Consolidate Files in an External Hard Drive

When I bought my new Mac, I moved all purchased iTunes Music from my current iPod to my new computer. I would like to back up my music files from my new Mac to an external hard drive, but it won't let me. How can I move the files on my Mac to the external hard drive? Can I not move the folders because they are not the original folders, but copies from the iPod to the Mac? How can I rectify this problem?

could be a permissions problem.
check if you have read & write permissions for your music folder. in finder, right-click on it and +get info+. unlock the little padlock (you may have to enter your admin password) and change the permission settings. next, click on the little gear-shaped icon and +apply to enclosed items+ like so
you may also give everyone read & write access.
also, see _*The Complete Guide to Backing Up your iTunes Library*_.
JGG

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

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.

How do you move itunes movie files only to external hard drive to free up space on imac

need to free up space on my hard drive wanted to move just my movie files to my external hard drive and leave my music on computer

Sept. 2010, Consolidate selected content - https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2589812 and April 2014, https://discussions.apple.com/message/25414357

I need to do a clean install of maverick on my 2010 mbp what disk do i use and how do i move certain files from an external hard drive

I want to do a clean install of maverick on my 2010 mbp. I need to know what disk to use and also how i take certain files off my external hard drive and put on my computer. When I was having problems with my airport they did a clean install and they pulled files of my time machine.   however they forgot to put the partition back in for a windows side. Originally I had Parellels on my computer. After my external hard drive got corrupted i called apple and they fixed the problem but didn't have me set up the time machine except for the external hard drive. Now my only back up is from the external not from the laptop.    I am not sure how to do any of this. I am not computer savvy...PLEASE I NEED HELP>

First, you need to make a backup of your MBP onto your external drive. I suggest you start by cloning your MBP drive to the external drive:
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
     1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu then press the Continue
         button.
     2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
     3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
     4. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it
         to the Destination entry field.
     5. Select the source volume from the left side list and drag it to
         the Source entry field.
     6. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
Destination means the external backup drive. Source means the internal startup drive.
This clone is fully bootable and also contains a clone of your Recovery HD.
Second, you need to do a clean install of OS X onto your MBP as follows:
Install or Reinstall Mavericks or Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
OS X Mavericks- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Erase and reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Erase and reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.
This should accomplish your goals. You will have a clean install of OS X on your MBP and a bootable clone of your old system and all your files on the external drive.

I had backed up my I-tunes files to an external hard drive but after my computer crashed when I try to reload from the hard drive the message comes up saying I-tunes library cannot be read because it was created by a newer version. Help please!

I had backed up my I-tunes files to an external hard drive but after my computer crashed and I restored it when I try to reload from the hard drive the message comes up ""I-tunes files cannot be read because it was created by a newer version of I-tunes". Help Please

Upgrade the version of itunes on the new computer
Itunes.com for free download.
Peace

HT2674 I have an iMac purchased in May 2011. OSX Lion 10.7.3. I deleted backup file from the external hard drive. Now, the trash can will not empty some of the files deleted. File folder: "Core Services" contains a locked file: "boot.efi". It will not

I have an iMac purchased in May 2011. OSX Lion 10.7.3. I deleted backup file from the external hard drive which operates from Time Machine.
Now, the trash can will not empty some of the files deleted from the backup harddrive.
The trash contains-- File folder: "Core Services" which contains a locked file: "boot.efi".
It will not delete.
How do I get the trash can empty of these files?

Yes, the Old Master file has a folder for each year where I find all photos from that specific year. I am attaching a screen shot of the file.
In the meantime i have managed to download all photos (it did not download any video files though in mpg, avi, 3gp, m4v,mp4 and mov format) to a new iphoto library. Unfortunately the photos are quite mixed and often doubled up. I ma considering to purchase iphoto library which checks all duplicates in iphoto. this will save me a lot of time. What do you think?

Delete the file from the external hard drive

deleted adobe reader 10, delete the file from the external hard drive. how to restore

What is your operating system & version?
How did you "delete" Adobe Reader?
What "file" did you delete?
What do you want to restore?

How can I transfer files off an external hard drive formatted for windows?

I just bought my first mac (yay!) and am trying to transfer my files off of my old pc. The problem is that I stored all my personal files on an external hard drive, which is of course formatted for windows. My mac will open it, but it is "read only." I tried plugging it back into my pc and using the Migration Assistant to transfer my files over, but it was not detected (rest of the pc was).
However, the second time I tried plugging it in to my pc, it told me it would need to be formatted first. Obviously my mac has changed something on it, and now all my personal files are on a hard drive that is unusable by either my old pc or my new mac!
Any suggestions would be appreciated! Heads up though, I am not especially computer literate, and my pc needs to stay intact as the husband needs it and some of the programs on it for school. Also, I have a second external hard drive that is brand new with nothing on it, if that will come in handy.
Thanks!

Format the extra HDD to EXFAT as previously indicated. There are two ways that can use to transferr the data.
1. Connect both drives to the PC and the copy the files to the newly formatted (EXFAT) drive from the HDD with the data . Then connect the EXFAT drive to the MBP and transfer the data to same.
2. Connect both drives to the MBP and open DISK UTILITY>RESTORE. Drag the drive with the data on it to the 'Source' field. Drag the EXFAT drive to the 'Destination' field. Click on the 'Restore' butt is on. After the transfer has been completed, close DISK UTILITY and place the data on the MBP where you want it.
Ciao.

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"

I get error 8062 when trying to copy files from one external hard drive to another. It starts out copying files, but after 10 minutes or so it stops and I get the error 8062. The hard drive tech support says the problem is in my Macbook Air.

I cannot copy my doc and photos and videos from one external hard drive to a second external hard drive -- both plugged in to my MacBook Air -- I get Error 8062 and the copying (which seemed to be going on for 10 minutes) stops and nothing gets copied.
As any Macbook Air owner knows, there is SO LITTLE storage capacity on the computer that you have to back up big files onto an external hard drive to avoid getting the other annoying error that says you have no more memory/storage capacity/whatever the proper term is, and you cannot use the computer.
Backstory: Before this error cropped up, I had backed up lots of files to an external drive and then removed them from my computer. But then the external hard drive got corrupted and I could not access my entire photo library. Had to pay $850 to Kroll Ontrack to recover those files. I have now bought 2 new external 1 Terrabyte hard drives as protection against another such disaster. BUT I cannot copy the files from the first hard drive where all my reovered files now sit, to another backup hard drive.
Feeling vulnerable. Please help.
SusaninNY

From the menu bar, select
 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Power Adapter
and uncheck the box labeled Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible, if it's checked.
If the drive has more than one interface (USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, eSATA), try one of the other interfaces.
Check that the data cable is securely inserted at both ends.
Try a different cable.
If you're connecting the drive through a hub, connect it directly to a built-in port on the Mac.
If you're connecting it directly, try a different port.
Disconnect all other devices on the bus, or as many as possible.
Test the drive with another Mac. Test another drive with this Mac.
If the drive is bus-powered, but has an AC adapter, connect the adapter.
Start up in Safe Mode and test.
If the drive doesn't work under any of the above conditions, and if another drive does work with the same Mac, then the drive has failed. You may be able to salvage the mechanism by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

I am a long time iTunes user but a new MacBook owner! :) I keep the majority of my music files on an external hard drive. I'm trying to view all those files on my MacBook through iTunes. With windows you would go to : File/Add To Library, and iTunes w

I am a long time iTunes user but a new MacBook owner! I keep the majority of my music files on an external hard drive. I'm trying to view all those files on my MacBook through iTunes. With windows you would go to : File/Add To Library, and iTunes would add all your selected files to your music library BUT WOULD NOT COPY THEM TO YOUR HARD DRIVE. In other words, if the external hard drive was connected, you could listen, drag/drop, and edit the files. When I tried the same thing with my new MacBook... it actually started coping the files to my MacBook harddrive. I don't want that, it's millions and millions of mp3's that I don't want to keep on my computer, only my external hard drive. Can anyone help? I'm sure it's something easy, I'm just so new to the Mac world. Being an iPhone owner for many many years I'm picking up things fast, but this is getting the best of me! Help !

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

How do I keep a file on my external hard drive and delete it from my internal hard drive?

I have a iMac with 1 TB internal hard drive, connected to it is a 3 TB Seagate external hard drive using Time Machine to back up my computer.
I use this computer for making family movies with videos and pictures. My 1 TB internal hard drive is now almost full with only 200 GBs of storage left on it. My external drive has 1.62 TBs of space left on it. I would like to delete a lot of the videos on my internal hard drive and keep them only on the external hard drive. I've tried this and it tells me I cannot do it because it is part of the Time Machine back up. Why can't I manage my computer files as I would like??
Also once you import pictures into Aperture or videos into iMovie, good luck having access to the initial files you imported. It seems once these programs get hold of your files they aren't accessible to you any more. I don't understand that! Anyway can anyone help me get the files I want off my iMac and onto my external Seagate hard drive?
Thanks in advance!

CCLIANA wrote:
My sister is trying to rename a file on an external hard drive...
What is the File...?

HT1473 Help I just moved my music files to a external hard drive and am using the new crappy version ( i know my opinion) of itunes and cant add the files to my libray it gives me the add file to library option but not the add folder to library option wha

Help I just moved my music files to a external hard drive and am using the new crappy version ( i know my opinion) of itunes and cant add the files to my libray it gives me the add file to library option but not the add folder to library option what am i doing wrong?

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

HT1660 I have two iTunes libraries on two different pc's (one windows and one Mac). Can I consolidate these on an external hard drive?

I have two iTunes libraries on two different pc's (one windows and one Mac). Can I consolidate these on an external hard drive?

I'm sorry I just saw the last post. I had two users on my hard drive, one for me and one for my daughter, but I am not sure what you mean by partioning my external????? I have heard the term before, but don't know how to do it. I am having serious crashing issues with this computer and believe I really need to do a clean install. I just want to make sure everything for both ipods is safe (is???? I think so, everything is......I hate when the English language does this to me!)

How do I moves files to an external hard drive to free up space on my MacBookPro

My MacBook Pro is running out of memory space. I want to move some files to my external hard drive, but when I highlight the file and try to move it, it doesn't go into the new file I have created on my external drive. I did it when I first bought my external drive, but that was over a year ago, and now I guess I have forgotten how I did it. Help!

Highlight your external drive with left mouse button click, select get Info of Finder File menu, then tick off "Ignore owenership on this volume" could solve the problem.

Consolidate Files in an External Hard Drive

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