I cant access my itunes file from my WD hard drive?

i can't access my itunes file from my WD hard drive?

You might find this article useful: iLounge - Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive

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  • How do I access my iTunes media from an external hard drive?

    I have a new MacBook Air and want to access my media files from an external drive. I previously had a MacBook Pro and had to move all media to an external drive because I ran out of space. I've tried launching iTunes, going to Preferences, going to the Advanced Tab and then moving the location to the external drive and got this question: Would you like iTunes to move and rename the files in your new iTunes Media folder to match the “Keep iTunes Media folder organized” preference? Should I say yes? If I say yes, will iTunes be able to automatically find my files on the external drive?

    hey, basically i had the same problem as you. i had all of my itunes on an external hard drive and just bought a macbook pro, so here is what i was told to do....plug in the external hard drive to your MBA and then when you open itunes hold down the option button while you click and hold it down till you see a pop up window, it will ask you what library you want to use, click choose library and choose the itunes file that is on your external hard drive. and then all of your stuff will be in the itunes.
    what i have seemed to run into though is, when the external hard drive isn't plugged in itunes won't open unless you choose another library or plug in the external hard drive. - my question is this, should i open another library on my macbook pro's internal hard drive so i can at least look at itunes when i don't have my external hard drive connected. my old macbook did this, it would point to another library on my macbook and i would still be able to see all of my media but couldn't play it without the external hooked up, is there a way to do this on lion?
    i hope i was able to answer your question sam and hopefully can have my question answered too.
    thanks!
    - sorry sam, don't mean to hijack your thread but hopefully it will help us both - i don't want to store any media )movies, music, podcasts, apps, any of that stuff on my macbook pro's hard drive, so say there is a way to get itunes to open without my external hooked up and i can still see my media, or not see my media and i want to download a song or a app that i see when i am not near my external....what is the easiest way to get that file onto the external and not have it taking up space on my macbook pro's hard drive? sorry for all the long questions
    Message was edited by: thenumbersarebad - thought of one more thing - sorry

  • Question re Accessing catalogues and files from an external hard drive in Elements 6.

    Having just acquired an ehd, I have successfully carried out a trial back up of an Elements 6 2000 picture catalogue from an XP based PC, using the Elements 6 full back-up process. This process is intended to be used eventually to transfer this and other catalogues onto a new Windows 8 PC installed with Elements 11.
    However, in the interim I would also like to be able to access the picture files and the catalogue data on the ehd from a Vista based laptop which also has Elements 6 installed. Can you please advise how to do this without carrying out a full restore process that would load all of the files onto my laptop's hard drive.
    In transferring the picture files to the ehd I also seem to have lost the original file structure that was on my PC, as folders have been renamed numerically and are all held individually in the main folder of the ehd. Whilst this doesn't matter too much whilst the files remain on the ehd, provided the catalogue still knows where to find them, has the original file structure been permanently lost, or can I recreate it when I eventually restore the files and catalogue on the new Windows 8 PC?
    I'm anxious to get this process right as I have a much larger catalogue to similarly back-up and transfer, once I have acquired the new PC, and was hoping to be able to similarly access this catalogue by my laptop from the ehd as there is insufficent hard disk space on my laptop to hold all the 20,000 files involved.
    Please help
    Gardener 179

    Thanks for your help re my original questions. 
    Reassured regarding not having lost the file structure of my pictures, and bearing in mind the relatively small catalogue I had backed up, I thought that rather than restoring by leaving the picture files on the EHD, I would after all restore to the laptop hard drive, as a trial run before dealing with my main catalogue. 
    The restore was successful but raised a number of further issues that I would appreciate your advice on:-
    1) The original catalogue name was not used in the restoration process. The restored catalogue on the laptop has simply been named "Pictures". Is this normal and if I now rename the restored catalogue will this create problems with any subsequent supplementary backups of the catalogue?
    2) In restoring the catalogue I heeded the Adobe Help and specified the Vista folder C:\Users\Maurice\Pictures as the location for the picture files rather than simply restoring the original XP folder structure. However, since I also wanted to retain the lower level folder structure of my XP files (which are basically date files) I then specified to "Retain the Original Folder Structure". This has resulted in the full XP folder structure being created within \Pictures on the laptop.
    Is it possible to avoid this situation occurring, or will I have to remove the unwanted XP sub-folder structure from the laptop and reconnect the thumbnails in the Photoshop catalogue to the new file locations? Also if I have to move files in this way will I once again have problems with any subsequent restorations of the same catalogue?
    I have also a couple of supplementary questions re the initial backup to the EHD which I have now looked at more closely:-
    1) The original XP catalogue has 1853 picture files, (and this is identical to that subsequently restored on the laptop), yet in backing up the catalogue to the EHD it seems that in excess of 2200 picture files have been created. Why is this?
    2) As previously advised the pictures are held on the EHD numbered sequentially as "b000001" etc, and due to my selecting the EHD top level root folder as the destination for the back up are held in F:\. Should I have created a new folder, say "Backup 1" on the EHD, and then specified this as the destination folder, as I am concerned that on backing up further catalogues the existing picture files will get overwritten and the Photoshop Backup and Catalogue files confused with previous backups? If so can I move the existing back up files to a new folder now without causing any problems?
    Finally could you confirm what would have happened to the folder structure on the EHD had I carried out the Restore process by locating the picture files on the EHD but retaining their original file structure. Would the picture files have been copied into their original file structure for use by the restored catalogue and the duplicate backup files left unaltered, or would the backup picture files have been replaced by the restored file structure? Also would the "catalogue file" be transferred to the Laptop C:\ drive in this process or would this also stay on the EHD and be accessed from there by Photoshop?
    Sorry for all the questions but I really want to fully understand what is going on before risking doing anything to move my main catalogue.
    Regards

  • Cant import my itunes libary from my external hard drive

    i moved my all my music from my laptop to my external hard drive and im not able to open itunes and listed to my music. I can physically find each song but i dont have the time to find locate each one of my tracks. Please help!

    The first and best option to do would be open iTunes and go into preferences. Once there head to the advanced tab. Select the iTunes Music folder on your external drive. That may fix the links you haven't already but will break the links that you created by hand.
    If you are running time machine go back to before you moved the music onto the external drive.
    If you can do this move the iTunes music folder onto the external drive being sure to include the xml file. The next time you open iTunes it should ask you to locate or create a new library (if this does not happen simply hold the option key while starting iTunes). Select the folder containing the music and xml files on your external drive. This will open it up from there and be no different than it was before with the exception of being external.
    Note that this will also work if you want to take your music with you but not the computer. Hold the option key and select the folder on another computer and there is your iTunes ready to sync an iPod and not damage the host computer. Also you can create multiple libraries for one user but beware of duplicates.

  • How do i access my itunes library from an external hard drive?

    How do I use itunes with my music on an external hard drive?

    You might find this article useful: iLounge - Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive

  • My computer died.  Can I recreate my iTunes library from my old hard drive?

    My computer died and I had not backed up my iTunes library (I know, I know).  The crash was not due to a corrupted hard drive, however, and I can access all the files from my old hard drive with my new computer, including any iTunes files.  Can I recreate my iTunes library from these files on my new computer?
    Thanks!!

    Yes.
    Transfer the iTunes named folder located in the Music folder from the hard drive on the failed computer to the appropriate location on your new computer - with iTunes quit when doing so.
    In Windows Vista and Windows 7, click the triangles next to the folders and drives to navigate. In Windows Vista, the default location is: \username\Music\iTunes. In Windows 7, the default location is: \username\My Music\iTunes.

  • Any suggestions for running an iTunes library from an external hard drive on two computers?

    I have two Mac computers: an iMac and a MacBook Air.  My iMac has 1TB of storage space (plenty enough for my 200+gigs of music) but my MacBook Air only has 250gigs of storage space.  I know I can access all of the music from my iMac on my MBA with HomeSharing.  But that doesn't work when I take my MBA out of the house for work.  I was going to switch over my iTunes library to an external HD but I don't know if I can access the library on the hard drive from my MBA, when the main library is on my iMac.
    Any suggestions as to how to get two different computers to access an iTunes library from an external hard drive?
    Thanks.

    I am confused as to what you had or have where and when.  The bottom line is, your library (for the standard user) is everything in the iTunes folder.  As far as iTunes' organization and display is concerned, your library is a file called "iTunes Library.itl" which points to all the other host of files and folders normally in the iTunes folder which all work together.
    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
    What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
    Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
    iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847 - plus supplemental information about organizing to new structure https://discussions.apple.com/message/26404702#26404702
    Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392 and making an iTunes library portable.
    If you kept everything together in one place then you need to put the whole iTunes folder on the drive where you want it, start iTunes while holding down the option key and guide it to that .itl file.  If things were split up and you had media on the external and the rest of the library on the internal you need to get them back to exactly where they were before.  If you can't find that iTunes folder holding the critical .itl file anywhere then you have a bunch of media tracks and no organization and will need to rebuild the organization from ground level.

  • I can't copy iTunes media files from one external hard drive to another.

    Hi, I am running the latest iTunes and Mavericks software on my MacBook Pro. My iTunes library is stored on an external Seagate 2tb hard drive and it is almost full. I want to transfer the files to a WD Elements 3tb external hard drive and have made that new volume the destination folder for my iTunes library. However, even though I have enabled read/write on both volumes and made the iTunes media folders on both shared folders, I can't copy all the files from the Seagate drive to the WD drive. It comes up with an error message that says "The operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -8058)". I can transfer files from my MacBook hard drive to the new volume, but can't copy files from the old Seagate volume to my MacBook hard drive; it makes the "boing" sound that indicates it is copying but nothing transfers. Files that won't copy include all music files, some video files and all podcast files. Some transferred with no problem. Any ideas out there?

    Hi Limnos, thanks very much for your reply.
    both external drives came preformatted for Windows but I erased each and reformatted them for Mac before using them.
    i made the destination folder on the new WD drive the new iTunes folder using Advanced preferences in iTunes.
    my original iTunes folder on the first drive contained all my iTunes files, as that, also, was the destination folder that was linked via Advanced preferences.
    If I download new content now with the new drive attached, iTunes has no trouble finding where to place the files.
    in Preferences I have both boxes checked (copy files" and "organize") that deal with copying iTunes files.
    When  I first attempted to copy all iTunes files from one media folder to the other on the external drives, I just did a drag and drop of the whole iTunes media folder from one to the other while both were mounted on my desktop. It started copying immediately with no problems, but as it progressed it started skipping files, each time displaying the error message I reported earlier. that included my entire Music folder. When I open, for example, a season folder that contains files that would not copy, eg, Modern Family Season 5, the episodes that won't copy are there and visible but any attempt to drag and drop them into the correct folder on the new drive results in the error message. There is no pattern to it; it will choose some episodes from some seasons but not others, and no music at all.
    when I look at the "missing" files in  iTunes they have the small exclamation mark that indicates the file is missing, but when I locate it through iTunes it doesn't copy the file on the old external drive to the new one. It just plays it having found the file on the old drive.
    originally I had to make the iTunes folder on the old drive into a shared folder using the Get info window after either a software upgrade or an OS upgrade (I can't remember which, it was several years ago). For some reason the upgrade changed the preferences of that folder to a Read Only folder and after researching the problem found the only way to keep using the drive was to make the folder a shared one. I can't remember why and I apologise for that but it was a long time ago.; I can tell you that at the time it was necessary.
    thanks again for your time; I have a good working knowledge of iTunes and Macs in general so I truly believe I have done everything according to how it should be done,, but clearly I've done something wrong!

  • How do i switch wma files from an external hard drive to mp3 on itunes?

    how do i switch wma files from an external hard drive to mp3 on itunes?

    Can you not just drag them from the external drive to a folder on your new computer?

  • I imported files from an external hard drive to Itunes on a new computer.  they imported & play fine, but the ratings & playlists are gone & i am unable to update any info.  I found a file name playlist on old drive & imported now most files are missing!

    I imported files from an external hard drive to Itunes on a new computer.  they imported & play fine, but the ratings & playlists are gone & i am unable to update any info.  I found a file name playlist on old drive & imported now most files are missing!  Help!

    Can you locate the iTunes Library.itl file on the old drive? Ideally you would have simply copied over the entire iTunes folder structure from <User's Music> on the old computer into <User's Music> on the new one to transfer the library will all playlists, ratings, play counts etc. intact.
    tt2

  • How do I extract my music files from a evternal hard drive and put them on my itunes?

    how do I extract my music files from a evternal hard drive and put them on my itunes?

    If you used the Finder to move the files, iMovie will have lost track of them. iMovie holds the locations of the Event files, and Project files contain references to those locations. If you move the files, iMovie has no way of knowing where they are.
    If you can, first move all the files back to their original locations. Plug in the external drive. Open iMovie and move the files in iMovie's interface (help explains how, but basically, just drag and drop in the event pane).
    Then you can connect the drive to the new computer, and iMovie will see them.

  • I transferred my iTunes library from one external hard drive to another and added more music on the same day. How do I get rid of my duplicate files without going through them one by one which would take forever?

    Please help. I have transferred my iTunes library from one external hard drive to another plus added additional music now I have duplicates of the same music in many albums. How do I delete the duplicates without going through them one by one which would take forever? I understand how to get the "show exact duplicate" feature up on iTunes but, because they were added to the library on the exact day I can't seperate them I'm that manner. So each duplicate is right next to eachother in the exact duplicate screen.

    My DeDuper script is designed to help clean up. See this thread for background.
    tt2

  • Bought a MBA and am trying to keep iTunes files on an external hard drive. Having problems.

    Hi, I bought a MBA 13" and want to keep my iTunes files on an external hard drive to save space.However, I keep running into problems. I can't get the iTunes Media folder to stay on the folder in my external hard drive. Whenever I unplug it, regardless if iTunes is open or not, it changes back to the media file on the MBA. I tried renaming the media folder and deleting it, but the computer just makes another if I do that and then ends up deleting my whole library, forcing me to load it all back from my hard drive. Can anyone help me out on this? Thanks.

    In iTunes 11 uncheck the preferences setting in in the iTunes Preferences panel "Advanced > Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to Library"

  • I get error 8062 when trying to copy files from one external hard drive to another. It starts out copying files, but after 10 minutes or so it stops and I get the error 8062. The hard drive tech support says the problem is in my Macbook Air.

    I cannot copy my doc and photos and videos from one external hard drive to a second external hard drive -- both plugged in to my MacBook Air -- I get Error 8062 and the copying (which seemed to be going on for 10 minutes) stops and nothing gets copied.
    As any Macbook Air owner knows, there is SO LITTLE storage capacity on the computer that you have to back up big files onto an external hard drive to avoid getting the other annoying error that says you have no more memory/storage capacity/whatever the proper term is, and you cannot use the computer.
    Backstory: Before this error cropped up, I had backed up lots of files to an external drive and then removed them from my computer. But then the external hard drive got corrupted and I could not access my entire photo library. Had to pay $850 to Kroll Ontrack to recover those files. I have now bought 2 new external 1 Terrabyte  hard drives as protection against another such disaster. BUT I cannot copy the files from the first hard drive where all my reovered files now sit, to another backup hard drive.
    Feeling vulnerable. Please help.
    SusaninNY

    From the menu bar, select
     ▹ System Preferences ▹ Energy Saver ▹ Power Adapter
    and uncheck the box labeled Put the hard disk(s) to sleep when possible, if it's checked.
    If the drive has more than one interface (USB, FireWire, Thunderbolt, eSATA), try one of the other interfaces.
    Check that the data cable is securely inserted at both ends.
    Try a different cable.
    If you're connecting the drive through a hub, connect it directly to a built-in port on the Mac.
    If you're connecting it directly, try a different port.
    Disconnect all other devices on the bus, or as many as possible.
    Test the drive with another Mac. Test another drive with this Mac.
    If the drive is bus-powered, but has an AC adapter, connect the adapter.
    Start up in Safe Mode and test.
    If the drive doesn't work under any of the above conditions, and if another drive does work with the same Mac, then the drive has failed. You may be able to salvage the mechanism by removing it from the enclosure and installing it in another one, or in a drive dock.

  • How do I move my iTunes library from my external hard drive back to my computer?

    Just wondering how do I move my entire iTunes library from my external hard drive back to my computer? It was moved to an external hard drive a few years ago, and now I'm wondering how to move it back to my iMac to increase performance.
    Where does it belong in the computer?
    Any suggestions?

    The library itself is the /Home/Music/iTunes/ folder in its entirety. Did you also change where preference files were stored? Normally, they would be in the /Home/Library/Preferences/ folder.

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