How best to maintain itunes library on home NAS storage

I would like to set up an external drive for 1) backups, 2) hosting my iTunes library and 3) storing my Lightroom files. Ideally the device would provide RAID reduncancy. I would like to sync my iTunes enabled Apple devices to sync to this iTunes library wirelessly throughout the house. NAS would be nice to allow my iMac to be turned off and still have access to the storage device. Thunderbolt attachment would be acceptable if a disconnected NAS device would not work for these purposes. I'd like to edit photos on my internal flash drive and save them on the external library...
Has anyone solved this configuration issue? What connections did you use and what HD device is working well for you?
Thanks! Dana

Chris,
Thanks for following up with this. Since these files are being *newly added* to the iTunes library from my collection, which was on DVD-R and is going to be on hard drive in one big folder, I thought that the 'watched' folder would be the best way to get them into iTunes. Is there a better, more efficient way?
As for *moving* the library, here is what I am proposing to do:
Make sure the following are     checked in iTunes Preferences>Advanced:Keep iTunes Media      Folder Organized
Copy files to      itunes folder when adding to library
Create Folders on new 2 TB Drive
iTunes
iTunes Library inside of the itunes folder just created.
Change location of Library in     iTunes to TB Drive
Edit>Preferences>Advanced
2 TB Drive/iTunes/iTunes Library
Move library to new location
'Manage' Library      to create copies in new location of existing files
File>Library>Organize      Library>Consolidate Files
Delete old library (media     files)Music/iTunes      Media (or iTunes Music)
Make iTunes Library Portable
Quit iTunes
Copy iTunes database files into      iTunes Folder on TB Drive
            Library Files
            Album Art Folder
            etc.
Choose NEW Library
Hold down shift      while opening iTunes and choose new Library Location
Choose New Library
Select TB/iTunes/iTunes      Library
Delete iTunes management files     [iTunes Folder] on C: Drive
Add new tracks to iTunes     LibraryClick and drag      files into 'Automatically Add Files to Itunes Library' Folder or Shortcut
I know that this is a lot to read, and I hope you can follow my logic. I really hope it is correct, because in my head, I have it all mapped out!

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How do you connect ipad 2 to itunes library using home sharing

How do you connect the ipad 2 to the itunes library using home sharing so you can listen on your ipad 2? I've seen directions for the ipad which tell you how to setup home sharing then open ipod and touch library in the left column, but when I hit library, nothing happens. I'm assuming the ipad 2 has something different about it. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
PS, the OS is 4.3.3 (just got it but it's not on the os list)

See iTunes 9- Understanding Home Sharing and iTunes- Troubleshooting Home Sharing. Also, open iTunes, select iTunes Help from the Help menu and search for "home shar."

How to make my iTunes Library use the music which is already on my NAS?

Hi there,
I know there have already been some posts around the forum about having the iTunes library on external harddrives or NAS's.
Though my question is different to that question and the solution for those can't seem to cater for my issue.
In the other posts, most of them have the music on their MAC's or MacBooks already, and it was more of a migration of their iTunes Library.
My situation on the other hand is this:
I have recently bought a MacBook Air and sold my PC Desktop. Before I sold it, I backed up everything to my NAS, so my music is now sitting on the NAS.
I am now trying to have my iTunes library on my NAS instead of my MacBook Air. Since my MacBook Air is only 128GB, I cannot store all my music on my MacBook Air then migrate it to the NAS (Via some of the solutions I've found online). So those solutions would not work for me.
That is why I am here, asking this question:
If my music is already on the NAS, I have a clean iTunes (No music in it), and I don't mind if I my music folders get re-arranged from the doings of iTunes. How do I make my iTunes Library accommodate the songs I have on the NAS?
The reason I want to do this is because currently I have an iPhone, iPad, MacBook Air and Apple TV. My home sharing is on, so as you can imagine, if I wish to stream songs, it would be handy to have them in iTunes.
This is my first question, once this is solved, hopefully it will simultanously solve a second question I have in mind (Regarding having all my TV shows and Movies to be in the iTunes Library as well, the contents are currently on my NAS too).
Your help would be greatly appreciated, as I am new to OS X (Always been a Windows person, as I was a big gamer).
So far, I have to say, my experience on OS X and the Apple ecosystem is fantastic!

Typing in all caps indicates shouting is considered rude and is difficult to read. Many simply do not read such posts.
The music sync is one way - computer to ipod. The exception is itunes purchases. File>Transfer Purchases
You need to copy everything from one computer to the other.

I want to relocate my iTunes library on a NAS drive and stream to apple tv2 and DLNA tbs around the house is this possible and if so which is the best NAS drive to buy???

I want to relocate my iTunes library on a NAS drive and stream to apple tv2 and DLNA tbs around the house is this possible and if so which is the best NAS drive to buy???

ged2001 wrote:
I want to relocate my iTunes library on a NAS drive and stream to apple tv2 and DLNA TV's around the house is this possible and if so which is the best NAS drive to buy???
i don't have any experience with DLNA TV's but i recently moved my iTunes library to a NAS. streaming content to airport express remote speakers and TV2 works great. however, i have all my gear hardwired to my time capsule (except the airport express) so i'm not sure how well streaming e.g. HD movies to TV over wifi works.
i have a Synology DiskStation 411j and am very happy with it.

HOW TO MOVE YOUR ITUNES LIBRARY TO AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

Read these directions before actually doing anything, just so you can do this right. I've messed things up before, it can get ugly...
That being said, here's what you've gotta do if you're running on a Mac:
Have all your music on the external hard drive. It should be organized in folders the way iTunes set it up
The folders should be organized something like this:iTunes Media (Top folder, everything is inside of this folder)
Audiobooks
Automatically Add To iTunes
Books
Downloads
iPod Games
iTunes U
Mobile Applications
Music
Podcasts
Ringtones
TV Shows
Voice Memos
Those folders are what I have in my 'iTunes Media' folder on my external hard drive. You don't necessarily need to have all of these folders. (I happen to just have a lot of things in my iTunes.)
Finding your iTunes Library Files
The way iTunes works is there are two parts to make what you see in iTunes work right. There's your media (songs, video, iPod games and Apps, etc) and there are your library files. They tell iTunes what your playlists are, where your 'iTunes Media' folder is located, and a lot of other important things. Here is how to find the iTunes Library files (there will probably be more than one!)
Look in (yourusername)/Music/iTunes
There will be a few things in here:
Album Artwork (It's a folder)
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
Itunes Library.itl
iTunes Media (a folder)
iTunes Music Library Backup.xml (this file might or might not be here. If there is no file with this name, it's okay.)
iTunes Music Library.xml
Some "temp" files (maybe, maybe not -- they are not important for this)
Anything in the list that is BOLDED needs to be placed in (yourusername)/Music/iTunesIf you copied these files to your external hard drive, you will need to copy them back onto your internal hard drive. These library files do not need to be in the same place as your iTunes Media folder.
Telling iTunes Where Your Music Is
Now that your iTunes Media folder is on your external drive, and your Library Files are in place in "(yourusername)/Music/iTunes", we need to open iTunes.
On the top bar of the screen, go to iTunes>Preferences.
In preferences, go to the farthest right tab, titled "Advanced" with a picture of a gear.
The top section says "iTunes Media Folder location" and underneath that you see a filepath ending in the 'iTunes Media" folder.
This path is probably wrong, not leading you through the external hard drive.
If it is incorrect:
Click "change" on the right and then locate the folder in the prompt that shows up. Once the "iTunes Media" folder on your external hard drive is highlighted blue, click "Open" in the bottom right corner of the window.
Give iTunes a moment or two (depending on the size of your library) to re-locate all of your songs. Voila!
If it is correct:Do nothing!
While you're in the advanced section, let's check to make sure you have a few important 'housekeeping' things checked off:
"Keep iTunes Media folder organized" (CHECK THIS BOX!)
"Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" (CHECK THIS BOX!)
At this point, iTunes should be all ready to go. Before I get into any troubleshooting, note a few things:
If you ever unplug/disconnect the external hard drive from the computer, you must first make sure that iTunes is NOT running.
Also, if the hard drive is unplugged and you open up iTunes, all of your songs will have little symbols next to them. Until you plug/reconnect the hard drive, the songs will stay like this and will be missing.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
Not having permission to access the external hard drive:
In Finder (or on your desktop), right-click the external hard drive (if you don't have right-click, control-click will also work).
Click on "Get Info"
A thin, tall window will appear on the screen.
Part One:In the "General" section, make sure that "Locked" is unchecked. If it IS checked, uncheck it.
Part Two:
We are now focusing on the very bottom of the window, where it says "Sharing & Permissions"/
In the bottom right corner of the window there is a small padlock icon. Click it. When asked for an administrator password, type it in, and click "Ok".
You will now notice that the bottom section of the 'get info' window is not greyed out anymore. Make sure your user name (it says in parentheses "(Me)" so there is no going wrong here) has "Read & Write" privileges.If not, click on whichever privilege you currently have, and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on "Read & Write".
If you have any other issues, I will add them to the troubleshooting list to help you out. Hope this was helpful!

My iTunes library is set up the way I said in the top post and works totally fine.
Yes, and that is the default structure to which I was referring. iTunes will organize it that way automatically unless people do start changing settings (in which case they should know what they are doing and how iTunes works with library files and media structure.)
Both ways work, the advantages of mine would be that should iTunes try looking fo a library, it will always be in the default location.
It makes people think they have to change media location in preferences. They do not unless they want to relocate media only and leave other things on their internal drive (in which case there is no point in copying library files to the external, and you certainly wouldn't want to then delete them from your internal).
Downside is that then should someone move their iTunes library to anther computer they need to remember to get those library files on the external hard drive.
Just copy the whole iTunes folder and it will get the library files to the other drive in one step, along with all the other files.
Your post has good stuff but it makes a move appear intimidating and look like people have to do a lot of organizing to move the collection. It also throws in extra steps (namely altering preference settings) that could cause confusion or even make a mess of things. If people leave iTunes to default preference settings (which most people do) the move summarizes into a short line: Copy a folder and hold an extra button the next time you start iTunes.
Note that the instructions in the link I provided earlier do also include many steps, but those are to ensure that everybody does have it all organized correctly before simply copying the iTunes folder. In the end it is just a simple action.

How can I store my iTunes library on an NAS (Fritz Box)?

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1. Drag the library to the external drive, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, click on Choose Library, and point it there.
2. Get a second. Having the backups on the same drive as the original data won't help when that drive fails.
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449

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See this migrate iTunes library post.
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My sister is having my old imac, so I also need to then clear the itunes on the imac for her.
just a create a new admin user account for her on the iMac.

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I backedup my iTunes content by dragging to External Hard Drive. Formatted and reinstalled OS. My iTunes content is so large, that I wish for the Library and content to remain on the External Hard Drive. I have all the music files and playlists, I just cannot get the iTunes application to display all the content. Hoping to Not have to drag and drop all the content to be recopied into new iTunes organised files.
Troubleshooting this by researching other conversations on the web, I have come stuck for a solution. One Troubleshoot told me to hold down the Command key and then lauch iTunes and a dialogue box will appear to Choose a new library, however when I try this, no Dialogue box appear to give me the option!?

It sometimes has that funny switch symbol on it too.
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That .itl file actually is the library -- at least the critical part of it although the library is actually many files and folders.
Try starting iTunes and immediately hold down the option key. When it asks, guide it to the .itl file.
It's really hard to say without being able to poke around your computer. Upgrading should not delete the old library, but still it happens to the very, very few which is why we make backups before updating. If the old library file is gone then so are your playlists. You can always see if the following is of any use:
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brigdool wrote:
How do I restore iTunes library from flash drive backup?
HI Brigdool,
It depends how you made the backup.
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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.

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You don't have to move the songs back into iTunes if you don't want to, the songs are still in iTunes on your computer - you just copied a version of the songs onto the iPad from iTunes.
If you want to remove them from the device itself, just swipe across the song while you are in song list mode in the music app and a red delete button will pop up. You can also tap and hold down on a playlist or a album icon and the X to delete will pop up. It will not work for Genius playlists.
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iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
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How best to maintain itunes library on home NAS storage

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