How to move itunes library .New vista pc &keep music on an external drive?

I'm moving from a Windows XP machine to a new Vista machine. All my music is on an external hd that I conenct via usb. Before giving away my old lap I backup the itunes files named itunes.itl,itunesmusic library.xml, albun art work folder
I installed itunes 7.2 and then I go to the edit preferences and change the music folder to f;//my music son itunes gets the music from my external hard drive.
Then i copy the itunes files that i back up into the the c ;users itunes folder.
WHEN i open itunes it start loading my library but suddenly stops and somtekind of error as file lock appears. son i unistall itunes an reistall it. but need to install it rigth so i can keep with my playlist etc.
I aloso
tried to add all my music to the new library. So i go to add folder to library and itunes starts getting some songs (i have more than 10000) but after a few minutes it suddenly stops and no songs were added to the library. and itunes freezes, so the only way to go ,is control alt delete ,stop itunes and start again.
I triend adding folder by folder , my music is organized as example. each floder has artist album and songs but I have to many folders . i tried adding one folder each time it ,instead off adding the my music folder with all the subfloders and it seems to work but it is going to take me months to finish.
does some one knows what should i do ? or why itunes sotps suddenly? or what is the right procedure i should follow to keep my music in the external hard drive and continue with my play lists.?it is like a new installation with all the music in an external hd, an I want to keep it that way.
Does some one know if i have to do something with the ituneslibrary files befre copynig then to the new ditunes directory created with the new installation , in refering as permits or porperties ets?
what i want to do is a clear new installation of itunes and keep my music in the external usb hard drive , but keep or restore my playlists and library that i back up before.?
hp pavillion dv6220   Windows Vista   hard drive connected via usb ,nortoninternet security software

I do the same thing as you do...
My music is on an external drive as to not use up gigabytes of storage that need not be used for media.
There are a couple basic principles to iTunes that I believe you should know.
1. iTunes is not a media storage program. It does not store your media "in iTunes". It simply is an organization tool for your media already on a hard disk.
2. As iTunes is not a storage mechanism, it has no way to "know" whether or not the media that is listed is actually there. This is where the "design" of iTunes comes into play.
I like to think of iTunes as a bread-crumb trail. The "music" in iTunes, isn't actually there. The bread crumb is the location on the external hard drive.
If that bread crumb trail disappears (in this case the external drive you use). If said external drive is not plugged in, that bread crumb trail is not able to be followed. iTunes is "lost" and unable to find the media. The only way to remedy this is to place the media on your local drive.
To address your issue of the library. If you hold down shift, you can select your library on your external drive. It will be a file with an .itl extension. The folder name will be your external drive.
I go into edit > preferences > advanced and set my library to the correct location. Make sure you check the box "Copy to iTunes Folder when importing" (or whatever it says).
You can't fix the issue of iTunes not seeing the media if your drive is unplugged unless you physically move the content to your OS HDD...Or any other HDD you use.

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