How do I move my itunes media to an external drive?

My hard drive is getting full. I would like to move my tunes media to an external drive but now I have music all over. Has anyone done this succesfully?

Copy the entire iTunes folder to the root of external drive, e.g. as X:\iTunes where X: is the drive letter. Click the icon for iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the file X:\iTunes\iTunes Libary.itl. Use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files and click OK. iTunes will create local copies of any stray files in the media folder. You can then delete the originals stored elsewhere.
Backup the library with this User Tip. (And yes, that means you really need another drive.)
tt2

Similar Messages

  • I wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.

    i wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.
    currently i am managing my own folder structure, but have decided to bite the bullet and let itunes organize my media.
    i moved the media library location in advanced options to the external drive i would like iTunes to us, checked 'keep iTunes media folder organised' and copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library'.
    approx a third of my music transferred. the remaining music is now greyed out. when i click on information on the greyed out tracks, the location is given as iCloud. how do i download these songs?

    benefit: To move the library in the future you drag the whole iTunes folder to the new drive, hold down the option key while starting iTunes, point to new location, iTunes starts as if nothing happened.  You can also use the library with a different computer.  It's easy to back up when it's all together.
    You cannot simply move a media-only folder to a new drive by dragging unless you maintain the folder structure exactly, and the new drive has the same name as the old one.  Yes, there's fixes but it's not as fast. 
    The main disadvantage to having the whole library on an external is if for some reason you keep some media on the external and some on the internal.  You can use iTunes with a bunch of broken links for media on an unattached external if you only want to play the files on the internal.  Then, of course, you need the library file (library.itl) on the internal drive.
    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

  • How do I move an iTunes library from one external drive to another?

    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.
    Is it possible to move an iTunes library from one external drive to another, or am I stuck with my original choice until I buy a new machine? If I can move it, can one of you clever folks explain how it could be done?

    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.)
    Consolidate is still part of iTunes.
    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.

  • 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 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.
    Is there a way to move the whole itunes package to the E:drive, and just have it launch from/save to there?

    might this help: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive ?

  • 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.
    Thanks for any advice

    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.
    6 Restart iTunes normally and verify the songs work. If they do, empty the trash.

  • 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?
    Thanks in advance.

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

    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)

  • How do I move my iTunes Music to an external hard drive? Please help!

    I bought an external hard drive and moved the iTunes Music folder from my local hard drive to the external hard drive and now the iTunes library appears empty. I moved all my music back into the local hard drive and the libarary is now full full of music again. How can I move all the files to the external drive and have iTunes retrieve the music from there?
    Thanks!
    Paula

    This article tells you the proper way to move your music:
    iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
    After a successful move, always connect your external disk, before running iTunes.
    Failing to do so will iTunes cause to reset the 'iTunes Music folder location'.
    That means your next ripped CDs will be stored on your internal disk.
    If that happens, just set the proper location again in the preferences.
    Hope this helps.
    M
    17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM   Mac OS X (10.4.6)   Several ext. HD (backup and data)

  • HT1373 How do I backup my itunes library to an external drive

    My iTunes library is unstable.  I have two questions:
    1) How do I backup my iTunes library to an external drive?
    2) Why am I constatntly prompted to add my computer to iCloud when I have done so multiple times?
    When opening iTunes, I receive he error message: "Please Sign In Again,  iTunes Match has encountered an error.  Please choose Sign Out and he Sign In from the iTunes Store menu and try again."
    I tried downloading and installing/repairing the latest iTunes.  That did not correct the problem.
    Also, I have sync'd to iCloud.  Every time I select iMatch from iTunes, I am prompted to Add This Computer to iCloud.  I have already done this multiple times.

    Hello cijackson,
    You posted your question in the iTunes for Mac Forum. You may get better results on the iTunes for Windows forum. Best of luck > https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_for_windows?view=overview

  • How do I move a back up to another external drive and how does the Mac Book then find the new back up?

    how do I move a back up to another external drive and how does the Mac Book then find the new back up?
    I currently have the back up on a Time Capsule, I want to move it from the Time Capsule to another external hard drive.

    Did you read the link to the Pondidni website?  You will have to select the Time Machine HDD for the new MBP and the old one in System Preferences>Time Machine:
    Ciao.

  • How do I move imovie 11 events to an external drive and then access through imovie?

    How do I move imovie 11 events to an external drive and then access through imovie?  When I copied to the external, it came through as clips and doesn't play using imovie...is there a way to do this?  I have several imovie events and have no disk space left s trying to move them to free up space tp upload new photos and movies.  Thanks.

    joanne987 wrote:
    So, then what do I do if I have files on the external and won't fit back onto my HD?  How do I format it for imovie?  any suggestions?
    buy another HDD ... 500Gigs are ctually around 70-90€, saw yesterday a 1.5TB WD for 140€ ...
    .... 9TB of harddrives in use here ... don't forget to have at last one backup/copy per drive

  • HT1751 How to transfer iTunes media files from external drive to another external drive and bring in the library from the main drive.

    I have my iTunes media on an external hard drive while the library is on the main computer drive. I want to move both to a larger external drive. How do I get both together? When I consolidate, it only transfers the media files. Help.

    Since I already consolidated, can I just move the library to the root level of the external drive then option click to point to that library? But using that method, all the media files are at the root level along with the iTunes folder. So nothing will be in the iTunes media folder itself. WIll that work?

  • 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.

  • 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

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