Help moving everything to a new external HD

Filled up the HD on the family computer, so I went out and bought a big external HD, and want to put ALL-my iPod, my wife's nano, and a kid's nano-purchased and CD-downloaded iTunes on the new drive. I've got an impression from the all-too-brief iTunes help as to how to do it, but I'd just as soon here from people with experience.
Questions are: 1) do I need to both re-direct the iTunes folder music location AND then copy all of the files? 2) if yes to 1, is there a definitive order to doing it? 3) I'd ultimately like to put some of my wife's purchased iTunes on my iPod (after all, what's mine is hers, etc...) as easily as accessing a shared music directory, dragging and dropping. Am I stuck burning and dumping a second copy into my iTunes library or can I do it more elegantly?
Thanks in advance for the help-

Here is how to get it onto the external drive
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305451
Here is how to share music between user accounts on the same PC
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93195

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Need help - Moving my Itunes to an external hard drive

Help! Help! Help! Am tearing my hair out here!
I recently got my first Ipod so please excuse if I'm being thick here! Basically, I'm about two thirds of the way downloading my not insignificant CD collection onto my Ipod, which I'm doing via Itunes. The C drive on my laptop is now full to bursting and I don't even have enough space left for my anti virus (big problem!). Therefore, I am wanting to transfer my itunes to an external hard drive. First, I followed the instructions on this site for Backing up itunes library by copying to a external hard drive.........
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751?viewlocale=en_US
All that succeeding in doing was mirroring whatever I did on the C:/ drive on the E:/ drive i.e. if I deleted itunes from the C:/ drive it disappeared from the E:/ drive.
Next, I followed these instructions for Moving the itunes media folder to the external drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
This too didn't help as the media folder is not the problem, its the library as its 735kb! Am I right in thinking there's no way of moving the library to the external drive whilst wiping it from the C;/ drive? I need to get these darn files off my laptop and to use my external drive for my itunes. Alternatively, if I were to wipe the files to free up the space (as they are backed up on the hard drive) is there a way of syncing so that it simply adds new stuff to the existing music on my ipod not replacing it..
Hope I'm making sense and that someone can help.

First, I followed the instructions on this site for Backing up itunes library by copying to a external hard drive.........
That's what it does. It makes a backup copy of the iTunes folder. iTunes will not use that folder or do anything to that folder.
All that succeeding in doing was mirroring whatever I did on the C:/ drive on the E:/ drive i.e. if I deleted itunes from the C:/ drive it disappeared from the E:/ drive.
Do you mean after you followed the instructions and copied \Music\iTunes folder to the external drive and then deleted something from iTunes, it deleted it from the external drive also?
As above, iTunes will not use or do anything to that folder.
Next, I followed these instructions for Moving the itunes media folder to the external drive.
Why? You already copied the entire iTunes folder (including th emedia folder) to the external drive.
Hold Shift and launch iTunes.
Select *Choose library* and select the _iTunes library.itl_ file in the iTunes folder on the external.
This too didn't help as the media folder is not the problem, its the library as its 735kb!
What do you mean "the library"?
735kB is small for the iTunes library.itl file and a single file in iTunes is larger than that.
Am I right in thinking there's no way of moving the library to the external drive whilst wiping it from the C;/ drive?
Yes. Follow my intruction above (Choose library) and iTunes will use the iTunes folder on the external.
You can then delete \Music\iTunes on the C: drive.

Help - Moving Music Files to Larger External Hard Drive

Before I lose any files or otherwise ruin my iTunes installation, I need to know the best and safest way to move my iTunes music from my C: drive to my new external drive while still retaining full iTunes functionality while clearing space on my cramped internal drive.
Adding some slight complexity, I also have the Honda TTS (text to speech) software loaded which provides for the functionality of the music link for my iPod in my Honda Accord.
Do I have to reinstall iTunes on the new drive? If so, how do I preserve my music files in the process.
Thanks for reading.
Chris
Dell Dimension 2200 Windows XP

No, it's not necessary to re-install iTunes on the new drive. The following link from MacMuse should help. 2 tips, before doing anything in iTunes, you must boot-up the EHD prior to opening iTunes or iTunes will revert the iTunes music folder location back to the main drive. Next, there are 2 associated database files with iTunes, the .itl & .xml files . These 2 files CAN'T be moved off you system's drive, that is their "home" & they have to stay put. Welcome to discussions!
EDIT:
I guess I'm getting tired, forgot the link, so sorry!
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=607487
Message was edited by: StarDeb55

Help moving itunes to a new PC

Here is my problem. Currently my itunes is loaded on a laptop running winXP. However some changes were made to the laptop by my dad for his work so now when I plug in the ipod it does not get recognized by the os and itunes does not start. iTunes 5 is running on that laptop
Now however, I want to use a desktop for my itunes so that it is only used for my itunes. It is runing winXP and itunes 5 as well.
So......how do I get verything transferred to the desktop?? I read in the support section about changing some settings to allow me to use the ipod to do thi transfer, but since I cannot get the os on the laptop to see the ipod I cannot make those changes. Help??

How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply and adapt it to your specific situation and equipment resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder (directory) structure, rather than just copying just the song files. By copying the entire ‘iTunes’ folder and all sub-folders, you capture not only the music files, but the all-important ‘iTunes Library.itl’ database file (usually located in the ‘iTunes’ folder), which contains all the data about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). See: What are the iTunes Library files?
Install iTunes on the new computer. Then go back to your old computer and move (copy) the "iTunes" folder which usually resides inside your "…\My Documents\My Music" folder from the old computer to the exact same place (both Drive Letter and complete Path) on the new computer. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will look and behave exactly the same way it did on the old, Play Counts, Ratings, Comments and all!
NOTE: It is usually safer moving files between computers with the same version of iTunes!!
Here's a list of methods to copy and move your music files from one computer to another:
1) Use an External Hard Drive (ExHD) to move the complete files and Folder structures from one computer to another (my preferred option). You can clone’ the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure in one very easy step. Also great to have available for complete backups of your Library. External hard drives now run less than $100 for 200-250GBs of storage. See This Link
2) Directly connect the two computers....
- 2a) Connect them through a Router &/or Network
- 2b) Directly connect using an Ethernet cable: Straight for using at least one Mac; or Crossover for PC/PC Instructions here.
- 2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. Example here. There are various types out there (use Google).
....Then copy the files from one computer to the other.
3) Use the iPod as a transfer device, as this extensive Apple link explains. It will be a bit easier if your iPod has a larger capacity than your music collection, otherwise you will need to perform multiple copy/move transfers. This well written process also works fine while using any other data transfer medium (ExHD, Flash Drive, DVD, CD, Zipp, Jazz, etc.).
4) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7GBs each) with your music data files and folder structure, and load them onto the new computer. Re-writable DVDs are more cost effective (if your DVD drive can manage these types).
5) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #4 above and load the files and folders on the new computer. Re-writable CDs are more cost effective (if your CD drive can manage these types).
6) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB - 4GB) to move the files and folders. Best if the flash drive is larger than your Library, otherwise you will need multiple copy/move transfers.
These are links to various additional instructions on performing the transfer (read them all, but some listed steps may not be required depending on your specific situation):
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

Need Help Moving Aperture Library to new MacBook

I am unable to move my Aperture 3.1.1 library from my old (2008) MacBook Pro to the new one which I just got. It is a managed library.
When I try to move the library over I get the following error message +"One or more items can’t be copied to “Pictures” because you don’t have permission to read them. Do you want to copy the items you are allowed to read?"+.
I have already Repaired Aperture Permissions and Database and Rebuilt the Database.
Please help. Apple won't!

Niel you are a god! The files appear to be copying over after your suggestion. It will be awhile before I am sure everything is completely set as I am copying a 100GB Aperture library over firewire. However it appears this fix did the trick.
It has been a wasteful and stressful afternoon dealing with this.
Thank You!

Help moving iTunes to a new computer

I am reposting this question since I am still having trouble moving iTunes from my desktop (Tiger) to my Macbook (Leopard).
I have successfully moved the iTunes folder to my new computer and all my playlists, album artwork etc are there.
The problem is the actual music. On my old computer all the albums are saved under Users: Shared
The new computer only has only user.
It was suggested that I move it to the iTunes Music Folder.
I tried that. Only half of the shared library copied - an error saying the remaining files could not be copied came up.
When I opened iTunes the songs won't play because "the original file could not be located"
- if i click to find it, I can then go to the iTunes Music Folder (which now contains 3 folders : Downloads, Podcasts and Shared).
If I click on Shared - the music is there, and if I then click on the individual song it loads it and will play it.
Is there anyone to do this en masse? With over 13G of music I can't reload each song individually. I am assuming the location I copied the music too is wrong.
I hope this makes sense. Thanks in advance for any help.
L

I think that most of the folders are locked. In leopard they don't use shared they have Public folders. Try going to the music folder then clicking Get Info and changing it. If that doesn't work try the Migration assistant. To get to that on leopard (I don't know how to on Tiger) Go to applications then utilities and select the Migration assistant.

Help moving iPod contents to new computer

I just got a MacBook and would like to transfer all the songs on my iPod that I previously used with my iBook G4. I went to this Web page (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300173), and I believe I followed all the instructions correctly, but none of my music transfered. What's going on? On the steps when I had to move folders with my entire library it said "this could take awhile if you have a lot of songs," but it always took less than a second--like nothing was being moved. Please help.

OK, I am using Senuti. The files are transferring.
But the ratings and play counts aren't showing up in iTunes, though they are in Senuti! What gives?!!
AND I the files aren't showing up in my library unless I manually click each file from finder. Why?!
Should I select a library when this is over by holding down option and opening iTunes? If so, what do I select as my library? The text file named "iTunes Library," or the folder "iTunes Music," which has all my music files?

I need help trying to format a new external HD!!!!!

**** i spent ~3 hours trying to format this crap!!!!!
so i got a 300 Gb HD. i want to use it like a usb, b/t my mac(osX) and pc(winXP).
i have to format using my pc and not my mac. if i format it using my mac, my pc doesn't recognize it.
problem: i need to format to FAT32 so that both OS can use it right? but i can only format 30Gb partition at a time. i just want all to be FAT32 format! if a partition is more than 30Gb, it's NTFS format, which i can't modify using my mac. i can only read.
so there's some softwhere out there that allows me to format all space to FAT32? do you know what it is?

I might as well add some direction that I interpretted from the web page that I linked to you...
After unzipping, copy the "mkdosfs" file to the root of the C drive on your Windows computer. Then go Start-->All Programs-->Accessories-->Command Prompt. Type the following, replacing "volname" with the name of the external hard drive and "X:" with the letter of that drive:
c:\mkdosfs -v -F 32 -n volname X:
(note the spaces after mkdosfs, v, F, 32, n, and the drive name)

Need help moving iPod library to new Mac Mini

The bad news is that my 4 year old Mirror Door Dual Processor PowerMacG4 finally gave up the ghost on me. The good news is that I then went out and bought a shinny new Mac Mini. Thinking it would be easy (what was I thinking) I then attached my iPod 2Gen 15GB to my new iTunes and it promptly wiped it clean for me (read as PANIC, as I have literally thousands of dollars invested in iTunes music). Not to be a snob, but I also own a iPod Mini (4 GB) that also had a copy of the library on it.
HOW do I copy the library to my new Mac?? I also have a Mac Powerbook 12" and it has a dated copy of the library on it...
Is there ANYTHING that is easy with these Mac's??
Jes
Power Mac Mini (1.5 Ghz 1 GB Ram) Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Please use one of the following software to copy the music library from your mini iPod to your new Mac Mini
iPodRip
Senuti
Ollies iPod Extractor

Moving iPhoto to external drive; have formatted external disk to Mac OS Extended (Journaled), moved the iPhoto library to external drive; when trying to change the library, the iPhoto file on new external is greyed out can't be selected.What went wrong?

Must have done something wrong..
1. formatted external disk to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) - required a partition, but that went fine. Entire new external disk was included in the partition formatted to Mac OS Extneded (journaled).
2. moved iPhoto library to new external disk
3. Holding Option key down, opened iPhoto
4. Choose library feature appeared, however when new library function option appeared and "choose library" selected, the iPhoto folder appearing in the new external drive was greyed out and not able to be selected. Therefore the default library remains the original iphoto library on the Mac.
I've moved the original iphoto library to the trash and then tried to start iPhoto. A message comes up that the iPhoto is in the trash and needs to be pulled out before iPhoto can start (clearly the new iphoto library on the external drive is not being seen.
Can anyone suggest where I went awry? Thanks!

Try trash the com.apple.iPhoto.plist file from the HD/Users/ Your Name / library / preferences folder.
(On 10.7 or later: Hold the option (or alt) key while clicking on the Go menu in Finder to access the User Library)
(Remember you'll need to reset your User options afterwards. These include minor settings like the window colour and so on. Note: If you've moved your library you'll need to point iPhoto at it again.)
What's the plist file?
For new users: Every application on your Mac has an accompanying plist file. It records certain User choices. For instance, in your favourite Word Processor it remembers your choice of Default Font, on your Web Browser is remembers things like your choice of Home Page. It even recalls what windows you had open last if your app allows you to pick up from where you left off last. The iPhoto plist file remembers things like the location of the Library, your choice of background colour, whether you are running a Referenced or Managed Library, what preferences you have for autosplitting events and so on. Trashing the plist file forces the app to generate a new one on the next launch, and this restores things to the Factory Defaults. Hence, if you've changed any of these things you'll need to reset them. If you haven't, then no bother. Trashing the plist file is Mac troubleshooting 101.
Then try select it again.

I bought a new MacBookPro moved everything from old MacBookPro, new machine runs 10.6.7 - but iPhoto won't 'upgrade' the library - just hangs up supposedly while writing new library. help. thanks.

i bought a new MacBookPro moved everything from old MacBookPro, new machine runs 10.6.7 - but iPhoto won't 'upgrade' the library - just hangs up supposedly while writing new library. help. thanks.

How did you "move everything" over?
Migration assistance does not handle the iPhoto library well sometimes - the best way is to drag the bad iphoto library from the pictures folder on the new system to the desktop, connect the two systems together (network, firewire target mode, etc) and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity from the old system to the pictures folder of the new system and launch iPhoto on the new system - it will open and convert the iPhoto library as necessary and you will be fine - once you test the iPhoto library you can delete the one on the desktop
LN

New External Drive connected to Time Capsule moving files problem

I have a late 2009 13" unibody MacBook Pro, that I primarily use for video editing/converting. I use my Time Capsule as a network through which I can connect to my external hard drives via USB for videos and such. I've used at least two other external hard drives along with my Time Capsule for a year and a half with very few problems, aside from the inevitable crash of one. Before yesterday, I had a 1TB Western Digital MyBook (http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.aspx?id=210) and a 2TB Verbatim Desktop HD (http://www.verbatim.com/prod/hard-drives/desktop/usb-2.0/) connected through my 1TB Time Capsule and aside from the Verbatim drive being rather sluggish most of the time, everything was working fine.
Yesterday, I got a new external drive, an iOmega MiniMax 2TB (http://go.iomega.com/en-us/products/external-hard-drive-desktop/ultramax-minimax /minimax800/?partner=4760). I spent yesterday and most of today moving files around and whatnot through a wired connection (iOmega via firewire 800, Verbatim via USB, MyBook via USB, and Time Capsule via Ethernet), and everything moved quickly and without any problems.
I hooked my Time Capsule up to my modem, plugged in the iOmega and Verbatim drives via USB to the TC, and started my laptop. When I opened the drives, everything was working fine... And then I tried to move a file to the iOmega drive... I was moving an episode of The Killing. I dragged it into the folder and went to Safari to look something up and suddenly realized ten minutes later that I still hadn't heard the noise telling me that the file had finished. I looked at the move dialogue box and it said "156.8 MB of 323.8 MB - About 10 Seconds". I watched it for another ten minutes and it didn't move. So I clicked cancel move and the rainbow wheel of death came up and I had to force reboot my computer.
When I restarted, I opened up finder to access the drives through my Time Capsule, and it "failed to connect" to my Time Capsule. So I went back into my office to flip the switch on the surge protector in order to restart the process. I turned on my computer and I had no problem accessing my hard drives... Until I tried to move an episode of United States of Tara into the iOmega hard drive. This time, it said, "192.5 MB of 202.6 MB - About 5 Seconds" and completely stopped moving again. And the same thing happened when I clicked the little grey "x" to cancel the move.
I repeated the process several more times with no luck. Then I thought it might help to see if it does the same thing with documents. So I dragged just a random document to the iOmega and it took about 30 seconds, but it did it successfully. So I tried to move the episode of The Killing again and I let it go for, like, 25-30 minutes. After this time, I got a notification from finder saying, "Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "[the file]" can't be read or written. (Error Code -36)". Then when I went back into the "Shared" part of the sidebar to go back into my Time Capsule folder, it said "Connection Failed"
So what exactly does this mean? Are the Time Capsule and iOmega not compatible? Can I only move the files through a wired connection [which would be unfortunate]? Do I need to rejigger the USB configuration? Is the error code just for these two episodes and it's just a random coincidence that it happened the day after I got a new drive?
Thanks for any help anyone can give me!
- Alex

I have attached the macbook to the tc via ethernet cable. Should I turn off my wireless connection or will itunes recognize to go with the faster connection on it's own?
You MBP will try to connect based on the order of the list of network devices on the System Preferences > Network window. If Ethernet is not at the top of the list, then go ahead and temporarily disable AirPort.
After all this is done will the wireless connection be fast enough for normal itunes operation?
For audio streaming it should be, but just be aware that your iTunes host will have to get the audio source wirelessly from the TC, which in turn will have to get the data from the USB hard drive. Finally, the iTunes host will have to wirelessly stream the iTunes audio via AirTunes to the AirPort Express.

I have moved all my songs onto a new external hard drive but it has wiped my iPod clean. Although when I connect my iPod it's starts teh process of sync'ing - so many songs in I get a pop up advising the siong could not be read or written to?

I have moved all my itunes onto a new external hard drive to free up space. It has wiped my ipod clean! I can still see the itunes on the new hard drive so I restored my iPod and tried to sync. Although when I connect my iPod it's in the process of syncing, so many songs in I get a pop up saying could not copy to my iPod as xyz song title could not be read or written. I click ok for this pop up to dissapear and then another pop up appears saying could not coyp to iPod because of unknown error.!!! Help I'm going crazy.

Did you go into iTunes to change the location of your media files? if not you will need to go into iTunes and click on preference and select the advance tab then click the iTunes Media folder location. Select the location of your on external hard drive.

IPhoto Library moved to External Hard Drive and need help moving library

Hi - Recently I had my hard drive replaced. I purchased Disk Warrior and moved all files to my external hard drive. Now that my hard drive has been replaced, I'm having trouble moving all my photos back to iPhoto. Nearly all of my 8K+ photos are blurry after I import and enlarge. The ones that are fine have dimensions of or more than 1K x 1K. The digital photos that I moved and are blurry when enlarged are 340x360 (hundreds range). How can I correct?
Thanks so much in advance.
Audra

I think I might need to back up ---- So I had a failing hard drive, went to Apple and purchased Disk Warrior. Installed Disk Warrior and tried to recover everything from my hard drive. Then all that was recovered was supposedly moved to my external hard drive. I have now received my computer back with the new hard drive. I plug in my external hard drive and have been trying to move all my images from the external hard drive to iphoto. In both places (external HD and when the photos are imported), the image is at the lower dimensions.
Thanks for your time.

New External Drive .. NEED HELP PLZ

Hi
i just plugin (usig USB) my new external hard drive ( 160 GB )
and i`m trying to copy some files to it
and it shows this msg
" the item ... could not be moved because new volume cannot be modified "
so how can i make it ? and also it shows the new volume for read only .. how can i make it read and wirte ??
thnx

Yes, I think so. You can create as many partitions as you like - if you look at that document, the second part shows how to partiton the drive into several partitions - just do it as shown but format one of them FAT32 or NTFS
But....
I don't know if a PC can read a single Fat32 or NTFS partition from a drive partitioned using GUID. I think it would have to be Master Boot Record Scheme in which case, you would need Fat 32 all the way.
As you have to wipe the drive anyway, it won't hurt to try I suppose. In the worst case you can always reformat it back to OSX only or Fat 32 so that the PC and Mac can read it (NTFS if you only need the mac to be able to read it).
From a performance perspective I'd use two drives. To swap data between a pc and mac just network them rather than trying to make one drive do two jobs.
I hope that helps,
best of luck.

Help moving everything to a new external HD

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