HELP WITH FINDING MY MUSIC ON MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

OK here goes need some help,i have my music on my external hard drive that i dragged on to my itunes everythings fine no problems there.But i went to tidy up my music in my external hard drive but can't find the mp3's all i see is the album folder.I know that the music is there because it say's on my hard drive and all the music in Itunes plays no problem can someone help me figure this one out.

It points to my external hard drive, it's just when i go to the external hard drive and go to the music folder theres just the artist and album name no mp3's

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Why can't iTunes find the music from an external hard drive?

I moved my music to an external hard drive to free up space on my old laptop. Since I moved to a new laptop, iTunes never seems to find the music. I have to go through and manually select a song for it to find it one and then it says should it use this to find the rest of the songs. Then it crashes. I have reinstalled iTunes tonight with no real improvement. I want to be able to create a playlist to upload to my new iPad as well as updating music on my iPod but I can't do any of it. Please, any advice!

angelafromlanchester wrote:
I moved my music to an external hard drive to free up space on my old laptop. Since I moved to a new laptop, iTunes never seems to find the music.
Has the new laptop given the external drive a different drive letter?
The "missing file" error 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, one of its parent folders, or 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 click No when asked to try to locate the track. (Due to a bug in iTunes 12 you currently have to say No twice!) 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, a folder renamed, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. If the difference between the two paths is an additional Music folder in one path then this is a layout issue. I can explain further if that is the case.
In some cases iTunes may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps with Get Info but this time click Locate and browse to the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links.
If another application like Windows Media Player has moved/renamed the files then the chances are that subtle differences in naming strategies will make it hard to restore the media to the precise path that iTunes is expecting. In such cases, as long as the missing files can be found somewhere, you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes. See this post for an explanation of how it works.
tt2

My itunes can't find the music on my external hard drive.

My itunes was working fine using my external hard drive. Then I played a song that was not part of that music folder. Now itunes says it can't find any of the songs that are listed. The little evil exclamation point pops up. How can I reconnect to the hard drive without having to start all over?

Thanks for the clarification of check vs click. I guess once I saw the word "double" I stopped reading. I ended up "reloading" the drive to itunes. The interesting thing is that itunes isn't setting the location for the external drive. It is set for a folder under "my music" The actual songs aren't there, but the folders are there. When i put my external drive music to a new itunes library, i did so without copying the songs. So about 100 gig of music is in a folder that is really only about 300mb. I noticed before i restarted that the location was this folder. When i opened it, it was empty. After redoing everthing all of the songs are on the folder. I probably should have just changed it to go to the external drive like you suggested. Just for fun i changed the location to the external and bypassed that small folder. It worked great. It only took about 2 minutes to update, and it works great. I thought i had to use that stupid little folder. Thanks for all of your help!!

Help with making a network from my external hard drive!

I need some help making my external hard drive available to read and write in my department.
We're all using Macs (at least 10.5.8) and I cannot seem to find any literature to share or network my external hard drive with other Macs.
Please help me!
thanks

DNRPhoto wrote:
I need some help making my external hard drive available to read and write in my department.
Try this:
1) Open the Sharing panel of System Preferences.
2) If the lock at the bottom is "closed", click on it and enter your administrative password.
3) Check the box for "File Sharing.
4) Click on the plus sign below "Shared Folders".
5) Select your external drive and click the "Add" button.
6) Under "Users" set the permissions to what you want.
These instructions are based on OS X 10.6, but 10.5 should be similar.

Itunes won't find 'itunes music library' on external hard drive by default

I have my Itunes library saved on a wireless external hard drive. When I open itunes for the first time after a re-start it won't automatically detect the itunes music library file and I have to point it to the correct folder on the external hard drive. Once I do this everything works perfectly until I re-start my mac and then I have the same problem.
One of my friends has told me that macs won't automatically connect to wireless devices like windows does but he thinks there is some software that enables it to do so. I presume this would sort the issue out or alternatively any other suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks for any help

Your external HD needs to be mounted before launching iTunes or iTunes will create a new blank library on your startup drive.
You can add your external HD to the list of startup items in  > System Preferences > Accounts to avoid this problem.

Importing music FROM an external hard drive

My dance studio has an external hard drive with over 15,000 songs in MP3 format, and I would like to be able to put some of those songs on an iPod. My problem: I do not want double copies of my 15,000 songs (one copy in the external hard drive and one copy in iTunes) as that would take up A LOT of computer space. Space I don't have. I have recently installed iTunes on the studio computer (preferring the program for my personal music), is there a way to import the songs from my external hard drive into my iTunes library with out making two copies of each song (in different formats as explained earlier)? Can you "tell" iTunes to find its music in an external hard drive?

Check your iTunes Preferences. Go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced and see if you have "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" checked. If you haven't then all you did was add a reference to the original location (the external drive) to iTunes without copying the song files them selves. With the external drive disconnected iTunes can no longer locate the file to play from. If that's the case you'd need to delete the songs from iTunes, change preference and add the songs over again.

How to route iTunes to music folders on external hard drive?

Here's my story: Three years ago, I successfully rerouted iTunes so that the program would find my music library on external hard drive. Two days ago, my Apple MacBook computer was updated to the Lion operating system. iTunes was also updated.
Now I have to go back into iTunes and give the program new instruction to go find the music files on external hard drive.
Details:
My folder on external hard drive, called "iTunes Music," contains various music files and also, I notice, a folder called "iTunes."
Within that "iTunes" folder, the following folders or files are located:
FOLDER: Album Artwork
FOLDER: Automatically Add to iTunes
FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library.itl
FILE: iTunes Linrary.xml
FOLDER: iTunes Media
None of this makes any sense to me!
Meanwhile, on the computer's hard drive, following this routing, in the folder called "iTunes," the following folders and files are located:
Users -- Hard Drive -- Music -- iTunes
FOLDER: Album Artwork
FOLDER: Album Artwork 6.29.26 PM
FOLDER: Automatically Add to iTunes
FILE: iTunes Library 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library Extras.itdb 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb
FILE: iTunes Library Genius.itdb 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Library.itl
FOLDER: iTunes Media
FOLDER: iTunes Media 6.29.26 PM
FILE: iTunes Music Library 6.29.26 PM.xml
FILE: iTunes Music Library.xml
I do not understand any of this. I do not understand WHICH FILE OR FOLDER I should instruct iTunes to go to in order to find the desired music files.
Once the desired files are found, they should appear in the iTunes window on screen. This is not happening.
I have tried holding down the Option key while starting iTunes, which yields a window that asks for me to CHOOSE LIBRARY. I choose the iTunes library file ( iTunes Library.itl) that is located on external hard drive. However, NOTHING HAPPENS. iTunes does not do anything. When the program opens, nothing is visible in the iTunes window, where normally songs are listed. No playlists on the lefthand side. NOTHING.
Thanks for your attention and for any insight you might be able to share.

Just so people know, there's already been several posts on this in this forum: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18642460

Trouble getting iTunes to sync with music on my external hard drive

PLEASE HELP ME! I recently moved all of my music to my external hard drive to free up space on my computer. I have all the original files on my hard drive now, but (perhaps stupidly) deleted all the files from my actual computer. Now, I'm afraid I can't get all my ratings, last time played, number of plays, playlists, etc. back.
This is basically what I did:
1. Moved music from computer to External
2. In my iTunes preferences menu, I changed my "iTunes Music Folder Location" to the same original folder on my external hard drive.
My problem is that after I did that, iTunes didn't automatically add all my files back into the program. Now, it seems like I've got to add everything back one by one and everything without my customized info (#plays, recently played/added, rating, playlists, etc).
Will someone please just talk to me about this since AppleCare represetatives refuse to deal with problems that have absolutely anything to do with products that aren't made by them....even though I bought the thing at an Apple Store. I'm not sure if I'm giving the right info...I just need someone to ask me the right questions! PLEASE!

Here's Apple's method of moving your Music Folder:
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
It refers to iTunes 4 but works for iTunes 6. Notice step 14. Leave the iTunes Library & iTunes Music Library files in the ~/Music/iTunes folder on your internal HD. This is where iTunes, also other iLife apps, expect to find them.
What are the iTunes library files?

I perviously transfered all my iTunes music to an external hard drive. But now when I connect the external hard drive and try to play a song, I get an error message saying that I need to "locate" my music. I don't how to find it on my external hard drive.

I perviously transfered all my iTunes music to an external hard drive. But now when I connect the external hard drive and try to play a song, I get an error message saying that I need to "locate" my music. I don't how to find it on my external hard drive. Please help for I am not that computer savy and don't want to mess anything up.
Thanks!

I called Apple Support and they walked me through it. They told me to basically copy and paste my music to the external hard drive. (I think.) Or maybe it was they had me transfer a folder to the EHD. I don't exactally remember it was a few years back. But I tried to plug in the EHD before starting and...nothing. Still says same thing, "locate file."

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

Need help using music library on external hard drive

Here is my scenario. I am hoping some one can help me as I have been having a heck of time trying to figure this out. I am what you would call newbie to Mac(I just purchased macBook) so bear with me).
I have a iTunes library on an external hard drive that was created using Windows PC machine. I now would like to use the same library on my Mac. How can I get the Mac to connect to the iTunes Music on the external hard drive?
This is what I have done so far. I have been able to network the Mac with my current network so it does see the external hard drive.
BTW, I would like to achieve this without having iTunes open on Windows machine. I know about the sharing option in iTunes but I have discovered that it only works if I have iTunes open on the Windows machine. This may not always be the case so this is why i am hoping their is an alternative to get the mac to connect to the library on the external hard drive.
I look forward to help on this one.
...Bruce

Maybe I did not explain myself clearly. All I want to do is be able to listen to the music in my itunes library on external hard drive on my new MacBook. I am thinking all I will have to do is create the itunes database file on my Mac using the music in my library(on external HD).

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 recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library. When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found". need help

I recently reset my computer and copy my music from an external hard drive to my itunes library. When I click on a song to play i get an error message that says " the song could not be used because the original file could not be found". But when I have my external hard drive plug in the song will play with no problem. What do I need to do to play my music without having the external harddrive plug in ???????? Please help

Because the location for each song in your library is on your hard drive. If the hard drive isn't there, how can iTunes play it?
You'll have to move/copy the music from your hard drive to your computer's hard drive.
Basically, EASIEST way to do all this, if you don't care about your play counts, etc...
-Delete EVERYTHING from iTunes, so that your library is now empty.
-Go to "Advanced" inside of the "Preferences" window, found in the "Edit" drop-down. You can also access Preferences by pressing Ctrl+, (Press Ctrl and the comma key)
-Change your iTunes Media Folder Location to something simple, but on your computer. I use C:/iTunes. Make sure "Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized" and "Copy files to...." are both checked. You can close Preferences now.
-Now, drag and drop your music from your hard drive into your iTunes library. iTunes will automatically add the music to your library, as you would expect, and also creates a copy of each file to place into that iTunes Media Folder you just created.
Shouldn't have any more problems...

How can I play the music on my external hard drive with my laptop?

Look before everyone points out that this has been asked lots of times before, I wanted to state that in this particular case it might be a little bit more complicated. You see I think I've been an idiot.
I backed up all my physical music onto my external hard drive, but only the physical music. So now I have my nice new laptop and haven't got a clue how to play the music off my external hard drive, since I don't have an itunes library on my external hard drive.
Anyway any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks

Am I being a plonker, but it doesn't seem as simple as that. If I try and import via itunes it seems to want me to select the individual music file not the folder which holds all the music.
Also if I simply import it, won't my mac copy the files from my external hard drive back on to my laptop? Which makes me think I change the location where all the music is stored in itunes...?
Thanks for the help!

HT1391 I had all of my music on an external hard drive that failed. I have iTunes Match so all of my music was synced with the "cloud". How do I now download and save all of my music back down on a new external hard drive?

I had all of my music on an external hard drive that crashed. I have iTunes Match so all of my music was synced in the cloud. How do I now re-load my music back down onto a new external hard drive?

Hey Rbe58!
I believe this question can be answered by the information in the following article:
iTunes 11 for Windows: Access all your music anytime, anywhere with iTunes Match
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph12492
Play or download songs from iCloud
You can play songs directly from iCloud, or you can download songs so you can play them when you’re not connected to the Internet.
If a song is available in iCloud, it has a Download button next to it.
To play the song, double-click it.
To download the song, click the Download button.
After you download a song to a computer, it remains in the computer’s iTunes library, even if you turn off iTunes Match.
To only display downloaded songs in your iTunes library, choose View > Hide Music in the Cloud. This also hides any previous iTunes Store purchases you haven’t downloaded.
For information about downloading and playing songs on an iOS device, see the documentation for the device.
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!
Cheers,
Braden

HELP WITH FINDING MY MUSIC ON MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

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