Daily back-up of iTunes Library

I want to back-up my iTunes Library about every day, since I've lost all my ratings, etc, several times recently. I got Automator to copy the file into a new location...but how can I get it to do it automatically at some frequency -- start-up, login, 6 am every day, or anything.

It may have something to do with the fact that iCal didn't open automatically...
I just did a test run and it went silently, not opening Automator.
Try recreating the workflow.
What I used was just
Get Specified Finder Items- with the iTunes folder placed in the action
Copy Finder Items- to destination folder
Save As Plug-in for iCal Alarm
If it doesn't open iCal, something is wrong with the way Automator is communicating with iCal, maybe permissions, maybe preferences, but it should open.
Even if it doesn't, the alarm in iCal should be an Open File alarm, not a Run Script, of course with the named workflow as the selected file. If you have to look for it, it should be under
<username>/Library/Workflows/Applications/iCal/

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HT1751 I need to uninstall and reinstall iTunes (it won't let me update). So, how do I copy or back up my iTunes library of over 1,500 songs? Can I use a Flash Drive to do so?

I need to uninstall and reinstall iTunes (it won't let me update). I have IE 8 on Windows XP, and iTunes 10 something. In my Program files list I see iTunes and iTunes (2) and even iPod and iPod (2) where a tech had to back up and do this for me before. I'm just trying to fix it all. I keep getting the "The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable. Click OK to try again, or enter an alternate path to a folder containing the installation package 'iTunes.msi' in the box below." I can even run a search and find the folder, but it gives me the same error message. I was planning on using the Microsoft Fix-It tool to help uninstall then Reinstall iTunes. But I need to backup my library. So, how do I copy or back up my iTunes library of over 1,500 songs? Can I copy the folder to desktop or can I use a Flash Drive to backup my music? I don't want to do anything until I know for sure how I can backup my songs, and then reinstall them into iTunes. Thanks for any help.

Ok, thanks that helps. I don't have an external hard drive though. What about backing up through 'the cloud'? I'm just wondering since my husband syncs his iPod to the PC through iTunes and he's worried that he will lose all the songs on his iPod if the library is lost from iTunes and he tries to 'sync' it up again. I'm not exactly sure how to 'copy the entire iTunes folder' either. I kinda suck at this unless I have step by step instructions, which I haven't found yet on iTunes help or other sources.
The only way I know how to back anything up is by going back to a restore point, etc. (as stated before, we don't have an external hard drive.)
Thanks for the info.

Help! (please :) I have a 1GB iPod that's loaded with music for which my computer can no longer find the original files-due to external mass storage crash during recent move. Is there a way to import iPod music back into my iTunes library on computer???

Help! (please I have a 1GB iPod that's loaded with music for which my computer can no longer find the original files-due to external mass storage crash during recent move. Is there a way to import iPod music back into my iTunes library on computer???

Or If there is any purchased music then you can try to transfer purchases
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1848
If you're in the US you can reload purchased music
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519

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.

How can I back-up my Itunes library?

I need to have my MAC (Snow Leopard) hard drive replaced. How can I back up my iTunes Library?

Just drag-copy the entire iTunes folder, presuming all your content is in that folder, to your backup device.
Regards.

How can i back up my iTunes library if i want to uninstall it?

how can i back up my iTunes library if i want to uninstall it?

Quit iTunes.
Locate your external hard drive.
Mac: On the Desktop or Finder sidebar.
Windows: In My Computer
Drag the iTunes folder (backed up earlier) from your external hard drive to whatever location you desire on your internal hard drive. It is recommended that you choose the default location for the iTunes folder, which is:
Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Windows Vista: \Users\username\My Music\
Windows 7 or 8: \Users\username\Music\
Open iTunes while holding down the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows).
In the resulting dialog, click the Choose Library button.
Select the iTunes folder you just moved to the internal hard drive.
Click Choose (Mac OS X) or Open (Windows) and then choose the iTunes Library file inside .
After following these steps, iTunes will open and your iTunes Library will be restored.
(http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751)

How do I back-up my itunes library in newest version of itunes?

How do I back-up my itunes library in newest version of itunes?

Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows)
Grab SyncToy 2.1, a free tool from MS. This can be used to copy your entire iTunes library (& other important data folders) onto another hard drive or network share. You can then use SyncToy periodically to synchronise or echo your library to the backup. A preview will show which files need to be updated giving you a chance to spot unexpected changes and during the run only the new or updated files will be copied saving lots of time.
If your media is all organised below the main iTunes folder then you should also be able to open the backup library on any system running the same version of iTunes, regardless of the drive letter or path it appears on.
Step-by-step guide to using SyncToy.
tt2

By backing up the iTunes Library via saving the iTunes folder on an external drive, is it also backing up all iPad and iPhone backups as well as App Data and Documents from your devices?

If I backup my iTunes Library by saving the iTunes folder on an external hard drive using the instructions contained in the link below, will it also back up all my iPad and iPhone backups as well as App Data and Documents from my devices? In other words, will it also create backups for the backups? Thank you.
Back up your iTunes library by copying it to an external drive
Furthermore, when it is time to restore the iTunes folder I copied to my external drive to a new iTunes program on my new computer, how will it merge the information once I plug in my iPad or iPhone to that new laptop to sync? If I did the iTunes library backup a couple months ago and I've added documents/music/pictures on my devices since then, what will happen when I try to sync it with the new laptop now working off of the iTunes library backup from a couple months ago since the information is no longer the same? Which information will dominate and thus be kept? Will it delete the new information/data/pictures/documents/music off of the devices since it is not on the iTunes program when it syncs?
Sorry for so many questions, but they are all related to backing up and restoring iTunes. I am not very tech savvy if you cannot tell

It would be a good idea to look into a bigger hard drive. They are not that expensive any more and can save a lot of headach. This is even more important if you are buying music from the iTunes music store. If you lost those files they are gone.
The point of having it on your PC and iPod is to have a backup. If the iPod fails, or you need to go back to the DVDs and find they are scratched, or just can not be read you have lost days of work converting and organizing all of those songs.
Or the iPod could hard drive could fail and then you will have to try to bring all of those files back from DVDs. You end up with a mess since some songs will probably be on multiple DVDs, have different names ect. Trying to reorganize it all can be a pain.

I have my itunes media stored on my external hard drive. On this external drive I have a folder called "TV shows". How do I incorporate this folder back into the itunes library?

I have my itunes media stored on my external hard drive. On this external drive I have a folder called "TV shows". I previously cut and pasted itunes TV shows to this folder to free up some space. How do I incorporate this folder (TV shows) back into the itunes library?

assuming the copy files ... when adding option is checkmarked in preferences > advanced, drag the folder into an open iTunes window while holding option (⌥).

How can I get my non purchased song content from ipod touch 4 back to my itunes library. My library

How can I get my non purchased song content back into my itunes library from my ipod touch 4. My itunes had disappeared so I had to get another itunes & start again. I still have the original song content in the ipod.

There is 3rd party software out there, but not supported by Apple, see this thread:http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2013615&tstart=0

HT203175 Reloaded Itunes on an XP machine. Reloaded because Itunes would not open. Now when I play a movie that is in my library, The movie plays for aprx. 60 seconds and then reverts back to my Itunes library. Any ideas on a cure?

Reloaded Itunes on an XP machine. Reloaded because Itunes would not open. Now when I play a movie that is in my library, the movie plays for aprx. 60 seconds and then reverts back to my Itunes library. Does it with all movies in the library, Most where downloaded from Itunes. Any ideas on a cure?

This "original file cannot be found" thing happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout,or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

Itunes was reinstalled on my MacAir and in the process my playlists disapeared. How can I sync theses playlists which are still on my Ipod back to the iTunes library? PS: these are not purchased from iTunes, they are my own cd's.Thanks.

Itunes was reinstalled on my MacAir and in the process my playlists disapeared. How can I sync theses playlists which are still on my Ipod back to the iTunes library? PS: these are not purchased from iTunes, they are my own cd's.Thanks.

Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive: Apple Support Communities

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.

Trying to use my Lacie external hard drive to back up my iTunes library.

For some reason, I cannot send my iTunes song files to my external hard drive. My PC recognizes my hard drive (I formatted it) and it lets me save text files to the hard drive but it will not let me save my musci library to it. I am trying to transfer my iTunes library from my PC to my new Mac laptop and also just wanted to back up my iTunes library. Any help would be great.

You can Use iTunes for Backing up your Music, but I do not favor this mehtod.
It works fine for music files BUT: I prefer more control and completeness over my backup process. It is also very important to note that a large limitation of using iTunes to manage the backup is that the iTunes method does not create or maintain backups of the two meta-data files (iTunes Library.itl & iTunes Music Library.xml) where your Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, etc. are stored. See: What are the iTunes Library files?
If you are heavily invested in your Library data (Playlists, Play Counts, Ratings, Last Played, Date Added, etc.), it is crucial that you also make and archive multiple backups of your ‘iTunes Library.itl’ file.
If your music is located under one common Folder (e.g.-‘iTunes’), then it is easiest to physically copy that folder and all its sub-folders in one simple process. It can be done quickly, and incrementally – several times a day, when necessary. In the case of any data loss, just re-copy your entire (or partial) music library back to wherever it was, placing it in the main Folder that the previous iTunes expected. Along with the ‘iTunes Library.itl’ metadata file, this completes a full ‘restore’ of your music to the time of your last backup.
Use of a backup software program will greatly help. It will allow you to easily perform incremental backups of only the files that have changed. WinXP has such a facility built-in. I use a free program called FileSync ( http://www.fileware.com ). There are many out there. Some use Zipped files or proprietary formats, others use standard file formats. I like FileSync as it uses normal file formats that can be viewed/managed via any Windows program or utility.
iTunes Files to Backup (anytime you make additions or changes to the Music or Library that you want to retain)
1) All music files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
3) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
4) Any XML playlist files created for Playlist retention
5) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
6) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”
Here's a list of possible ways to copy your music files from your main iTunes computer to another storage medium for backup purposes.
1) Use an External Hard Drive to store the complete iTunes meta-data files and underlying Music Folder structure and songs from your main computer. They are quite cheap now, for their storage volume. This is my preferred main medium.
2) If you have Two Computers:
2a) Connect them through a router
2b) Connect them using a Direct (w/Mac) or Crossover (PC/PC) Ethernet cable (See: http://www.ifelix.co.uk/tech/3001.html)
2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. See: here as an example.
Copy the files and folders from one computer to the other. Use the second PC as your backup repository.
3) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7+ GBs each) with the music data files and store them safely. Re-writable ones are good for backup purposes (if your DVD drive can manage these).
4) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #3 above and store them safely in more space Re-writable ones are good for backup purposes (if your CD drive can manage these).
5) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB – 4+GBs) to store the files only if you have a small amount ripped music or have multiple and/or jumbo USB drives at your disposal that will fit your music library.
6) Use the Second Internal Hard Drive (if available) of your PC -- not optimum, as you really want to physically separate the storage of backups from the originals, but good as a tertiary storage device.
By keeping only one copy of your music (other than on the iPod), you are not truly 'backed-up' and are running a high risk of losing your music. Music files on just the iPod and the computer is not considered having any backup. If you cannot store your complete music files on the computer’s internal HD, then create and maintain at least two external sets (any multiple combinations of ExHDs, DVDs, CDs).
You need at least two full sets of your music, not including what is on the iPod:
-- One full set on the PC within iTunes (on internal HD or ExHD)
-- One full set on an separate external backup medium (CD/DVD/ExHD/other)
-- One (full or partial) set on the iPod
It is a good policy to backup all your important data. It is a very smart policy to back it up on more than one medium.

I had my computer worked on and did not back up my itunes library. how do i put the songs on my ipod back to the itunes library

I had my computer worked on and did not back up my itunes library. Now the only music I have is on my ipod. How would I put the music on my ipod back into my itunes music library?

The music sync is one way - computer to ipod.
The exception is itunes purchases: File>Transfer Purchases
You should always maintain a backup copy. This is very important.

Daily back-up of iTunes Library

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