How to back up to External Hard Drive b4 reinstalling OS?

I have WXP Home version. ITunes v7. I have done a lot of work cleaning up my music file info on ITunes. Now my OS needs to be reinstalled. How can I back up the many hours of work I've done onto my external hard drive? ITunes looks for a cd drive as I do not desire to back up to. That's what I bought the XTRNL HD for.
Any help would be appreciated.
Dell   Windows XP  

First, and perhaps most importantly, deauthorize your
computer in iTunes. (Advanced..Deauthorize computer).
You need to backup a few things:
1) Your Library - this should be 2 files in "My
Documents\My Music\iTunes\" - "iTunes Library.itl",
and "iTunes Music Library.xml".
2) Your Music - by default this is again in the
iTunes folder, under "iTunes Music". Otherwise,
backup the folder containing all your music. If
you're not sure where this is, look in the
Preferences in iTunes, under the Advanced tab,
General tab. It will show you the path of the
folder.
3) Your downloaded Artwork, again in iTunes, in
"Album Artwork"
4) Optional - your iTunes preferences -- the folder
"\Documents and Settings\username\Application
Data\Apple Computer\iTunes". You won't see this
folder by default -- you have to turn on the "view
hidden files" option in Explorer (Tools...Folder
Options..View tab) first.
Also, after you reinstall, you probably want to use
the same user name you had before. Copy all the
stuff above back to their previous locations, install
iTunes, and everything should be there.
If for some reason you can't or don't want to use the
same user name, you may have a problem with iTunes
locating your Music. Try holding shift when you
start, and select the "iTunes Library.itl" file when
prompted.
Thank you for your time spent on your reply. I will try your suggestion.
Happy New Year

Similar Messages

  • How to back up an external hard drive?!

    I have a 500GB external hard drive that I use to store a very large photo catalogue. I also have a 1TB external hard drive that I have set as my Time Machine volume.
    TM isn't backing up my 500GB drive, and I've verified that it's not on the exclusion list in TM preferences.
    Anyone know how to get this going? I need TM to back up that external hard drive as well as my computer's internal drive.

    Don't forget that repartitioning/reformatting will result in a blank HD; put the goodies in a safe place beforehand. If you have problems getting rid of the existing format, [check this writeup which I did for NTFS|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=7783365#7783365], but applies to FAT32 as well.

  • How to back up an external hard drive using Time Machine

    I have a Macbook. I have iTunes. I have my iTunes folder and contents stored on an external (Lacie) hard drive. I want to be able to back up that external (Lacie) hard drive and my mac using Time Machine to a separate external hard drive. At the moment it is only my mac that is backed up, and not the Lacie.  How can I also back up the Lacie so that only the recently added iTunes content is added? Cheers.

    You may consider reading the detail in what third-party clone utilities could
    do in regard to a backup clone and then use their utility to update that clone.
    Once the copy/clone is made (a bootable backup, btw) the same utility can
    be used to update the clone. Not certain how it works, and am a bit behind
    on making backup bootable clones of my several Macs as it is. I do a whole
    backup clone, though a partial or update supposedly is possible.
    SuperDuper or CarbonCopy, I don't remember if one of them or both, do this.
    Good luck in any event!

  • How to back up to external hard drive? and DVD?

    I am having a terrible time trying to back up my iPhoto Library. About 1,000 photos, using about 1.6 GB of space. I want to back up to both DVD-R (4.7GB,16x speed).
    When I go to iPhoto Help, it tells me I "can back up to DVD and/or external hard drive," but it doesn't tell me how.
    I've tried going to the DVD by "Selecting All" in iPhoto, and then dragging to the DVD icon. Nothing really happens when I do that to show me copying progress, or something like that. When I do double-click the DVD, it shows icons taking up no memory. It also did not pick up all the photos, about a half dozen short. When I tried to "Burn," it failed. (I do have the combo-drive capable of burning DVDs.
    Haven't tried to go to the external hard drive yet. What would be the correct process there?
    What I need, I think, is the step-by-step instructions on how to do this.
    Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Also, those blank icons that showed up on the DVD prior to my burn attempt seemed to indicate JPEG format. Is that the format I want? Is that the default in iPhoto?

    The best way to back up is to use a utility such as DejaVu or any of the many, many alternatives that you can find on MacUpdate.
    Essentially, to back up iPhoto you make a copy of the Library on the external Disk.
    The most basic way to do this is to drag the Library from the Pictures Folder to the External.
    You can back up to DVD in two ways: The Share -> Burn command will create a disk that is readable in iPhoto. Or you can simply drag the Library from the Pictures Folder to the DVD and burn it using the Finder.
    Regards
    TD

  • How to back up my external hard drive to another hard drive?

    So I dropped my external Iomega 1TB hard drive and now it wont allow me to back anything up however I can thankfully access everything in there.  Basically I read that I need to back THAT up and format it and start from scratch.  I sucked it up and finally bought a second External Hard drive a Seagate 1.5TB (great deal at costco BTW for $79).  So now I connected both to my MacBook and tried to copy everything in my iomega to paste it to the seagate and I got the error message "The volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup."  What does that mean?  How do I do this efficiently? 
    I greatly appreciate any info!  Thanks in advance!!!

    I've not seen that error message but did you partition and format the new hard drive for use with Macs? It needs to be partitioned with the GUID scheme and formatted as Mac OS Extended Journaled. If you have a lot of data on the original drive it's best to not try to copy it all at one time, of there are separate folders copy them one or two at a time. If your original drive is a Time Machine drive it's more complicated than simply copying and pasting http://pondini.org/TM/18.html

  • How to back up to external hard drive?

    OK, I got an external HD, so that I can take back this computer to Fry's for a refund, and buy one directly from an Apple store. I won't be able to do a transfer of settings and all that via firewire from computer to computer, as I've done before. So I bought this external HD,an acomadata firewire. I want to basically put everything I have on this computer on it, so when I buy the new one, I can transfer it over to it. Plus, I got it to save photos from Aperture in the future. Sounds like I'll have to partition the external HD? But I don't know the best way to even get a copy of my computer's HD to the external. Do I need to buy a program to do so? Or do I just plug in my firewire, and do it manually?
    Thanks!

    Here's the easiest solution:
    A. Open Disk Utility and select the external drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) in the left side window. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the number of partitions desired from the drop down menu. You need to select at least one (1). Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the Format drop down menu. Click on the Options button and be sure your have the GUID partition scheme selected then click OK. Click on the Partition button.
    B. How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
    1. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
    2. Select the backup or destination volume from the left side list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
    3. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list and drag it to the Source entry field.
    4. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
    5. Upon completion select the destination drive on the Desktop and press COMMAND-I to open the Get Info window. At the bottom in the Ownership and Permissions section be sure the box labeled "Ignore Permissions on this Volume" is unchecked.

  • How to back up my mac hard drive to my external hardrive?

    How to back up my mac hard drive to my external hard drive?  

    Backup Software Recommendations
    Carbon Copy Cloner
    Data Backup
    Deja Vu
    SuperDuper!
    Synk Pro
    Tri-Backup
    Others may be found at VersionTracker or MacUpdate.
    Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore.  Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
    And, OS X includes Time Machine. See Pondini's Time Machine FAQ and Mac 101- Time Machine

  • How do you back up an external hard drive with time capsule?

    how do you back up an external hard drive with time capsule?

    Will time capsule back up the machine and the hard drive that is plugged into the machine?
    Yes, if the hard drive with the video files is formatted correctly for Mac
    On the Mac with the hard drive connected....click on the Time Machine "clock" icon at the top of the screen
    Click Time Machine Preferences
    Click Options
    Here you will see a list of items that have been excluded from backups
    Click the name of the hard drive to highlight it
    Click the - (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the hard drive from the list of excluded items
    The hard drive will now be backed up with your Mac on the next pass that Time Machine makes

  • How do I get Time Capsule to back up an external hard drive?

    I need Time Capsule/Time Machine to back up my external hard drive. How do I do this?

    The external drive is plugged into the Mac??
    Just open the Time Machine preferences, Options, and include the external drive.. done!! (The menu is exclude.. so just ensure it is not excluded.. don't use no double negatives.. is grammar rule apple could learn).
    You cannot backup the external drive if plugged into the TC directly.

  • How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    How can I get Time Machine to back up an external hard drive (iPhotos) that is attached to airport extreme base station. Note: Time machine is usb to macbook pro and external drive with iphotos is usb to airport extreme base station. Help please. Thanks!

    Once you have the drive connected to your Mac, click System Preferences (gear icon) on the dock
    Click Time Machine
    Click Options
    Be default, the hard drive will be Excluded from backups. Click the drive to highlight it, then click the "-" (minus) button at the bottom of the list to remove the drive from Excluded items.
    The drive will be backed up on the next Time Machine pass
    Everything above assumes that the hard drive has been formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled) as Time Machine will only backup drives in that format.

  • Set up to save directly to external Hard Drive so cannot have separate 'back up'I now want to reverse i.e save to internal Hard Drive and 'back up' on external 'hard Drive'. Please advise me how to do this.

    Macbook Air 13 inch purchased October 2013. set up to save [mainly photos] to external 'hard drive' i.e. not saved to internal hard drive. Cannot find easy way to create 'back up'. Please advise how I can reverse i.e save directly to internal 'hard drive' and 'back up on external 'hard drive'

    For backing up your data I recommend that you use Time machine:
    http://pondini.org/OSX/Home.html
    rob at the orchard wrote:
    save directly to internal 'hard drive'
    When you import images or create other data files, file them in the appropriate places on your internal drive, don't delete them and let Time machine back them up.
    Ciao.

  • How can I use my TimeMachine to back up the external hard drive

    How can I use my TimeMachine to back up the external hard drive that is attached to my TimeMachine? I have the external drive attached to my TimeMachine via the USB port and want my TimeMachine to back up the files on the external drive, as it does for the files on my computer. How do I do that?

    https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

  • How do I get time machine/time capsule to back up my external hard drive?

    I have been trying to find a way to back up my external hard drive (a Hitachi G-Drive from the Apple store) with time machine and my time capsule. I left it plugged in so it was visible on my MacBook Pro when I did the initial backup yesterday, but it's not showing when I enter time machine. Anyone have any ideas?

    A few things to check.....
    The external drive attached to your Mac must be formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
    Check Time Machine Options to make sure that the drive is not excluded from Time Machine backups

  • How can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory?

    i don't know if this question has been asked before: how can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory? just like itunes all my song are save on my external hard drive. make sense?

    Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
    And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
    And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
    LN

  • Using Time Machine to back up an external hard drive

    Hi,
    This has probably been asked a lot but i'm struggling to find an answer. I want to back up my external hard drive using Time Machine but i'm not sure how to do it?
    Is there a way that I can connect my external hdd and create a back up that is stored on my mac?
    If this was possible, does Time Machine take a snapshot or does it duplicate the data (in other words would this take up a huge amount of storage on my laptop)?
    I don't use Time Machine as I generally don't store anything on my laptop, but my external HDD holds all my photos.
    Any help is much appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Hannah

    Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac

Maybe you are looking for