Backup of entire library

Is there some way to create a complete backup of my iTunes Library to a hard drive?
I see in File/Library there's only an option to backup to disc (CD or DVD).
I'd prefer to create a backup to an external (or network) hard drive.
Is there a way to do this?
Thanks
-Mike

Copy \Music\iTunes\ folder to the external.

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WHEN RESTORING BACKUP OF ENTIRE LIBRARY, NOT ONE PLAYLIST HAS RESTORED!

my harddisk developed an unrepairable corruption, and i had to completely reformat and fresh install my operating system. I was able to backup my entire library onto 9 dvds (37 gig), but when restoring, the music rstored without problems, but horror of horrors not one playlist has appeared... this is terrible! Please help me anyone who can tell me how to rescue them. Is it necessary to restore the discs in a particular order? i.e. the last dvd first to be inserted for restore, or are the playlists somewhere on one of the dvds in a file? please please help.

I had this same problem. I just bought an aluminum iMac, and needed to transfer my music from my old Windows PC. I did the backup to DVD thing, and then followed the restore instructions to copy it onto the iMac. Everything got transferred perfectly, except for the playlists. Since I didn't want to redo them all, I got a little crafty and it worked!
1) Do the backup/restore, etc, according to the instructions here: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302392.
To get your playlist, etc....
2) Quit all the way out of iTunes.
3) Go into the music folder and rename the "iTunes Library" file to something else. (I picked iTunes Library-old). Make sure this is the "iTunes Library" one, NOT the "iTunes Music Library" one.
4) Find the "iTunes Library.itl" file on your backup CD/DVDs. Do not run the restore again. Click cancel if the dialog box pops up asking if you want to restore.
5) Copy that file into the folder from step 3.
6) Start up iTunes, and you should see all your playlists
7) You will likely have a lot of files with an "!" next to them, so you will have to have iTunes "find" each of them.
-phae
Message was edited by: phaedre
Message was edited by: phaedre

HT201250 Every time I add/delete music to itunes, does time machine backup my entire library? If so can I limit backup just to added music?

Usimg time machine-every time I add/delete music in itunes library does time machine backup entire file? If so,an I set it up to just backup added music?

It shouldn't be backing up the whole thing again, just the changes.

Aperture 3 - does Time Machine backup the entire library when you modify it

Since installing Aperture 3 and importing my iPhoto library, I've noticed that my daily Time Machine backups are now ~40GB. My Aperture library is 60GB, so I guess it can't be doing a full backup of it every day but I'm suspicious that it's Aperture related. Anyone know how I can see what's going on?

The only way to test a back up is to do a restore.
FWIW Time Machine does incremental back ups - i.e it backs up the changes - rather than doing a whole back up each time.
There's a Time Machine forum here
http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=1342
with some very knowledgeable people posting on it.
Regards
TD

How can I restore a single image from an aperture time machine backup, do I have to restore the entire library? that does not make sense

I hope there has been found a more efficiant solution for this, how can I restore a single image from an aperture time machine backup, I really hope I don't have to restore the entire library? that does not make sense
any suggestions?

Did you try browsing your backups in the Finder ? That is, do not go and "Enter Time Machine". Instead, navigate to your Time Machine backup via Finder and then manually go to the time period (by folder name) you are looking for ... when you find your Aperture library you can then "Show Package Contents" and find the Master you are looking for.

I updated my ipod and it deleted my entire library how do I restore it with the backup I have saved?

I updated my ipod and it deleted my entire library. How do I restore it with the backup I have so all songs will be available in the cloud; which I paid extra Money to increase memory for?

The backup that iTunes makes does not include apps, music, synced videos and photos. Se:
iTunes: About iOS backups
You will have to sync the items back form yur computer/iTunes library to the iPod via iTunes. If they are not on the computer you can redownloa d some iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

I would like to download / backup my entire iPhoto library, but want to do so in a manner where each event is saved as a distinct folder. Can someone please advise if / how this is possible?

I would like to download / backup my entire iPhoto library, but want to do so in a manner where each event is saved as a distinct folder. Can someone please advise if / how this is possible?

See Terence Devlin's User Tip on exporting from iPhoto:
Exporting From iPhoto https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4921
To write events to separate folders, use "File > Export" and select the subfolder format "Event Name". But that will only backup the photos and not your iPhoto library and all the work you invested in organising it. For backing up, see: iPhoto and File Management

OmG! Lost entire library, playlists, ratings - last action taken was downloading album from Amazon, using Amazon mp3 downloader... I have a backup drive, but I don't know what to do. Please help!

I used the Amazon downloader for the first time last night. Today, my entire itunes library vanished: ITunes opened as if it were a brand new installation, with no content at all. I had a very large library. I had 50 playlists. I had many purchased songs from iTunes. None of it is in iTunes right now.
I have two problems.
First, I want to know how and why this happened.
Second, I want to know how to restore my iTunes library and iTunes data (ratings, playlists, etc) into iTunes.
I have an HP Simple Save drive that is hooked up to the computer, and presumably backed up the iTunes data. I don't know how to restore it though, and I don't know why this happened.
Please, dear iTunes Gurus, help me fix this!

beckijc wrote:
now do I have to do that everytime i open it? or should i change it somehow?
No, you should not have to do it everytinme.
However, as part of your regular backup plan (you do have one, yes?) make sure to backup the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder.

HT1751 if i back up my itunes library to an external hard drive and then add subsequent music and want to back that up a few days later, can i backup the only newly added music without backing up the entire library again?

hello,
if i back up my itunes library to an external hard drive and then add subsequent music and want to back up the newly added music a few days later, can i do it without backing up the entire library again? or do i need to back up the entire library each and every time i back up to the external hard drive?

Just copy Users/yourusername/Music/iTunes (containing your library-files) to your external drive as well as that (extaernal) folder that contains all your audio-tracks.

Please help - entire library is missing

Hello guys,
I am currently experiencing some problems with iTunes, I hope someone can help me. After not having used my PC since September, I accessed it yesterday. After installing the iTunes update, everything was still normal, but after the computer had to be restarted for the HP update, ALL my media files are gone. Not only is the library wiped, the actual folder where the file should be is empty.
I will explain what I did below.
Also, please excuse my English, it's not my first language.
Okay, then let me explain my problem from the beginning. Maybe someone can tell me what I did wrong.
I am from Germany, but I am currently in the US as an exchange student. At home, I used a HP PC with Vista, but I decided to buy a little netbook (Asus eeePC)to take with me. The most important thing for me was (and still is) my music, my iTunes library. It is 86.4 GB big and consists of everything; songs, TV-shows, movies, apps, podcasts, audiobooks - you name it. In short, it's the result of years of listening to and collecting music; and it's not mine alone, the whole family uses it. I researched ways to copy my library unto my new netbook, but with a file that size, it's not that easy. Eventually, I decided to use a backup and re-create the library on the netbook. However, this did, for reasons unknown to me, not work, the backup was (from the 2nd disc on) unreadable. I created 2 more backups, tried to read them with different PCs - the same problem every time.
Finally, I had to leave without having accomplished anything. But I took my iPod touch with me, it had most of the files on it. I hoped that I could somehow transfer the files from my iPod. However, shortly after I arrived, it was stolen. I bought a new one, but of course all the files on it are gone.
In he meantime, my family at home created a new backup and send it to me - but this one, again, is not readable. Now I researched other possible ways on how to get my files over here. I decided to use a torrent this time. I had someone install a VNC client on my PC so I can access it from here, and then I installed utorrent and created a torrent from my entire library, send it to myself per e-mail and started downloading on my netbook. I was really happy to finally have found a way - but I should be wrong.
Since I had access to my iTunes after so much time, I decided to open iTunes and listen to a few songs. However, as my PC has not been used since I left in September, there were some available updates. Unsuspecting, I installed the new iTunes version and also a HP update. After the iTunes update everything was still okay, but after the PC had to be restarted for the HP update to work, my entire library was gone! And I checked, not only is the library empty, but the actual song-file is gone, meaning when I open, eg, "C:\Users\Chris\Music\iTunes\iTunes Music\Linkin Park\Meteora" the folder is totally empty.
That's how it is now. I decided not to do anything big, as I am afraid I'll mess it up even worse (though I don't think that's quite possible - there is nothing to mess up left, afterall).
Please please please, can somebody help me?

If you don't have any other back up, and the torrent files you sent to yourself are gone, then your music is gone.
Nobody can help you recover data that no longer exists, but I can offer some sympathy. Sorry to read your story.

How do I backup my iTunes library to an external drive?

Hi there,
Is there any way of backing up my itunes library direct to a backup device such as an external hard drive or online back up software? The only option I can see is to back up to disc but that will take 50 discs!

*Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows Only)*
Grab SyncToy 2.1, a free tool from MS. This can be used to copy your entire iTunes library (& other important data folders) onto another hard drive or network share. You can then use SyncToy periodically to synchronise or echo your library to the backup. A preview will show which files need to be updated giving you a chance to spot unexpected changes and during the run only the new or updated files will be copied saving lots of time. And if your media is all organised below the main iTunes folder then you should also be able to open the backup library on any system running the same version of iTunes.
tt2

I want to transfer my entire library from a Mac to a Dell

I tried to use the backup function to save all my music to DVDs. The music is copied to the DVD, but when I try to import it to my Dell, it copies a few songs, locks up, and spits the DVD out asking for the next disk. It seems to only transfer songs that I purchased; not my entire library. Is there a way to get the entire library from one computer to the next? My Mac is old and I want to put all my music to the new computer.

assuming all your media files are in the default location, copy the entire iTunes folder (not just the iTunes music or media) folder to the exact same location on the new machine.
you can use an external HD or your local network.

IPhone 4s set to manually sync, but every time I try to put a single song on my phone it downloads my entire library. How do I sync individual songs without downloading entire iTunes library?

I recently purged my iPhone 4S of most of its music because I didn't have enough gigabytes of free space to download the latest iOS (my phone was actually completely full). That ticked me off but I didn't have time for a backup. I transferred all purchases to my library and I deleted the music from my phone.
Since then, I've been annoyed that I don't have all my music but I've been enjoying the free space that I have, so I prefer to restore songs from my library individually now, depending what I'm in the mood to hear, and I don't miss having a full phone.
However, whenever I try to manually sync music that was ripped from a CD, music I didn't download from iTunes, but is playable in my iTunes library, iTunes thinks it has to download the entire library, which I don't even have the space for, anyway. However, my iPhone seems fine wirelessly (I have Home Sharing turned on) syncing individual songs which were purchased in the iTunes store.
So whenever I try to sync a single song, or an album perhaps, which was not purchased on iTunes, I get the message "updating files on iphone" and it says it's copying all the thousands of songs in my entire library. But my settings are for manual sync only. I wind up cancelling the sync every time, because I would have to wait for it to finish copying thousands of songs before it got to the one I selected. Why on earth is it doing this?
How do I regain the ability to sync a single song at a time?
This has been exasperating me.

While your iPhone is synching in iTunes, do the following:
1. Click on your iPhone's icon on the left.
2. Find and click on the "Tones" tab on the upper right of the iTunes display.
3. Choose the synch option you would like.

HT1386 When I sync my itunes and iPhone... most of the library still doesn't show up on my iPhone... how can i sync my entire library to my iPhone

When I sync my itunes and iPhone... most of the library still doesn't show up on my iPhone... how can i sync my entire library to my iPhone

Have you copied your content over from your old computer and onto the new on ? If not, and you still have your old computer, then there a number of methods described on this page which you can use to copy your library over : http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 . If you no longer have your old computer then have you got a backup of your content that you can copy onto the new computer and add into iTunes ?

IPhoto Trash Can deleted my entire library

I bought a brand new 27" iMac at the end of Oct 2010, which came pre-loaded with iPhoto '11 (Version 9.1 (475). I copied photos from my old iMac onto CD-ROMS and then imported them directly into my brand new iPhoto '11 by the select, drag and drop method. I deleted maybe 5 photos which the trash can correctly counted. However, when I deleted my trash can, it included ALL the photos in my entire iPhoto library (4000+) and deleted my entire library. These photos were not visible in the trash can before I hit the delete button.
After that happened, I thought maybe I did something wrong, so I manually transferred the photos to my iPhoto '11 all over again. This time, photos which I haven't even deleted appear in the trash can and when you try to empty the trash can, the message says something like "Are you sure you want to delete 4000 photos?" (i.e. my entire library). Plus it seems that I can't manually move things out of the trash can because they just magically reappear in the trash again. Why is this happening?
BTW I just downloaded and installed the latest iPhoto update, but the problem still persists.
As a side note, before deleting my iPhoto library, I had used Migration Assistant to transfer some files from my old iMac G5 (circa 2005/2006) to my new iMac using a firewire cable. However, as I did not transfer any applications, I don't think this would have affected my iPhoto '11, right? It was only after I noticed that my iPhoto library didn't get transferred to my new iMac that I decided to import photos to my new iPhoto '11 manually.
Apple products seem to be getting worse. I've filed a report with Apple, so hopefully they can fix the software. But what can I do in the meantime?

same thing here. out of the clear blue my trash said it had 800 photos in it (my library has 9000 photos in it). I looked at the ones in the trash and they appeared to be still in the real album, as though I had duplicated some of my photos then trashed them. If i tried to empty iPhoto trash it asked me if I wanted to delete my entire 9000 photos (even though only 800 were in iPhoto trash).
I rebuilt the entire iPhoto album (option command button on launching iPhoto) and picked all rebuild etc. options, took a couple hours) but the problem persisted. Fortunately I was totally backed up from a day or so ago, I checked the backup to make sure it did not have the trash problem, and then had iPhoto empty the trash of the one with with trash problem, and like others it dumped the entire iPhoto library! Yikes
Now there are 2 things on my computer that i could not afford to lose, 20 years of photos, and 20 years of quicken data, so I am VERY careful with those, and fortunately it paid off.My back-up is good and I rebacked up that file, but what a disaster that would have been had I lost all m photos.
so, This is not a minor glitch but a huge software issue that has to be fixed fast, not everyone, despite being told so, has good regular back-ups.
roger

Backup of entire library

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