Backing up music to an external hard drive-TIA

Hello,
Thank you for reading my question.
I copied the entire "itunes" folder over to an external hard drive as my backup. I just right clicked and chose copy and then copied to my external hard drive. I use my laptop as my itunes home base and the external is my backup. I run windows xp basic.
Is this sufficient for a backup plan?
I ask, because after reading numerous backup posts, there seems to be some "small" files that are critical if a reinstall from the backup is needed.
Also, I couldn't find a precise "official" support direction and have relied upon the posts on this forum.(which, by the way, were extremely helpful and I want to express my thanks to those of you who spend your time helping us beginners.)
thank you in advance for any help you can offer me.

Yeah, you'll want to get the library files as well:
What are the iTunes Library files?
If the 'iTunes' folder you're referring to is the one in My Music, you've already backed up those files, and you've got a safe backup.

Similar Messages

  • HT1391 I had all of my music on an external hard drive that failed. I have iTunes Match so all of my music was synced with the "cloud". How do I now download and save all of my music back down on a new external hard drive?

    I had all of my music on an external hard drive that crashed. I have iTunes Match so all of my music was synced in the cloud. How do I now re-load my music back down onto a new external hard drive?

    Hey Rbe58!
    I believe this question can be answered by the information in the following article:
    iTunes 11 for Windows: Access all your music anytime, anywhere with iTunes Match
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ph12492
    Play or download songs from iCloud
    You can play songs directly from iCloud, or you can download songs so you can play them when you’re not connected to the Internet.
    If a song is available in iCloud, it has a Download button next to it.
    To play the song, double-click it.
    To download the song, click the Download button.
    After you download a song to a computer, it remains in the computer’s iTunes library, even if you turn off iTunes Match.
    To only display downloaded songs in your iTunes library, choose View > Hide Music in the Cloud. This also hides any previous iTunes Store purchases you haven’t downloaded.
    For information about downloading and playing songs on an iOS device, see the documentation for the device.
    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!
    Cheers,
    Braden

  • I have backed up all my music on an external hard drive and i was wondering is there a quick way to put it all back on itunes.

    i have backed up all my music on an external hard drive and i was wondering is there a quick way to put it all back on itunes.

    Hello, Gazzlaa84.
    You can import your media a couple different ways.  If you plan on keeping the media on the external drive, I would just direct iTunes to read the media folder on the external.  Here are the steps on how to make that change.
    iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
    iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
    Also, here is another great resource for moving your iTunes media. 
    iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
    Cheers,
    Jason H. 

  • How can I transfer my music from an external hard drive to my Time Capsule and can I play it through apple TV?

    All my music is currently stored on an external hard drive, but I would like to transfer everything onto my Time Capsule, so that everything is backed up, what is the best way to do this?
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    Did you import the music on the external hard drive into your iTunes library on your new PC or point iTunes at the location of your library stored on the external hard drive?
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  • How do I get iTunes to access music files on external hard drive?

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    Open your external hard drive to the directory containing your iTunes folder.
    Cmd-Option drag the iTunes folder from the external hard drive to the internal hard drive Music folder, creating an alias in the internal drive's Music folder.
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  • Why can't I simply drag music from my external hard drive to my ipod classic?

    Why can't I simply drag music from my external hard drive to my ipod classic using my mac?

    downpat wrote:
    So after I get my music put on my computer, then moved to my ipod, do I have to delete music from itunes  to free up space?
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  • HT1473 I want to keep my music on my external hard drive to free up room on my computer how do i get itunes to recognise the hard drive to play the music?

    I would like to keep all my music on my external hard drive but I can't seem to get itunes to recognise my hard drive.  How do I get itunes to recognise my hard drive so I can play the music off there rather than copying the files over each time?

    Click the icon to launch iTunes
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    See also: HT1589: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
    If you had copied across as directed there would be no need to move anything back...
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  • How can I play the music on my  external hard drive with my laptop?

    Look before everyone points out that this has been asked lots of times before, I wanted to state that in this particular case it might be a little bit more complicated. You see I think I've been an idiot.
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    Thanks

    Am I being a plonker, but it doesn't seem as simple as that. If I try and import via itunes it seems to want me to select the individual music file not the folder which holds all the music.
    Also if I simply import it, won't my mac copy the files from my external hard drive back on to my laptop? Which makes me think I change the location where all the music is stored in itunes...?
    Thanks for the help!

  • Trouble getting iTunes to sync with music on my external hard drive

    PLEASE HELP ME! I recently moved all of my music to my external hard drive to free up space on my computer. I have all the original files on my hard drive now, but (perhaps stupidly) deleted all the files from my actual computer. Now, I'm afraid I can't get all my ratings, last time played, number of plays, playlists, etc. back.
    This is basically what I did:
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    Will someone please just talk to me about this since AppleCare represetatives refuse to deal with problems that have absolutely anything to do with products that aren't made by them....even though I bought the thing at an Apple Store. I'm not sure if I'm giving the right info...I just need someone to ask me the right questions! PLEASE!

    Here's Apple's method of moving your Music Folder:
    iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
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    What are the iTunes library files?

  • Hard Drive Crash--Restoring music files from External Hard Drive

    My hard disk crashed, but I think (at least I hope) that I'm backed up. I had copied all of my Itunes music onto an external hard disk before the crash, although I'm not sure I copied everything that you are supposed for a full backup (i.e. all files in the Itunes folder). I'm uncertain as to the process to get everything restored.
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    If you copied the entire iTunes folder to the external, then all you have to do is install iTunes like normal, then start up with these instructions and point it to your backup on the external...
    How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
    Assuming that works, you can either leave everything as is and continue to use it directly off the external. Or close iTunes, then again copy the entire iTunes folder back to your internal drive, then reopen iTunes with those instructions again and re-point it back to your internal drive's copy.
    Patrick

  • How do I get my music from an external hard drive

    I made the mistake of moving my music folder from my computer to my hard drive to free up space on the computer.  Now my ITunes doesn't know how to connect to my music.  It comes up as a set-up page, as if I had never had the account.  Any ideas?

    Put it all back and make sure it works then post back.
    I made the mistake of moving my music folder
    Actually, what I meant to say is I moved my music to an external hard drive.
    So what exactly did you move?

  • I perviously transfered all my iTunes music to an external hard drive. But now when I connect the external hard drive and try to play a song, I get an error message saying that I need to "locate" my music. I don't how to find it on my external hard drive.

    I perviously transfered all my iTunes music to an external hard drive. But now when I connect the external hard drive and try to play a song, I get an error message saying that I need to "locate" my music. I don't how to find it on my external hard drive. Please help for I am not that computer savy and don't want to mess anything up.
    Thanks! 

    I called Apple Support and they walked me through it. They told me to basically copy and paste my music to the external hard drive. (I think.) Or maybe it was they had me transfer a folder to the EHD. I don't exactally remember it was a few years back. But I tried to plug in the EHD before starting and...nothing. Still says same thing, "locate file."

  • Re: Best Way to (Continuously) Back up iTunes Library to External Hard Drive

    Hello friends :
    My iTunes music library is getting rather large and I feel it's time to "properly" back it up to an external hard drive.
    I understand that you can back up your iTunes music folder to an external hard drive by the simple old "click and drag" approach using Windows Explorer.
    What I'd like to know is ... after intially copying the entire iTunes music folder onto the external drive, how can I achieve regular back-ups where only the files, playlists, etc. that have changed since the last back up are then added to the external drive . . . rather than having to copy the entire rather large folder all over again (and again)?
    Hopefully, you know what I mean!  Thanks for your help.

    The first time I backed up my iTunes on an external drive, it took a 1 hour +. Do I basically need to start over on my external hard drive? Or is there an easier/faster way?
    Yes there is a faster way.
    Check this out -> Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy
    Don't change the library location or hold Option to update the backup on the external.

  • How to route iTunes to music folders on external hard drive?

    Here's my story: Three years ago, I successfully rerouted iTunes so that the program would find my music library on external hard drive. Two days ago, my Apple MacBook computer was updated to the Lion operating system. iTunes was also updated.
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    Details:
    My folder on external hard drive, called "iTunes Music," contains various music files and also, I notice, a folder called "iTunes."
    Within that "iTunes" folder, the following folders or files are located:
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    FOLDER: Automatically Add to iTunes
    FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb
    FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb
    FILE: iTunes Library.itl
    FILE: iTunes Linrary.xml
    FOLDER: iTunes Media
    None of this makes any sense to me!
    Meanwhile, on the computer's hard drive, following this routing, in the folder called "iTunes," the following folders and files are located:
    Users -- Hard Drive -- Music -- iTunes
    FOLDER: Album Artwork
    FOLDER: Album Artwork 6.29.26 PM
    FOLDER: Automatically Add to iTunes
    FILE: iTunes Library 6.29.26 PM
    FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb
    FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb 6.29.26 PM
    FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb
    FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb 6.29.26 PM
    FILE: iTunes Library.itl
    FOLDER: iTunes Media
    FOLDER: iTunes Media 6.29.26 PM
    FILE: iTunes Music Library 6.29.26 PM.xml
    FILE: iTunes Music Library.xml
    I do not understand any of this. I do not understand WHICH FILE OR FOLDER I should instruct iTunes to go to in order to find the desired music files.
    Once the desired files are found, they should appear in the iTunes window on screen. This is not happening.
    I have tried holding down the Option key while starting iTunes, which yields a window that asks for me to CHOOSE LIBRARY. I choose the iTunes library file ( iTunes Library.itl) that is located on external hard drive. However, NOTHING HAPPENS. iTunes does not do anything. When the program opens, nothing is visible in the iTunes window, where normally songs are listed. No playlists on the lefthand side. NOTHING.
    Thanks for your attention and for any insight you might be able to share.

    Just so people know, there's already been several posts on this in this forum:  https://discussions.apple.com/message/18642460

  • My PC computer was wiped (virus) including itunes. How do I transfer the many playlists and music to the new re-installed itunes?? Ipod is synced to old itunes. I have all original music files on external hard drive. Please help?

    My PC computer was wiped (virus) including itunes. How do I transfer the many playlists and music on my ipod to the new re-installed itunes?? Ipod is synced to old itunes. I have all original music files on external hard drive. Please help?
    New itunes is trying to wipe the ipod. But have many many playlists (many hours making) which I want to save. Any help would be appreciated.

    If you want to just extract the playlists from your iPod, plug it in iTunes.  When it appears under devices, right->click on it and choose Export Playlists.  Save them to a location such as your desktop and them import them into your library once you have copied and imported all of your music back into it.
    See this older post from another forum member Zevoneer covering the different methods and software available to assist you with the task of copying content from your iPod back to your PC and into iTunes.
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2452022?start=0&tstart=0
    B-rock

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