How do I move my iTunes library to an external harddrive?

I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro and want to reload by CD collection into iTunes on an external drive.  In the past, I had been using iTunes for PC and the library became corrupted.  I would prefer to save the music to an external harddrive to save space on my MacBook's harddrive.  Once I load the music onto the harddrive, I want to be sure that my MacBook recognizes the library in the future.

Creating a new library on the external drive will add to confusion because now you will have multiple iTunes libraries.  For simplicity it would be best to move your entire iTunes library to the external drive, unless you have a very good reason for wanting to split media storage locations.  To move a library 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) so you get a prompt to select a library, then guide it to the 'iTunes Library.itl' file in the moved iTunes folder.

Similar Messages

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    How do I move my itunes library to an external hard drive?

    Drag it there in the Finder, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, click on Choose Library, and navigate to that instance of it.
    (108779)

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    I need to move my iTunes library from one external disk to another, because the original disk is about to fail. So, I went into iTunes Perferences --> Advanced, and set the library to a new, empty folder on the new drive.
    Nothing changed. I expected all my music to vanish from iTunes, so that I would have to re-import it. However, all the music remained, still on the old disk. At this point, if I were to recreate the library on the new disk, I would have all of my music twice.
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    Paul Seymour1 wrote:
    However, those are all dealing with old versions of iTunes that still contained the Advanced --> Consolidate Library command which is no longer part of the app. (I'm on iTunes 10.6.1.)
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    It is in iTunes menu File > Library > Manage library > Consolidate.
    The article you linked to is old and it is (and was) a hacky way of doing it.
    Just copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to new location, hold Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) when launching iTunes.

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    A couple of years ago I moved our itunes library to an external hard-drive to free up some space. I got a new MacBook Pro and would like to move the itunes library to it.  I don't remeber how I moved it from my old laptop to the external hard-drive and have no idea how to move it to my MacBook.

    See Restoring your iTunes Backup here...
    Backup iTunes to an External Drive
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751

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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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    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

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    I couldn't edit my original post so I replied to myself.
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  • How do I move my iTunes Library to an external drive and retain everything?

    I'm sure this is a common [stupid] question, but I couldn't find a clear answer and I want to be sure I'm doing it correctly.
    To clarify; I want to move/relocate my iTunes Library folder to an external drive (FW800 two-disk RAID1) to free up my system drive and have a backup. Do I redirect iTunes to the new location and use File>Library>Consolidate Library, or, can I just move or copy the 'iTunes' folder to the external drive and then change the iTunes 'music folder location' to the new location? Will this now save all subsequent imported/purchased music, movies,,..etc to the external drive and retain all my library details?
    Message was edited by: Sakahara

    Hello, Welcome to Apple Discussions.
    Below you will find more information about your options of relocating iTunes Library and backing it up.
    iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Music folder
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
    How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1329
    Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
    How to back up your media in iTunes
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1382

  • How do I move my iTunes library from an external hard drive to my new Time Capsule?

    I stored my 77GB of iTunes library on my six year old 1TB Time Capsule. I just bought a 2TB Time Capsule and moved the iTunes associated folders onto a WD My Passport HD. Now, I can't figure out how to get them onto my new Time Capsule. Can someone please help me?
    I have a MBP that doesn't have enough hard drive space to move them from the WD hard drive onto the MBP and then onto the Time Capsule.
    Isn't there a way to move the files directly from the external HD to the Time Capsule?
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    You could plug the WD drive straight into the TC but it will be much faster to do it with the WD drive plugged into the computer.. and just mount the TC hard disk in Finder.
    To move itunes library you must follow the Apple instructions.. http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
    You may need to reconnect itunes to the library before you try to move it.. !!

  • How can I move entire ITunes library to an external drive

    How can I move the entire file to a new external drive & still add new downloads & use from the external G: drive?
    Or can't this be done - I have the 80G Ipod & the files take up so much space that I want to move it to the new G: drive.
    I thought I had it figured out but nothing would play from the G drive, so I had to restore everything back to the C: drive.
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    This is actually the 5G iPod forum, not the iTunes folder.
    However, To move your iTunes music...
    1 Quit iTunes.
    2 Move the entire iTunes folder including music to the external drive.
    3 Restart iTunes holding the Shift key in Windows, Option key in Mac.
    4 iTunes will ask to Create new library or Choose existing library. Select Choose existing library and select the library in the folder you just moved.
    5 Move the old iTunes folder to the trash but do not empty it.
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  • How do I move my itunes library to an external drive?

    I moved my itunes media folder from laptop C:drive to external E:drive.  I redirected itunes to the new media folder in Preferences,but in the moving and deleting, messed up the placement of the itunes library folders.  Now itunes is empty (just like when you first install it).  If I "add folder to itunes", it rebuilds a media folder on the C: drive.
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    might this help: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive ?

  • How do I move my iTunes library from an external hard drive to my new Mac Mini?

    My MacBook Pro couldn't handle my iTunes library so it was moved to an external hard drive.  I want to move the content without losing the settings and playlists. Can anyone help?

    Hi, see if these help...
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

  • How do I move my itunes library to an external drive to free up space on a Macbook?

    Hi, I'd like to free up some room on my Macbook and was thinking of moving all my music library to an external drive. I hardly ever use my computer to play music, more I download an album and then sync it to my iphone to play from that. I use itunes and back up with time machine, but would like the music folder separate entirely, is this possible?
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    Drag it from the Music item of the Finder's sidebar to an external drive, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, and point it there.
    (59635)

  • How can I move my iTunes library from one Mac to another?

    I recently purchased a new 13" MacBook Air to replace my older 17" MacBook Pro. 
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    I also plan on purchasing a new iPhone in the next month or so.  Can I move my songs from my iPod to that too?

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    Once your music library and everything else you want to transfer from the MacBook Pro resides on the new MBA, sync your iPod to the MBA. Sync the iPhone too when you get it, and they will both have identical iTunes music libraries.

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