I have a new computer, I have itunes library on an external drive. How do I configure my new computer?

I have a new Windows 7 computer. On my old XP, I had my iTunes on an external hard drive that I still want to use, but now I need to figure out how to set up my new computer to do this. Do I do a fresh install of ITunes first, on my new computer? Any help would be greatly appreciated! I am so glad that I recently synched my ipod.

How did you migrate to external drive originally?
Was your original iTunes setup set to keep all files in the same location, i.e. consolidated on your external drive?
Did you actually move your iTunes library out to the external drive, or did you only changed the location of the music files, and then reimported them into iTunes?
Sounds like you simply moved your files out to the external drive and reimported, but the library itself was still pointing to your internal hard drive. Which means anything you added after the migration was kept in the internal iTunes library folder rather than in your external drive.
If you still have the old XP computer around you amy be able to salvage what you imported afterwards from there.
Otherwise, you basically have only the part of the library you moved out.
To have correctly moved your library you needed to have moved a folder named iTunes from the Music folder in XP. That would contain all your iTunes library information including music, videos apps etc...
iTunes: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - Apple Support

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I have transferred my itunes library to an external drive. I then attached the external disk to a new computer. I can now access all songs from the new computer. But I can't access playlists. I can still access all songs and playlists on the old computer

I have transferred my itunes library to an external drive. I then attached the external disk to a new computer. I can now access all songs from the new computer. But I can't access playlists. I can still access all songs and playlists on the old computer

If you right mouse and select Get info it will show you the Apple ID used to purchase these songs.
Usually the name of an apple id is based on the email. So knowing that you may have forgotten the Apple ID password.
You can request a new password here http://www.apple.com/support/appleid/

I had my itunes library on an external drive, I now have a new Windows 7 computer. How can I access my library?

I had my itunes library on an external drive, I now have a new Windows 7 computer. How can I access my library?

Hello, robertfromboulder city.
Thank you for the question. You can direct iTunes to read your media off your external drive. To do this, follow the instructions below. See the section in the first article labeled Discovering and changing the iTunes Media folder location.
Where are my iTunes files located?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751
Cheers,
Jason H.

I store my itunes library on an external drive shared between 2 computers and itunes on computer A isn't seeing or showing the songs I added using itunes on computer B.

I store my itunes library on an external drive shared between 2 computers and itunes on computer A isn't seeing or showing the songs I added using itunes on computer B. How to fix this?

I don't know if this is me adding files to iTunes when the external wasn't connected
it is.
is it OK to just keep deleting that library on the Air?
i wouldn't - at least not until i
mount the external
point iTunes media folder location back to the external via preferences > advanced
consolidate my library via file > library > organize library
The ntfs hasn't seem to be causing any problems, but I've always wanted to know.
in order for your Mac to write to NTFS drives, it needs some help by installing e.g. the NTFS 3G driver. apparently that or something similar is installed on your Mac already. preferably, it would be formatted for Mac but then windows machines would need to have e.g. MacDrive installed to recognize the drive.

How to transfer iTunes library to an external drive (thats easy!) but keeping the playlists musics on the computer?

How to transfer iTunes library to an external drive (thats easy!) but keeping the playlists musics on the computer?
Many thanks!

Select a single song with a broken link, press CTRL+I to Get Info, cancel when asked to locate the track and take a look at the Summary tab. Post back where iTunes is looking for the file. It begins file://localhost
Where is it really?
Please post back both paths so that I can make suggestions. Full paths please, exact spellings, you can replace your user name with <User> if needed.
tt2

Itunes Library on An External Drive

Hi All,
I've been reading a few tutorials on how to setup an itunes library on an external drive and wish to ask a question that I haven't seen covered yet...
I have a desktop PC running win XP with which we connect 2 ipods to our library regularly to update (we both have laptops but are happy to let the home computer maintain our music collections). I have a few different external drives that I connect to this computer at different times. In addition I have a number of internal hard drives that I plug into my system when working on different projects or when I want to do backups. The end result is that the drive I wish to use for my music and (including itunes folders) is not always given the same designation (ie. M:drive) every time I plug it in due to other devices connected to the system.
Sooo my question is will I have to point itunes to the folder on the newly designated drive each time such a situation occurs? If so does that process take long or are there any alternatives I can setup in order to eliminate any problems.
I had considered manually designating the external drive myself using windows disk management snapin however this would be tedius and painful to teach others that want to use it.
Thanks for any advice given
Cheers
Matt

Thanks for your replies guys. I have gone ahead and tried to assign a drive letter to the drive I wish to use. Following the instructions here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844 on how to assign I get to stage 6 and find the "Assign the following drive letter " to be ghosted out. I can however change (as opposed to add) the drive letter without problem. After experimenting a bit I've found this drive reassigns itself to the new changed letter(Z:) after I unplug and plug it back in as well as after rebooting.
Would I be correct in assuming that this has done the same job and now regardless of what other drives I have attached to the pc at any time this drive will always be assigned Z:?
Thanks very much

Using iTunes library from an external drive over wifi

Hello Community Peeps!
I'm looking for some advice and hope someone has the same setup that I'm hoping to make.
I currently have an iMac and recently had to replace the screen. As the machine is now out of warranty I'm thinking to sell it on before I get any further problems. I Currently have all my work and entire iTunes library stored on an external drive connected via usb to the iMac.
As a graphic designer i need to be fairly mobile and am thinking about changing my setup to this, so that when i'm in one location I can use a bigger screen and when I need to be out and mobile I can just take my MBP out with me and get by designing on that screen.
I am thinking of getting purchasing;
• The most powerful 15" MBP latest I can afford (probably with 2GB graphics).
• Separate 27" display to connect the MBP to when I am in one location.
• Airport base station (not time capsule) to connect my external drive to via USB to make it a wifi drive.
I already have Apple TV but have been told that in order to have my Apple TV access my iTunes library (on the external hard drive connected to the base station) over wifi I will need the MBP switched on and iTunes open. Thats no problem as long as I can do it over wifi.
I will be using the latest OSX and latest iTunes.
I have no since been told by a friend that iTunes has glitches in it and will be unreiable inaccessing my library on the hard drive over wifi.
So my question is, does anyone else have this kind of setup and what is their experience on itunes accessing it's library stored on what is effectively a wifi drive.
And advice gratefully received!
Thanks

That won't get your your "library". Your library, in essence, is (was?) a file called library.itl in your iTunes folder. This is a database with a listing of which media files you have and where they are, long with playlists, ratings, and a bunch of other things (which artwork goes with which album). If all you have on the external drive are the media files then when your old computer died it took the library.itl file with it.
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
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847
Image of iTunes folder structure Dec. 2011 - https://discussions.apple.com/message/16923545
see also:
Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/message/13025536 and https://discussions.apple.com/message/17457605
If you want your full library listing back then you will have to recover it from your bakup drive (which is why you have it). Alternatively you can create a brand new library file, add the media to it, and start new.

How do I move an iTunes library from one external drive to another?

I need to move my iTunes library from one external disk to another, because the original disk is about to fail. So, I went into iTunes Perferences --> Advanced, and set the library to a new, empty folder on the new drive.
Nothing changed. I expected all my music to vanish from iTunes, so that I would have to re-import it. However, all the music remained, still on the old disk. At this point, if I were to recreate the library on the new disk, I would have all of my music twice.
Is it possible to move an iTunes library from one external drive to another, or am I stuck with my original choice until I buy a new machine? If I can move it, can one of you clever folks explain how it could be done?

Paul Seymour1 wrote:
However, those are all dealing with old versions of iTunes that still contained the Advanced --> Consolidate Library command which is no longer part of the app. (I'm on iTunes 10.6.1.)
Consolidate is still part of iTunes.
It is in iTunes menu File > Library > Manage library > Consolidate.
The article you linked to is old and it is (and was) a hacky way of doing it.
Just copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to new location, hold Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) when launching iTunes.

HT1373 How do I backup my itunes library to an external drive

My iTunes library is unstable. I have two questions:
1) How do I backup my iTunes library to an external drive?
2) Why am I constatntly prompted to add my computer to iCloud when I have done so multiple times?
When opening iTunes, I receive he error message: "Please Sign In Again, iTunes Match has encountered an error. Please choose Sign Out and he Sign In from the iTunes Store menu and try again."
I tried downloading and installing/repairing the latest iTunes. That did not correct the problem.
Also, I have sync'd to iCloud. Every time I select iMatch from iTunes, I am prompted to Add This Computer to iCloud. I have already done this multiple times.

Hello cijackson,
You posted your question in the iTunes for Mac Forum. You may get better results on the iTunes for Windows forum. Best of luck > https://discussions.apple.com/community/itunes/itunes_for_windows?view=overview

How do i get my laptop to access the itunes library on my external drive hooked up to my desktop via my home network?

How do i get my laptop to access the itunes library on my external drive hooked up to my desktop via my home network?

If you are willing to pay $24.99 per year for iTunes Match you can put your library in the cloud provided you don't have more than 25,000 tracks.
iCloud- iTunes Match
iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability
iTunes Store- Troubleshooting iTunes Match
iTunes- How to add a computer or iOS device to iTunes Match

Moving iTunes Library to an external drive. My itunes cant connect to the library

I have tried to move my iTunes Library to an external drive. When I open the iTunes app i can not get the app to read the library on the external drive. I have gone into iTunes preferences and redirected the app to read the external file and I still look as though I have a "New iTunes program" with no music, apps, videos etc.
Thanks all!

If you moved the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder, hold "Option" and launch iTunes.
Select "Choose library" then select the iTunes folder you moved.
You do not need to change the iTunes media folder location in iTunes prefs > Advanced.

Why can't I access my itunes library on an external drive?

Hi -- I successfully moved my itunes library to an external drive a few months ago, and all was going well - I added content to it several times. For some reason now I can't access it, and when I tried to burn a CD into itunes, it created a new library that is on my hard drive. I have done the thing where I go into preferences and select the external drive as the library, but I still can't get to the external drive.
This is particularly urgent because I have a 2-week old baby and I am trying to burn one of those awful "soothing sounds" CDs so I can play it on my ipod while he is sleeping. Thank you!

If the iTunes Library.itl file is also on the external drive, try launching iTunes while holding down the Shift key, and when the dialog window opens that allows you to create a new library or open an existing one, choose to open an existing one, navigate to the folder that contains that library file and select it.
If that works, note for the future that if you launch iTunes when that external drive isn't mounted, iTunes will default back to the normal location on the internal drive and you'll have to repeat the Shift-launch process.
Hope this helps.

HT1751 Hi, I tried to restore my itunes library from an external drive and did everything that's written here step by step.when I chose the itunes library to import itunes just said that its accessing the itunes store but nothung happened. I'm working on

Hi, I tried to restore my itunes library from an external drive and did everything that's written here step by step. when I chose the itunes library to import itunes just said that its accessing the itunes store but nothing happened. Does anyone know how to do this so that all my playlists are also imported and not just the music itself?

When I have done this, all I did was network the two machines and copy the contents of the iTunes folder to the other machine, and that's it.
My understanding (which may not be 100% correct) is that the one file that is absolutely necessary is iTunes Library, and that the XML file is actually a copy auto-generated from the iTunes Library, appearing in a different format only for non-iTunes apps that take advantage of the iTunes Library data.
As far as I know, if you simply have the Library (database) file and all your original music files, iTunes on that computer should operate as it did on your old computer. I believe that the Album Artwork, Genius Data, and XML files can be regenerated from the Library file. Not sure about the Extras file.

Moving iTunes library to an external drive converting to different format

I want to move entire iTunes library to an external drive. I've found several Mac 101's to help but those helps makes no sense. I should be able to move music to another drive and give iTunes the path to find it but that does not work.
All files are iTunes Plus including everything from Amazon but I want to convert everything to a mp3 or other format so all files are independent of iTunes. Lots of old music from CDs I imported and lots from iTunes as well as Amazon. I guess i could sit and burn everything to a physical cd but that would take months and hundreds and hundreds of cds. Can someone advise how I can convert these files and then move to an external drive?
I'm running mountain lion and version 10.7 of iTunes. Two external drives and 145 gigs of music. Any guidance will be most appreciated.
Thanks.

HI Limnos,
Thanks for the reply. Something I forgot (age) to mention, this quest to move the library is precipitated by the Mac drive is running out of space. While I still have about 50 gigs of room left, I was thinking I should just plan on opening up the space by moving the iTunes library.
The other reason is, I read an article about how upon ones death one can not bequeath ones digital music or book files to loved ones. IE; If all of the music was on LP's, tapes, cd's then this physical format can be left in ones final will. But according to what I read and trying to read the user policy by Apple, Amazon etc when one downloads music or a book or whatever that use policy says we don't own the material we only can read it or listen to it. When we die it dies with us. Several people in the article as well as myself believe this is crap. At one time I was purchasing content and then burning it. I stopped because I thought how silly to burn it, I have back ups on an external drive. Man was I wrong. If I have to I'll sit here in my last days and burn hundreds of cd's.
So realizing this, I want to take all my music files and save them to another drive as though this drive was hundreds of cd's. That way all those files in some other format can be played independent of iTunes or transfered to one of my kids PC's or a Mac if they get with the program. If the conversion process destroys the integrity of the file then I have no choice but to burn cd's.
In my estimation, I'm doing nothing wrong. I bought downloadable music just as if I'd bought cd's. I should be able to throw it away or give to my kids upon my death. The kids can decide what they want to do with it once I'm gone. I now no longer buy any music or books in a digital download. All content is purchased with a physical copy. That said, more content providers are moving towards downloads only or like Amazon and Apple towards the cloud and streaming. I realize all this gets into the fair use act but I think most people are unaware of this issue.

Moving the iTunes library to an external drive

I followed the Apple article and successfully moved my iTunes library to an external drive. BUT, is the Album Artwork supposed to stay in the original location (internal drive)? Mine did, and I had to redownload album artwork again. HOWEVER, I don't have all my artwork since the transfer and since the redownloading of it.
Is it safe to drag the album artwork folder to the external? I don't want to mess anything up.
Thanks.

I followed the Apple article and successfully moved my iTunes library to an external drive.
which article (post a link) did you follow and what exactly did you move to the external ?

Can I optimize the iTunes library on my external drive?

I have my iTunes library on my external drive, which by the way, is very full (only 40 of the 500 gb free). It takes ages for ITunes to start up, and I believe it's because of the very full harddrive. Is this really the case, though? And is there a way to seppd up opening iTunes?
André

I don't think a G5 is that old. Maybe running Leopard would change things, but I have to save for that...
Still, it started to take longer after I had put all my files from the main drive on the external one so i think it's because that drive is almost full. Is there a program to optimize an external drive, I remember you have the for the pc, reformat or something like that.

I have a new computer, I have itunes library on an external drive. How do I configure my new computer?

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