Change flags for Library unhidden in external drive

I have a clients drive that is failing. I have pulled it and placed it in an external case. I can get it to mount out of the machine in the external HD case. I have restored the data except in the hidden home library which is 10 days old from the last Time Machine back up. I am aware of the change flags cmd on a boot drive. How do I make the home Library of the external drive visible or un hidden so I can retreive the mail for the10 days missing? Thanks, Steve

I have confirmined on this discussion there was not a typo and the user libray does exist as I can see it in the finder. And it came up with
cd: /Volu[tab]Mac[tab]Users[tab][tab]
( [tab][tab] will give you a list of all users in that location )
[tab]=press tab key
The user account shows no problem.
I am pretty sure the drive has a bad blcok in that area, thus the drive crash, thus the msg's of a failing drive, thus we can't get to the library any way.
I will try your suggestion. But what is the command to hide the hidden files again?
Thanks, Steve

Similar Messages

So, I have just about had it. For nine days now, I have valiantly tried to move my library to an external drive. At first, I attempted to move it to my 2TB Time capsule, iTunes didn't like its new home though and moved home without telling me.

So, I have just about had it. For nine days now, I have valiantly tried to move my library to an external drive. At first, I attempted to move it to my 2TB Time capsule. iTunes didn't like its new home though and moved home without telling me. So then there were two libraries. I meshed them back together reluctantly and iTunes in a silent revolt, absolutely refused to use its own 'Keep Library Organized' criteria and may as well have thrown my music against the wall. Seriously, my 5 year old nephew has his computer files better managed. Then I bought a 3TB Time Capsule and you may ask yourself why??? Well, iTunes doubled in size- although when I ran apps that are designed to find duplicate iTunes files, it deleted the music I actually bought from iTunes. So then I watched as iTunes got it back. How you ask; I run a MacBook Air, iMac and Mac mini in my house - as soon as one powered up it hit the net like a sailor on leave and re-downloaded it all without abandon. I tried to keep the libraries separate, no success there. I tried to keep them unified; iTunes response was to ask me if I wanted to join iTunes Match every time I logged on to my computer and on any computer - my iTunes match song number has been as high as 24,367 and as low as 11,112. And I can't simply refuse iTunes. No one refuses iTunes. Refusal to allow iTunes Match to run through all 24000 songs again was to revoke my rights to the songs that were once part of my library. If I took a long time to decide or was visibly impatient while iTunes did its little 3 hour scan it would arbitrarily decide that music I bought from iTunes was ineligible for iTunes Match. How could that possibly be??? I am missing music, or at least iTunes tells me so by showing me that lovely exclamation point. I have tried backing up my computer to do a full system restore and start all over. Time Capsule claims I have 979 GB of data and takes its sweet time to even back up one gig (about 18 minutes) even though I can transfer files to my Time Capsule at about 1 GB every 40 seconds. I guess though performing back-ups are somewhat like government jobs; it will get done, when it gets done. The back up requirement of 979 GB is surprising though, my Mac claims that I currently occupy just about 25% of my 2TB drive. The discrepancy, who knows, but I think the solution lies somewhere in iTunes. But maybe iPhoto. But that is for another time.

After admittedly only a quick read the one thing you don't say is how you are trying to make this move. Most people with moving library issues do it the wrong way. Plenty of web sites tell you how to do it the wrong way.
If the iTunes application is started before the drive with the library is fully mounted and awake iTunes will revert back to the internal drive.

My itunes seems to be looking for my library on my computer C drive, rather than my external drive ( originally set up to as default ). How do I re-set itunes to look for my library on the external drive ?

Suddenly, after a year of good operation, my itunes seems to be looking for my library on my computer C drive, rather than the external drive it had been set up to as default How do I get it to search for the stored library on the external drive again ?

Quit iTunes.
On the external drive;
1 - Create new folder called iTunes (or whatever you want).
2 - Move your music folder into this.
3 - Go to the the C: drive iTunes folder.
4 - Copy the iTunes library.itl file into the iTunes folder on the external drive.
5 - Start iTunes holding the Shift key.
6 - Select Choose existing library and select the iTunes library.itl file you just copied to the external.

Itunes Library on An External Drive

Hi All,
I've been reading a few tutorials on how to setup an itunes library on an external drive and wish to ask a question that I haven't seen covered yet...
I have a desktop PC running win XP with which we connect 2 ipods to our library regularly to update (we both have laptops but are happy to let the home computer maintain our music collections). I have a few different external drives that I connect to this computer at different times. In addition I have a number of internal hard drives that I plug into my system when working on different projects or when I want to do backups. The end result is that the drive I wish to use for my music and (including itunes folders) is not always given the same designation (ie. M:drive) every time I plug it in due to other devices connected to the system.
Sooo my question is will I have to point itunes to the folder on the newly designated drive each time such a situation occurs? If so does that process take long or are there any alternatives I can setup in order to eliminate any problems.
I had considered manually designating the external drive myself using windows disk management snapin however this would be tedius and painful to teach others that want to use it.
Thanks for any advice given
Cheers
Matt

Thanks for your replies guys. I have gone ahead and tried to assign a drive letter to the drive I wish to use. Following the instructions here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844 on how to assign I get to stage 6 and find the "Assign the following drive letter " to be ghosted out. I can however change (as opposed to add) the drive letter without problem. After experimenting a bit I've found this drive reassigns itself to the new changed letter(Z:) after I unplug and plug it back in as well as after rebooting.
Would I be correct in assuming that this has done the same job and now regardless of what other drives I have attached to the pc at any time this drive will always be assigned Z:?
Thanks very much

I had my itunes library on an external drive, I now have a new Windows 7 computer. How can I access my library?

I had my itunes library on an external drive, I now have a new Windows 7 computer. How can I access my library?

Hello, robertfromboulder city.
Thank you for the question. You can direct iTunes to read your media off your external drive. To do this, follow the instructions below. See the section in the first article labeled Discovering and changing the iTunes Media folder location.
Where are my iTunes files located?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751
Cheers,
Jason H.

Imovie 10: how to move the (movie) library to an external drive

Hi all,
using imovie '11 it wasn't any problem to move the (movie) library to an external drive following these instrcutions: <http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2289?viewlocale=en_US>. After updating to mavericks and imovie 10 I can't find the hard drive icon to pull down the drive list any more.
Maybe I missed something very obvious but would be very happy for any suggestion.
Thanks in advance,
best regards,
Stephan

Your events and projects now reside in an file or files with extension .imovielibrary. You can create a new library wherever you want from within iMovie and drag and drop events into it from an exisitng library. If you want to move the complete library, select the library then go File - Consolidate Project Media. This ensures the library is self-contained and doesn't have any links to external media which could break when it is moved. You can then move the library to the external HD using the Finder. When you restart iMovie you will have to select File - Open Library - Other and navigate to its new location.
There are a lot of changes in imovie 10 and its really necessary to study the help file (http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0/#mov3fa25bae7)
Geoff.

Can't Move iTunes Library to an external Drive using instructions given

Hi Guys.
I want to move my library to an external drive. However when I click Edit, then Preferences, then Advanced, as per the instructions, there is no inner tabs that give me the option of clicking on General as illustrated in the instructions and I can't proceed. What am I doing wrong? How do I move the library permanently to the external drive to make room on my computer?
Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help!
Keith

Thanks for clarifying that there have in fact been changes to the Advanced tab. That's what threw me. I've successfully transferred the library to the F drive and all is well!!
It's only a small thing, but I'm just wondering what method I should use to transfer the remaining folders which didn't transfer with the full library.
I have basically just followed the instructions, excluding the going into the General menu of the Advanced tab. I selected the new location, which came up as the new location for the library in the window of the advanced tab. I clicked OK and then Consolidated the library.
Many thanks,
K.

Can I optimize the iTunes library on my external drive?

I have my iTunes library on my external drive, which by the way, is very full (only 40 of the 500 gb free). It takes ages for ITunes to start up, and I believe it's because of the very full harddrive. Is this really the case, though? And is there a way to seppd up opening iTunes?
André

I don't think a G5 is that old. Maybe running Leopard would change things, but I have to save for that...
Still, it started to take longer after I had put all my files from the main drive on the external one so i think it's because that drive is almost full. Is there a program to optimize an external drive, I remember you have the for the pc, reformat or something like that.

ITunes library issues with external drive - HELP!

Hey guys,
I just got the Time Capsule and am using it to store my iTunes library. I went to preferences>Advanced and changed the location of the iTunes Library to my time capsule HD.
The problem I am having is that every time I disconnect from the network iTunes defaults back to user/me/music/itunes and I have to redirect it and then click yes for "organize my library" and then it updates the library, blah blah...
This is very annoying, does anyone have any suggestions?

Try this post;
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Maybe the most useful hint for you is the last paragraph "If you move your library to an external drive, you'll need to power up and connect the drive before starting iTunes. If you don't, iTunes will prompt you to either locate the library or to create a new library (which will result in an empty library)."

How to Move iTunes Library on an External Drive to Another Computer

How do you move your iTunes library (including all your playlists) if your iTunes media files—movies, TV shows, music, etc.—are housed on an external drive, rather than the local drive on your computer?
The usual advice concerns copying media files from one computer to the next, e.g.:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
But if your media is on an external device, you don’t want to copy it, just access it from a new device. You could plug the drive into your new computer and drag the media into iTunes, but then you would lose your playlists and other information.
Fortunately, you can transfer an entire iTunes Library using the Export/Import function. The essential information is found in an Apple support document, “iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists”:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1451
Using this information, we can create a procedure for transferring both the media files that are on an external drive and the iTunes Library that goes with it.
Here is the procedure:
1. On the old computer, Export the playlist, using File > Library > Export Library. Transfer the resulting file to the new computer.
2. You might want to note the number of music files, TV shows, etc. you have on the old system. Select View > Show Status Bar, then choose the “List” view, and this information will be shown at the bottom of the iTunes window. Also disable sharing, etc.; you may want to deauthorize the computer as well.
3. Close iTunes on the old computer, dismount and disconnect the external drive(s). (Yes, this will work with media on multiple drives).
4. On the new computer, close iTunes and delete “iTunes Library.itl” in the iTunes folder.
5. On the new computer, Connect and mount the external drive(s).
6. Open iTunes on the new computer. Choose Preferences > Advanced. Deselect (uncheck) both “Keep iTunes Media Organized” (because it’s already organized on your external drive, right?) and “Copy files to iTunes Media folder” (because the files are on the external drive). Then set your iTunes Media folder location to your media folder on the external drive and click on “OK”. (Note: don’t close iTunes after this step, because it will automatically reset your media folder to your local machine rather than the external drive).
7. Choose File > Library > Import Playlist and choose the file you exported from the old computer. This will import all the media you had on the old system into iTunes (no need to manually move anything from the external drive). The import will probably take some time. (If you see that iTunes is copying files, you probably messed up Step 6; you can stop it and go back to Step 4 without harm).
8. After the import, you can check the numbers you noted in Step 2; if there is a discrepancy that bothers you, check out the scripts “Music Folder Files Not Added” “List MIAs” and at http://dougscripts.com/itunes/.
9. When everything is satisfactory, you can recheck “Keep iTunes Media Organized” and “Copy files to iTunes Media folder” in Preferences.
10. You may now want to enable sharing, sync iOS devices, etc. Also be sure to set up your backup strategies on the new machine (you *do* have backups of your external drive(s), right?). If you already had some media on your new computer and you want to incorporate it into the external drive, choose File > Library > Consolidate.
11. Oddities:
* iTunes Extras must be manually imported.
* Some of my movies & TV shows imported as “Home Video”.
* Mobile applications did not import (presumably because no iOS device was synced).
* Books that were once handled by iTunes are now handled by iBooks and will not import (to let iTunes see them again, you’ll need to add them manually to iBooks, then choose File > Move Books from iTunes). Audiobooks import okay, but you may have to authorize your Audible account.

Or:
Copy the iTunes folder from the old computer to the same location in your user area on the new one. Attach the external drive and start iTunes. If you have put it in your Home > Music folder the application will automatically know to look for it there and becausse you are using the same library it will be configured to look for media on the external drive.

How do I move an iTunes library from one external drive to another?

I need to move my iTunes library from one external disk to another, because the original disk is about to fail. So, I went into iTunes Perferences --> Advanced, and set the library to a new, empty folder on the new drive.
Nothing changed. I expected all my music to vanish from iTunes, so that I would have to re-import it. However, all the music remained, still on the old disk. At this point, if I were to recreate the library on the new disk, I would have all of my music twice.
Is it possible to move an iTunes library from one external drive to another, or am I stuck with my original choice until I buy a new machine? If I can move it, can one of you clever folks explain how it could be done?

Paul Seymour1 wrote:
However, those are all dealing with old versions of iTunes that still contained the Advanced --> Consolidate Library command which is no longer part of the app. (I'm on iTunes 10.6.1.)
Consolidate is still part of iTunes.
It is in iTunes menu File > Library > Manage library > Consolidate.
The article you linked to is old and it is (and was) a hacky way of doing it.
Just copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to new location, hold Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) when launching iTunes.

How can I download my iMac iTunes library to an external drive and reload the library to iTunes on a PC?

How can I download my iMac iTunes library to an external drive and reload the library to iTunes on a PC?

Hi Niel. Can you be move specific for those of us not tech savy? 1 - Can you provide steps to back up the library? 2 - How do you organize the library? 3 - When you move the entire iTunes folder, does it include iTunes paid for music along with downloaded music from CDs? Thanks

HT1373 How do I backup my itunes library to an external drive

My iTunes library is unstable. I have two questions:
1) How do I backup my iTunes library to an external drive?
2) Why am I constatntly prompted to add my computer to iCloud when I have done so multiple times?
When opening iTunes, I receive he error message: "Please Sign In Again, iTunes Match has encountered an error. Please choose Sign Out and he Sign In from the iTunes Store menu and try again."
I tried downloading and installing/repairing the latest iTunes. That did not correct the problem.
Also, I have sync'd to iCloud. Every time I select iMatch from iTunes, I am prompted to Add This Computer to iCloud. I have already done this multiple times.

Hello cijackson,
You posted your question in the iTunes for Mac Forum. You may get better results on the iTunes for Windows forum. Best of luck > https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_for_windows?view=overview

ITunes keeps creating a new iTunes Library instead of going to my actual iTunes Library on my external drive.

My old computer died.
Luckily, my iTunes library is stored on an external drive.
My new machine is Windows 8 and my old machine was Vista, but I don't think that should cause any problem.
When I run iTunes, it comes up like a fresh install on a new machine... every time. By default, it creates an iTunes folder in my local drive and as such, has no music in and is a 100% blank slate.
When I point it to my external drive, and then import the library, it does it. All my music shows up -- after a long time, but it all shows up.
If I shut down iTunes or reboot, everything goes back to zero again.
The most disturbing thing about this is that I can't back up properly, because -- although in Preferences it's pointed at my external drive -- it's backing up my iPhone 5 to the local drive in Windows.
Any idea what's going on here?
I've gone through this process 5 times already and it's always the same.

There are two main components to the iTunes library. The media folder which you can adjust via Edit > Preferences > Advanced, and the database file iTunes Library.itl which is normally found in <User's Music>\iTunes. You can choose or create a new iTunes library by holding down shift as you launch iTunes.
In some cases third party software can interfere with the way iTunes updates its files meaning that either iTunes forgets the previously chosen location, or that the active database is deleted. AVG anti-virus and Sony VIAO Entertainment Platform typically interfere with the database. McAfee has been implicated in the corruption of iTunesPrefs.plist.
See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash for more details on how you might recover after the library vanishes.
You may get some improvment by hosting your entire library on the external drive not just the media. E.g. Create a library at X:\iTunes where X: is the drive letter, then move the media into X:\iTunes\iTunes Media before adding it to the library. This will make it easier to backup the library to a second drive and move it between computers when the time comes.
tt2

How do i manage 1 iphoto library on 2 external drives?

I'm trying to find the most efficient way to manage 1 iphoto library across 2 external drives. In case one of my external drives dies, I'll have a backup.
I know how to copy my iphoto library onto another drive, but my question is how to manage the 2 drives when i add photos/videos to them from my iphone.
Currently, I import photos/vids from iphone onto 1 drive. Then unmount the external drive and hook up another drive. I direct iphoto to use the new drive as it's library and then import the photos/vids again onto the second drive. I make sure the event is named the same, so I have the same iphoto setup across both drives. Then i delete the photos/vids from my iphone.
Is there a more efficient way to do this? Or software that can do this in one step?
Thanks in advance for any help!

You want to have a backup of your working library on your MacBook Pro on each of two external HDs, correct?
If yes then use a backup application like Synk or Synk Pro that can incrementally backup the library, i.e. copy only those new of modified files. If you go to MacUpdate.com and do a search for "backup" you'll get a list of potential candidates.
Then all you need to do is connect EHD#1 and run the backup app to update the library then connect EHD#2 and do the same. It only takes several seconds to make the incremental backup. Synk Pro can be configured to automically start the backup when the external drives are connected. I'm not sure but believe some of the other backup apps could do the same.
OT

Change flags for Library unhidden in external drive

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