Help needed - New PC with all Songs and library on External Hard Drive

I hope someone can help me - I have just bought a new PC and have downloaded iTunes. All my songs are on an external hard drive, which I know how to get them on to iTunes - but I want to keep the playcounts and playlists that are also stored on the HD - I have tried looking for the answer to this, but cannot seem to find it anywhere. Thanks to anyone who can help.

Use these instructions to open the library from its location on the external hard drive...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
This assumes that everything needed for an iTunes library is on the external hard drive which includes the data base files that contain the info you are concerned about (playlists, counts, ratings, etc.).
Patrick

Similar Messages

  • Want to move all songs from laptop to external hard drive...

    I was hoping someone could help me move all of my songs from my laptop to an external hard drive in the most efficient manner. My library is using up too much space on my laptop. Any other time I would just copy and paste the songs from one folder to the new folder on the ext HD and delete the files on the PC. If that is okay to do, then how do I redirect iTunes to always search and save to the ext. hd? Or is ther a migration tool that does all of this in iTunes??
    Thanks,
    Sean

    This has been covered here multiple times, but again:
    If you are running iTunes 6,, see:
    iTunes: Moving Your iTunes Music Folder
    IMPORTANT: do not delete the iTunes folder or the preference files it contains from your boot hard drive; delete ONLY the tracks themselves (i.e. the contents of the old iTunes Music folder).
    If you have iTunes 7, then you can use the procedure above, but a better way is usually to just drag the entire iTunes folder (the entire folder, not just the iTunes Music folder) to your desired location. Then hold down the Shift key (Windows)/Option key (Mac) while launching iTunes. You'll be given a dialog box where you can select the iTunes library you want to use. Navigate to and select the iTunes folder in it's new location. Note that this procedure assumes that all of your tracks are contained in the iTunes Music folder. If they're scattered around your volumes, moving them becomes much more complex.
    In either case, don't delete the tracks from the old location until you've confirmed that they're working correctly from the external drive.

  • How to put iTunes and library on EXTERNAL hard drive? Having major troubles

    I started importing my entire CD collection about a week ago. Got halfway finished before realizing it wouldn't all fit on my computer's hard drive.
    Bought a Maxtor 100GB external hard drive, moved all library folders there, then reinstalled iTunes on there as well. I used "Ad Folder to Library" to return all the tunes into iTunes library.
    All of that seemed to work just fine, but now I've resumed importing my CDs and they are automatically going right to my computers C drive (the stock internal hard drive) and into "my music folder". Obviously, there is no room there.
    How can I get it so that I import CDs onto the NEW external hard drive, and have iTunes pull them from there? I want ALL my library and music folders in the same place, on the external E drive. Can I do this? If so, how??
    Many thanks to anyone who can help!

    "I want ALL my library and music folders in the same place, on the external E drive. Can I do this? If so, how??"
    If you want to make another drive (direct or portable) on your PC the main music location for iTunes, move all song files there, as well as any future imported music from CDs, here is one method (see the links below):
    You will maintain your playlists, ratings, comments, etc. This will only move your music folders location, NOT your iTunes program files or the Library database files. It is my opinion that programs (i.e. – iTunes) work better when installed on your main hard drive. At the very least, it makes it easier to manage all your programs if they are centrally located on one hard drive (the Windows default standard).
    See these links for some step-by-step info:
    iLounge: Moving your iTunes Library to a New Hard Drive
    MacMuse: iTfW: Move iTunes music/Library to new drive
    iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
    If you are moving the music to an external hard drive or network drive, after the transfer (and to work correctly), the drive must be running prior to your opening iTunes. If not, iTunes will reset the location of your music folder location to the default location (usually: ‘C:\...My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music’). If this happens, you need to manually change the path back to your external location, or future CD ‘Imports’ will be deposited on your internal HD.
    Also make sure that the new drive always loads as the same Drive Letter, otherwise you will lose the references within iTunes.

  • How to move iTunes and Library to External Hard Drive

    Is it possible to move the program and its contents to an external hard drive? The external can hold much more and it would be easier to bog down my external hard drive every so often than try to keep iTunes and its contents on my Mac.

    beilenguitars wrote:
    For instance would it all work if I simply dragged the "iTunes" application to my external?
    Yes providing you use
    Consolidating Your iTunes library
    and allow iTunes to Manage your music.
    Once you are positive that the External is working to your Satisfaction you can Delete your iTunes Library off your computer.
    Leaving the iTunes Application / Program installed on your computer...
    To Operate iTunes from the External Drive...
    Start iTunes with the Option key held down and Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external drive.
    On Windows, hold Shift, launch iTunes and select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external drive.

  • New computer won't find iTunes library on external hard drive

    I have just purchased a "new" second-hand MacBook, and I want it to recognize my iTunes library from my old powerbook, which resides on an external hard drive. Although I have changed the location of the library in the new computer's iTunes preferences, it doesn't seem to recognize the content. Any suggestions? I'd love to synch my iPod before travelling tomorrow.
    MacBook   Mac OS X (10.4.7)  

    After changing the location, use the File-> Add function to add all the music into the library. It won't automatically find and add everything, so you have to do it.
    Patrick

  • Saving all projects and events to external hard drive

    I finished an iMovie project last night and published it to YouTube.
    Then, in order to free up space on my Hard Drive, I moved some of the events to a USB external drive because I figured I was finished with them as far as making my movie was concerned.
    My movie got "muted" by YouTube (copyright issue), so I need to go back and edit the project to remove a soundtrack, but the project has lots of yellow warning markers on various clips.
    I went to Genius Bar, and he explained that all iMovie events and all iMovie projects must reside in the same place. Makes sense ..... so I bought a new Seagate 7200 rpm Firewire External Drive (which will be faster than my USB drive) and plan to move all events and projects to the Seagate hard drive.
    But - if everything is on an external drive, how do I play a movie on my Mac when I want to show somebody? Do I copy the project back to iMovie? But will it play normally if all the accompanying events are stored elsewhere?
    The firewire 7200 rpm drives do not come in a portable drive, so I bought a desktop size drive - not very portable ..... so I can't be schlepping that drive every time I want to show a movie! I don't want to open the package if this is not the best solution.
    I'm starting to take a lot of video - so it's eating up my hard drive .....
    Thanks in advance for your help .... !
    T

    you want to hold the command key and drag the project file to hard drive. The hard drive can be even one of the portable my passport. I have several. It just needs to be formatted Macos extended. Once you drag the project it will ask if you want to take the events with you....say yes. Viola ... all movies projects and events stay together. However, if you just want to show the movie after its edited, share to itunes and create a version that can play in itunes.

  • My PC computer was wiped (virus) including itunes. How do I transfer the many playlists and music to the new re-installed itunes?? Ipod is synced to old itunes. I have all original music files on external hard drive. Please help?

    My PC computer was wiped (virus) including itunes. How do I transfer the many playlists and music on my ipod to the new re-installed itunes?? Ipod is synced to old itunes. I have all original music files on external hard drive. Please help?
    New itunes is trying to wipe the ipod. But have many many playlists (many hours making) which I want to save. Any help would be appreciated.

    If you want to just extract the playlists from your iPod, plug it in iTunes.  When it appears under devices, right->click on it and choose Export Playlists.  Save them to a location such as your desktop and them import them into your library once you have copied and imported all of your music back into it.
    See this older post from another forum member Zevoneer covering the different methods and software available to assist you with the task of copying content from your iPod back to your PC and into iTunes.
    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2452022?start=0&tstart=0
    B-rock

  • Urgent help needed - new to Macs, accidently cut and paste over top of photo folder and now no sign of folder or file, no auto back-up in place, how can I restore photos pls

    Urgent help needed - new to Macs, accidently cut and paste over top of photo folder and now no sign of folder or file, no auto back-up in place, how can I restore photos pls

    Thanks for prompt reply, yes we have tried that but have now closed down the browser we where the photos were.
    We haven't sent up time machine, do you know whether there is any roll-back function on a Mac?
    Thanks

  • I have all my music on an external hard drive. I just transferred all my files to a new hard drive . How do I sync all my files with my itunes library without losing all my playlists etc and keep everything intact?

    I have all my music on an external hard drive. I just transferred all my files to a new hard drive . How do I sync all my files with my itunes library without losing all my playlists etc and keep everything intact?

    Launch iTunes with the Option key held down, click on Choose Library, and specify it. If the external drive doesn't contain the iTunes database files, create a new library there and import that music.
    If the library contains any rented movies, they won't play on a different computer.
    (109334)

  • I just got a new mac and use my external hard drive to save all my images to but whenever I go to save my photo to my hard drive it says I do not have write access....Whats wrong how do i fix this or do i need a new hard drive??

    I just got a new mac and use my external hard drive to save all my images to but whenever I go to save my photo to my hard drive it says I do not have write access....Whats wrong how do i fix this or do i need a new hard drive??@

    This is a Mac question not a Photoshop question, and I am a Windows users, but I can Google and this might be what you need to do:
    http://www.makeuseof.com/answers/change-read-permision-external-hard-drive-mac/

  • I have a macbook pro with only 128gb of hard drive. I have lightroom installed and all my photos on an external hard drive. Can I store my lightroom library on the external hard drive too?

    I have a macbook pro with only 128gb of hard drive. I have lightroom installed and all my photos on an external hard drive. Can I store my lightroom library on the external hard drive too?

    Yes. Find the LR catalog file by looking in Edit/Catalog Settings/General. Close LR and navigate to that spot. The catalog file is the one that ends in .lrcat - move it to wherever you want. Next to the .lrcat file is a subfolder called Previews.lrdata. You can move that over as well, but if you don't LR will generate new previews. Double-click on the .lrcat file in its new home and LR will open with that catalog. Set Preferences to When Starting Up Use Most Recent Catalog.

  • How do I download all my photos onto an external hard drive intact without loosing iPhoto's features, important info and details? I need to delete pictures and files to make room in My mac's memory which is currently full.

    Hi
    How do I download all my photos onto an external hard drive intact without loosing iPhoto's features, important info and details? I need to delete pictures and files to make room in My mac's memory which is currently full.
    Maro

    So you want to move the iPhoto Library?
    Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    Regards
    TD

  • Hello, i am new to the mac and i need to learn how to re image using an external hard drive

    Hello, i am new, like baby fresh new,...lol, to the mac and i need to learn how to re-image using an external hard drive.

    How to replace or upgrade a drive in a laptop
    Step One: Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your OS X Installer disc. 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, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    Step Two: Remove the old drive and install the new drive.  Place the old drive in an external USB enclosure.  You can buy one at OWC who is also a good vendor for drives.
    Step Three: Boot from the external drive.  Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager appears.  Select the icon for the external drive then click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Step Four: New Hard Drive Preparation
    1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
    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.  Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
    3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID  then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
    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 can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
    Step Five: Clone the old drive to the new drive
    1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
    2. Select the destination volume from the left side list.
    3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    4. Check the box labeled Erase destination.
    5. Select the destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    6. Select the 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.
    Destination means the new internal drive. Source means the old external drive.
    Step Six: Open the Startup Disk preferences and select the new internal volume.  Click on the Restart button.  You should boot from the new drive.  Eject the external drive and disconnect it from the computer.

  • I have an imac 2009 the disk drive is damaged and I have lost the passwords I need to reset passwords I tried booting with a macosx disk from an external hard drive but did not read the drive how else can I reset password ?

    I have an imac 2009 the disk drive is damaged and I have lost the passwords I need to reset passwords I tried booting with a macosx disk from an external hard drive but did not read the drive how else can I reset password ?
    I have a 2012 mac book pro can I use that to connect with firewire and load osx that way? and how woudl I do that?
    Thanks so much!

    To what password are you referring? Do you mean your user account's admin password? Or do you mean the master password for File Vault or do you mean a Firmware Password?
    For an admin password:
    Forgot Your Account Password
    For Snow Leopard and earlier
         Mac OS X 10.6- If you forget your administrator password
    For Lion/Mountain Lion
        Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
         When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu.
         Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow
         instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
         Or see Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password and
         OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password.
    If you cannot do the above then try this:
      1. Boot to Safe Mode by restarting and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-S keys until a black screen with white type appears.
      2. At the prompt, type the following commands pressing return after each command line:
         /sbin/fsck -yf
         If you do not receive a "Filesystem OK" message then repeat this command until
         you do.  If after seven tries you still do not receive a "Filesystem OK" message,
         then the system is corrupted and needs to be reinstalled.
         mount -uw /
         cd /private/var/db/netinfo
         mv local.nidb local.old
         rm ../.AppleSetupDone
         shutdown -r now
    The second-to-last command above will cause OS X to think that the operating system is newly installed, and when the new owner starts up the computer it will send him/her to the startup wizard where he/she can start a new user without reinstalling.
    This last method does not actually change a password. It simply removes the user accounts and lets you create an initial admin account as if the computer were new out of the box.
    How to reset the OS X password without a startup CD:
    Reboot into Single-user Mode. Enter the following and press RETURN after each command line
       1. Type fsck -fy
       2. Type mount -uw /
       3. Type passwd <username>
    I have never tried this method myself.

  • How do you transfer iTunes music and movies from an old PC to a new PC.  I have all data svaed on an external hard drive.

    How do you transfer iTunes music and movies from an old PC to a new PC.  I have all data svaed on an external hard drive.

    This article should outline the options
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

Maybe you are looking for

  • SVG with PNG fallback, Responsive, EDGE Reflow & Animate integration

    I mentioned this on the Muse Facebook, and they said I should post it here... I think Muse is an awesome program. But I really, really would love to see these features. Any of them good enough to make it to the sketching table? 1. SVG with PNG fallba

  • Final Cut Pro-Two Pictures Question

    Is there a way to have two pictures in the same shot (not a transition from one to another).  For example, have two pictures in opposite corners in which you zoom in from one to the other? Thanks.

  • IPhone 3GS crashed while updating to 6.1.6

    I was trying to upgrade my 3GS iphone to ios 6.1.6 after downloading the update " error occurred & could not backup, do you still want to update ? " message came I opted to update, which ended up in the CD iTunes & a USB cable symbol. Please suggest

  • FS_ALLC vs GL_ALLOC

    hey all, I have seen a difference between 8.4 and 9.0 version financials. in 8.4 it has GL_ALLOC as the process for allocation request where as in 9 version it has FS_ALLC as the process. Can any one please tell me what is the difference between them

  • Migrating my static FCID from one MDS to another

    Is there an easy way to save my current static FCID values and load them to a new mds (assume the same VSAN and domain ids are used in the new switch).