How do you back up the iTunes Library files?

I recently installed Leopard and messed things up so badly that I am considering doing an Erase and Install on my boot drive to get a fresh copy of OSX 10.5 - see topic:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1317126&tstart=0
I am searching for crucial files that will be lost in the process and backing them up to a second drive. My iTunes Music folder (with all the audio files) is already on my second drive, but I need to preserve my iTunes Library so I don't have to re-enter all the info for them. I planned to back up these files:
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml
and then restore them to their proper locations after re-installing 10.5.
Does anyone know if this is the correct way to preserve all your iTunes music and data during a clean install?

Those are certainly the correct files to back up. The iTunes Library database file holds all the information about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). The iTunes Music Library.xml file is to make your music and playlists available to other applications on your computer. There's more information including the Folder/File structure in this article: What are the iTunes library files?

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What does it mean when you get a "The iTunes library file cannot be saved. There is not enought memory available." ? And what can I do to correct it?

What does it mean when you get a "The iTunes library file cannot be saved. There is not enought memory available." ? And what can I do to correct it?

Well, I installed the latest iTunes this AM, works perfectly. Although for some reason it did lock up after playing a song today.
Horror stories? That's a bit overly dramatic.
No, it isn't.
The issue you are experiencing is one that has occurred in multiple versions of iTunes, a simple search would have revealed this.
A simple search was conducted, no one seemed to have an answer. Do you always adopt such a haughty attitude? Or was I just lucky.

Everything on my computer was erased and itunes was reinstalled. how do i get the songs on my ipod back into the itunes library?

How do I get all my songs from my ipod back into the itunes library if itunes was uninstalled and reinstalled?

Do you have iCloud? Or do you have a backup of iTunes profile? More info please

I have my itunes media stored on my external hard drive. On this external drive I have a folder called "TV shows". How do I incorporate this folder back into the itunes library?

I have my itunes media stored on my external hard drive. On this external drive I have a folder called "TV shows". I previously cut and pasted itunes TV shows to this folder to free up some space. How do I incorporate this folder (TV shows) back into the itunes library?

assuming the copy files ... when adding option is checkmarked in preferences > advanced, drag the folder into an open iTunes window while holding option (⌥).

I keep getting dialog box saying " The itunes Library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation" I am the only user on this computer and only one library! how do i change access privileges please?

hi I keep getting the dialog box " The iTunes Library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation"
How do i amend this as i only have one account and one library. I cannot save new work or delete duplicate files

A belated reply, as the problems itunes has have discouraged me from using it much. If you uncheck the "read only" box, it doesn't stay that way! Next time you use it, the box comes up checked.
I'm still having that problem, even when I open iTunes as administrator.
I've yet to see the answer to this problem. I use itunes mostly to download audiobooks, and I'm ready to download more, and want to save them!

Itunes was reinstalled on my MacAir and in the process my playlists disapeared. How can I sync theses playlists which are still on my Ipod back to the iTunes library? PS: these are not purchased from iTunes, they are my own cd's.Thanks.

Itunes was reinstalled on my MacAir and in the process my playlists disapeared. How can I sync theses playlists which are still on my Ipod back to the iTunes library? PS: these are not purchased from iTunes, they are my own cd's.Thanks.

Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive: Apple Support Communities

The following message appears "The itunes library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." how can i resolve this?

the following message appears "The itunes library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." how can i resolve this?

I am having the same issue and suggestions on other pages are not working ... why has this started all of a sudden?

HT1660 I'm getting a message that reads 'The iTunes Library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." Why is this? And how can I fix it?

I'm getting a message that reads 'The iTunes Library file cannot be saved. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." Why is this? And how can I fix it? I'm worried that I'm going to lose my entire library because of this.

A belated reply, as the problems itunes has have discouraged me from using it much. If you uncheck the "read only" box, it doesn't stay that way! Next time you use it, the box comes up checked.
I'm still having that problem, even when I open iTunes as administrator.
I've yet to see the answer to this problem. I use itunes mostly to download audiobooks, and I'm ready to download more, and want to save them!

How can i back up my iTunes library if i want to uninstall it?

how can i back up my iTunes library if i want to uninstall it?

Quit iTunes.
Locate your external hard drive.
Mac: On the Desktop or Finder sidebar.
Windows: In My Computer
Drag the iTunes folder (backed up earlier) from your external hard drive to whatever location you desire on your internal hard drive. It is recommended that you choose the default location for the iTunes folder, which is:
Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Windows Vista: \Users\username\My Music\
Windows 7 or 8: \Users\username\Music\
Open iTunes while holding down the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows).
In the resulting dialog, click the Choose Library button.
Select the iTunes folder you just moved to the internal hard drive.
Click Choose (Mac OS X) or Open (Windows) and then choose the iTunes Library file inside .
After following these steps, iTunes will open and your iTunes Library will be restored.
(http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751)

How Can I Back Up My iTunes Library To A USB Flash Drive?

I have around 5GB of files in my iTunes Library and I don't want to have to use multiple blank cds (dvds) to get my files onto my new iMac. On top of that I can't my cd-writer doesn't work. So I bought an 8GB USB Flash Drive and I just want to know how I can get my iTunes Library to back up to my USB Flash Drive.

Is all your music, as well as your iTunes folder, in My Music? If so, copy your My Music folder to the drive. That will back up all the songs, and the iTunes library files, which happen to be located in iTunes/iTunesMusic.
In case you are asking how to copy: Close iTunes. Insert the USB drive into the machine and open it like a folder. Then you can use drag and drop to put stuff in it.

How do I back-up my itunes library in newest version of itunes?

How do I back-up my itunes library in newest version of itunes?

Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows)
Grab SyncToy 2.1, a free tool from MS. This can be used to copy your entire iTunes library (& other important data folders) onto another hard drive or network share. You can then use SyncToy periodically to synchronise or echo your library to the backup. A preview will show which files need to be updated giving you a chance to spot unexpected changes and during the run only the new or updated files will be copied saving lots of time.
If your media is all organised below the main iTunes folder then you should also be able to open the backup library on any system running the same version of iTunes, regardless of the drive letter or path it appears on.
Step-by-step guide to using SyncToy.
tt2

Ipod Classic 160gb transfer data software? Do Apple provide any facilities to recapture all music etc from an ipod classic and save them back into the itunes library or even better onto a separate pc memory or external drive for backup purposes?

I now have around 3,000 songs on my ipod Classic and still adding. I didn't want to save them in itunes library so I deleted them from there once I had them on the ipod. I have since found out that the ipod music cannot be transferred back to the itunes library nor can I extract them from the ipod directly. Do apple provide such facilities or softwareto do this and, if not, is there any recommended and safe software to perform it? I see from Google that there are plenty of programs available but I want to be sure that what I use is safe, reliable and not breaking any of Apple's terms and conditions. Any advice would be welcome.

Hello Chris Jones,
I just found this and I'm trying to figure it out so your post is an excellent starting point, thank you! Since you posted this in Feb are there any things you would change or you found out after doing it? And how is everything running?
As a data point, I just added a SSD as the startup drive to an older mac pro (1,1) which is only used for Logic Pro and the speed now is amazing. Now I want to see if I can off-load the same things you have dealt with. Any additional insight will be greatly appreciated and thanks again for taking to time to document it.
ld foster

How can I back up the iPhoto library when iPhoto won't open and I can't simply copy the iPhoto library packet because "some of the data in the packet cannot be read from or written to"?

How can I back up the iPhoto library when iPhoto won't open and I can't simply copy the iPhoto library packet because "some of the data canny be read from or written to"?

Regarding not being able to open iPhoto. As a test launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Were you able to create a new library?
If so then your current library is damaged and needs to be repaired.
Apply the two fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys held down and rebuild the library.
Since only one option can be run at a time start
with Option #4 and then #1 as needed.
Fix #2
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 - download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
2 - click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
3 - Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option.
4 - In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
5 - Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments. However, books, calendars, cards and slideshows will be lost. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

How can I back-up my Itunes library?

I need to have my MAC (Snow Leopard) hard drive replaced. How can I back up my iTunes Library?

Just drag-copy the entire iTunes folder, presuming all your content is in that folder, to your backup device.
Regards.

Just recently getting error message when downloading podcasts. Says "The iTunes Library file cannot be save. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." Doesn't happen every time. Using Windows 7. What can I do?

Just recently getting error message when downloading podcasts. Says "The iTunes Library file cannot be save. You do not have enough access privileges for this operation." Doesn't happen every time. Using Windows 7. What can I do? The files seem to be there but I don't know if they are being backed up to cloud.

Hi, DickmoAZ.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
This sounds like a permission issue most likely with the iTunes Media folder. Here is an article that will help you troubleshoot this issue.
iTunes: Missing folder or incorrect permissions may prevent authorization
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1277
Cheers,
Jason H.

How do you back up the iTunes Library files?

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