Easiest way to keep podcasts and music on separate drives?

I just got a new MacBook Air and I'm struggling with iTunes library management on a small hard drive.  I picked up a USB drive to store my large iTunes library (around 250gb).  For music and movies, this is fine.  However, I update podcasts far more often... at least twice a day.  Hooking up the USB drive is a cumbersome process, so I'd like to avoid the need for this. 
Here's what I'd like to accomplish: I'd like my podcast and audiobook library to live on my MacBook Air internal hard drive so that I can sync my iPhone up multiple times per day with updated material.  And I'd like to keep my music and movies on the external drive because I only need to sync up my iPod classic once every week or two.
Right now everything is on the external drive.  I want to come up with a system that eliminates the chance of me messing up my very large iTunes library.  So far I've come across solutions like manually managing the library (which I'd like to avoid) and using software called TuneSpan which fools iTunes into thinking that everything is on a single drive.  I'm not sure which is the best path to take.  Anyone have any thoughts on this?  What is the easiest, lowest maintenance way to get the job done?
Thanks in advance.

No fix: that's just how the Podcasts work. You can play around with the database to change dates, etc. but I don't recommend it (and it still plays newest to oldest). Go back to making Playlists if that's what you want to do.

Similar Messages

  • What's the easiest way to back up and restore my hard drive to a new HD

    I'm going to upgrade my hard drive to a larger one on my MacBook. I have an external backup drive. What is the easiest way to save all my data (documents, emails, etc) and applications and restore them to the new hard drive in my MacBook? I have Leopard OS.
    I've read on the forum everything from using Time Machine to the Disk Utility. I have been backing up everything to my external HD using Time Machine.
    Can you point me to a step by step process.

    I don't use TM, so here's my method that I've used many times for the same thing you are doing.
    How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
    1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list.
    3. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (journaled, if available) and click on the Erase button. This step can be skipped if the destination has already been freshly erased.
    4. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    5. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    6. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
    7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    Now, boot from the clone to be sure it works correctly by opening Startup Disk, selecting the external volume, then clicking the Restart button. If all is well the computer will boot from the external drive. Now shut down the computer and disconnect the external drive. Disconnect the AC adapter and remove the battery. Install the new hard drive. Once you've completed the installation connect the external drive and restart the computer.
    Now do the following:
    Extended Hard Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger or Leopard.)
    2. After DU loads select your new hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (only required for Intel Macs) then click on the OK button. Set the number of partitions from the dropdown menu (use 1 partition unless you wish to make more.) Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the volume(s) mount on the Desktop.
    4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
    5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
    6. Click on the Erase button. The format process will take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending upon the drive size.
    Steps 4-6 are optional but recommended for a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.
    After formatting is completed use DU to clone the external drive's system back to the new internal drive. The external drive becomes the Source and the internal drive will be the Destination.

  • How to keep podcasts and music in chronological order

    I recently got a replacement iPod after sending back my original one when the screen stopped working (would only light up white and blank) and noticed some differences compared to what I was used to with my old one. On the old one, I would combine everything I wanted to listen to into one playlist in iTunes, music, recordings I made, and podcasts, with dates so they would play in order, oldest to newest, and that imported fine. On this new iPod, I've noticed that podcasts get grouped with each other on the iPod, while other music or audio files goes to "Music", which is fine, but I can't get them to play oldest to newest- they're only grouped newest to oldest, which makes some content awkward to listen to if something is multi-part. With each podcast group the newest is at the top of the list and the only way to listen in order is to listen to them one at a time rather than simply start at the oldest one in that group and let it play automatically. Audio under "Music" has the same thing happen.
    Anyone know how to fix that- or if there even is a fix?
    Thanks!

    No fix: that's just how the Podcasts work. You can play around with the database to change dates, etc. but I don't recommend it (and it still plays newest to oldest). Go back to making Playlists if that's what you want to do.

  • How can I mix (and shuffle) both podcasts and music?

    The former version of Itunes and the ipod update that went along with it, allowed my ipod to helpfully shuffle both podcasts, and songs, randomly.
    While driving, I could play a podcast, and then a song would come up, and then maybe another song, or a podcast, without having to look down and select a particular podcast to play next.
    With this new version, I have to play each podcast individually, which is a pain in the neck. If I select shuffle songs, and start with a podcast, it will play the podcast, and then never return to another podcast.
    I've tried making a playlist with both music and podcasts on it, but that doesn't work either.
    Is there a way to shuffle, or randomly play, both podcasts and music? I thought this would be a simple setting matter, but I can't seem to find the answer anywhere.

    Aha - I did it. Switch off Voice-over, then add a sorted playlist. Fingers crossed...

  • How to create a playlist with podcasts AND music?

    I created a playlist with both podcasts and music in it. The thing is when I try to shuffle it, only music plays. When I start playing podcasts, none of my music plays. How can I make them both play at the same time and shuffle on the same playlist?

    In iTunes, you created a playlist (with songs and podcasts), and then synced that playlist to the iPod?  Or you manually created a playlist on the iPod, and manually added songs and podcasts to that playlist?  It needs to be an actual playlist that is on the iPod, not simply songs and podcasts on the iPod.
    If you have a playlist on the iPod....  In shuffle mode, only songs play.  Set the iPod to play-in-order (not shuffle).  Then, select the playlist on the iPod (by selecting Music -> Playlists from the Home screen).  With the playlist selected, press Play/Pause.  The playlist plays the song and podcasts in the order shown for that playlist in iTunes.

  • ITunes very slow downloads of apps, podcasts, and music with library stored on a Windows Home Server (WHS)

    First, some history.  I setup a Windows Home Server (WHS) to store all my media.  I had configured itunes to store its library at \\server\music (this would be whatever shared folder you choose to store your music on for your WHS (and possibly NAS box)) and itunes was managing my library.  Once everything was imported into the server, I found I was getting horrible speeds for downloading apps, podcasts, and music.  We are talking 10 minutes to download a 14Mb file on a Fibre connection where I consistently get 25 to 30Mb / second performance.  Syncing my iPad / iPhones was a nightmare due to the time needed to be invested in it.
    The server, the PC, the router and corresponding switches were all gigabit and yet I was getting dial-up speeds.  Transfering files between systems was well within spec, but itunes was running as if it were using smoke signals.  I spent some time searching various user groups and support sites to no avail.
    To correct this, I only had to log onto the WHS (or NAS) and disable the iTunes Server.
    Reboot of the server, reboot your iTunes PC, and you are good to go.  My podcasts went from a 20 minute download time for an average episode of T.W.I.T. to about 7 to 10 seconds.

    UPDATE
    Please disregard the above.  While the above did improve performance for a short time, the problem returned.  I spent the next week running a full Spinrite on all 4 1TB HDDs that were in the NAS.  All drives were fine.  I then did some research on the individual drives, and it turns out that 3 of them were 7200RPM Hitachi's and the latest drive added was a 1TB Western Digital GREEN drive (WD10EADS).  This was the source of the issue.
    Additional information available at http://www.readynas.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=32179
    I replaced the WD10EADS with another 7200RPM drive (seagate this time) and the NAS has been working flawlessly again (again, disregard the above post)

  • I recently bought a macbook and im trying yo sync all my 2600 photos to it but my phone is synced to another computer in another country which i cant access!! Will i loose all my photos or is there any other way of keeping them and uploading to my new mac

    I recently bought a macbook and im trying yo sync all my 2600 photos to it but my phone is synced to another computer in another country which i cant access!! Will i loose all my photos or is there any other way of keeping them and uploading to my new mac?????

    Hi jonnywilson78!
    Here is an article that will instruct you on importing your photos from your iOS device to your new computer:
    iOS: Importing personal photos and videos from iOS devices to your computer
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4083
    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
    -Braden

  • HT5858 When I swipe up from the bottom of the screen to use control center I am not able to use the music controls for music or podcasts and music controls do not work on the lock screen either is anybody else having this problem???????

    When I swipe up from the bottom of the screen to use control center I am not able to use the music controls for music or podcasts and music controls do not work on the lock screen either is anybody else having this problem???????

    Not really sur easy you would be having that problem.  Mine works.  You might try RESET DEVICE
    Hold down the Sleep/Wake button and the home button together until the apple logo appears (ignore the ON/OFF slider) then let both buttons go and wait for device to restart (no data will be lost). Then try again and see if it makes a difference

  • I want to triple boot Have Snow Leopard and XP on separate drives and I want Windows 7 on another drive, can it be done by temporarily removing the xp drive and installing windows 7 on another internal drive?

    I want to triple boot my Mac Pro I have Snow Leopard and XP on separate drives (osx on drive 1, xp on drive 2) and I want Windows 7 on another drive (drive 4, drive 3 is used by osx for storage), can it be done by temporarily removing the xp drive and installing windows 7 on drive 4?
    I realise bootcamp only allows 2 operating systems and refit could change the size of my current xp drive to accomodate W7, that is not an option here for various reasons one being the drive is pretty much at capacity with only about 30gig free (I work with video so that free space fluctautes quite a bit). I have a brand new drive 4 with 1TB set aside ready for W7 but I'm unsure how to go ahead?
    any help or advice would be really appreciated, thanks

    Boot Camp is used to support Windows on the same drive.
    You can have a different OS on every drive.
    You could have Windows 7, Vista, and XP all on one drive if you so choose.
    I recommend not putting Windows and OS X on the same dirve when talking about Mac Pro - unless you just need something small and lite.
    Remove all your other drives while you install Windows 7.
    You could even relocate XP - if you need it even - or recover the hard drive space.
    You should always keep 30% free for Mac OS; same for data/media drives.
    Considering 1.5TB WD Black $110.... and you want OS X to be on a fast high performance drive as well.

  • Is there a way to randomly play podcasts and music in ios7?

    Hi. I might be what you'd call, a podcast  oversubscriber. On top of that, I have a ton of music, too. Before apple split the podcast app from the music app, I created a few smart playlists that podcasts & songs together -- which was great for long car trips. I corralled stuff I wanted to listen to & pressed shuffle. (Of course, I had to uncheck that annoying "don't shuffle" option on ALL my podcasts). But it worked & I was happy.
    Now, I'm pretty bummed. All the podcasts are stripped from the smart playlists I've made on my iPhone's music app and I can't shuffle anything from the stupid podcast app -- unless I'm missing something. If I am, please let me know.
    ...or is there a 3rd party app that let's me do what I want?

    Unfortunately, anything with "Media Kind = Podcast" will now play ONLY in the Podcasts app, and not in the Music app. And Media Kind = Music or Audiobook will not play in the Podcast app. Apple does not want you to mix podcasts with music or audiobooks. (WHY they've made this decision is beyond me!)
    My current solution: I've changed all of my downloaded podcasts to Media Kind = Music, or Media Kind = Audiobook. Now they behave the way I want to, and they're all in the Music app on the iPhone (well, according to the smart playlists I've set up to sync). The Podcasts app is gone from my iPhone.
    I don't particularly like this solution: for one thing, it means every podcast that I've changed is then re-downloaded, and I have to mark the redundant copies as played, and then the next podcast sync gets rid of them. But it's the best way I've found so far to restore the old functionality that I've been using since whenever I started listening to podcasts, 7-8 years ago. Apple, alas, makes that functionality more difficult to maintain with each "upgrade".
    But I'll be researching Downcast and other options soon.

  • Easiest way to create transitions and fade a music track?

    Hi, now that I'm up and running, I'm wondering what the easiest way is to create TRANSITIONS (I couldn't seem to find them as advertised in "View Movie Properties/options")?
    Also, does anyone know how to FADE OUT an added audio/music track? Is it possible?
    thanks very much,
    Dave P.

    I ALMOST found the answer to my own question at:
    http://developer.apple.com/quicktime/quicktimeintro/tools/makeeffectmovie.html
    However, it doesn't quite seem to work for me. The qfx file created doesn't seem to be "recognized as a movie file".
    any suggestions???
    Fading a music track, I'm afraid, seems impossible (in this unfortunately not-too-powerful program).
    thanks,
    Dave P.
      Windows XP  

  • Separate Podcasts and Music

    Hello all,
    I getting tired of keeping up with the fifteen to thirty minute podcasts, which I'm having a little difficult and pretty tiring. I want to sync my podcast to my iPod, but I'm not doing that right now because my music and my podcasts are mixed up into one playlist, and I want to separate podcasts and my music in my iPod. Is there any way of doing this?
    Regards,
    The Wampus Cat

    Hi.
    I want the same thing! It is a pain in the butt when I transfer to my iPod because when I shuffle my songs now it picks up the Poscasts. And the Names of the Podcast guys are now in the Artists section. Pain in the butt!
    It did it with the 5 upgrade. With 4.9 Podcasts were confined to the Podcast section in your itunes and to The Podcast section of your iPod.
    Its the new search feature...it made Podcast a Genre in Itunes and now they are all mixed together! I tryed deleting one of my Podcast links in the Libray window, hoping it wouldn't delete it from the Podcast Section, (much like a Playlist) but alas it deletes from both sections. They are connected (I did make sure not to delete the podcast file only the Library link.)
    I havn't figured a work around yet. (Except maybe 5.1)
    APPLE! Make a pref to disable it in the Library window! I see why it was done, but it is better having them seperate.
    -b

  • How can I have podcasts and music in the same playlist in iOS7?

    How can I create an iTunes playlist that contains both music and podcasts and export that playlist to my iPhone? This was once possible. If you download the "Podcast" app, podcasts can still be added  to iTunes playlist which you can listen to on your Mac. But when you sync that playlist to iPhone, it will omit all of the podcasts.
    Previously, the workaround was not to download the Pocast app. That way, podcasts remained in iTunes where they could still exist in with music in the same playlist. But as of iOS7, you are required to install the "Podcasts" to be able listen to podcast at all. No more workaround.
    Why does this matter? Some people, like me want to drive or exercise while listening to a mix of music and podcasts. Apple's "improvements" have restricted the way that I am able to use iTunes.
    I can only think of these solutions:
    Convert the podcast into AAC or other format. Then iTunes sees it as "music" and it will stay in the playlist. Cons: 1. Burdensome. 2. Removes the resume feature from the podcast. 
    Use a different iPhone app. Spotify lets you drag any track (even podcasts) into a playlist and they stay there when synced to the Spotify iPhone app. Cons: 1. Requires Spotify premium service to listen to playlists on iPhone. 2. The resume feature is removed. 3. Very difficult to forward and rewind. 4. Some podcasts are rejected by the Spotify playlist, although its rare. 5. After being imported, the tracked need to be synced to the phone via WiFi (as with all tracks that are not offered via Spotify.)
    I am using the Spotify solution but am interested to know if there is an Apple solution. Or maybe I am the only one that wants to mix podcasts with music.

    How can I create an iTunes playlist that contains both music and podcasts and export that playlist to my iPhone? This was once possible. If you download the "Podcast" app, podcasts can still be added  to iTunes playlist which you can listen to on your Mac. But when you sync that playlist to iPhone, it will omit all of the podcasts.
    Previously, the workaround was not to download the Pocast app. That way, podcasts remained in iTunes where they could still exist in with music in the same playlist. But as of iOS7, you are required to install the "Podcasts" to be able listen to podcast at all. No more workaround.
    Why does this matter? Some people, like me want to drive or exercise while listening to a mix of music and podcasts. Apple's "improvements" have restricted the way that I am able to use iTunes.
    I can only think of these solutions:
    Convert the podcast into AAC or other format. Then iTunes sees it as "music" and it will stay in the playlist. Cons: 1. Burdensome. 2. Removes the resume feature from the podcast. 
    Use a different iPhone app. Spotify lets you drag any track (even podcasts) into a playlist and they stay there when synced to the Spotify iPhone app. Cons: 1. Requires Spotify premium service to listen to playlists on iPhone. 2. The resume feature is removed. 3. Very difficult to forward and rewind. 4. Some podcasts are rejected by the Spotify playlist, although its rare. 5. After being imported, the tracked need to be synced to the phone via WiFi (as with all tracks that are not offered via Spotify.)
    I am using the Spotify solution but am interested to know if there is an Apple solution. Or maybe I am the only one that wants to mix podcasts with music.

  • A way to keep playing iPod music in third party apps?

    Is there a way to keep third party apps from overriding the iPod music playing? In other words, keep playing my music, rather than the sound effects of the game?

    By reading the iPad Users Guide there should be two ways. One is to, on your computer, move the Music Videos to the movies part of your library. The other way is to make a play list that excludes the Music Video and only shuffle that playlist. Regarding the latter, the USers Guide says:
    Shuffle the tracks in any playlist, album, or other
    list of songs
    From the Now Playing screen, tap the album art
    to show the song controls onscreen. Tap (this is an icon that looks like a black background with three horizontal black lines) at the
    bottom of the screen, then tap Shuffle at the
    top of the list of songs.
    Whether or not iPad is set to shuffle, if you tap
    Shuffle at the top of a list of songs, iPad plays the
    songs from that list in random order.

  • Is there a way to keep all the music on my ipod when using a new computer

    i want to keep all my music but when i go to sync my ipod to my new computer itunes says it will erase all my music. I dont want to lose 600 songs

    Try this way:
    Make sure your new computer is authorized in iTunes. Disable autosync in itunes, connect your ipod, right click on it in the device list and choose backup.
    This will save data, pictures and settings to itunes. See what's included in this backup here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
    Transfer your purchases the same way to copy all apps and bought media from the Store to your computer.
    Set up at least one contact and event on your computer to be able the merge your calendars and contacts after your ipod got wiped during the first sync.
    The rest of the data can be restored from the backup you made.
    Restoring: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414
    Music is one way only, from the computer to your device, unless you bought the songs in itunes and transferred your purchases.
    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
    Saving data to a computer before setting it up again is also explained here: How to back up your data and set up as a new device

Maybe you are looking for