How do I keep my media on an external hard drive but still access it in iTunes?

I just recently purchased a new Macbook Air and I had my itunes media library on an external hard drive. How do I access my itunes media on the macbook air from the external hard drive without transferring all the media onto my macbook air? I also want to be able to add and download media to my itunes and have it saved on my external hard drive. I have been trying to figure this out for weeks and need some assistance. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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

Similar Messages

How to keep music on an external hard drive, but still manage in itunes

Hello, so i just got a new pc. Have downloaded and authorized Itunes and have pointed my file media folder to the external hard drive. What I'd like to do is keep all my music on the external hard drive without saving any music onto my new pc. So is it possible to keep all my music on the external hard drive but still be able to manage the music library in itunes?

Hi,
I'm not sure if this is exactly what you're asking for, but I asked a similar question once before. I hope this helps.
Here is a tutorial from Apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364?viewlocale=en_US
and here is a link to the question I asked previously: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2110013&tstart=0

My Mac Book hard drive is nearly full. How do I move iTunes music, etc folders to a different location on an external hard drive and still access as if on my Mac?

My Mac Book hard drive is nearly full. How do I move iTunes music, etc folders to a different location on an external hard drive and still access as if on my Mac?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449

How do I keep a file on my external hard drive and delete it from my internal hard drive?

I have a iMac with 1 TB internal hard drive, connected to it is a 3 TB Seagate external hard drive using Time Machine to back up my computer.
I use this computer for making family movies with videos and pictures. My 1 TB internal hard drive is now almost full with only 200 GBs of storage left on it. My external drive has 1.62 TBs of space left on it. I would like to delete a lot of the videos on my internal hard drive and keep them only on the external hard drive. I've tried this and it tells me I cannot do it because it is part of the Time Machine back up. Why can't I manage my computer files as I would like??
Also once you import pictures into Aperture or videos into iMovie, good luck having access to the initial files you imported. It seems once these programs get hold of your files they aren't accessible to you any more. I don't understand that! Anyway can anyone help me get the files I want off my iMac and onto my external Seagate hard drive?
Thanks in advance!

CCLIANA wrote:
My sister is trying to rename a file on an external hard drive...
What is the File...?

How do I keep my library on an external hard drive?

I have limited space on my lap and want to redirect all files to be saved and accesed via an external hard drive. I already have media on this drive but when I redirect the itunes folder to this location it does not read the files.

Hey qmx,
It sounds like you want to move your iTunes Media folder. The following article outlines how to do so:
iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
If your hard drive is nearly full after loading all your music and other media into iTunes, or if you just want to move all those music and media files to another hard drive on your system, here's a way to make the move while retaining all your playlists, ratings, and play history.
Thanks,
Matt M.

How do I run HD Media from an External Hard Drive?

I have a Macbook Pro, with Final Cut 7. I'm editing clips in HD shot with Canon 7d. I have a 250GB external Hard Drive. How do I set it up as my "Scratch Disk" and able to run all the media I'm editing from there too (for Playback, ect). And in the end is it going to effect how I export it for YouTube or anything?

I don't know how to pull media from the hard drive to edit with.
File>Import. Or drag the media from the scratch drive (after you copy it there from wherever) into your project.
But you are specifically talking about Canon DSLR footage. These files aren't huge...they are pretty small in fact. But what they are is a codec that isn't editable. You need to convert these to ProRes, THEN edit. You can use the Canon DSLR plugin for FCP to Log and Transfer them (therefore putting them onto your Capture Scratch), or use Clipwrap or MPEG STREAMCLIP to convert them to ProRes. Google "Canon 5D and Final Cut Pro" and find the wealth of people talking about this.
http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/ssimmons/story/canonreleases_a_dslr_plug_in_for_final_cut_pros_log_and_transfertool/
Shane

How do I save just my photos to an external hard drive and still access them in iphoto

I have a lot of photos that take up space on my hard drive. It is now full and I need to continue to use them but i need to load new photo also. How do i save the old photos onto an external hard drive and then still access them in iphoto?

This is where iTunes stores backups for different operating systems: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946
I do not use a Windows machine, have a Windows Vista Dell I rarely startup now. But, from what I remember with Win boxes is, you will have to create on the external hard drive a file system like that one iTunes normally uses, and then in the iTunes preferences or control panel edit the location for the storage to specify the name of the external hard drive, or its letter code, with the name of that file system you created on the exernal drive.
I would also move all of the files from the internal file system to the external since you have now told iTunes that is where they are...before deleting from the internal drive, test iTunes to see that it goes where you want it to go.

How to keep music on external hard drive, but play on iMac?

So, I have nearly 500GB of music on an external hard drive. I don't want to move them into my iMac, because it'd obviously eat up all my free space. My question is, how can I keep them on the external hard drive, but still access and play them while I'm on my Mac?
How would I do so using itunes? Would it be simpler to use a different program? If so, which one? Cost?
Could some please tell me how to do this step-by-step? I am at a loss for how to do this! Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.
(Also, on a slightly unrelated topic, does anyone know a good software to create album cover? I like to make them for mix cds I make. Name cost, preferably something cheap).
Thanks again!

How would I do so using itunes?
Open the Advanced section of the iTunes preferences and set it not to copy content to the iTunes Music folder when it's added to the library. Alternatively, drag them onto the QuickTime Player in the Dock.
(48130)

Is it possible to keep all iTunes media on an external hard drive and not on my Mac Book and have ITunes still function?

Let me begin by saying I'm new to the Mac world as well as to the realm of online forums so I apologize if this is a question that was already asked and/or if it is a very noobish question...
But anyway, I just recently got the new Macbook Pro 15" with RD and I am curious if I can keep all of my Itunes media on an external hard drive without keeping any of it on the Macbook itself and have Itunes still function (when the HD is connected of course). I am trying to keep the computer memory clutter free and not fill it up with music and stuff so I want to keep all of my media on a 1T Buffalo external hard drive so the computer stays like brand new for a long time..Right now I have about 5G worth of music on my hard drive and I thought it was only on the hard drive and I just recently found out that it is also within the music folder on the computer itself. Any thoughts? Sorry if it is an odd question, I can try to rephrase the question if need be. Any tips or advice is greatly appreciated, Thanks!

Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
If you put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there. (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)
Longer answers if for any reason you do not think all library files are inside your iTunes folder (changed preferences settings at some point):
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168
2011 ilounge article: Transferring your iTunes library - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/ - An article with good background information (similar to the links above), particularly if you are not sure your media files are all grouped for quick answer above. Unfortunately under the single term "transferring library" it describes two very different moves; relocating just your media (not really transferring your library and not recommended unless you really need this configuration), and relocating media+database (really your whole "library"). Make sure you understand the difference before electing to move only media.

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

HT1473 I want to keep my music on my external hard drive to free up room on my computer how do i get itunes to recognise the hard drive to play the music?

I would like to keep all my music on my external hard drive but I can't seem to get itunes to recognise my hard drive. How do I get itunes to recognise my hard drive so I can play the music off there rather than copying the files over each time?

Click the icon to launch iTunes
Immediately press and hold down the shift key
Keep holding shift until asked to create or choose a library
If iTunes opens normally close and go back to step 1.
Browse to the iTunes Library.itl file you want to open.
See also: HT1589: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
If you had copied across as directed there would be no need to move anything back...
tt2

How can I import my library that is saved on a external hard drive but it's not saved on the iTunes media folder?

I need to restore my computer to it's factory settings but I don't want to loose my playlists and my library (windows). I can copy any file from the computer because it's in good working order. All my music it's on a external hard drive, but there's lots of media files that I don't want to sync but need to keep! Any way to do that!?
Best Regards

h.cordero wrote:
I think that I didn't explain my self correctly, My iTunes media it's not consolidated. May I consolidate the media on a external drive (X:\). ?
Yes. But consolidate to X:\iTunes\iTunes Media.
The why I'm asking is because the music library (176gb) is way more than the computer drive (C:\). Remember that all the media is on a external hard drive (J:\)
The steps I gave earlier will work to copy the whole library onto the new drive, in the correct layout for future ease of use.
tt2

How can I store my music files on an external hard drive and listen to them through iTunes that way?

How can I store my music files on an external hard drive and listen to them through iTunes that way? At the moment they're both on the external hard drive and also stored on the computer but I'm quickly running out of memory on my iBook G4 so I'd like to only keep them on the external hard drive and, if possible, delete them from my computer's hard drive. At the moment, when the hard drive isn't plugged in a lot of the files won't play and I get the exclamation mark next to the particular song in iTunes, but everything plays fine when the hard drive is plugged in.
Thank you.

Sounds like your files are playing from the external drive already. To check go to iTunes - Preferences - Advanced and check the Media Folder Location. Change it to the external drive if you need to.

TS1967 In the past, when I updated iTunes, some items would be 'lost'. I quit updating, still running 10.6 i do keep my files on an external hard drive, which I plug in before starting iTunes. If I leave the drive off, and update, would that keep me from

In the past, when I updated iTunes, some items would be 'lost'. I quit updating, still running 10.6. I do keep my files on an external hard drive, which I plug in before starting iTunes. If I leave the drive off, and update, would that keep me from losing any files? Also, does anyone know how to search the iTunes store by price? I'm particularly interested in movies and audiobooks... Thanks

iTunes does not have provision for automatically storing one kind of media on a separate drive, so you have some basic decisions to make first. Do you want these movies to still appear in your iTunes library, or are you content with browsing filenames on a drive in Finder when you want to look for one? The second's the easiest thing because then you don't have to have an external drive permanently turned on and attached to your computer (wired or wireless). To do that you literelly only need to drag your movies folder to an archive drive and delete movies from iTunes. To watch them again you can add it back to iTunes while holding down the option key so the movie is used from its location on the external drive.
There's ways to move the movies to an external drive while keeping them in iTunes but the external drive iwll always have to be turned on and connected to the computer or you will see a bunch of broken link exclamation marks.
Realize what you are talking about is not "backup". Backup (which you should do) is putting a second or more copy of items on external drives for the day when your internal drive fails and everything on it is lost, inclduing all your home photos and perhaps things that have been pulled from the iTunes Store and can no longer be re-downloaded.

HT1751 My win8 pc hard drive failed. After the hard drive was replaced, I copied iTunes Media backupfiles from external hard drive (Karen's Replicator was used). ITunes does not recognize the back up files - help! (it does show cloud & recently burned m

My win8 pc hard drive failed. After the hard drive was replaced, I copied iTunes Media backupfiles from external hard drive (Karen's Replicator backup software was used). ITunes does not recognize these back up files even though the location is the same as cloud & recently burned music that does show- help! The backup files consist of 34,000+ songs; almost all burned from my own CD collection. I do have most of the songs on an ipod classic but hesitate to try to restore from that. Can someone tell me how to get these 34,000 songs to show up in iTunes? Thanks!!

This diagram shows how a typical iTunes library ought to be set out (click on it to enlarge)
The red outline highlights the media folder and its contents, the various subfolders are only created if that kind of content is in your library. The right-hand side shows the files that should be found in the iTunes library folder; sentinel is normally hidden so may not be visible. The core of your iTunes library is the file iTunes Library.itl, you need to restore this, the other library files and the Album Artwork folder, as well as the media folder, to restore your library.
tt2

How do I keep my media on an external hard drive but still access it in iTunes?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for