Can I keep my itunes library on an external hard drive and still use it??

Hello,
I recently purchased a new laptop because my old computer wwent on the fritz. Luckily I backed up my library on my external hard drive. My question is can a) connect my itouch and ihone to my nex computer and b) run my library strictly from my hard drive and not import everything to my new computer?
thanks for the hep!!

tothatc wrote:
Hello,
I recently purchased a new laptop because my old computer wwent on the fritz. Luckily I backed up my library on my external hard drive. My question is can a) connect my itouch and ihone to my nex computer and b) run my library strictly from my hard drive and not import everything to my new computer?
thanks for the hep!!
On Windows, hold Shift (not alt), launch iTunes and select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external drive.

Similar Messages

Can you file your iTunes movies on an external hard drive and still access them from itunes?

Can you move your Itunes movies from the hard drive on hte computer (C drive) to an external hard drive in order to free up space on your main hard drive (C drive)?

Yes.
I have a 5TB iTunes library stored on a Drobo 5D.
http://ipod.about.com/od/advanceditunesuse/a/Itunes-External-Hard-Drive.htm
It works perfectly.

How do I move just my movies folder (not the entire iTunes library) to an external hard drive and still be able to watch movies?

My movies library is getting frighteningly large, and I want to move it (not the entire library) to an external HD, and still be able to watch the movies (when the HD is connectec). How would I do that?

It's not a feature of iTunes but can be done using various work-arounds.
Small hard drive? Split your iTunes library across multiple volumes - http://www.macyourself.com/2009/04/24/small-hard-drive-split-your-itunes-library -across-multiple-volumes/ - copying media folders to external, then deleting from internal, then adding again.
Splitting & Managing Your iTunes Library - http://machintsandtips.com/i-j-k/itunes/splitting-managing-your-itunes-library/ - using option+drag to override iTunes from copying file to your default media folder.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/10160819#10160819 - Change location of media folder to start putting files on second drive. Note later follow-up post about leaving 'organize media' and 'copy to drive' checked.
TuneSpan: (OS X app) A utility that allows you to distribute the media files in your iTunes Library across multiple drives. - http://tunespan.com/ - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tunespan/id528459889?mt=12 - Requirements: OS X 10.6.6 or later, 64-bit processor

How can I export my iTunes Library to an external hard drive?

How can I export my iTunes Library to an external hard drive? and once i do that how can i play the library through the external drive? I basically want to be able to delete all my music on itunes once it is on my external hard drive so i can have more internal hard drive space.

Follow this guide very carefully: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364?viewlocale=en_US
It's very easy to do....

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.

Can I create a "new" iTunes library on an external hard drive and transfer my iTune library to save space on my laptop

Can I create a "new" iTunes library on an external hard drive and transfer my iTune library to save space on my laptop hard drive

Yes. Just copy all your music to a folder on your external. Then delete the music on your computers hard drive.
It is not quite that simple. If you do that you will end up with many broken links and will have to re-create your library from scratch . iTunes does not like it when you move or rename files or folders and doing so between drives is guaranteed to result in exclamation marks indicating you have broken the links to all your media files.
If you are content with moving the whole library to an external drive (usually the best thing for most people), try:
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the library.

Can I keep photos on external hard drive and still use iPhoto?

I have virtually no space left on my eMac's 80GB hard drive. For a long time, I have kept my sizable iTunes library on an external hard drive connected to the eMac. It takes a bit of extra time to open up the iTunes library and to upload music from newly purchased CDs, but generally the external hard drive and eMac perform well together. My question is: Can I do the same with my photos (put them on the external hard drive) and still use iPhoto to access them and edit them? I have checked some of the Apple knowledge base documents, and there seem to be warnings against this. I am currently using iPhoto 6.0.6. I have purchased iPhoto 7.0 (with iLife '08) but haven't put the new software on the computer because there is not enough space. I would like to straighten out this space problem and get the benefits of the new software. (I have backed up quite a few of the photos onto CDs, but I like to have them handy--therefore on the eMac or on a hard drive connected to the eMac.) Thanks ahead to anyone with some good ideas on this topic.

winesmile
Yes it is, but you cannot access the at the same time as iPhoto can only open one library at a time.
So, a solution might be to have the entire library on the external, and to carry the smaller subset on the laptop.
To do this, follow the instructions above to move the library, but instead of deleting the library on the laptop (in the final step), put the pics from the earlier years into the iPhoto trash and empty it. (iPhoto Menu -> Empty Trash. Hint: Don't so them all at one go! Better a few a a time.)
Now you have the full library on the external (and if you want to access the full library, use that) and the 07 & 08 years on your laptop.
To switch between libraries, simply hold down the option (or alt) key when launching.
As you add photos to the Library you can use iPhoto Library Manager to move pics and albums /events between libraries, and so keep them up-to-date with each other.
Please note this is the only way to sync the libraries, there is no app that can do this automatically.
Regards
TD

I moved my itunes library to an external hard drive and now when I try to sync my ipad it says it is already synced to another library.

I moved my itunes library to an external hard drive and then I tried to sync my ipad. I got a message that says my ipad is synced to another library and it will erase my ipad, which I don't want to do. I'm not sure how to fix this problem, any ideas?

Ok. progress...
So is your media folder called iTunes Music or iTunes Media? And does it have a folder called Music inside it?
Before going any further you should first attempt to use File > Library > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (ignore if grayed out). This will make sure that any iPod Games or Mobile Applications get placed inside the iTunes Media folder which is needed for portability.
If your iTunes Media folder is called iTunes Music, close iTunes, rename the folder as iTunes Media and start iTunes again. iTunes will automatically adjust. Close iTunes again.
On your external drive rearrange the folders that you have already copied there so that they match the layout in your active library. You should end up with a folder called X:\iTunes where X: is the external drive letter, and the media folder is X:\iTunes\iTunes Media. If the library layout was upgraded then you will need to create a Music folder inside this and move all the artist folders and Compilations into Music. You will also need to copy iPod Games and Mobile Applications from your internal drive into the new media folder. Next copy the files iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel and the folder Album Artwork from the internal drive into X:\iTunes. The preceding manipulations should make the internal and external copies of your library match without you having to copy all of the media over again.
Now hold shift as you start iTunes. Click choose, browse to and open X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.
Finally use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files. This will ensure that any stray files that might have been added from outside your original media folder will be copied into the new one.
You can now reclaim the space used by your library on the internal drive, however before you do so I would advise you to obtain another external drive and make use of this backup tip.
tt2

On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture. How can I access the Aperture Library on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup? I can only access the application but not the library..

On imac 10.6.8 using current version of Aperture. How can I access the Aperture Library on my external hard drive that I use with time machine for backup? I can only access the application but not the library..

Go into Time Machine (the program not the bundle on the extrnal disk) and using Time Machine's browser go to the Folder where the library lives. You could look in the library bundle in Time Machine but that won't really tell you much,
If you want to make sure it truely has backed up your library you will need to restore it and open the restored library with Aperture.
If all this still has you confused you need to read up on Time Machine in order to get a feel for how it works, for what it is doing and for how to restore files from it.

If I've downloaded my music to an itunes library from an external hard drive and I have several duplicate songs, is there an easy way to delete the duplicate songs? Or, do I have to go through my entire library song by song to delete duplicates?

If I've downloaded my music to an itunes library from an external hard drive and I have several duplicate songs, is there an easy way to delete the duplicate songs? Or, do I have to go through my entire library song by song to delete duplicates?

In iTunes, File>Display Duplicates

I have two apple id's one from my old laptop and one from my iPhone. I saved my iTunes library to my external hard drive and then tried to transfer it to my iMac. My music skips like a scratched cd now and I can't add any to my iPhone. Help please!

I have two apple id's one from my old laptop and one from my iPhone. I saved my iTunes library to my external hard drive right before my old mac laptop died and then tried to transfer it to my new iMac. Now when I try to play my old music it skips like a scratched cd. Also, now I can't add any music to my iPhone unless it was purchased recently through itunes and downloaded through icloud. I tried to "Organize" my library in hopes of correcting the problem but my iMac just ejects my external harddrive part way through. Please help!

Ejects the harddrive?
Of what did your old Mac die?
It sounds to me like you have some file corruption somewhere. Either in the transfer of your library to the external or the external itself is flaky if it keeps ejecting.

Can i store unused iTunes Library on an external Hard-drive?

Hi There,
I have 3 account on my Macbook each have an itunes library on them, the on is use all the time, but the other 2 never change and are never listed to becausethe only used of the laptop!
is there any way I can move the library on to my hard-drive so i can free up space on my laptop, but still have accesses to them if i need to update the 2 of them to put new music on there iphone and ipods?
Thanks and help would be greatly appreciated??
Tom Green

See this Apple note about moving an itunes library to an external hard drive.

Is it possible to keep my iTunes library in an external hard drive?

I have just noticed that my fairly new iMac computer's hard drive is almost completely full.
Is it possible to transfer my iTunes library to an external hard drive (that I have plugged constantly into my iMac computer), and still have full functionality of all of my purchased songs in iTunes?

br121 wrote:
I have just noticed that my fairly new iMac computer's hard drive is almost completely full.
Is it possible to transfer my iTunes library to an external hard drive (that I have plugged constantly into my iMac computer), and still have full functionality of all of my purchased songs in iTunes?
absolutely, yes.
follow these instructions

Itunes library both on external hard drive and mac.

Hello.
I wish you could help me. I transfered my itunes library to an external hard drive. However, there are times that I would forget to put it back on. Now, there are some files that itunes can't locate.
How do I back up the new files i have on my itunes to the external hard drive.
Thank you very much.
Patty

update to the question above -- I went into Time Machine and restored my iTunes library, so it is showing what music I have again in there. FYI in advanced settings, I kept the setting that the music is stored in the Seagate HD.
BUT when I click on any music, it still cannot locate the file (all the music media files are still stored on the Seagate ext. HD)
So -- how can I get the iTunes library to re-connect with what is in the Seagate HD?
Thank you!

I transfered my itunes library to an external hard drive, and its accessible, but I can't burn a cd now. I need help!

I transfered all my music to an external hard drive, and changed the location in the preferences options in itunes. I can add music to the library, i can play music and make play lists, but I cannot burn a cd. What's happening, and what can i do to fix, or get around this problem?

Ok. progress...
So is your media folder called iTunes Music or iTunes Media? And does it have a folder called Music inside it?
Before going any further you should first attempt to use File > Library > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (ignore if grayed out). This will make sure that any iPod Games or Mobile Applications get placed inside the iTunes Media folder which is needed for portability.
If your iTunes Media folder is called iTunes Music, close iTunes, rename the folder as iTunes Media and start iTunes again. iTunes will automatically adjust. Close iTunes again.
On your external drive rearrange the folders that you have already copied there so that they match the layout in your active library. You should end up with a folder called X:\iTunes where X: is the external drive letter, and the media folder is X:\iTunes\iTunes Media. If the library layout was upgraded then you will need to create a Music folder inside this and move all the artist folders and Compilations into Music. You will also need to copy iPod Games and Mobile Applications from your internal drive into the new media folder. Next copy the files iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel and the folder Album Artwork from the internal drive into X:\iTunes. The preceding manipulations should make the internal and external copies of your library match without you having to copy all of the media over again.
Now hold shift as you start iTunes. Click choose, browse to and open X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.
Finally use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files. This will ensure that any stray files that might have been added from outside your original media folder will be copied into the new one.
You can now reclaim the space used by your library on the internal drive, however before you do so I would advise you to obtain another external drive and make use of this backup tip.
tt2

Can I keep my itunes library on an external hard drive and still use it??

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for