HT1751 if i back up my itunes library to an external hard drive and then add subsequent music and want to back that up a few days later, can i backup the only newly added music without backing up the entire library again?

hello,
if i back up my itunes library to an external hard drive and then add subsequent music and want to back up the newly added music a few days later, can i do it without backing up the entire library again? or do i need to back up the entire library each and every time i back up to the external hard drive?

Just copy Users/yourusername/Music/iTunes (containing your library-files) to your external drive as well as that (extaernal) folder that contains all your audio-tracks.

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Can I directly back up my itunes files to an external hard drive? To save my internal hard drive.

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If your intent is to remove the songs from your computer's internal drive you don't want to manually move them because iTunes won't know where they are. The safe way to perform this move is to start iTunes, open iTunes Preferences, and select the advanced tab. Plug in the external drive if it isn't already.
Using the picture above as a guide, (1) click on the Change button and select your external hard drive. (I created a Music folder on my external drive because I keep more than just music on it). 2) Click to put checkmarks in the boxes marked (2) and (3) and then click on the Ok button. This sets the stage for copying the music to your external drive and will make sure all your new music is put there as well.
The last step is to select the File menu, choose Library, and then Consolidate Library. This actually moves the music. Depending on how large your music library is and the speed of your external drive this will take a few minutes to a few hours.

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The problem lies with occasional dropouts that can corrupt the library's database files if they are being written to as the time of dropout. It's the nature of wireless networks. If you have a very strong signal throughout and are willing to take a chance then go for it.
But as for the speed, it must be iPhoto 11 and it's complexity causing the slowness. I had tried using a library on an EHD connected to my iMac from my laptop wirelessly with iPhoto 7 or 8 and it was pretty fast. I think it was 7 before faces and places came into being.
Send a feature request to Apple via http://www.apple.com/feedback/iphoto.html to improve wireless performance, etc.
OT

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I have my music library on my PC and am willing to do whatever it takes to have it be read by both computers from the external drive. The external drive is already formatted properly so I don't need to worry about anything there.
I transferred all of the files from iTunes Media folder to the external drive and am currently loading everything into the Mac's iTunes library, but I feel like I may have missed a step along the way. As it stands, both machines are pointed to the external drive from the Preferences > Advanced tab.
What else has to be done to assured that they are both read and can be used interchangeably? Also, by doing this does the start-up time of iTunes suffer? As in it will have to load and reload the library every time my external drive is taken in or out?

And after doing this, what if I wanted to add some more songs to my library? Would I have to go through the entire process of having to rei-mport the updated library or is it just a matter of throwing them in the folder with the rest of the music?

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Hi guys!
I recently bought a new MacBook Air as my MacBook Pro was on its last legs... I have my backup for my old MacBook Pro on an external hard drive and I'm trying to put a selection of albums from my old iPhoto onto my new MacBook Air iPhoto. I can't simply click and drag it over as I get an error message "The iPhoto library is a Time Machine backup, and so cannot be used as the main library...". I've tried to reopen iPhoto while holding option and selecting my old iPhoto library from my external hard drive to open... AND I get the same message.
If anyone could help me out that would be amazing!
FYI: The hard drive I am using is a G|Drive mobile with Thunderbolt 1 TB.
Thank you very much in advance!
Cheers,
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This diagram shows how a typical iTunes library ought to be set out (click on it to enlarge)
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tt2

HT1751 Hello, can you help? I have backed up iTune library to an external hard drive, but want to set up periodic back ups every month. Do I have to follow the "Consolidate file" procedure every time I back up, and does my original back become over writte

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The "consolidate" command has nothing to do with making backups. You use that command when you have had content in multiple places and you wish to have it now all in a single iTunes folder. If all of your content is already in the iTunes folder, then the "consolidate" command will be of no use to you. You will make further backups using whatever method you normally would use to make backups of your data in Windows.
Regards.

HT1751 I have followed the steps to back up my itunes library to an external hard drive but when I try to drag my library to the hard drive it does not work. Any suggestions?

I have followed th steps to back up my itunes library to an external hard drive but when I try to drag the itunes folder to the hard drive it does not let me. Any suggestions?

Go through the below forum with similar issue and follow the process mentioned by "Macjack" in the beginning.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4499820

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If I move my iTunes library to an external hard drive, can my MacBookPro access these files in iTunes or do I need to move them backto my MacBookPro to play music, watch movies, etc.???
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Yes, it can. Launch iTunes with the Option key held down and navigate to that instance of the library.
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How can i back up my itunes library onto an external hard drive?

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A quick search provides the answer, see the following:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751 for backing up to an external drive.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1382 for backing up to optical media.

HT5085 I bought a new computer. I backed up my old computer and put my itunes library on an external hard drive, that I then uploaded to the new computer. However, how do I access my Itunes account and use the $25.00 or so credit that Ihave and purchase

I bought a new computer, I backed up my itunes library on an external hard drive from the old computer. I then uploaded the external hardrive to my new comupeter Windows 8 - How do I access my apple store account to purchase additional music and use the $25 or so dollars I have in credit. ?
Thanks - Patti

You should be able to log into your account via the Store > Sign In menu option - if the drop-down menus aren't showing the control-B should them to show.
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Backing up iTunes Library to New External Hard Drive

I need to move the location of my itunes library as my external hard drive has become full.
I have been backing up my "computer" (i.e. internal hard drive) and the itunes library stored on the external hard drive with TM.
Once I move the library, I will be backing up the new music library. As I understand it, TM will treat this as a completely new backup. Once this is done, I would no longer need or want the older backup on TM -- what's the best way of deleting the older backup since it takes up an enormous amount of space -- i.e. it's 250 gigs -- and then the additional 250 gigs for the NEW music library backup.
Thanks

Helen Berman wrote:
I need to move the location of my itunes library as my external hard drive has become full.
I have been backing up my "computer" (i.e. internal hard drive) and the itunes library stored on the external hard drive with TM.
Once I move the library, I will be backing up the new music library. As I understand it, TM will treat this as a completely new backup. Once this is done, I would no longer need or want the older backup on TM -- what's the best way of deleting the older backup since it takes up an enormous amount of space -- i.e. it's 250 gigs -- and then the additional 250 gigs for the NEW music library backup.
Hello again, Helen!
First, see this: moving your iTunes Music folder
Are you moving the iTunes library from one external to a new, larger one? If so, give the new drive a different name than the old one, even if only slightly different (this is for you, not TM!)
Once the data is moved, eject and disconnect the old drive, and leave it alone for now.
Go into Time Machine and delete all backups of the old drive. You'll need the procedure in #E3 of the Time Machine - Troubleshooting *User Tip,* also at the top of this forum, to see them. Select the folder representing the old drive, click the "gear" icon in the Finder window's toolbar, select the +*Delete all backups of <folder name> option.+* You'll get a confirmation prompt, then one for your Admin password. Make a large pot of coffee, as that will take a while! If you exit from the TM display, you'll probably see a progress bar for the deletion.
Be sure the new drive isn't listed in the +Do not back up+ box in TM Preferences > Options. If it is, remove it. Then run a backup, and TM should back-up the new external in full, along with any changes to your internal. Make another pot of coffee!
Once that's done, be certain everything was backed-up properly: check sizes, and messages, and browse the backups.
If I were you, I'd keep that old one around, "just in case," until I really, really needed it for something else.

HT1751 if i back up my itunes library to an external hard drive and then add subsequent music and want to back that up a few days later, can i backup the only newly added music without backing up the entire library again?

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