HT201562 Multiple Itunes Library locations

Hello and Good Day,
I haven't yet found an answer to this question. I have have a 3TB USB 3.0 Hard-drive that I store most of my media content on. I also use an Apple TV to watch my content. When I add a movie to iTunes it gets copied to the Macbook. I would like to be able to store some content on the 3TB drive and some on the macbook. Is there a way to add content or have mixed iTunes library locations.
Thank you,

I figured it out and did not lose my music,

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Have found multiple iTunes Library.xml files. Moved Library to new Hard Drive and it needs to be completely rebuilt?

Hello. I have a Mac Mini operating Mac OS X 10.7.2. I recently had to move my iTunes Library to a new hard drive. I followed the directions on how to move the library and refind everything yet when I do so what comes up is a mere skeleton of what I had. I have had to hunt down my purchased Apps, Music and Movies and re-add them to the library. I also noticed in doing this I have multiple iTunes Library.xml files ... shouldn't there only be one? If so how do I clean this up without doing any accidental damage (i.e. how do I find the one that is being used and delete the rest?)? If I delete the others is there any risk of losing purchased content? Lastly syncing my iPads has become a nightmare as I get the "This iPad is currently synced to another iTunes library" message. Obviously something

It's hard for me to picture the exact situation. It sounds like you still have your library file on the internal but some files on the external, and maybe some on the internal, some of which are in the library and others not... By re-adding things after consolidating it may have made things into a hodge-podge. Yes, that article you referenced says: "iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder"with Media Folder being the emphasis. You probably should have just moved your whole iTunes folder. Still, moving the media folder as instructed should not have messed up the library. Did you make the mistake of starting up iTunes before the external drive had mounted fully and it then told you it couldn't find many files? How you proceed to sort it out will depend upon how much time you want to spend and how important things such as ratings and playcount are to you. I have not actually used the consolidate feature across different drives myself (and don't feel inclined to do so here to test ).
If you are in the USA you can download some previous purhcases with iCloud, but not all.
Here's a bit on what an iTunes folder should look like:
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]
Library files with graphic and explanation of different iTunes versions - http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=13169517
Once you get iTunes working off the external drive it should just put new media to the external when you add it.
I have almost no experience with synching (I synched my neice's iPod, once, about 4 years ago).

Can't change itunes library location to external hard drive

I did have my itunes library location set to an external disk (my time capsule) and this worked great with my macbook pro. However, the macbook pro "died" last week and now I'm trying to set my new replacement imac itunes library to also be the external hard drive.
The advance tab on itunes preferences indicates that library location is set as requested however, I can't see any of my music in my itunes window.
I could of course just copy my music on to my new computer but that'll take ages and I'd rather keep it on the time capsule.
Many thanks
Anna

So the additional step need to do was make sure the copy files to itunes media folder is unchecked and the go to itunes>files>add to library then select my itunes music folder in my itunes location on the time capsule. Done!
Answer was found here http://www.macworld.com/article/46248/2005/08/shiftitunes.html

ITunes library location resetting itself

I have moved my iTunes Library to a server drive so that it can be backed up, but iTunes keeps resetting it to my local hard drive. I had first moved the library several weeks ago, and then accidentally discovered it had changed back to my local hard drive all by itself at some point. I had moved it prior to the recent 6.0 and 6.0.1 releases (currently running 6.0.1), so I thought maybe the upgrade from 5 had reset it. A couple of nights ago, I got it all cleaned up and recombined back on the server drive. I had downloaded the 2 new free downloads this week, and then had numerous podcast updates during the day. That night, I found that again the location of my library has changed back to my local hard drive, and those downloads I had just done had went there. Again, I changed the library location through Preferences (with the "Keep iTunes Music folder oganized" and "Copy files to iTunes Music folder" options checked), and then "Consolidated" the library. Today, at around 4:00 this afternoon, it again switched back to the default C: drive location, when no one was even home. What's up with this? iTunes is supposed to allow changing of the library location, and I have followed the proper procedures, but it will not stay!
Help!

Speculation about future iTunes releases, features, or bug fixes is not allowed to be discussed here, but I can safely say that iTunes 7 won't be out for a long time. We went from 4.9 to 6 in six weeks recently. Highly unusual, and I don't expect that to be repeated anytime soon. However, that doesn't mean version 6 won't be updated.
What's important to remember is that your setup isn't the majority of iTunes' target market. That translates into your feature request or bug fix requirement probably being lower on the ladder of priority.
What would be useful to the iTunes community here is someone to volunteer to do some extensive testing and report the results.
- try multiple network/mount methods
- quit/launch iTunes quickly and see if there's any correlation with the speed of disk access
- make a note of any other processes that may have locked the network volume for a brief period, causing iTunes not to have access

HT1660 COMPILE MULTIPLE ITUNES LIBRARY?

I just got a new computer and transfered itune libraries from 2 other computers, this has caused my current library which i just started on the new computer to disappear and the other itunes libraries are located within multiple itune folders within previous itune library folders! WHAT! how can i get all my music into one library or folder? i've tried moving and the message i recieve is file or folder is in the same location. help/ 411!

I figured it out and did not lose my music,

How do I move my iTunes library location?

Hello, I am trying to move my iTunes library file location from my internal HD into an external HD.
I read a lot of topics within this community regarding this topic, and nothing worked for me...
I copied my entire itunes folder into the new location.
Then I opened iTunes with option key pressed, and selected the new iTunes folder in the new location.
When I tried to play a song, it asked me to locate it, and when I located it, itunes asked me if I want this new location for everything else missing, I said yes, but it does not find any other song, I need to locate one song at a time, and it is quite boring.
What can I do? What I am doing wrong?
Any ideas? I still need to change my iTunes library file location because I do not have more space in my MacBook's HD
Thanks....
KONRAD

Type "move itunes library" into the google search bar.

How do you restore a recently deleted music file from one's iTunes library located on a PC

While trying to clean up duplicate music files in my iTunes library, I mistakenly deleted several songs that I need to restore. How can this be accomplished? The songs still reside on the PC but need to be resynced to iTunes someway.

Unless you have a recent backup of your library that you can restore, iTunes has no information about the files you've deleted, so you'll need to use Windows' search functions to locate them. This is one of many reasons why you should set these options in Edit > Preferences > Advanced:
and if necessary use iTunes' File > Library > Organize Library... function to consolidate your media so that everything is stored in a standard, predictable folder structure under iTunes\iTunes Media.

Changed iTunes library location....

I just changed my lib location. Created a new dir on the external HD, changed the preferences to reflect that in iTunes. However, when I get info or play one of the files it still goes to the old location to play the file. Thoughts?

The library.itl file is the central controlling file of iTunes. It contains the file locations. When you open this library it displays your content (as it know it) and playlists, etc. When you play a track it checks the file location in iTunes and goes and plays that file. If the file is not where iTunes thinks it is, you get a broken link.
You didn't change your library location. What you did was tell iTunes, in future, to put all media in a new location. Did it ask to move your old media, and did you say yes? If it didn't move it then you may end up with split media. Existing media is still where you put it (as seems to be the case from your description), new media will go on the external.
In general the above is not what most people want to do. To correctly move the "library" (I say collection so as to not confuse this with the library file) you want to drag the whole iTunes folder to the external and tell iTunes when it starts up where the new location is. This is assuming you have everything in a nice, neat package in that folder. Now if you're in an intermediate stage then things are messy, but you'll have to let us know where you various files are at this stage.
Some people only want to move their media. That's okay, but you have to know what iTunes is doing, and also realize it gets tricky when moving the collection in the future.

Itunes library located on NAS, but it's SO slow!

So, I've set up my iTunes library to be located on my NAS (network attached storage). It's plugged into a gigabit switch, as is my home PC.
The library is big, about 77GB - which is why I don't want to keep it locally in the first place.
Anyhow, anytime I add music to itunes, it is SO SO SO slow to put the songs in the library. It just freezes itunes for about 1 minute per song. The copy process of the files over to the drive is pretty quick, a few seconds at most. It's like itunes is thinking about organizing it or something for the other 55 seconds, per song...
Is there any fix for this? iTunes has always felt sluggish on my i7 (which is ridiculous) - I'm getting close to switching over to Spotify completely for syncing/etc... but I would like to see if I can't fix this first...
Thanks,
Scott
Windos 7 64 bit, by the way.

Where's the ITL file? By that I mean the itunes database file. When you add songs or edit existing entries, that is the file itunes is accessing. By default itunes puts it on the C: drive. So, if you moved it to the NAS, try putting it back on the C: drive and do a shift-start to tell itunes it's in a different place. Or vice versa.
A shift-start means, press AND HOLD the shift key while starting itunes. Keep pressing until you see the option to choose a library. Browse to the new location and choose this file
iTunes Library.itl
You only have to do a shift-start once. iTunes keeps using the last ITL file it opened until you do another shift-start.

ITunes Library Location and Music Default Folder

I have a fairly large music library (350 GB) and keep it on external hard drive. In the iTunes Preferences I changed my default library location to such external drive. However, from time to time I can see that my library location gets back to the default internal HD of my Mac. Once it does that the system starts slowly copying music from my external to my dafault internal HD where there is obviously not enough space for that. Is their any way to stop iTunes changing the location of my Library? Did anyone come accross this issue?
Also does anyone know how to change the location of the default Music folder to refer to my external disc? I can not find where this can be done.
Thanks
Ruben

If iTunes doesn't find the iTunes Music folder at startup, it will set it to the default location. iTunes does so, because it has to know a location where to store imported music.
To prevent this, always connect your ext. HD before running iTunes.
You can make it somehow failsafe by using the method I described here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=318759
It's not an elegant solution, because it will give an error and iTunes won't run.
At least it doesn't reset the 'iTunes Music folder' location and you are reminded to connect your ext. HD.
Hope this helps.
M

Two iTunes library locations

I have a MacBook with a nigh-full 60 gig hard drive. I just bought a new 160 gig external hard drive to create room for my iPhoto library and some television shows that I play in iTunes.
I have found lots of help for putting all of my iTunes library onto the external HD. I want to put my movies and my television shows on the external drive, but I would like to keep my music on my laptop so I can carry it around with me; my iPod isn't big enough. Is there a convenient way to do this?

I have a MacBook with a nigh-full 60 gig hard drive. I just bought a new 160 gig external hard drive to create room for my iPhoto library and some television shows that I play in iTunes.
I have found lots of help for putting all of my iTunes library onto the external HD. I want to put my movies and my television shows on the external drive, but I would like to keep my music on my laptop so I can carry it around with me; my iPod isn't big enough. Is there a convenient way to do this?

Is it possible to control an itunes library located on an iMAC from a

I am trying to set up a sound system for a blind person using an ipad as a controller. The itunes music library is located on a iMAC and there is a Wifi network with an Airport Express located elsewhere. The ipad has the Remote App and Airport utility. The library is in excess of 64 Gb so cannot be stored on the ipad (16Gb) I can access and play from the library using the touch screen but Siri does not recognise the library and merely says that there is nothing on the ipad - which is literally correct. Is there any way that I can achieve this? The iPad is running iOS 6.1

Unfortunately, I don't see a solution to your problem.

More iTunes Library Locations?

I'm new to iTunes, and am using 9.0.2 (25). Under Preferences > Advanced, there's a checkbox which states, "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to Library". Does this mean there are iTunes Libraries placed elsewhere than only in the Music > iTunes > iTunes Media folder? If so, where are the other places iTunes keeps Library contents?
Also, when I run Activity Monitor, while running iTunes, there's another program running, named, 'AppleMobileDevic'. I don't connect my computer to an iPod, or a phone, so is there a way to stop 'AppleMobileDevic' from running each time iTunes is activated? Thanks.

My concern is that the phrase, 'Copy files...,' gives one the impression that the files are in at least two places – their original location, and then also, the location they are copied to.
That is correct.
If you haveiTunes prefs Advanced "Copy files..." ticked, after you add it to iTunes, you can delete it from the original location.
it would still imply that iTunes is retaining a copy of Library entries. If that is so, then where within iTunes are they kept?
They are in iTunes media folder location shown in iTunes prefs - Advanced. The default location is \Music\iTunes\iTunes music\ (or \Music\iTunes\iTunes media\ in iTunes 9).

Multiple itunes library folders - help help help...

hi all,
please help.
i am trying to put all my music into 1 itunes folder.
the problem im having is that i have about 3 at the moment ( 1 main HD,1 ext HD.1 old laptop)
they are all on my main HD now , but when i try to move 1 into the other, it says do i want to replace as some of the same artists on on each drive but with diff trks.
i just want to put it all in one place.
please help before i pull all my hair out.
cheers in advance.
adam

ok - what you need to do is set up a new folder.
name it anything
then drag or move each of the 3 folders into it.
then go to preferences - > and set the itunes music library folder to this new folder.
the problem is that iTunes may not be able to find the songs there since it will be looking for songs in one of the original 3 folders it thinks they are.
so your best bet would be to drag these folders as they are into this new folder and name it as the music library.
however this still might not work - and you would have to reload all your music from this new folder and possibly lose any new track info you altered manually.
good luck.

How to delete multiple old ITUNES LIBRARY files safely ?

I'd like to clean up my Itunes LIBRARY files, but don't know what's safe to do and not to do. (I have Itunes 8.1 / OSX10.4.11)
MY QUESTION IS TWOFOLD :
(1) how do I create a new Itunes library file now with today's date; and
(2) how do I delete multiple (old) Itunes library files, without risking the loss of what I've got ?
This all stems from exploring Itunes as a result of a problem I had today... when trying to import mp3's from my terrabyte drive, after about 150 successful mp3 track imports, Itunes froze and everything else on my MAC froze as well (constant spinning colored wheel). After many failed attempts to force quit Itunes, I turned off my MBPro. On restarting, Itunes tooks ages to "import" files. Eventually Itunes opened but with only half of my original tunes (1500+ songs 8.11GB) and had nothing from today's import.
I found a post suggesting to hold down OPTION while starting Itunes. Then I selected a file from my hard drive > me > music > Itunes > "Itune library" with the most recent date and shezam, Itunes once again has all my songs, as before. Nothing I imported from the terrabyte drive today appears however, but no matter.
In my "Itunes" file there appear MULTIPLE Itunes libraries ! such as Itunes library, Itunes Library (damaged), and as well a folder called "Previous Itunes Libraries" which itself contains multiple Itunes Library files and multiple "previous Itunes Library files" with dates back to 2007. These I want to clean up and delete .... should I ? ... Can I ?
I really could use some words of wisdom from the wise ! Thanks in advance

Whenever you install a new version of iTunes and run it teh first time, iTunes will create a backup of the current iTunes library file and copy it into \Music\iTunes\Previous iTunes libraries, then update the iTunes library file in \Music\iTunes\ for the current version of iTunes.

HT201562 Multiple Itunes Library locations

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