Adding a hard drive with an itunes library to a different machine

I have an ata drive from a newly retired g4 (call it drive b) I'v installed into another g4. If I boot from drive b, I can access all my itunes and playlists. If I boot from the original drive in this machine (drive a) I don't see my itunes tunes.
what can I do so I keep my playlists and all and only have to boot from drive a? Also, I don't want to transfer all the files from drive b to drive a.
thanks for any help with this

You should be able to access your past iTunes purchases. You'll need to re-rip your CDs See: HT2519 - Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
See also this backup tip so you don't get caught out again.
tt2

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My laptop hard drive with my itunes library died and now itunes won't sync my ipod to the libary on the new drive without first deleting everything on my ipod. What can be done?

My laptop hard drive with my itunes library died and now itunes won't sync my ipod to the libary on the new drive without first deleting everything on my ipod. What can be done?

Sync with new computer
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141

Details needed for using two hard drives with one iTunes library

I posted this under the iTunes section but now that I think of it, it's more of an Apple TV question since I'm only concerned about how it affects my 2 ATVs.
I have a MacMini(G4) that acts as a media server for our 2 ATVs. I use one library on the Mini which has been using an external 750GB drive. However, I'm at nearly 95% capacity now and want to invest in another external drive and use both. So the question I posted on the iTunes section was...
"With far too much content in iTunes (mostly for the Apple TVs) and after reading numerous posts about using external hard drives with iTunes I'm convinced that using two external drives is my best solution.
However, I did want to understand a bit more about the details of how iTunes will manage or at least keep track of, the media. Specifically, I'm thinking of the case were I add a movie to iTunes library (of course it will not copy the file into the iTunes folder).
What will occur if I later change any of the tags for the movie (e.g., name, genre, year, etc.). Will iTunes update this information and then update the Apple TVs once they resync with the iTunes library?"
So for the very knowledgeable folks here on the ATV section, what exactly does iTunes do in this case? Will my genres be updated correctly if I change something even though the content is not copied to the iTunes folder?

If you want to use two external drives to store your itunes content, there are a couple of ways you could go about it.
You could choose to have just movies (for example) on one HDD and everything else on the other. You could further choose to have your itunes music folder on one HDD and have all content copied to it by default. When it comes to movies (in this example) you can place these on your second HDD and add them to itunes by using OPT-drag, which will temporarily disable itunes from copying the file to your itunes library.
You could also entirely disable disable itunes copying files to your itunes music folder from the itunes preferences and manually manage all your content.
Personally I'd just buy a 2 TB (for example) drive and ebay your old drive once you have moved everything from it to your new one.

My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my iTunes library. Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer? It was the only computer authorized to play library.

My computer was totally destroyed & I do not have backup or external hard drive with my saved iTunes library from it. That was the only computer authorized to play library. I do not have an iPod or iPhone with any of that library (which has over $2K in music purchases & over 5K in songs I ripped). Will I be able to access my iTunes library when I purchase a new computer?

You should be able to access your past iTunes purchases. You'll need to re-rip your CDs See: HT2519 - Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store.
See also this backup tip so you don't get caught out again.
tt2

The external hard drive with my iTunes library on it died, but I have it backed up on another drive. What's the best way to make iTunes switch to the new drive for reference?

I've been through similar problems before and used the .xml file to restore the library, but is a better way of just changing the drive pathways in iTunes so it doesn't have to rebuild everything from scratch? I'm using a PC with Windows Vista.

Change the drive letter of the backup drive so it matches the one that died. If necessary move/rename the backup folder so that it matches the old path of the media folder.
tt2

I am using a T61 ThinkPad with an external hard drive and my itunes library keeps disapearing but remains on the external drive. Any idea how to fix this so my music doesn't disapear all the time? It's a real drag pulling music back into iTunes each week.

I am using a T61 ThinkPad with an external hard drive and my itunes library keeps disapearing but remains on the external drive. Any idea how to fix this so my music doesn't disapear all the time? It's a real drag pulling music back into iTunes each week

In iTunes 11 uncheck the preferences setting in in the iTunes Preferences panel "Advanced > Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to Library"

I have an old iPod Classic with 80 GB (I think) of space. I saved all my songs in an external hard drive, but the iTunes library resided in an old computer (no longer working). Can I get the libray from my iPod and use it in my new computer (Windows)?

I have an old iPod Classic with 80 GB (I think) of space. I saved all my songs in an external hard drive, but the iTunes library resided in an old computer (no longer working). Can I get the library from my iPod and use it in my new computer (Windows)?

You might want to check your process for moving your iTunes music against this: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527.

I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library. When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found". need help

I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library. When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found". But when I have my external hard drive plug in the song will play with no problem. What do I need to do to play my music without having the external harddrive plug in ???????? Please help

Because the location for each song in your library is on your hard drive. If the hard drive isn't there, how can iTunes play it?
You'll have to move/copy the music from your hard drive to your computer's hard drive.
Basically, EASIEST way to do all this, if you don't care about your play counts, etc...
-Delete EVERYTHING from iTunes, so that your library is now empty.
-Go to "Advanced" inside of the "Preferences" window, found in the "Edit" drop-down. You can also access Preferences by pressing Ctrl+, (Press Ctrl and the comma key)
-Change your iTunes Media Folder Location to something simple, but on your computer. I use C:/iTunes. Make sure "Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized" and "Copy files to...." are both checked. You can close Preferences now.
-Now, drag and drop your music from your hard drive into your iTunes library. iTunes will automatically add the music to your library, as you would expect, and also creates a copy of each file to place into that iTunes Media Folder you just created.
Shouldn't have any more problems...

I have an iMac and I am running out of disc space. I am considering an external drive to house my iTunes library. If I buy a second drive to operate as a back up will time machine back up the disc on the IMac and the external drive with the iTunes library

I have an iMac and I am running out of disc space. I am considering an external drive to house my iTunes library. If I buy a second drive to operate as a back up will time machine back up the disc on the IMac and the external drive with the iTunes library?

If you have a considerable photograph and/or movie collection you may want to consider off loading those to the EHD too. Here are Apple's article showing how handle iTunes & iPhoto libraries.
iTunes: library on EHD
iPhoto: How to move the Library to EHD
Roger

For some reason I cannot import music from my hard drive to my iTunes library

For some reason I cannot import music from my hard drive to my iTunes library, could you please help?

See Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows.
Apply to the folder that you're failing to import from.
tt2

My hard drive crashed and I am using a different machine. How do I retrieve my personalized Pages 5.2 templates from my backup drive? I have searched at length and can't seem to find them.

My hard drive crashed and I am using a different machine. How do I retrieve my personalized Pages 5.2 templates from my backup drive? I have searched at length and can't seem to find them.

login_directory = /Users/yourname
If the Library folder is not shown in your login directory, then open a Finder window, and press command+J. This will open a Finder View Options panel. On it, there is a selectable entry to Show Library Folder. Once this is selected, the Library folder will appear. Now, follow the instructions in my May 6 post. You will have to right-click on com.apple.iWork.Pages and choose Show Package Contents, before continuing.
Correction: login_directory/Library/Containers/com.apple.iWork.Pages/Data/Library/Applicatio n Support/User Templates/
The host software persists in changing the correct Application Support text above to Applicatio n Support, which does not exist.

How do I import music from a portable hard drive to my iTunes library?

I have a portable hard drive with music on it. I have been successful in Importing Files from that external drive to my iTunes library and can play the music on my PC. However, when I sync my iPhone in an attempt to load those new songs, those songs get the little !exclamation point! next to them and the message "Original File Cannot Be Found". What do I need to do to get these songs from the portable drive onto my iTunes library as permanently recognized files that will be sync'd to my iPhone. Any guidance is greatly appreciated....thanks

Connect the external drive and choose Consolidate Library from the Library section of the File menu, or open the Advanced section of the iTunes preferences and tell it to copy music to the iTunes music folder for future imports.
(41256)

Can I use 2 hard drives with my itunes/ipod ?

Hi
I have my itunes/ipod set up on my pc which is fine.
I have a spare hard drive built in my pc which I want to put my itunes/ipod on to in addition to the existing hard drive.( as a back up )
Can I set up itunes on the second hard drive and import my existing itunes so I then have a back up should my first hard drive crash.
I would then want to contimue to use my existing hard drive with my ipod.
I would then look to ad cd's and transsfer as I build up library.
help
ipod 5 generation Windows XP

The choice is yours, if you find your accessing them often and your machine is stationary, then leave them connected.
If you move your machine around a lot, then you'll likely only want to connect them as you need too.
You don't want to wear out your port connectors, but then again you don't want to carry a hard drive connected to a machine as your moving it neither, more chance for a dropping to occur.
You'll have to make the best decision for your particular lifestyle, needs and use of the computer.
TimeMachine drive should be connected more often if your prone to accidentially deleting files so it's constantly updated, else perhaps every couple of days or only when you create new files will be plenty.
If your not using the drive, you shouldn't be firing it up. but then again you do need to run it once in awhile and not let it sit and get stuck neither.
Once a hard drive spins down and is properly dismounted (drag it's icon to the Trash can) the read/write heads park themselves in a safe spot so they can't strike the platters with your data on them, so it's important that when a hard drive is running to make sure it's (or the computer) is stationary and stable.
Many people move their laptops while it's on, unaware of the dangers they are poentially causing.

I have several versions of itunes on my computer and hard drive. My itunes library has become mixed up with my husbands how can i fix this?

I have several versions of itunes on my computer and hard drive. Now my itunes library has become mixed up with my husbands how do I resolve?

assuming the copy files ... when adding option is checkmarked in preferences > advanced, drag the folder into an open iTunes window while holding option (⌥).

I recently moved some of my older tv series purchases to an external hard drive as my iTunes library hard drive was getting full. Now, when I connect my iPhone and iPad to iTunes, I get the message that my iphone is synced with another library! Help!

I didn't rename my iTunes library or anything. How can I sync with iTunes without erasing all my apps, app data and settings/messages etc on the iPhone/iPad?

If you moved your iTunes library by simply copying it to another drive, you may not be able to access your music even if you reconnect to that library, you may get a lot of "not found" errors because the music is not where the library thinks it should be. First thing to do is put it back where it was. Then reconnect it. Then follow the steps in this link:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364

Adding a hard drive with an itunes library to a different machine

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