Back up just some music from iTunes onto an external hard drive

I want to move just some of my music from my iTunes library onto an external hard drive (reason? the music cannot be got again but right now I am not sure if I need it all or not).
So I want to move, say, 50 albums from the main iTunes libraray to an external drive and then be able to move some or all of them back again at later date.
Do I have to copy the whole library over to the external drive and then delete the albums there that I did not want to copy over? Or is there a better way?
And how will I copy back just some of the back-up albums at a later date - is it the normal "Add folder/file to [main] library command from the File menu?

Similar Messages

HT1349 How do I save my purchased music from Itunes to a external hard drive so I dont lose it?

How do I save my purchased music from Itunes to a external hard drive so I dont lose it?

Right-click(Windows) or control-click(Mac) any item in the iTunes library other than a rented movie, reveal it in the Windows Explorer or Finder, and navigate up the folder hierarchy.
(63453)

How do i transfer music from itunes to an external hard drive

I'm Trying to transfer music from my iTunes library to an external hard drive. how do I go about it.

If you have set iTunes to organize your library (under Edit > Preferences > Advanced) then all you need to do is:
with iTunes not running, copy your entire iTunes library (by default, C:\Users\user_name\Music\iTunes) to your external hard drive - if the latter is drive X, you end up with X:\iTunes containing:
Album Artwork (folder)
iTunes Media (folder) containing (the exact list of folders varies with the types of content in your library):
Audiobooks (folder)
Automatically Add to iTunes (folder)
Music (folder - this will contain one subfolder per artist, each containing one subfolder per album)
Podcasts (folder)
TV Shows (folder)
iTunes Preferences.plist (file)
Previous iTunes Libraries (folder)
iTunes Library Extras.itdb (file)
iTunes Library Genius.itdb (file)
iTunes Library.itl (file - this is the iTunes database)
iTunes Library.xml (file)
sentinel (hidden file)
When everything has been copied, hold down SHIFT while starting iTunes. You'll see this prompt:
Select Choose Library ... and browse to the iTunes folder on your external drive. Select the iTunes Library.itl file and click Open.
iTunes is now running with the complete library (database, media and supporting files) on the external drive.
If you haven't been allowing iTunes to organize your library (which means that some media may be stored in other locations, i.e., not all under C:\Users\user_name\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media) then you need to do the following prior to the steps described above.
In iTunes, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced and check the Keep iTunes Media folder organized and Copy files to iTunes Media folder ...
Then select File > Library > Organize Library ... In the next dialog check the Consolidate files option and (if not grayed-out) Reorganize files ..., then click OK.
iTunes will then reorganize your media so that you can follow the procedure to copy the complete library to your external HDD.
Last point: once you've done this I strongly recommend that you get a second external drive and use this to take a regular backup of your library,

I want to move just my movies from iTunes to an external hard drive but not my music

i have a fairly large movie/TV collection in iTunes. i don't need these most of the time so i want to move them to an external hard drive. however, i want to keep my music & podcasts in the current internal hard drive.
is this possible? if so, how?
i've looked at this page & the video that details how to move the entire iTunes library but they do not address my specific issue.
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://www.cnet.com/videos/move-your-itunes-library-to-an-external-drive-5010991 0/

If you have one library, the movies are on another drive and you don't have the external running all the time you will have annoying !=broken link for all your movies until you turn on the drive and restart iTunes. For things you do not want to have to see on a daily basis the best solution is to make a separate library and keep the whole movie library, media and library files, on the external drive. The drive then does not have to be turned on all the time.
Make a new library by starting iTunes while holding down the option/alt key.
If you want to do it all in one library, to move some items:
Sept. 2010, Consolidate selected content - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2589812 and April 2014, https://discussions.apple.com/message/25414357#25414357
Note, any purchases you make will still automatically go to the media folder specified in the preferences for that library so you will have to relocate files after each purchase.
A slightly neater method than that recommended by bodyxs is to move the file but re-add them by holding down the option key while dragging them to iTunes. That should leave them in the current (the copy on the external) location, overriding iTunes wanting to copy them to the media folder.

How do I download a move from itunes onto an external hard drive?

For whatever reason, my hard drive onboard does not have enough space for a movie to download. I don't want to take the time to clear the space, since the one thing Apple makes harder than a PC is seeing which files are the biggest for cleaning off hour disk. I have an external drive with plenty of space, but can't seem to get itunes to recognize it as a destination. How can I download my movie onto it swo I can them transfer it to my iPad?

steven59 wrote:
the one thing Apple makes harder than a PC is seeing which files are the biggest for cleaning off hour disk.
luckily there are 3rd party tools that can help with that:
Disk Inventory X
WhatSize
I have an external drive with plenty of space, but can't seem to get itunes to recognize it as a destination.
before downloading the movie, go iTunes > preferences > advanced and point iTunes media folder location to the external.
iTunes will put new additions to your library where ever iTunes media folder location is pointed.

I have a macbook air. I was unable to fit all my music onto it so i moved iTunes onto an external hard drive. How do I transfer my music (80GB) onto my iPod classic?

I recently bought a Macbook air. I had 80gb so I moved iTunes onto an external hard drive. How do i move that music onto my iPod classic?

You can only sysc with one iTunes library. The new computer is a new library. You have to restore your iPod on the new conputer and then sync.

I have backed up my lap top including itunes to an external hard drive, everything is on the external device, but I can't play my purchased movies from it?

I have backed up my lap top including itunes to an external hard drive, everything is on the external device, but I can't play my purchased movies from it?

Why can't the media be played? Any errors?
Was it actually backed up to the External drive or moved to the external drive? Sounds more like the latter which could potentially cause issues depend on how it was moved.

I am trying to backup my Itunes onto my external hard drive. I am at the step where I on Itunes, click on File - Library - Organize library. I am suppose to check mark both boxes there, It won't allow me to check mark the second box, why? How to fix this.

I am trying to backup my Itunes onto my external hard drive. I am at the step where I on Itunes, click on File ->Library ->Organize library. I am suppose to check mark both boxes there, the first being "Consolidate Files" & the second being "Reorganize files in the folder 'Itunes Media'. I am able to checkmark the first box but It won't allow me to check mark the second box, why? How can i fix this? Please help!

Well you must have made a mistake somewhere. The last instruction of step four reads:
When you've found your iTunes library folder, drag that folder to your external hard drive. This will begin the iTunes backup. The amount of time the backup will take depends on the size of your library. When the transfer is done, your backup is complete and your external hard drive can be disconnected.
Normally dragging content from to a new location on a different drive will result in a copy action which is what you were supposed to do. At a guess you somehow managed to move the iTunes folder. Then when you started iTunes it created a new blank library for you assuming it had just been installed rather that raising a warning.
Close iTunes. Rename the iTunes folder on the internal drive as iTunes (Empty) then copy the iTunes folder from the external back into the User's Music folder. Start iTunes. All should be well.
When you've made sure it all works please read my User Tip and use that method to backup in future. Since you already have a folder with the backup in place you can skip the "Make New" operation in the fourth step and simply choose the external folder.
tt2

Recent convert to Apple. Previously, I backed up my family pictures from PC to an external hard drive, a WD MyBook 3T. I can view the pics on my Macbook Pro, but I can't add new pictures. I'm sure this is a format issue, any easy way to correct it?

Recent convert to Apple. Previously, I backed up my family pictures from PC to an external hard drive, a WD MyBook 3T. I can view the pics on my Macbook Pro, but I can't add new pictures. I'm sure this is a format issue, any easy way to correct it?

Install NTFS 3G
http://macntfs-3g.blogspot.com/
If you were going to be reading and writing to a NTFS System Partition, you might have to worry about the instability messing up the operating system. However, you are reading/writing from a non system, backup device so you don't have to worry about screwing up an operating system.
I would still temporarily move my data to another device and reformat the drive for Mac OS X Extended.

I had all photos on a Windows desktop. Got a mac laptop, installed LR5, and put all images from Windows onto an external hard drive. When I go to import them into LR on the Mac, they are all locked. Help, please. Thanks

I had all photos on a Windows desktop. Got a mac laptop, installed LR5, and put all images from Windows onto an external hard drive. When I go to import them into LR on the mac, they are all locked. Help, please!

"I plugged the external into the Mac and moved a folder of images onto the desktop. It looks like it went from read only to not locked. Is this possible?"
Yes, that's exactly what happened. If you buy another drive, you could copy from your existing drive to the new and your files will be read/write. The new drive will have to be formatted as an HFS drive (that's the Mac's format). If you need to format it, you use Disk Utility which is in the Utilities folder on your Mac. Be careful with that -- it wipes out whatever is currently on the drive. Make sure you format the right drive.
I keep all my images on an external drive, too. In fact, I have two matching drives and sync them so I always have a backup.

Just want to backup iTunes on an external hard drive

Greetings,
I've been working on this for days without success. All I want to do is back up my iTunes on an external hard drive.
Using iTunes 7.6 on an iMac G4; Music resides on an external hard drive. I want to back up to a different external hard drive.
I've tried moving folders, but when I go to test the data, iTunes can't locate songs. I tried the <option> key to redirect. I just tried adjusting preferences to new drive; then I tried "consolidate" ...took forever 90Gigs.
I just can't get everything right on each of the two drives. The folders are different.
Just when I thought I got it working (iTunes operating perfectly from alternate drive) I can't eject the first drive. I want to put one hard drive in a safe place. No other programs using these external drives.
Drive that is working looks like this:
LaCie
iTunes folder (contains all my artist folders)
iTunes library (database file)
iTunes Library.xml
Other drive that I want to dismount:
Seadisc300
iTunes folder (contains album artwork file, iTunes Library data, iTunes Music Library.xml iTunes Library.xml and iTunes Music folder (artists) plus previous library folders.
Anyone know what files / folders need to be where?
This is frustrating. Any advice most welcome.
Thanks,
Mark

1 - iTunes puts music in \iTunes\iTunes music folder by Artist\Album\song.
2 - Dunno why it's there unless you created a new library and selected that location.
3
When selecting the location under iTunes preferences... does one select a folder or the actual database file inside a folder?
You are not selecting a library. You are selecting a location for the iTunes music folder.
Do I allow iTunes to "organize" after making the adjustment?
I would. This makes iTunes oprganize the songs by Artist\Album\Song based on those fields in the ID3 tags.
4 - ???
The default for iTunes is...
Album artwork folder
iTunes music folder
iTunes library file
iTunes library.xml file
Maybe a Previous libraries folder.
If you choose to have the music folder located elswhere, it won't be in the iTunes folder.
Just a note: To make it easier to understand, don't mix up terms.
*iTunes music folder* is just that. It's where the music is. It is not the library.
*iTunes library* is what you see when you open iTunes. This info is contained in the *iTunes library.itl* file.
*iTunes library.itl* file is the database used by iTunes for all the info about your library - Songs, movies, podcasts, playlists, ratings, etc.
*iTunes library.xml* is created by iTunes for other apps to access th eiTUnes library. iTunes istelf does not use it.

How can I move my itunes library from pc onto an external hard drive for use on a mac

I have a large itunes library on my PC (roughly 200gb) and I want to transfer this to an external hard drive to then use on my new mac. I have tried this before using software which converts from NFTS to mac, but this didn't work properly (songs kept disappearing), so I also want the external hard drive to be mac formatted. Any suggestions? It seems much harder to do this than I expected.

Yes you can go to > Music > iTunes folder and copy the whole iTunes folder and drag the folder to your external and then on the new Mac click and highlight the iTunes folder and then in iTunes click on the button at the top (add folder to library) and you should see all your songs transfer from the external to the Mac and all songs start filling up in your iTunes library on the Mac.
This is the easiest method all songs and other media such as songs, movies, apps will be transferred over however you may not be able to keep ratings & last played counts using this method.
To keep all metadata including ratings & play count use the Apple method exclusively for this if you have to have your metadata, play counts and ratings saved.
I used scenario one above because it one of the simplest methods and I was just satisfied enough just to transfer all media over.

How to get bought movies from itunes on-to external hard drive?

Hey guys. I have iomega external hard as a backup. I've had it since june 2010, love it. I need to delete some things off my hard drive to free up some space, I thought I would do my movies. I can see that my itunes folder has been backed-up. My question is this; before I delete my movies off my hard drive (the ones I've purchased through itunes) how can I tell if my movies are in with the itunes folder? Wouldn't it show a folder or a list of my purchased movies?
When I go to my itunes folder all I see is my music and apps I've purchased, not movies.
I just want to make sure i see them in a folder, so once I delete them off my hard drive, i then can go to my external hard drive to see if they actually got backed-up.
Thanks.
Why_atl

Peruse About the "iTunes Media" folder [http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10446968-263.html]

Downloading music from ipod classic to external hard drive

Hi, Can anybody please tell me if its possible to download music from my classic to an external hard drive and would copyright issues be envolved perhaps stopping me downloading all the music. Most of the music is from my own CD's. Thanks.

While it is possible to put the music on an iPod onto an external drive, it isn't easy, and iTunes can't do it. You would need a third-party programme. Is the music not listed in your iTunes Library, and therfore, on your computer? Then all you would need to do is copy the files from their location on your computer to the external hard drive.
It should be on your computer, it's not wise to use the iPod as your only copy of your Library, since it's not designed to be a back up device.
As for copyright; this is actually a grey area, dependent upon which country you are in. In the UK for example, it is actually breaking copyright to put the CDs you own onto an iPod. But in reality, no one in the UK will be prosecuted since what they are doing is regarded as fair use. (I think these rules are about to change, in favour of the consumers.) I believe that in the USA, at least one lawyer has been trying to bring a prosecution based on "putting your CDs onto an iPod is copyright theft".
What is usually boils down to is this;
if you are making a copy for your own use, that's okay. But if you are making a copy for you to keep, while you then sell your original CDs to someone else, that's copyright theft.
Members of one household, i.e. brothers, sisters and children can share the music on CDs, without fear of copyright theft accusations. But if your brother moves out to his own home, then he no longer has a right to copies of your CDs.
Making a copy, by which you make profit, or deprive the copyright owner of income, is copyright theft. So lending your CD to a friend, who then makes a copy and returns the CD to you, is copyright theft, even if you made no money from this.

I'm new to Mac and I'm having a problem trying to transfer photos from Iphoto onto a external hard drive?

My hard drive says it's locked and I don't know how to unlock it. Also i tried exporting photos but that didn't work either. Thanks so much

No idea - you actaully have to share details
What version of iPhoto and of the OS?
What format is the external hard drive? What is the exact error message you get?what didn't work about exporting? What exactly are you trying to accomplish?
If you want the iPhoto library to operate on an external drive the way is
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

Back up just some music from iTunes onto an external hard drive

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for