Correct method for deleting iTunes library?

I have a new Mac and have successfully transferred my iTunes library from my old Mac to my new Mac.
I have made a copy of the library on a portable hard drive, just in case there is a problem with the library in the future.
How do I now delete the library from the old Mac so that I can save the space on the hard drive?
Vast majority of my library is downloaded CDs (which I want to delete) and there are just a few purchased downloads via iTunes (which ideally I would keep but not essential). I'm presuming the latter can still be accessed via my iTunes log-on, once the library has been cleared.

Chris CA wrote:
Jerry Dammers wrote:
I have a new Mac and have successfully transferred my iTunes library from my old Mac to my new Mac.
I have made a copy of the library on a portable hard drive, just in case there is a problem with the library in the future.
You did copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder, correct?
I copied everything that was within the Music folder in Finder. The copied folder size was exactly the same as the original folder in Finder so I'm assuming it's copied fine.
How do I now delete the library from the old Mac so that I can save the space on the hard drive?
Delet the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder.
Do you mean delete everything within iTunes?
The folders within iTunes other than "iTunes Music" (by far the largest) are Album Artwork (quite big); Automatically Add to iTunes; iPod Games and a few others. I'm presuming they can all be deleted but will iTunes still be in tact (but empty)?

Similar Messages

Best Method for transfering iTunes library from Windows 7 to Mac OSX

I just bought a MacBook Air and am in the process of preparing my file transfer. The only data on my computer I really care about is my school/work files, (which are very easy to transfer), and my iTunes library. What is the best method for transfering music?
I was going to use an external drive and simply drag and drop everything. Last time I did this I needed a special file in order to keep my playlists, top rated, and playcount. Is there an easier and faster method now? I have about fifty gigabites of music so I think it might take longer over wifi.
I also have an iPhone and have already transfered all of the recent purchases. If I export my library, will all my iPhone backup data stay there as well?
If anybody has some insight or a link that outlines all of this that'd be great. Thanks in advance.

Here's a pretty comprehensive "how to"
http://myfirstmac.com/how-do-i-move-my-itunes-library-from-pc-to-mac-and-keep-my -settings-intact.html
Make sure the external drive is foratted so both the pc and the mac can read and write to it.
http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-57401784-285/the-best-ways-to-format-an-exte rnal-drive-for-windows-and-mac/
good luck.

What is best method for transferring iTunes library from PC to iMac?

I have a new iMac. I have authorized it with my iTunes account. My current iTunes library is on a Windows Vista PC, not on the same network. What is the best method for me to use to transfer the iTunes library from the PC to the iMac?

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 let iTunes manage your music: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Start iTunes with the option (shift on Windows) key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
Macworld - How to transfer iTunes libraries between PC and Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/46248/2005/08/shiftitunes.html
Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/1146958/move_itunes_windows_mac.html

What is the best method for transferring iTunes library from PC to iMac?

I have a new iMac. I have authorized it with my iTunes account. My current iTunes library is on a Windows Vista PC, not on the same network. What is the best method for me to use to transfer the iTunes library from the PC to the iMac?
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.4)

Did I just answer this in another post for you?
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 let iTunes manage your music: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Start iTunes with the option (shift on Windows) key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
Macworld - How to transfer iTunes libraries between PC and Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/46248/2005/08/shiftitunes.html
Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/1146958/move_itunes_windows_mac.html
iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364

What is the correct procedure for moving iTunes Library on an iMac (or any Mac) from one location to another?

I have an new iMac and a MacBook Air, both with 256GB solid state drives. I don't want my iTunes Library to reside on the solid state drives so would appreciate knowing the step by step procedure for moving the iTunes Library from the solid state drive to my 1TB HD2.
Many thanks,

Niel,
I appreciate your prompt assistance which worked fine. However, I think Apple should take a tip from Dropbox and have a menu item for Moving the iTunes Library.

I seem to have lost "list view" for my iTunes library. The option doen't even appear on the view drop down. Any conncection to iCloud?

I seem to have lost the ability to select list view for my iTunes library. The choice for lst view doesn't even appear on the drop down when selectiogn "view". Any ideas? I recently enabled the cloud and subscribed to iTunes Match/ Any connection? Thanks/

See this thread for background on why iTunes can end up with duplicates and how they can be systematically removed. The script there is for Windows users and the "show duplicates" menus have moved around in iTunes 11, but the advice on clearing recently made duplicates should still hold.
As given in my older post "Reorganize library" is meant as a one time command to change the structure of a pre-iTunes 9 library into the newer layout that places music in its own subfolder of the media folder. Once used, if the option becomes available again that suggests that a file called .iTunes Preferences.plist in the media folder has been deleted or editied.
See also this post.
tt2

I already have a valid payment method for my iTunes account, but can't get past the Family Sharing setup prompt telling me to add a payment method . What to do?

I already have a valid payment method for my iTunes account, but can't get past the Family Sharing setup prompt telling me to add a payment method . What to do?

I had the same problem and found a bunch of others did, too. Unfortunately all the posts had no responses! Anyway, I previously had my payment method linked to my paypal. I tried changing it to my credit card and it worked. Don't know if there's a bug with using paypal but that seemed to be the culprit for me. Good luck!

What is the Best External HD for Massive iTunes Library?

Hello,
I recently lost my entire 140 GB iTunes library (along with hours of raw and edited video and audio recordings) when my cheap Iomega 500GB decided to start making a ticking noise and crap out on me. I had my library backed up through iTunes on 9 DVDs a year ago, but i still lost everything I had accumulated over the past year and a half.
I am looking for the best external HD with the fastest transfer rate (USB/Firewire 400). My top priority is reliability and I need my data to be secure and safe, not necessarily disaster proof like ioSafe drives, although I would like it to be able to take a simple fall in case something were to happen while moving it. I just don't want to have to go through this again.
I have also heard about making my own external HD but am clueless about the process. Might this be a better option?
I am also entertaining the thought of buying an Acer One 160GB to use strictly for my iTunes Music (no video) since I would like to make my library more portable. I read an article about moding one to run Leopard, but the directions were a bit over my head. I guess I could put up with Windows (EEEK!) just for iTUnes Music purposes. Help!!!
I have a Macbook 2GHz Intel Core Duo and 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM and use an 8GB iPod Touch. (if this makes a difference)

i know this isn't exactly what you are looking for but it REALLY works for me & covers a few ( if not all..) of your requisites.
i have 2 WD 2Tb My Book external drives for my iTunes library : one is the library , the other is the back up & is usually disconnected just in case....
then i have the very same set-up for video/movies. the whole shebang connected through Logitech USB powered hubs & i NEVER have any hiccups during music/video playback. then my iMac is connected via an external USB sound card - M-Audio.. - to my stereo & via mini-DVI to HDMI to my plasma display. how well does it work ? bloody amazing, i'm done with DVD players & CD players.
although it has faster data transfer rates, i think you don't REALLY need to go FW- a lot more expensive drives... - & if 2Tb drives are a little too much , check out WD range, they do have smaller drives although i have found that the 1Tb drives have the best capacity/price/performance ratio, at least here in Portugal
maybe you could set up something static at home with a beefier ( capacity wise..) drive & then have a smaller , both capacity & size wise to go on the move ?
best wishes

I lost all of my artist names and album names for my iTunes library. They are all now on one album. How can I get the album and artist names back?

I lost all of my artist names and album names for my iTunes library. They are all now on one album. How can I get the album and artist names back?

I have a script called ExportImport for this task, but it only runs in Windows.
In principle something similar should be possible in AppleScript, but I don't currently have access to a Mac to write it myself.
tt2

TS1389 icloud and imatch for my itunes library

After going to the icloud and imatch for my itunes library ... I have lost about 60 songs ... they appear but prompt me to authorize the computer to play them ... i do then it says this computer is already authorized. I have tried all the tricks suggested

Hans Henrik,
I am not sure what article recommend you create a folder called iTunes.
Typically, the iTunes folder is created by the iTunes installation.
Where did you create the folder?
Was it on a local drive or and external drive?
Again, typically it should exist in My Music.
See these articles for information for the what and where on the files iTunes handles:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93358
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93732
Did you search for and/or find songs anyplace on your drive(s)?
Generik
PowerMac G4/Dell Precision WS 370, XP Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)
PowerMac G4/Dell Precision WS 370, XP Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7)

How Do I use my External Drive for my iTunes Library without adding anything to my Mac's HD?

I have a new MBP and have transferred all of my music off my old pc (250+ gigs) to a Lacie 1TB thunderbolt external drive. How do I use the external as my primary itunes library with out using any of my Mac's HD? I'm new to mac so I have a few more questions...
1. The initial question above
2. will this work or will there be extra steps every time I disconnect and connect the external (other than ejecting)?
3. Will I be able to access it remotely / home sharing?
4. Would this work with itunes match?
Thanks All !!!

DevonC wrote:
I haven't set up Time Machine yet because it wants me to completely format my external hard drive, and it seems to want to use it for TM backups exclusively?
However, I would also like to use it to store stuff that I don't want to keep on my computer, eg tons of photos, videos, stuff from my sister's computer, etc.
Is there a way to do Time Machine but also use the external hard drive for storage? I don't mind temporarily copying the photos etc that are on there to my computer while I format, so that's not the issue. I just don't want my EHD rendered completely useless to everything else.
Thanks!!!
There are several ways to do exactly this.
If you partition the external drive, you can use one partition for TM and the other for anything else.
Even if you do not partition the drive, you can safely store other data in folders on the drive. Just to not use the folder that TM creates for anything. And it's best not to put files directly on the drive, in my opinion, but use folders for storage.
Just remember that whatever you put on the drive takes up room from TM and when the drive gets nearly full, TM will start automatically deleting older files from it's own folder.
I have my Tiger clone on my external TM drive in a separate partition and everything works fine.

How do I use External Hard Drive for my iTunes Library?

I have a Mac Mini that my iTunes Library has outgrown. I want to use my Mac Air as my primary iTunes "sync" computer using an external hard drive. How do I move my iTunes library to the external hard drive? How do I get MacBook Air to sync iDevices?

Easy method 1:
Move or Copy entire working library from current location to the root of your external drive. Press & hold down shift (option on a Mac) as you click the icon to start iTunes. Click Choose when prompted, then browse to ..\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl on the external. If you copied the library across then test your new library works properly after renaming the original folder, before deleting the original folder to recover space.
Easy method 2:
If you haven't really started to build your library. Press & hold down shift as you click the icon to start iTunes. Click Create. Browse to the root of the external drive. Drag your media into ..\iTunes\iTunes Media\Automatically Add to iTunes.
Complex method:
Required if you've already tried other things and now have media & library scattered around. See the post make a split library portable.
tt2

Any ideas for a fix since my external drive for my iTunes Library failed...

I had my large iTunes Library stored on an external hard drive. The drive has now failed and my backup isn't working correctly. When I go to my iTunes Library on my Mac, the songs, videos etc that were stored on the external library show up but when I click on them I get a message saying "The song/video etc ------- ----could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"
If I reload some of the songs (saw the ones I had originally imported from CD) back into my Mac, will I be able to access them again. Will I have one song listed twice (as in one from the external drive and one reloaded) and then have to constantly try to pick which one works?
It should be noted that person who originally set up on system including the iTunes Library external hard drive and my backup and who was my computer guru is no longer available for assistance.
Thank you.
Whirlybird21

This does happen occasionally and it is caused by the formatting in the text that was copied from the original email into the reply.

How do I delete itunes library and move library from old windows machine to

My daughter bought a new macbook and would like to move her itunes library from the windows machine to the mac. I copied it to the mac and moved the existing itunes folder to the trash. By the way, she got 3 free downloads from Apple and they were in the library I moved to the trash bin. I then moved the backup folder to the location of the itunes folder I had deleted. When I open itunes, it sees the 3 songs in the deleted folder. How do I get itunes to recognoze the new itunes folder?

Thank you. As I understand it, if the original iTunes folder had never been populated, we would have been able to move the library exported from Windows into iTunes and preserve the playlists. Because my daughter downloaded 3 songs she does not even like, we have no way of preserving playlists? There must be some way to remove all connections to the first library. Is it possible remove the iTunes application and then either re-install it from the original disks or else download it. I know you can download iTunes for Windows, not sure if it is there for Macs. My guess is that if she starts itunes from scratch, there would be no references to the intial DB and we could then move in the folder from Windows without a problem.

What is the best method for moving iTune Libraries from Old to New Computer

Hello,
Thanks in advance for any assistance you may offer.
My Sony Vaio Desktop recently died and untimely death, so I just purchased an HP Notebook. I was trying to wait out the release of the possible update of the Macbook line. However the old computer didn't agree. This HP will tie me over till a new release.
I've been doing weekly backups for over 3 years with a backup drive from Western Digital. At this point I just want to transfer my music in iTunes and applications from the App store that are loaded on to my iPod Touch into the new computer and then reauthorize and sync.
My question is what's the best method. Oh another problem I'm having includes the latest iPhone & iPod Touch software problem of 3rd party apps not working along with the vanishing of my music on the Touch.
Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Open up a fresh copy of iTunes. Point iTunes in the direction of your Western Digital Harddrive. Import Folders.
1. New Copy
2. Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced -> General -> Change -> <the address of the iTunes library on WD>
3. File -> Add Folder to Library -> <Select iTunes folder on WD>
Always keep a backup of your iTunes Library file and the iTunes XML Document. If you have those, then it might be just as simple as copying those to your iTunes file folder. If you are not sure where they are, then do a search for iTunes.xml.

Correct method for deleting iTunes library?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for