sometimes, since
a drag and drop is not driven by installer software, you can use older.
But machine specific bits, some critical for graphic card drivers & etc,
would be likely missing unless the software used offered that support.
If you can find one of these, it may work = note, out of stock:
691-3638-A Apple G3/G4 9.2.2 (CD) System Software
{This is a Mac OS 9.2.2 full installation CD, color Grey.}
These do not come in retail packaging.
http://www.welovemacs.com/6913638a.html
Have fun, even if it isn't exactly as planned.
Good luck & happy computing!
{ edited }

How to Backup and Restore Apex 4.0

Hi all,
How to backup an application with all its shared component?
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Edited by: user11976229 on Oct 8, 2010 11:12 AM
Edited by: user11976229 on Oct 8, 2010 11:12 AM

Hi all,
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3. Using Apex Export Function Doubt -> this one look like not covering the data. ?>> this one only create the skeleton of the apps but no data? how about the apps objects such as trigger (sequences)
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I wanted to have complete backup and restore of 8.1.7 database. how can i achieve this. The steps in Oracle Management Server and scripts for the same.
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How to successfully revert to itunes 6.0.5 and restore itunes library.itl

Hi guys,
Since I have now successful restored my software (and so once again have a working ipod and itunes software - no thanks to Apple for the buggy upgrade) - I thought I would share my experience of how I successfully went about this - since it was only through reading different threads on this forum I worked out how to do it.
1) Before you do anything - I recommend you have a back-up of your music somewhere just incase. Burn yourself a data disk or two of your music files or make a copy of your itunes folder elsewhere on a hard-disc drive.
2) Uninstall Itunes version 7 (or otherwise) - follow these steps to do this:
Quit iTunes.
On the Start menu, click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, open Add or Remove Programs.
Select iTunes from the list of currently installed
programs, then click Remove.
When asked if you would like to remove iTunes,
select Yes.
3) Reinstall Itunes version 6.0.5 - you can find a download link to the setup program for version 6.0.5 on the right hand-side of this page (it's the blue hyper-link which says '36MB'):
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/itunes605forwindows.html
Download and re-install that.
At this point don't panic if Itunes will not open.
4) OPTIONAL STEP - If Itunes version 7 or the Ipod software version 2 messed up your ipod (i.e. deleted it's tunes etc.) now might be a good time to do a RESTORE on your ipod. You will find, thankfully, that the old ipod updater works once again now itunes 7 has gone - phew!
5) Try to open iTunes - if you're lucky it will open and all will be back as it once was before. Typically however it may open and your music library is missing, or it may not even open at all giving you the friendly error message "The file itunes library.itl canot be read because it was created by a newer version". Again, don't panic! You are nearly there - honest. Just follow the following steps to restore your itunes library to it's former glory:
Quit iTunes.
Locate your iTunes folder.
For Microsoft Windows the iTunes folder is usually stored in \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Open your iTunes folder.
Drag the iTunes Music Library.xml to the Desktop
Drag the following file from your iTunes folder to the Trash:
Microsoft Windows: "iTunes Library.itl" (in versions of iTunes prior to 4.9 this was called "iTunes 4 Music Library.itl")
Open iTunes.
From the File menu, choose Import.
Tip: Do not add any music into iTunes at this point.
Navigate to the iTunes Music Library.xml file on the Desktop.
Click Choose.
6) Give a small prayer to whatever deity you may, or may not, believe in.
7) Open iTunes & (hopefully) boogie-tastic!!!!
8) Dance around the room in celebration that your iTunes music is - simply - BACK THE WAY IT ALREADY WAS BEFORE - cheers APPLE cheers!
xxx
If you have any other error messages - like you can't see your ipod in itunes or whatever - I may be able to help. I believe I have put more man-hours into getting my ipod to work as it should that the cost of the little blighter 7 times over. So chances are, if you have an issue I may have a fix. :o)
Good Luck - Happy podding!

P.S. You may also have to Deauthorize and reauthorize your account in iTunes
In some cases iTunes may "forget" that your music is authorized. You can refresh the authorization by deauthorizing and then reauthorizing your computer. To deauthorize a computer:
In iTunes, choose Deauthorize Computer from the Store menu (your computer needs to be connected to the Internet).
In the resulting dialog, enter your Apple ID and password.
Click OK.
You can now reauthorize your computer by simply trying to play one of the songs you've purchased. A dialog box will appear asking you to enter your Apple ID and password. Once you have done so, click Authorize to finish the process.

How do I "backup" and "restore" iTunes correctly?

I am in the process to renew my PC and was wondering how I can backup my whole iTunes configuration and content (iPad, iPhone backups, applications, and other content) so that I can restore it on a new PC.
I might have overseen any posts regarding that topic, but more than happy if someone can reference to it.
Thanks.

Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive... and then from the External Drive to your New Computer..
Backup iTunes to an External Drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
An Added Bonus is that you will then have a Backup of iTunes...

How to backup and restore postgres, How to backup and restore postgres

Hi!
Yesterday I had a major hickup while trying to configure some OD stuff. Since I was still setting up Lion Server, I just decided to go back and restore the system using a Time Machine backup from a few hours earlier. Went well... except that anything to do with postgres was not working anymore: web pages, wiki, iCal, etc Postgres would not start anymore. I could not find anything on the internet and after a few hours of trying gave up and just did a fresh, clean install. Fortunately there were not many user files on yet, but I did lose everything I noted in the wiki since I migrated the old Snow Leopard content.
SO, HERE comes the question: is there a fool-proof way of backing up all Lion Server postgres databases and, more importantly, to actually get the thing back up after a Time Machine restore? I know I can dump all db's using pg_dumpall, but what would be the steps to get this back up and running should I need to? I have restored many MySQL databases in the past, but never were they directly linked to many OS functionalities.
The "Advanced Administration" document of course is not advanced enough for this. Is there anywhere I real guide on "How to restore and make function your Lion Server after a major desaster", like hard disk failure?? Would be very helpful, in case it's needed but also for peace of mind.
Thanks lot! Appreciate any input!
Cheers,
Hendrik

Take my little script here and adjust it to your requirements. I got the base of this script somwhere else and enhanced it myself. Read some explanations below:
# #!/bin/bash
if (test "`whoami`" != "root") then
        echo "You need to be root to start this"
        exit 1
fi
PG_PORT="5432"
PG_USER="_postgres"
PG_BIN="/usr/bin/"
ACT_DATE=$(date '+%y-%m-%d')
EXP_DATE=$(date -v -2w '+%y-%m-%d')
BACKUP_DIR="/Backups/postgres"
LOGFILE=$BACKUP_DIR"/_pg_backup.log"
COMPRESSION="9"
PG_CON="-U $PG_USER"
BACKUP_OPTIONS="$PG_CON -b -C -F c -Z $COMPRESSION"
VACUUM_OPTIONS="$PG_CON -eq"
echo "***** DB_BACKUP $ACT_DATE *****" >>$LOGFILE
for db in `$PG_BIN/psql $PG_CON -lt | sed /\eof/p | grep -v = | awk {'print $1'}`
do
    # vacuum
    if [ "X" == "X$db" ]; then
          continue;
    fi
    echo $(date '+%c')" -- vacuuming database $db" >> $LOGFILE
    if $PG_BIN/vacuumdb $VACUUM_OPTIONS $db
      then
      #echo "OK!" >>$LOGFILE
          sleep 1
    else
      echo "No Vacuum in database $db!" >>$LOGFILE
    fi
    # backup
    echo $(date '+%c')" -- backing up database $db" >>$LOGFILE
    if $PG_BIN/pg_dump $BACKUP_OPTIONS -f $BACKUP_DIR/$db-$ACT_DATE.pgdump $db
      then
      if [ -e $BACKUP_DIR/$db-$EXP_DATE.pgdump ]; then
          echo $(date '+%c')" -- deleting old backup" >>$LOGFILE
          rm $BACKUP_DIR/$db-$EXP_DATE.pgdump
      fi
    else
      echo "FAIL Database $db backup!" >>$LOGFILE
    fi
done
This script dumps all databases in postgres individually.
Databases are vacuumed and then dumped.
Dump-Format is currently set as compressed pgsql dump (See "-F c" in $BACKUP_OPTIONS)
File names consist of "databasename"-"backupdade".pgdump
I have programmed to automatically purge backups older than two weeks (see " -2w " in $EXP_DATE)
If you drop a database you will have to remove backups for that database manually.
I have enabled a daily run of this scrip by placing the executable script somwhere and add it to the crontab of root: sudo crontab -e
Enter the following line and your backups start every day at 6:00. Adjust paths and scriptname according to your own setup.
0 6 * * *       ~/.bin/postgres_dump.sh > /dev/null 2>&1

How to backup and restore disk?

Hello, I have an external disk that I want to repartition. Therefore I need to backup its contents (in fact it contains my time machine files), repartition the disk and then restore.
As I understood I should use the disk utility, select the file system and then choose "new image". The filesystem size is 465GB of which only 43GB is in use.
I assumed that the image would be 43GB in size, however it looks like disk utility is going to create a full 465GB "image" even though only a fraction of that is in use...
How could I create a backup that uses only 43GB (I don't have room for 465GB anymore)?

plmuon wrote:
Hello, I have an external disk that I want to repartition. Therefore I need to backup its contents (in fact it contains my time machine files), repartition the disk and then restore.
Hi, and welcome to the forums.
The only ways you can copy Time Machine backups (and have the copy work with TM) are with the Restore tab of Disk Utility, or with the SuperDuper! app. You must duplicate one entire partition to another entire partition, and select the +Erase Destination+ box. This is because of the unique structure of TM backups; to erase the directory already on the "empty" partition; and to get the proper hidden files that TM needs.
The destination partition may be larger or smaller than the source partition, but of course not smaller than the amount of data on the source partition plus about 20%, as TM will need workspace on that partition when it does new backups.
It also should be roughly 2-3 times the size of the total amount of data that TM is backing-up, although this varies depending on how you use your Mac. See item #1 of the Frequently Asked Questions post at the top of the Time Machine forum.
Be sure to turn TM off before starting this.
And be very careful of the partition names; the Duplicate tab duplicates everything, including the name of the partition: when it's done, both will have the same name, so I'd strongly recommend immediately renaming one of them, then using TM Preferences > Change Disk to be sure TM has the correct one. If you don't, you can't control which of the partitions TM may use.

Time machine backups and the iTunes library

hello
if i download music from iTunes, i get a message always asking if i would like to back my purchases up to cds.
shouldn't my time machine backup already be taking care of that?
thanks
Wade

There are no tools available to partition a network drive. Only if you break warranty and remove the drive .. plug it into the computer can you partition it.
Nor is moving itunes library a great idea. It has no backup whatsoever.. it is still designed as a target for Time Machine.
See Pondini about mixing data and backups.
Q3 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Time_Capsule.html

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