Can I directly back up my itunes files to an external hard drive? To save my internal hard drive.

If your intent is to remove the songs from your computer's internal drive you don't want to manually move them because iTunes won't know where they are. The safe way to perform this move is to start iTunes, open iTunes Preferences, and select the advanced tab. Plug in the external drive if it isn't already.
Using the picture above as a guide, (1) click on the Change button and select your external hard drive. (I created a Music folder on my external drive because I keep more than just music on it). 2) Click to put checkmarks in the boxes marked (2) and (3) and then click on the Ok button. This sets the stage for copying the music to your external drive and will make sure all your new music is put there as well.
The last step is to select the File menu, choose Library, and then Consolidate Library. This actually moves the music. Depending on how large your music library is and the speed of your external drive this will take a few minutes to a few hours.

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Can Time Machine back up my iTunes Library stored on external hard-drive?

Is it possible to set Time Machine to back up my iTunes music/movie library that is located on another external hard drive (in addition to backing up the other files on my iMac computer)?

If the drive is connected and not in the excluded list it should backup automagically

I backed up my itunes folder to an external drive, then deleted it from the hard drive, then restored to the hard drive, but now can't see the files, playlists

I backed up my itunes folder to an external drive, then deleted it from the hard drive, then restored to the hard drive, but now can't see the files, playlists

Was the entire folder copied including the iTunesLibrary.itl file?

How do I back up my Itunes files?

My computer hard drive is crashing and I really need to back up my itunes files. How do I do this??? I put the music on my flash drive, but it is not big enough to hold anything else... I have other places I can save stuff... How do I save apps and other stuff and how do I know that everything in my Itunes is safely backed up? And how do I get it all back into Itunes when my new hard drive is installed? Any and all help is apprieciated. Thank you!

The easiest way is to just copy your entire iTunes folder (in My Music in your user's folder) to some other place. Then you can just copy it back to the same location when your drive is replaced and Windows reinstalled and set up.
Regards.

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.

"iPod Touch can not be backed up. The file needed can not be found" This is an error message I got when trying to restore my iPod Touch today after the volume bar disappeared!

Today the volume bar disappeared on my iPod Touch leaving me with no volume control. When I tried to do a restore I got the message "iPod Touch can not be backed up. The file needed can not be found" I'm in a double whammy here. First off has anyone ever got and cured either problem?
Thanks!

Problem solved thanks to another post here on the same topic.
1-Opened i Tunes & Connected iPod Touch
2- Unchecked "Open iTunes when connected"
3 - Synched iPod
4- Hit "Apply"
5- Checked "Open iTunes when connected"
6- Synched iPod
7 - Hit "Apply"
8- Ejected iPod and closed iTunes
9- Re-connected iPod Touch
10- iTunes opened automatically!

How can i back up my itunes library onto an external hard drive?

I can seem to figure out how to back up my Itunes library onto my external hard drive. Any advise?

A quick search provides the answer, see the following:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751 for backing up to an external drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1382 for backing up to optical media.

Digital movie download - can I move it from one iTunes file to another?

I have gotten several new Blu-ray and DVD sets for Christmas. Included is a digital copy which can be downloaded. Once I download and move it to iTunes, can I export that from one iTunes file on my Mac to another Mac which I own? I haven't been able to find a relevant post.

CWmain, this is something I'm keen to know too. I've got the new Star Trek and Transformers 2 Blu-ray discs with digital copies. I was hoping I could download the movies to my Mac Pro by redeeming the codes supplied with the discs and once downloaded just copy the resulting download files across to my MacBook Pro. I'm hoping that because both machines are authorised with my iTunes account it should just 'work'. Can anyone confirm this is correct before I go ahead?

I have been backing up iMovie 08 files to my external drive, but for some reason I can't open these files in iMovie. I used drag and drop to copy them.

I have been backing up iMovie 08 files to my external drive, but for some reason I can't open these files in iMovie. I used drag and drop to copy them.

You really should be doing backups with an actual backup application, especially one that will work automatically, and, if your external HD is large enough, back up your entire system. These can automatically back up only what's changed since the previous backup, and some will keep "archive" copies of things you've changed or deleted, also.
Too many things can go wrong, such as your internal HD failing, and you'll have a major project to reinstall everything.
You already have Time Machine, built-in to OSX. You might want to review the Time Machine Tutorial, and perhaps browse Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions.
#27 in the second link mentions some alternatives, too.

How can I back up multiple itunes libraries to an external hard drive?

How can I back up multiple itunes libraries to an external hard drive? I have tried dragging them across but they all open up as the primary library.

See this -> https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-2682

In the far left hand column, Devices keeps disappearing. I can get it back by downloading iTunes again but disappears again after I run disk utility.

In the far left hand column, Devices keeps disappearing. I can get it back by downloading iTunes again but disappears again after I run disk utility.

With a Device plugged in - place your mouse cursor over DEVICES - you should see 'show' or 'hide'. Click on 'show'.
MJ

If I back up to iCloud can I still back up to iTunes also?

iCloud looks interesting and I'll never lose my stuff like I would if my computer crashes but I still want to back up on iTunes and iCloud has only 5 gb of storage which I don't think is enough for and I'm not interested in buying more... Can I still back up on iTunes once I enable iCloud?

Yes, you could just switch the prefered storage option anytime. Just connect your iPhone to your computer and sync it with your computer.

I got a new computer and backed up my iTunes library to an external hard drive. The external hard drive is not allowing me to access the drive. Is there a way to transfer the songs from my iPod touch to my new computer?

I got a new computer and backed up my iTunes library to an external hard drive. The external hard drive is not allowing me to access the drive. I no longer have access to the old computer. Is there a way to transfer the songs from my iPod touch to my new computer?

That's a bummer, didn't realize the exHD files were corrupt, esp if you have tried from another PC and not just this new computer.
You can get purchases from the itunes store transferred from an iPod using these directions:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848?viewlocale=en_US
If you want everything (meaning non-itunes songs, app data, photos, etc) you need to buy a 3rd-party ipod manager that support iTouch. Here is an iLounge article to start your research:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/P2/

Bought a MBA and am trying to keep iTunes files on an external hard drive. Having problems.

Hi, I bought a MBA 13" and want to keep my iTunes files on an external hard drive to save space.However, I keep running into problems. I can't get the iTunes Media folder to stay on the folder in my external hard drive. Whenever I unplug it, regardless if iTunes is open or not, it changes back to the media file on the MBA. I tried renaming the media folder and deleting it, but the computer just makes another if I do that and then ends up deleting my whole library, forcing me to load it all back from my hard drive. Can anyone help me out on this? Thanks.

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

Keeping itunes files on 2 external drives?

i keep my itunes files on an external hard drive right now, i just got a 500gb external drive to back up all my files. how can i keep my current drive as a primary drive for itunes to load up to and also have the files copied into the new drive as a backup all the time? i want all files current and if i change info on a song or album it will upgrade on both drives. how can i backup all my itunes files onto the new hard drive and still have it be recognized by itunes.

Here is what I do if it will assist you.
The iTunes folder is in the My Documents-Music folder.
I copied the whole iTunes folder to an external hard drive as a backup. When I download a new song, movie, upload a new movie from a DVD movie, etc. I copy this song, movie, etc. to the external hard drive and then copy the iTunes Music Database file and iTunes Music Library file over.
So, when I make a change I copy the file over and move the two; iTunes database and library file over.
It works. I have restored to 6 installs already and everything is there in place. I dont have to do anything.
(Oh, dont forget to deauthorize the computer when formatting the computer)
It looks like this is what you are doing.
I have 375GB of iTunes data and am converting all my 300 DVDs to MP4 and uploading into iTunes. Love watching movies on my iPhone. No one bothers me . You cant make DVDs with this much data so an external 500GB+ hard drive is needed. The first move is long, but moving additional files over is pretty quick.
Also as a 3rd backup my iTunes folder is also on my work computer. It takes longer to move changes over...Primary iTunes folder to external drive. Take external drive to work someday and move the files there. Done.
Message was edited by: Wizarc
Message was edited by: Wizarc

Can I directly back up my itunes files to an external hard drive? To save my internal hard drive.

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