How do I copy iTunes Library to a second drive?

How do I copy iTunes Library to a second drive?
Thank you for your time and patience.
W.W.

Thank you so much Niel. I can tell that you are the iTunes specialist!
So if I drag that iTunes-library into the second drive's iTunes folder, isn't it going to ask me to replace it?
And if I say yes I won't be able to import what is in this library? How do I get around that? My last and final
question: I see a lot of prior libraries in the folder (probably from earlier iTunes versions) Can they be opened
again? Thank you so much for your time and patience.
Walter

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How do I transfer itunes library to new hard drive running lion os

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Hard drive #1 has Leopard OS and my iTunes library on it
Hard drive #2 has Lion 10.7.4 OS and this is where I want to move my iTunes library to from hard drive #1.
How can I due this insuring that all playlists, etc. transfer seamlessly. I will then only be using the new Lion OS
to run iTunes (and this will also communicate with Apple TV, etc.)
Thanks!

Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder from old hard drive to /Music/ on new hard drive.
Start iTunes.
That is all.
You can also leave it where it it, hold Option, launch iTunes.
Slect Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the Leopard drive.
This will be your iTunes for both OS, whichever you boot into.

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This is the method I would normally recommend:
Backup with this User Tip, restore the library to the new computer using the same tool, keep the backup up-to-date in future. Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer need to access protected content on it.
You can use your iPod classic to move your library to a new computer but if you don't already have a backup copy of the library (and your other important data) now is the time to think about it.
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How to move/copy iTunes library/folder to a NAS for streaming

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See this migrate iTunes library post.
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Computer Hard Drive Failure - How can I copy itunes library to new pc/ipod?

Hi
My old desktop pc hard drive recently crashed due to a critical error so I have invested in a new pc and am considering purchasing a more up to date ipod to replace my old ipod mini. Is there are way I can access, retrieve or transfer my existing itunes library of imported cd / downloaded (purchased) music from my old pc (e.g. from the ipod mini itself or by loading my original software disc on the new pc?) to my new pc / ipod or do I have to start again from scratch and lose purchased tunes etc? If so, Apple may lose a customer, which would be a shame.
Many thanks for your help.
Mike

1). Connect your iPod to your new computer. If it is set to update automatically you'll get a message that it is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press "Cancel". Pressing "Erase and Sync" will irretrievably remove all the songs from your iPod.
2). When your iPod appears in the iTunes source list change the update setting to manual, that will let you use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button. Also when using most of the utilities listed below your iPod needs to be enabled for disc use, changing to manual update will do this by default: Managing content manually on iPod and iPhone
3). Once you are safely connected there are a few things you can do to restore your iTunes from the iPod. There are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can read reviews and comparisons of some of them here:
Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
SharePod Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod2PC Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac and Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
Floola Mac & Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
If you have any iTunes Music Store purchases the transfer of purchased content only from the iPod to authorised computers was introduced with iTunes 7. You'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
There's also a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to a Mac or PC. The procedure is a bit involved and won't recover playlists but if you're interested it's available on page 2 at this link: Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide
4). Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync.
5). I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up, relying on an iPod as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days, you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive

How do I copy my library from an external drive to my computer without bringing all of my music just the library?

I have 137,000 songs on an external harddrive. I just loaded them all into Itunes on a new computer and took the time to sort through all of them and remove duplicates and correct artists ect to have it all sort well. I narrowed it down to 20,000 songs. Now I figured out the Itunes library with 20,000 songs is still on my harddrive and is just pulling the 20,000 from the 137,000 songs available. How do I copy just the 20,000 in my library onto the hard drive on my computer. I want to upload these into "Cloud" but want to keep them separate from the rest of the music? Does anyone know how to do this?
Thanks

Designate a new iTunes Media folder outside of the current folder structure and consolidate the 20,000 files to that location.
I don't have iCloud but I presume it counts the files in your library. If so you may not need to do anything at all, assuming you've eliminated the other entries from the library, but the method above will let you create one clean folder with your keepers.
tt2

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Thank you SO SO much. That link helped me to find the true location of the data on my old hard drive - I had been looking in the wrong place. As soon as I found my data I was actually able to copy it to a folder on the new hard drive and then Add a Folder to the Library in the new itunes and it worked.

How do I transfer iTunes Library from external hard drive to another drive?

I have filled by 160GB drive with my iTunes music library so I am purchasing a 400GB external drive. I want to transfer the entire library to the bigger drive. Can I simply drag via fire wire then entire libarary to the new drive and then "tell" by iTunes Mac where it is? Any step by step would be appreciated.
Thank you.

I just posted this to another topic, but it applies here as well. Hopefully there's no prohibition on cross-posting on this board, my apologies to all if there is:
"I haven't read the whole thread, so someone could have already mentioned this, but I did the same thing, move my music library to an external drive. The Help articles are helpful, but only up to a point. When that didn't work, I called up AppleCare support up, and they took me through all the standard steps, and got stumped at the same point I did. Finally she suggested trying something, and that ended up doing the trick. So here in brief is what you do:
1) Copy over your "iTunes Music" folder to the external hard drive
2) Go into Advanced preferences to have iTunes look for the "iTunes Music" folder in the new location. If you're like me, your music won't appear in the Library.
3) In iTunes, go to the Library window (which is probably blank), then in a Finder window, find the icon for the "iTunes Music" folder in the new location. Drag that icon onto the Library window.
You should now see a progress window pop up showing all the songs that it's populating the Library window with."
20" Intel iMac 14" iBook G4, 233 MHz Beige G3 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

How to back up iTunes Library on external hard drive & computer, after purchasing new music?

I keep my iTunes library on my computer's hard drive and also backed up on an external hard drive. I have added more music to my library since my previous back up, and I want to back up the new music to my external drive.
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The first time I backed up my iTunes on an external drive, it took a 1 hour +. Do I basically need to start over on my external hard drive? Or is there an easier/faster way?
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Check this out -> Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy
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Choose Home from the Finder's Go menu, double-click the Music item, and drag it there.
(123001)

Can I Move my Itunes Library to my second Drive?

My itunes and Itunes data are all on my start up drive but I have ran out of space of my start up drive. I have a second hard drive in my tower. Is there a way to move everything to the second hard drive and have it all work the same. Like when I plug my Iphone in or my Ipod it opens itunes. Or that it will still run Itunes and all of my music?

Move the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to the other drive.
Hold the Option key and launch iTunes. Select *Choose library* then select the iTunes folder you moved to the other drive.

How do i move my itunes library to a different drive

i underestimated the space i needed for my itunes library. at the time, i thought 75gb is more than enought for my 60gb ipod, then the videos and movies came along. although i cannot put them on my 4th gen ipod, but i did downloaded a bunch of free tv shows and video podcasts.
i thought i was simply gonna delete some already-viewed files as i push the limit, but then the recycle bin on my ipod specific drive screwed up. i can no longer delete anything off that drive. since the partition i had earlier was kind small for my ipod drive, i think i want to reformat the drive to a different partition.
of course, i need to move my itunes library first. can someone please teach me how to move my itunes library to a different drive? thank you very much.

When I added a second drive internal drive I used this guide: Moving your iTunes Music Folder

Itunes Library on An External Drive

Hi All,
I've been reading a few tutorials on how to setup an itunes library on an external drive and wish to ask a question that I haven't seen covered yet...
I have a desktop PC running win XP with which we connect 2 ipods to our library regularly to update (we both have laptops but are happy to let the home computer maintain our music collections). I have a few different external drives that I connect to this computer at different times. In addition I have a number of internal hard drives that I plug into my system when working on different projects or when I want to do backups. The end result is that the drive I wish to use for my music and (including itunes folders) is not always given the same designation (ie. M:drive) every time I plug it in due to other devices connected to the system.
Sooo my question is will I have to point itunes to the folder on the newly designated drive each time such a situation occurs? If so does that process take long or are there any alternatives I can setup in order to eliminate any problems.
I had considered manually designating the external drive myself using windows disk management snapin however this would be tedius and painful to teach others that want to use it.
Thanks for any advice given
Cheers
Matt

Thanks for your replies guys. I have gone ahead and tried to assign a drive letter to the drive I wish to use. Following the instructions here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844 on how to assign I get to stage 6 and find the "Assign the following drive letter " to be ghosted out. I can however change (as opposed to add) the drive letter without problem. After experimenting a bit I've found this drive reassigns itself to the new changed letter(Z:) after I unplug and plug it back in as well as after rebooting.
Would I be correct in assuming that this has done the same job and now regardless of what other drives I have attached to the pc at any time this drive will always be assigned Z:?
Thanks very much

Is there a way i can backup my itunes library to a zip drive?

i have an iomega zip drive and 250mb zip disc and i didnt know if theres a way to backup my itunes library to my zip drive.since i'v spent a lot of money on songs from itunes music store and dont want to lose them if my computer gets an virus or a glitch and erases my songs.now i know i can put my songs to an cd but i dont know how to that and if an cd can hold 150 songs and 11.1 hours since that how many songs and hours i have on my itunes.so can some one please tell me how to backup my itunes library to a zip drive or if i even can.
thanks in advance.
itunes 6.0.4 and ipod nano 2g Windows XP

If your tracks will fit on a Zip drive, yes, you can use a Zip to back up. A CD holds about 650MB, so a 250MB Zip disk will hold less than half what a CD will. Just locate the tracks in your iTunes Music folder and drag them onto the Zip. You can use multiple disks if you have more tracks than will fit onto one Zip disk.
Zip disks are notoriously unreliable, though - as bad or worse than floppy disks - so it wouldn't be my first choice for a backup medium. Of the couple of dozen Zip disks I used to own, over 75% of them eventually failed.

How do I copy iTunes Library to a second drive?

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