How do I access my iTunes media from an external hard drive?

I have a new MacBook Air and want to access my media files from an external drive. I previously had a MacBook Pro and had to move all media to an external drive because I ran out of space. I've tried launching iTunes, going to Preferences, going to the Advanced Tab and then moving the location to the external drive and got this question: Would you like iTunes to move and rename the files in your new iTunes Media folder to match the “Keep iTunes Media folder organized” preference? Should I say yes? If I say yes, will iTunes be able to automatically find my files on the external drive?

hey, basically i had the same problem as you. i had all of my itunes on an external hard drive and just bought a macbook pro, so here is what i was told to do....plug in the external hard drive to your MBA and then when you open itunes hold down the option button while you click and hold it down till you see a pop up window, it will ask you what library you want to use, click choose library and choose the itunes file that is on your external hard drive. and then all of your stuff will be in the itunes.
what i have seemed to run into though is, when the external hard drive isn't plugged in itunes won't open unless you choose another library or plug in the external hard drive. - my question is this, should i open another library on my macbook pro's internal hard drive so i can at least look at itunes when i don't have my external hard drive connected. my old macbook did this, it would point to another library on my macbook and i would still be able to see all of my media but couldn't play it without the external hooked up, is there a way to do this on lion?
i hope i was able to answer your question sam and hopefully can have my question answered too.
thanks!
- sorry sam, don't mean to hijack your thread but hopefully it will help us both - i don't want to store any media )movies, music, podcasts, apps, any of that stuff on my macbook pro's hard drive, so say there is a way to get itunes to open without my external hooked up and i can still see my media, or not see my media and i want to download a song or a app that i see when i am not near my external....what is the easiest way to get that file onto the external and not have it taking up space on my macbook pro's hard drive? sorry for all the long questions
Message was edited by: thenumbersarebad - thought of one more thing - sorry

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How do i access my itunes library from an external hard drive?

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Where does it belong in the computer?
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The library itself is the /Home/Music/iTunes/ folder in its entirety. Did you also change where preference files were stored? Normally, they would be in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder.

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peacexx

I have much the same problem. I have my iTunes files on an 80GB external drive along with my iPhoto files. Currently, my MacBook Air sees and operates from the iTunes setup on the 80GB drive. To provide more space to handle these files I got a 500GB portable external drive. Now I want to bring the iTunes files back into my MBA and, when complete,put them out on the 500GB drive from which I'll operate my iTunes. This might be simpler if the MBA had two USB2 ports instead of one. I've tried the method noted in "Transferring Your iTunes Library" (http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/), but couldn't seem to get the 80GB files back to the MBA such that iTunes would see them there. (I copied the files over, but the link's broken.) Ideas?
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I am confused as to what you had or have where and when. The bottom line is, your library (for the standard user) is everything in the iTunes folder. As far as iTunes' organization and display is concerned, your library is a file called "iTunes Library.itl" which points to all the other host of files and folders normally in the iTunes folder which all work together.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.
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How can i transfer/copy my itunes library from 1 external hard drive to another one?

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449

How can I add media from an external hard drive into Premiere Elements? Please answer.

Alright, so I have looked all over the website and the way adobe's frequently asked questions about adding media did nothing for me. I am editing a large full length video in premiere elements 13 and so I would like to add media from my external hard drive and edit from that location. Is that possible? Because I do not have enough space on my laptop to keep hundreds and hundreds of GB of videos on my internal hard drive. I have looked on how to add media from the hard drive location and adobe says to add it using the files and folders tab, but when I select it to add it, it says I need to use the Video Importer. So I go to use the video importer and have no way of figuring out how to select my hard drive. Any ideas?

Spencer WhiteOut
Thank you for the follow up with the information
it is a MacBook pro retina . OS X Operating system. External hard drive is connected by the USB cable. fat32.
It is my understanding, whether you have Premiere Elements on Windows or Mac, if you have files on an external hard drive, you do not select
Add Media and head for a choice that includes Video Importer. Instead, you select Add Media/Files and Folders and navigate to the external hard drive to select your file(s) for import into the project.
But, you seem to be saying that when you do you are met with a message to use the Video Importer. Does the message give you any other related information on why you are being detoured to Video Importer since Video Importer does not import from an external hard drive for me or you. It does for me using Add Media to get the files from my external hard drive into a project. I am strictly an Elements Windows user, so my Mac information is from what I have read. Based on that...
1. Please evaluate the format of your external hard drive. Please review the following if you have not considered this point before.
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-set-up-an-external-hard-drive-for-use-with-os-x/
There are many online articles on this matter which would point you away from Fat32 as the format for a external hard drive Mac.
2. From what you wrote, you are not dealing with a DVD drive so I see no way to implicate one of them in this issue. You are dealing with an
USB external hard drive and not a USB external DVD/CD drive. Correct?
Please review and consider.
We will be watch for further news from you.
Thank you.
ATR

How do I access my iTunes media from an external hard drive?

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