Have itunes library on usb drive

I have  a MBA and I have my music on a USB drive.  How can I add that folder to itunes and have itunes only play from that USB drive?  I do not want to add the music to the MBA hard drive (small HD so need to conserve space).
Thanks.

As for space, what and how were you trying to move?  If you used this drive before, did you empty the trash when it was connected?
A 32GB drive?  Sounds like a flash drive to me.  I don't know I'd trust one of those, and certainly not without regular backups.
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the option (alt) key (shift on Windows) so you get a prompt to select a library, then guide it to the 'iTunes Library.itl' file in the moved iTunes folder.

Similar Messages

  • Transferring iTunes library from USB drive to new laptop. Many issues.

    First off, I usually can only listen to my music if I plug in the USB drive with the original music on it.
    Now, iTunes is telling me that some of my music "cannot be found." Please help!

    Hello TNCGRCT,
    It sounds like the library was successfully transferred to the new computer, but the songs were imported into a new iTunes library. If you still have access to the external drive, or better yet the previous computer, we will want to transfer the iTunesLibrary.itl file and open it with iTunes:
    iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
    More helpful information...
    Where are my iTunes files located?
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1391
    iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
    Thanks,
    Matt M.

  • Moving iTunes Library to USB Drive

    Hi!
    I used to sync my iPad 2 64 GB with my Windows Vista Laptop. After my Windows Vista Laptop crashed, I replaced it with a MacBook Air 128GB. Now, I sync my iPad 2 64 GB with my MacBook Air.
    On MacBook Air 128, real estate is at a premium! And my iPad has a very large volume of content, hence my iTunes Library also is huge and occupying a significant amount of HDD on the MacBook Air.
    I am meeting my real estate requirements on my MacBook Air with a clutch of USB drives.
    Is there any way I can transfer my entire iTunes Library (music, video, photos, apps, podcasts et al) to a 64 GB USB Drive? Thereafter, whenever I sync my iPad, iTunes should pick data from this 64 GB USB Drive, without using HDD space on MacBook Air itself.
    If possible, please advise how to achieve this.
    Regards

    Copy /Music/iTunes/ folder to the external.
    To use this folder, hold Shift and launch iTunes.
    Select *Choose library*.
    Select the iTunes folder you copied to the external.
    Make sure the external is connected and ready before launching iTunes.
    When you get your new computer, copy the entire iTunes folder from the external to /Music/ on the new computer.

  • Back up itunes library to usb drive instead of cd or DVD-how do I do this?

    I just got a great deal on a Seagate Free Agent 500gb drive. I've formatted it for Mac, now, I want to backup my iTunes library to it and still use iTunes on my laptop-I don't want to burn a zillion cd's or dvd's to do it-that's why I bought this drive. Can anyone help me? I am just not able to figure this out, maybe because I was raised on PC.

    If you don't want to run iTunes from the EHD & you are simply backing up, just copy the whole iTunes folder onto the Seagate.

  • ITunes library on usb drive

    I have transferred my library to an external 300 GB drive. I cannot get iTunes to work from this new library!! Have tried starting iTunes with shift key and indicating where the new library is?
    Thanks

    WHen you say you transferred the "library", what exactly did you do?
    Did you copy&paste the entire itunes folder over there, as opposed to cutting & pasting (moving it)? Or did you just "transfer" the itunes music files? Did you use the itunes consolidate command anywhere in this, or do everything outside of itunes using Windows Explorer?

  • New PC, itunes library on USB hard drive

    First my entire iTunes library is on and external USB hard drive all 300 movies and 12,000 songs. I keep my iTunes media folder organized and I copy files to the folder when adding them to the library. I just bought a new PC installed the latest version of iTunes and told iTunes to add the iTunes media folder from the external hard drive to iTunes. All of the songs and movies are listed in iTunes but for some reason when I list my music by artist and song a lot of the album information is left blank for example all of the songs from AC/DC's back in black are in the song list but it does not show that they are from back in black is simply list the song and the artist no album info. When I go to the iTunes music folder there is a folder for AC/DC back in black with all the songs in it so the songs are there but that information is not showing in the song list any ideas

    I have itunes library set up and recognizing my itunes
    library
    The songs play okay in iTunes?
    but won't let me synce with my ipod.
    It won't let you because it gives you a message saying it won't?
    Or just that nothing happens?
    What are you doing and what happens when you plug in the iPod?
    Also, see this -> See this -> Windows confuses iPod with network drive or hard drive and may keep iPod from mounting or songs may seem to disappear

  • ITunes Library on shared drive, option-open itunes

    Just ordered my AX. Have Airport Express for AirTunes now.
    I have an MBP intel 2.3 17" and a PB G4 12" 1gig. I'll put my iTunes library on a drive shared via AX. I've been reading iTunes sharing threads, but I haven't come across anything about simply option-opening iTunes. Doing so brings up "choose library..." of course.
    Can I just share the library by option-opening iTunes each time, from either laptop, with all modifications made via one machine (playlists, purchases, etc.) showing up on the other? I'll never need to run iTunes on both at once.
    ...If I do try to use iTunes on both machines at the same time, would the second give me some kind of 'library in use' error message?
    Thanks.
    Cheers,
    Otto

    It's actually even easier than you describe. In a real way your iTunes "Library" is an index file in your Music folder. If you have 2 computers with iTunes then they each have their own indices in the Music folder of each users account on those computers. You can store the actual audio/video files that make up the music/audiobooks/videos really anywhere. Give the USB drive you attach to the Airport Extreme a name, mount that drive on each of your two computers. Copy the actual audio/video files from wherever you have them to that shared drive (I use a subdirectory called "library" to put them all in. Then go into the iTunes preferences on both computers. In the "Advanced" section change the directory that the library is stored at to the path of the mounted drive and whatever subdirectory you make it. In my house it's /public/library. "public" is the name of the shared USB drive, library is a directory I created on it and all the artists directories and such are under the "library" folder. That's all there is to it. Any other computer you want to use those files just update the preferences. The only other caveat is that since the "library" is really the index file on each computer you will need to authorize each computer separately to play any purchased files. That's about it.
    Message was edited by: Compono

  • Deleting a song from iTunes library and hard drive on Itunes 11.0

    how do i delete a song from iTunes library and hard drive on Itunes 11.0 at the same time.

    Hello CleveCo, Inc
    And welcome to Apple Discussions!
    At some point in time, you may have selected the option to prevent that dialog from appearing again when trying to delete tracks from your library. To reset all of iTunes warning dialogs, click the Edit drop down menu and choose Preferences from the list (on a Mac it is *iTunes -> Preferences* ). When the window pops up, head over to the Advanced tab and click the *Reset Warnings* button. Then quit iTunes and relaunch it. That do the trick for you?
    B-rock

  • A solution to having media files in your iTunes library on multiple drives

    After searching on the web for threads of people with this issue, I found this thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1483694
    I wanted to reply, but the thread has been archived and locked, so I figured I could make a new post offering my new solution.
    The application I have written to allow users to easily move the media files in their iTunes library to multiple drives is called TuneSpan (http://www.tunespan.com).
    TuneSpan is user friendly, freeware, native OS X app. It does the whole process of moving files and having iTunes know the new location for you, just as you would expect from a full featured app for OS X. Symbolic links are used to point iTunes to the new file locations, but in some cases, TuneSpan can actually get iTunes to learn a new location for the file, without the need of a symbolic link. Also, TuneSpan never removes any tracks from iTunes (preserving playlists, play counts, etc.) and there is no need to adjust any settings in iTunes such as the "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" setting.
    Lots of important information about TuneSpan and how it works can be found on http://www.tunespan.com/help.html
    I do not mean to completely self-promote by posting this, but I realize that I am doing so. I am hoping to reach out to users who have had the desire to do this task but have been overwhelmed or hindered by past solutions technicality, inflexibility, etc. I am hoping that making this posting in the location that some may look for a solution will give TuneSpan more exposure, and help more people have their iTunes library the way they want it to be. TuneSpan is freeware, but donation are accepted though not forced nor nagged for. If you choose to donate through my site, I will, of course, be receiving compensation which I would be grateful for, but that is not the intention of this post. If this posting does not meet the guidelines of this forum, I apologize.

    Very useful app, thanks! But i've noticed it is still a O.xx beta. Do you intend to go on with it?

  • How do I restore iTunes library from flash drive backup?

    How do I restore iTunes library from flash drive backup?

    brigdool wrote:
    How do I restore iTunes library from flash drive backup?
    HI Brigdool,
    It depends how you made the backup.
    If you copied your entire iTunes folder onto the flash drive, just copy it back to the appropriate place on the computer.
    If you copied individual folders or files, add them back to iTunes by inserting the flash drive in your computer, and then dragging the files into your "Automatically Add to iTunes" folder.
    The first method recreates your library as it was, with all playcounts, playlists, etc.  The second method builds a new library with the same content.

  • I have East/West Symphony.  Will it work with Logic express and do I have to have that little red usb drive in the computer to authorize it?

    I have East/West Symphony. 
    Will it work with Logic express and do I have to have that little red usb drive in the computer to authorize it?
    Also, would it work with Garageband??

    Thanks-that's the same driver I'm using now.
    The M-audio techs were unable to tell me if Quattro would work with LE8, so I've been wasting my time and money trying to make it work.
    They also gave me conflicting opinions as to whether or not "tip" polarity was an issue when using an after-market adapter. One said definitely yes, one or two others said definitely no.
    Their phone tech line has a 20 to 40 minute wait when I call. The online support system is confusing, which even they admit. I don't think my next interface will be from M-audio.
    Thanks very much for the response, it helps me get beyond this phase.
    Is the Quattro of any use for anybody else (i.e., can I sell it or give it away)?

  • I have an old itunes library on usb, how do i add this to my new itunes on mac?

    I'm not technically minded, but have managed to put my old itunes library (from my old pc) onto a usb. How do I add this library to my current itunes on my Mac?

    An iTunes "library" is a collection of media and support files all working together.  The .xml file is simply a listing of what tracks you have in your library and where they are located.  You add a .xml file by using the import command in iTunes (I use an older version so I can't tell you exactly where but it should not be hard to find if you look at the various menu category listings).
    Note, if you add just the .xml it will be pointing to files in specific locations.  If that listing is not valid because iTunes cannot find the drive with the files then you will end up with a ton of broken links.
    It might help at this stage to take a step back and tell us exactly what you have on this drive and what you are trying to accomplish.  Sometimes people come here with questions the equivalent to, "How do I use a hammer?" for us only to discover they are trying to get a screw into a wall.

  • I have a new computer, I have itunes library on an external drive.  How do I configure my new computer?

    I have a new Windows 7 computer.   On my old XP, I had my iTunes on an external hard drive that I still want to use, but now I need to figure out how to set up my new computer to do this.   Do I do a fresh install of ITunes first, on my new computer?  Any help would be greatly appreciated!  I am so glad that I recently synched my ipod.

    How did you migrate to external drive originally?
    Was your original iTunes setup set to keep all files in the same location, i.e. consolidated on your external drive?
    Did you actually move your iTunes library out to the external drive, or did you only changed the location of the music files, and then reimported them into iTunes?
    Sounds like you simply moved your files out to the external drive and reimported, but the library itself was still pointing to your internal hard drive. Which means anything you added after the migration was kept in the internal iTunes library folder rather than in your external drive.
    If you still have the old XP computer around you amy be able to salvage what you imported afterwards from there.
    Otherwise, you basically have only the part of the library you moved out.
    To have correctly moved your library you needed to have moved a folder named iTunes from the Music folder in XP.  That would contain all your iTunes library information including music, videos apps etc...
    iTunes: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - Apple Support

  • I have my iTunes library on external drive and can access from any PC. However I cannot access from new MacBokk Air.

    My iTunes library is on an external drive and been using it on two PCs with no problem.
    Now that I got a new MacBook Air I want to access the same iTunes library from the external drive and keep all the library and media on that external drive.
    When I try to change to another iTunes library by hitting "option" with iTunes and select the library on the external hard drive I get the following message:
    "The iTunes library file is locked, on a locked disk, or you do noy have write permission for this file."
    I have read many posts in which many suggest to go to the library or media file on the PC and right click to make sure the read only tab is not checked.
    I uncheked the read only tab and gave full permission to all the iTunes files and folders.
    The unusual part is that I can use this external drive on many PCs that I have tried with no problem at all.
    I just select a different library, which is on my external hard drive and everything works, play lists and everything.
    However, when I try it on a MAC i get the message stated above:
    What can I do to be able to access my External iTunes library from new MacBook Air while keeping everything on the external drive like I can on PCs?
    I am running latest version of iTunes and Mavericks.
    Please advise.

    Here are the official Apple Support instructions:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
    Ciao.

  • I want to have Itunes library on a non "C" Drive

    I have completed a new build (4th one) and everything works fine except I want my Itunes library to be stored on a non "C" drive.
    My (c:) drive is an 240GB SSD drive and I was not wanting to load it up with music but Itunes keeps wanting the library to be on the (c:) drive.  How can I get Itunes to recognize the library in my 3TB Hard drive?

    AZBanker wrote:
    I have completed a new build (4th one) and everything works fine except I want my Itunes library to be stored on a non "C" drive.
    Okay, put it there.
    Close iTunes.
    Move or Copy the ENTIRE iTunes folder from <User>/Music to the location of your choice.
    While holding SHIFT, launch iTunes.
    When prompted, point iTunes to the new location.

Maybe you are looking for