Moving a shared iTunes Media Folder to another hard drive

For many years our family has been sharing our iTunes media on a single computer. Currently there are 3 of us. We each have our own iTunes Library in our ~/Music/iTunes folders, but all the shared media is in /Users/Shared/Music.
We have outgrown the current internal hard drive, and I now have a big external drive ready to go, but I can't figure out how to move the media files without the need for 2 out of the 3 of us to rebuild our iTunes library from scratch.
I tried first using the technique described in many different articles of having the first user change the media folder location preference and then use "Consolidate library" to actually move the media files to the new location. But then when I do the same for the second user, it makes a second copy of every file in the new location.
Is there a way to get the second user to simply update the locations of all the files in the Library, and not make copies?
Alternately, is there a way to rebuild the 2nd and 3rd users Libraries, but to keep the existing playlists working. The need to recreate these playlists is the main task that we are trying to avoid.
Thanks in advance,
-steve

If your library files are on the current external drive, with the media folder inside the main library folder, then simply copy this folder to the new drive and use the hold option/shift when starting iTunes method to open the library in its new location.
If your media folder is on the external but the library files are on the internal drive then start by copying the contents of your iTunes folder, *iTunes Library, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel, Album Artwork* folder etc. to the parent folder of the media folder on the external. (You can leave the .xml file behind, it will have a slightly different name in the new location and will be recreated automatically.) Use the option-launch-iTunes method above to open the library on the external drive. Make sure it all works properly then close it and proceed as outlined in the first paragraph.
iTunes uses the folder name for the folder holding the *iTunes Library* file as the window title, so you may get odd results if your library files are now in the root of the drive. As long as the media folder is stored as a sub- folder of the library folder you can move everything to a new folder or path and use the option-launch-iTunes method. E.g. if your media was at *\iTunes Media* then move the libray files to the root folder \ - open, test and close iTunes - create a folder called iTunes - move the libray files, Album Artwork and iTunes Media folder into the new iTunes folder then open the library in the new location.
tt2

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How to change iTunes Media Folder location after Hard Drive Died

I have been trying to figure this out from other posts but can't seem to find what I am looking for. I store all my music files on an external hard drive. Recently, the external drive died on me. Fortunately, I had the external backed up on another drive using Time Machine. I bought a new drive for the music and transferred the files onto the new drive. My question is what do I do next? Currently iTunes still searches for the files on the dead drive and I get the exclamation marks next to each song which is obviously not a surprise. I want to change the Media Folder preferences to the new drive but will I then lose all my playlists? Basically what I want to do is direct iTunes to the new drive and keep everything else intact. Is that possible? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
j

You might read what this has to say about consolidate and dupes.
http://www.keyscorner.com/archives/2009/03/07/removing-duplicate-files-in-itunes /
More info here on consolidation:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/
Message was edited by: Diane Wordsmith

How to transfer iTunes library & folder to another Hard Drive

My iTunes library and all data (music, video, apps, podcasts) are stored on an external 250 GB hard disk that is now getting almost full.
I wish to transfer everything on a 500 GB external HD and be able to launch my library from this new HD without losing anything or getting all my files with the dreaded "!".
Can someone advise me where to look for instructions on how to proceed?
Many thanks.
Frederic

If your library files are on the current external drive, with the media folder inside the main library folder, then simply copy this folder to the new drive and use the hold option/shift when starting iTunes method to open the library in its new location.
If your media folder is on the external but the library files are on the internal drive then start by copying the contents of your iTunes folder, *iTunes Library, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel, Album Artwork* folder etc. to the parent folder of the media folder on the external. (You can leave the .xml file behind, it will have a slightly different name in the new location and will be recreated automatically.) Use the option-launch-iTunes method above to open the library on the external drive. Make sure it all works properly then close it and proceed as outlined in the first paragraph.
iTunes uses the folder name for the folder holding the *iTunes Library* file as the window title, so you may get odd results if your library files are now in the root of the drive. As long as the media folder is stored as a sub- folder of the library folder you can move everything to a new folder or path and use the option-launch-iTunes method. E.g. if your media was at *\iTunes Media* then move the libray files to the root folder \ - open, test and close iTunes - create a folder called iTunes - move the libray files, Album Artwork and iTunes Media folder into the new iTunes folder then open the library in the new location.
tt2

ITunes media folder on external hard drive

I moved my iTunes librrary to my external TC and hook up to it wirelessly. How do I get my iTunes library to stop changing to my local drive on my MBA? It has changed now 3 times from my TC to MBA.
iTunes 11.1

Interesting . . . I run iTunes off an external. My computer does not sleep, but I don't have any issues when I restart, though I technically don't log off. Do you have other users on your computer? If so, do they use the same external drive for music?
Sharon

Moving iTunes Media folder to second internal drive fails

The whole story is:
I never really used the iTunes media folder system. All my music is on extrenal drive and I was only importing it into iTunes manually to keep my own folder system, for example once a week Ive created a folder with a date of creating and there I had all the releases from that week (some in their own folder or separately but all in this one folder named by a dat eof creation). So on my ext. drive I have lots of these folders by date. And the names of folder always correspond with the date added to iTunes as well
My ext. drive is full now. so Ive decided to take a next step and put out the dvd-rom and put another internal drive (1TB) into my macbook pro which will be used for music and movie data only (the system stays on the old one).
What I want to do now is somehow move all these music folder to my new internal drive, so they can be accessed from iTunes without reseting all its features.
Ive read that one solution can be creating the new iTunes Media folder on that new drive and Consolidate all music from iTunes to this location. Problem is I cant even try it, because when go to iTunes Preferences to change the location of Media folder a hit Create after selectin the new location (new internal drive) after fee seconds the progress freezes and Activity Monitor says that iTunes are not responding. Ive tried to leave it for about half an hour and no changes, even tho theres not much to copy/move cause the Media folder has no music in it, only playlists etc.
So question number one is - why its freezing?
Question number two - any other way to trasfer all my collection and keep its organiation as it is without loosing the iTunes list and be able to use it after transfer?
Thanks in advance for your help and tips

Not sure about question 1...
What I think you should do is try to copy the existing iTunes library folder from <User's Music>/iTunes to <1Tb Drive>/iTunes then hold down option as you start iTunes. You should be asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the library file at <1Tb Drive>/iTunes/iTunes Library.itl (BTW if the the .itl extension is missing you should probably add it match the current format, but it will work either way).
The new copy of the library should work just as before, but check a few random things first, you can always revert to the previous library with option-start-iTunes if it doesn't work.
Under iTunes > Library > Orgainze Library if the option is available tick Reorganize files in the folder <Media Folder>. This will make sure the new version of your library is as portable as possible. Next under preferences > Advanced make sure that the media folder is given as <1Tb Drive>/iTunes/iTunes Media. If needed you can change this value. If you change the folder at this point iTunes should offer to copy your existing media into this new location. That ought to work, thought it will take some time. Alternatively you decline the offer and then selectively consolidate the library in batches, e.g. by selecting the tracks of all Artists beginning with A, and consolidating just those tracks, then repeasting with, B, C etc. followed by other types of media. If iTunes didn't prompt, or the folder was already correct, you can decide whether to try in batches or use iTunes > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files.
tt2

I have moved my Itunes media folder to an external drive and Itunes does not find the items in the folder

Running Win7. I moved my entire Itunes library to an external drive to free up space on my laptop. Itunes recognized the change and all was well. That worked fine and I have synced several times from the laptop with the library on the external drive. Now the laptop is in the shop (sigh, not Itunes related a dead network card). I connected the external drive to my desktop, made sure my software was up to date. opened ITunes went to edit/preferences/advanced. Went to change Itunes media folder location and navigated to the proper folder on my external drive and clicked OK. None of the music, videos, etc, that are in that folder show up in iTunes on the desktop. Restarted ITunes, no help, reboot computer, no help. Have I done something wrong or left out a step. I could copy all the media onto the desktop individually and build new playlists but that seems like something that should not be needed? One of the reasons I moved my Itunes media folder to the external drive was so I could use the laptop for iTunes while travel and the desktop for iTunes while at home. Do I have to copy the entire folder to my desktop and take up space there? That would be counterproductive to using the external drive. I searched and saw a hint to hold down shift while starting ITunes but that did not change anything. Any help would be most appreciated!
Jim in WV

Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow? In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

I can find all my music in the iTunes media folder on my c drive, but not in the iTunes library.

Hi-
First time here - thanks in advance for any help!
Last year, I loaded a lot of music from my CD collection into iTunes 10 on my PC (running Vista). Now, much of that content does not appear in the iTunes library, but I can find all of it in the iTunes media folder on the c drive. I upgraded to iTunes 11 today and the same problem persists.
Can anyone tell me why the content doesn't show up in the iTunes library?
Thanks again!
John

See this post.
tt2

Is it possible to keep all iTunes media on an external hard drive and not on my Mac Book and have ITunes still function?

Let me begin by saying I'm new to the Mac world as well as to the realm of online forums so I apologize if this is a question that was already asked and/or if it is a very noobish question...
But anyway, I just recently got the new Macbook Pro 15" with RD and I am curious if I can keep all of my Itunes media on an external hard drive without keeping any of it on the Macbook itself and have Itunes still function (when the HD is connected of course). I am trying to keep the computer memory clutter free and not fill it up with music and stuff so I want to keep all of my media on a 1T Buffalo external hard drive so the computer stays like brand new for a long time..Right now I have about 5G worth of music on my hard drive and I thought it was only on the hard drive and I just recently found out that it is also within the music folder on the computer itself. Any thoughts? Sorry if it is an odd question, I can try to rephrase the question if need be. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated, Thanks!

Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
If you put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there. (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)
Longer answers if for any reason you do not think all library files are inside your iTunes folder (changed preferences settings at some point):
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168
2011 ilounge article: Transferring your iTunes library - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/ - An article with good background information (similar to the links above), particularly if you are not sure your media files are all grouped for quick answer above. Unfortunately under the single term "transferring library" it describes two very different moves; relocating just your media (not really transferring your library and not recommended unless you really need this configuration), and relocating media+database (really your whole "library"). Make sure you understand the difference before electing to move only media.

HT1751 My win8 pc hard drive failed. After the hard drive was replaced, I copied iTunes Media backupfiles from external hard drive (Karen's Replicator was used). ITunes does not recognize the back up files - help! (it does show cloud & recently burned m

My win8 pc hard drive failed. After the hard drive was replaced, I copied iTunes Media backupfiles from external hard drive (Karen's Replicator backup software was used). ITunes does not recognize these back up files even though the location is the same as cloud & recently burned music that does show- help! The backup files consist of 34,000+ songs; almost all burned from my own CD collection. I do have most of the songs on an ipod classic but hesitate to try to restore from that. Can someone tell me how to get these 34,000 songs to show up in iTunes? Thanks!!

This diagram shows how a typical iTunes library ought to be set out (click on it to enlarge)
The red outline highlights the media folder and its contents, the various subfolders are only created if that kind of content is in your library. The right-hand side shows the files that should be found in the iTunes library folder; sentinel is normally hidden so may not be visible. The core of your iTunes library is the file iTunes Library.itl, you need to restore this, the other library files and the Album Artwork folder, as well as the media folder, to restore your library.
tt2

I moved my itunes media folder to an external drive

Now i'm not sure how to delete the old media folder to free up space on my internal drive?

i have all the computers pointing to:
Multimedia>iTunes>iTunes Media
in the iTunes Media folder there are the following folders:
Automatically Add to iTunes
Books
Movies
Music
TV Shows
i do NOT have the "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" box checked. i read on another site that this box should remain UNchecked when storing your iTunes library centrally. what is it exactly checking that box does? does anyone know of a good article explaining how to get multiple users to be able to access a centrally located iTunes Media folder?
by that i am not talking about Home Sharing or whatever it is called. i want to be able to access the central iTunes Media Library and have my kids be able to sync their iPads and iPhones and any other A4 devices they have from their own computers. all family members are setup with Network Home Folders being handled by an Intel xServe.
all help is appreciated....

ITunes Media Folder Renameable on External Drive (mac)

I have a 1TB collection of music in a folder on an external drive within a folder that is NOT called iTunes Media, but which until now had behaved as if it were.
I just switched to a clone of my old 1TB drive on a 1.5TB drive. After 11 hours of locating my 157000 tracks, I was able to find and use every track. However, when I added a new track, apparently I lost the ability to add new music tracks within the Music folder. Instead, a new iTunes Media folder was created within the folder which SHOULD have been called iTunes Media.
In the (new) iTunes Media folder there are a few folders containing the music I added after the switch. In the Music folder (below, but higher hierarchy) there is 1TB of music, which means it cannot be copied into the (new) iTunes Media file on the 1.5TB drive (not enough space).
Even though it would entail 100+ hours of new clone-backup time, the most logical solution would be to discard the embedded iTunes Media folder, rename the top-level folder iTunes Media, then let iTunes relocate the tracks again (over another 11 hours) and reload the few tracks loaded since the switch.
However I do not know if iTunes will allow this to work, and if so, what needs to be done in order to make it work.
Can the top-level folder be renamed? Do I need to untick and tick the Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized button?
Thanks
Mac OSX 10.6.8, iTunes 11.4

I am getting a bit lost on what was done and exactly why you did it that way. It looks to me like you use iTunes with standard preferences settings and you didn't so much move your media folder to the external drive as your whole iTunes library (everything in the top level folder including all the media files). This should have been done simply by copying the iTunes folder from the old drive to the new one, renaming the AllMyiTunesMusic folder if you so desire, then starting iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and selecting that folder as the iTunes library to now start using. Apart from the copy time when you could go away and drink a pot of coffee the actual labor time would be about 2 minutes. I think you must have done something different which has kind of messed up your library and resulted in duplication of files. Some of those folders such as Movies and the neighboring Music folder should be in the media folder, but don't move things about in Finder or iTunes may lose track of them and things will get worse. If you can go back and do things properly then I recommend you do so, otherwise we can see what we can work with here.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.

ITunes Media Folder Location on External Drive

Setting up a new Mac. I already have my iTunes media from my previous Mac on an external drive. Went to Preferences and selected the external drive and iTunes Media folder and the files are not showing up in iTunes. Any ideas?

FrustratedAJM3 wrote:
Setting up a new Mac. I already have my iTunes media from my previous Mac on an external drive. Went to Preferences and selected the external drive and iTunes Media folder and the files are not showing up in iTunes. Any ideas?
That simply tells iTunes where to put new files.
It does not add anything to iTunes.
You should keep the entire iTunes library (iTunes media and all library files) in one location.
Do this...
Connect external to old computer.
Copy /Music/iTunes/ folder from internal drive to external drive.
On the external, move the iTunes media folder into the iTunes folder you just copied to the external.
Hold Option, launch iTunes, select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
Everything should work fine.
Quit iTunes.
Connect drive to new computer.
Hold Option, launch iTunes, select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
Everything should work fine.
This is all you need to do.
This will bring all your playlists, ratings, comments, everything from old computer.
You do not need to change the iTunes media folder location in iTunes prefs..

How do I access my iTunes media from an external hard drive?

I have a new MacBook Air and want to access my media files from an external drive. I previously had a MacBook Pro and had to move all media to an external drive because I ran out of space. I've tried launching iTunes, going to Preferences, going to the Advanced Tab and then moving the location to the external drive and got this question: Would you like iTunes to move and rename the files in your new iTunes Media folder to match the “Keep iTunes Media folder organized” preference? Should I say yes? If I say yes, will iTunes be able to automatically find my files on the external drive?

hey, basically i had the same problem as you. i had all of my itunes on an external hard drive and just bought a macbook pro, so here is what i was told to do....plug in the external hard drive to your MBA and then when you open itunes hold down the option button while you click and hold it down till you see a pop up window, it will ask you what library you want to use, click choose library and choose the itunes file that is on your external hard drive. and then all of your stuff will be in the itunes.
what i have seemed to run into though is, when the external hard drive isn't plugged in itunes won't open unless you choose another library or plug in the external hard drive. - my question is this, should i open another library on my macbook pro's internal hard drive so i can at least look at itunes when i don't have my external hard drive connected. my old macbook did this, it would point to another library on my macbook and i would still be able to see all of my media but couldn't play it without the external hooked up, is there a way to do this on lion?
i hope i was able to answer your question sam and hopefully can have my question answered too.
thanks!
- sorry sam, don't mean to hijack your thread but hopefully it will help us both - i don't want to store any media )movies, music, podcasts, apps, any of that stuff on my macbook pro's hard drive, so say there is a way to get itunes to open without my external hooked up and i can still see my media, or not see my media and i want to download a song or a app that i see when i am not near my external....what is the easiest way to get that file onto the external and not have it taking up space on my macbook pro's hard drive? sorry for all the long questions
Message was edited by: thenumbersarebad - thought of one more thing - sorry

How can i import my itune files on to another hard drive...

I need to reinstall MAC OS X onto my iMac. This is the computer which has all of my itunes files. How can I transfere the itune files onto another hard drive (via my network) and re transfere it on to my iMac once the OS reinstalled? I have bought many albums from iTunes store and would hate to loose them.
Thanks for the Help

JLdM: Try moving the entire iTunes folder back, and if that doesn't work, reimport the music. The computer will need to be reauthorized.
jwhmd: Follow the instructions in this article.
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Moving a shared iTunes Media Folder to another hard drive

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