I moved my itunes media folder to an external drive

Now i'm not sure how to delete the old media folder to free up space on my internal drive?

i have all the computers pointing to:
Multimedia>iTunes>iTunes Media
in the iTunes Media folder there are the following folders:
Automatically Add to iTunes
Books
Movies
Music
TV Shows
i do NOT have the "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" box checked. i read on another site that this box should remain UNchecked when storing your iTunes library centrally. what is it exactly checking that box does? does anyone know of a good article explaining how to get multiple users to be able to access a centrally located iTunes Media folder?
by that i am not talking about Home Sharing or whatever it is called. i want to be able to access the central iTunes Media Library and have my kids be able to sync their iPads and iPhones and any other A4 devices they have from their own computers. all family members are setup with Network Home Folders being handled by an Intel xServe.
all help is appreciated....

Similar Messages

  • I have moved my Itunes media folder to an external drive and Itunes does not find the items in the folder

    Running Win7. I moved my entire Itunes library to an external drive to free up space on my laptop. Itunes recognized the change and all was well. That worked fine and I have synced several times from the laptop with the library on the external drive. Now the laptop is in the shop (sigh, not Itunes related a dead network card). I connected the external drive to my desktop, made sure my software was up to date. opened ITunes went to edit/preferences/advanced. Went to change Itunes media folder location and navigated to the proper folder on my external drive and clicked OK. None of the music, videos, etc, that are in that folder show up in iTunes on the desktop. Restarted ITunes, no help, reboot computer, no help. Have I done something wrong or left out a step. I could copy all the media onto the desktop individually and build new playlists but that seems like something that should not be needed? One of the reasons I moved my Itunes media folder to the external drive was so I could use the laptop for iTunes while travel and the desktop for iTunes while at home. Do I have to copy the entire folder to my desktop and take up space there? That would be counterproductive to using the external drive. I searched and saw a hint to hold down shift while starting ITunes but that did not change anything. Any help would be most appreciated!
    Jim in WV

    Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
    In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow?  In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
    Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

  • HT1449 When moving your iTunes Media folder to an external drive should the itl file be moved during the organise library process too?

    I have moved all of the iTunes data to the drive, but can't seem to find the .itl folder when trying to make external drive the location for my music for a new computer.
    Can anyone please assist on letting me know where the .itl file would have been copied to or whether, if I copy the .itl folder separately, would it keep play counts and ratings?
    Thanks

    Many people confuse moving their media folder with moving their library.  A library is everything inside the iTunes folder.  Unless you have a specific reason for not wanting to move the entire library it is best to do that rather than just media.
    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 move only media then the main library files remain on the computer.  If you want to move the whole library:
    Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings:  Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive.  Open iTunes and immediately hold down the option (alt) key (shift on Windows) so you get a prompt to choose a library, then select the copied iTunes folder.
    If this is to a new computer and you put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music  then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there.  (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)

  • I moved my itunes media library to an external drive to free up 40gigs.  How do I recoup my 40gigs?

    I moved my iTunes media library to an external drive to free up 40gigs on my hard drive.  When I checked in about this Mac to see if the space was gained it now seems to be replaced by a category "backups".  How do I recoup my 40gigs?

    When you moved the iTunes data to the external HDD, I assume you deleted it from your MBP.  Backup are not to worry about.  Read this:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14329
    They will be deleted when disk space is required.
    Ciao.
    In addition, read this Apple support article:
    http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT4878

  • ITunes Media Folder Renameable on External Drive (mac)

    I have a 1TB collection of music in a folder on an external drive within a folder that is NOT called iTunes Media, but which until now had behaved as if it were.
    I just switched to a clone of my old 1TB drive on a 1.5TB drive. After 11 hours of locating my 157000 tracks, I was able to find and use every track. However, when I added a new track, apparently I lost the ability to add new music tracks within the Music folder. Instead, a new iTunes Media folder was created within the folder which SHOULD have been called iTunes Media.
    In the (new) iTunes Media folder there are a few folders containing the music I added after the switch. In the Music folder (below, but higher hierarchy) there is 1TB of music, which means it cannot be copied into the (new) iTunes Media file on the 1.5TB drive (not enough space).
    Even though it would entail 100+ hours of new clone-backup time, the most logical solution would be to discard the embedded iTunes Media folder, rename the top-level folder iTunes Media, then let iTunes relocate the tracks again (over another 11 hours) and reload the few tracks loaded since the switch.
    However I do not know if iTunes will allow this to work, and if so, what needs to be done in order to make it work.
    Can the top-level folder be renamed? Do I need to untick and tick the Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized button?
    Thanks
    Mac OSX 10.6.8, iTunes 11.4

    I am getting a bit lost on what was done and exactly why you did it that way.  It looks to me like you use iTunes with standard preferences settings and you didn't so much move your media folder to the external drive as your whole iTunes library (everything in the top level folder including all the media files).  This should have been done simply by copying the iTunes folder from the old drive to the new one, renaming the AllMyiTunesMusic folder if you so desire, then starting iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and selecting that folder as the iTunes library to now start using.  Apart from the copy time when you could go away and drink a pot of coffee the actual labor time would be about 2 minutes.  I think you must have done something different which has kind of messed up your library and resulted in duplication of files.  Some of those folders such as Movies and the neighboring Music folder should be in the media folder, but don't move things about in Finder or iTunes may lose track of them and things will get worse.  If you can go back and do things properly then I recommend you do so, otherwise we can see what we can work with here.
    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.

  • ITunes Media Folder Location on External Drive

    Setting up a new Mac. I already have my iTunes media from my previous Mac on an external drive. Went to Preferences and selected the external drive and iTunes Media folder and the files are not showing up in iTunes. Any ideas?

    FrustratedAJM3 wrote:
    Setting up a new Mac. I already have my iTunes media from my previous Mac on an external drive. Went to Preferences and selected the external drive and iTunes Media folder and the files are not showing up in iTunes. Any ideas?
    That simply tells iTunes where to put new files.
    It does not add anything to iTunes.
    You should keep the entire iTunes library (iTunes media and all library files) in one location.
    Do this...
    Connect external to old computer.
    Copy /Music/iTunes/ folder from internal drive to external drive.
    On the external, move the iTunes media folder into the iTunes folder you just copied to the external.
    Hold Option, launch iTunes, select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
    Everything should work fine.
    Quit iTunes.
    Connect drive to new computer.
    Hold Option, launch iTunes, select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
    Everything should work fine.
    This is all you need to do.
    This will bring all your playlists, ratings, comments, everything from old computer.
    You do not need to change the iTunes media folder location in iTunes prefs..

  • We have 6 ipods and 1 iphone in our house. We have different itunes accounts. We use one computer. How can we share each others music? I moved everybodies itunes media folder to the public folder but when I open itunes I only see that accounts music.

    We have 6 ipods and 1 iphone in our house. We have different itunes accounts. We use one computer. How can we share each others music? I moved everybodies itunes media folder to the public music folder but when I open itunes I only see that accounts music. We need different itunes accounts. We share 1 computer but we have different user accounts on the computer.

    Adding media directly to the media folder does not make it appear in the library.  iTunes doesn't really 'look' at that folder except to go to specific files when you call upon them from a library. You have to drag new content to each user's library, that is assuming each user has their own library.

  • Since I moved ITunes media folder to an external bkp unit upload of my home shared videos on Apple TV is very slow. Is there anything I can do?

    Since I moved ITunes media folder to an external bkp unit, Apple Tv uploads my shared videos very slowly. Is there anything I can do?

    USB 3 should be more than enough for what you want.
    I don't know anything about Pinnacle but iMovie (assuming you are going default) does produce movies with a datarate of around 10 Mbps, which is quite high in comparison to iTunes movies from the iTunes Store. I don't know if you might want to try custom exports.
    Although saying that I have plenty of movies at around 10 Mbps on my eSATA external which doesn't have any problems.

  • HT1203 I moved my Itunes media folder to my public folder in my home folder so that my wife can share my music when she logs on to my computer. Since then aperture has been unable to locate the music files and I cannot add any of my itunes files to a slid

    I moved my itunes media folder to my public folder in my home folder so that my wife can share my music when she logs on as a user. Since doing this Aperture cannot locate any itunes music files and so I cannot add any music to a slideshow. All of my existing slideshows no longer play music. Can anyone help?
    Thanks

    Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
    In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow?  In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
    Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

  • Moving iTunes Media folder to second internal drive fails

    The whole story is:
    I never really used the iTunes media folder system. All my music is on extrenal drive and I was only importing it into iTunes manually to keep my own folder system, for example once a week Ive created a folder with a date of creating and there I had all the releases from that week (some in their own folder or separately but all in this one folder named by a dat eof creation). So on my ext. drive I have lots of these folders by date. And the names of folder always correspond with the date added to iTunes as well
    My ext. drive is full now. so Ive decided to take a next step and put out the dvd-rom and put another internal drive (1TB) into my macbook pro which will be used for music and movie data only (the system stays on the old one).
    What I want to do now is somehow move all these music folder to my new internal drive, so they can be accessed from iTunes without reseting all its features.
    Ive read that one solution can be creating the new iTunes Media folder on that new drive and Consolidate all music from iTunes to this location. Problem is I cant even try it, because when go to iTunes Preferences to change the location of Media folder a hit Create after selectin the new location (new internal drive) after fee seconds the progress freezes and Activity Monitor says that iTunes are not responding. Ive tried to leave it for about half an hour and no changes, even tho theres not much to copy/move cause the Media folder has no music in it, only playlists etc.
    So question number one is - why its freezing?
    Question number two - any other way to trasfer all my collection and keep its organiation as it is without loosing the iTunes list and be able to use it after transfer?
    Thanks in advance for your help and tips

    Not sure about question 1...
    What I think you should do is try to copy the existing iTunes library folder from <User's Music>/iTunes to <1Tb Drive>/iTunes then hold down option as you start iTunes. You should be asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the library file at <1Tb Drive>/iTunes/iTunes Library.itl (BTW if the the .itl extension is missing you should probably add it match the current format, but it will work either way).
    The new copy of the library should work just as before, but check a few random things first, you can always revert to the previous library with option-start-iTunes if it doesn't work.
    Under iTunes > Library > Orgainze Library if the option is available tick Reorganize files in the folder <Media Folder>. This will make sure the new version of your library is as portable as possible. Next under preferences > Advanced make sure that the media folder is given as <1Tb Drive>/iTunes/iTunes Media. If needed you can change this value. If you change the folder at this point iTunes should offer to copy your existing media into this new location. That ought to work, thought it will take some time. Alternatively you decline the offer and then selectively consolidate the library in batches, e.g. by selecting the tracks of all Artists beginning with A, and consolidating just those tracks, then repeasting with, B, C etc. followed by other types of media. If iTunes didn't prompt, or the folder was already correct, you can decide whether to try in batches or use iTunes > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files.
    tt2

  • Problems transfering iTunes Media folder from one external HDD to another.

    Hey Yinz.
    I'm running a MBP 13" 2.7Ghz Intel Core i7...OS X 10.6.8.  Recently the NAS that hosted my iTunes Media folder and library failed.  I recovered the drive from the NAS...a WD Caviar (WD2500JS), which was originally written in XFS.  After substantial effort, I found a process that would enable me to access this drive, and have my Mac read it. This involved a Newer Technologies Voyager Q, coupled with a recent version of (whatever they're calling) MacFuse.  It did so sucessfully.  Now what i want is to take my iTunes Media folder and library off of the WD, ex-NAS HDD (its original location), and transfer it to a new HDD. 
    I bought a Toshiba Canvio basics usb 3.0/2.0. 
    Most online tutorials describe dragging and dropping the folder in the new location.  I can connect both HDDs to my MBP, and the transfer will begin...
    But.
    After the first few minutes...The Finder will not allow me to complete the transfer.  I keep getting an error code -8084. 
    I'm almost certain that the new HDD (which i formatted as Mac OS X Journaled in Disk Utility) is not recognizing special characters in certain file names in my iTunes Library.  I have some artists in my folder that require special characters to display their names properly.  I realize these were originally written in a Linux format.
    So, is there a way around this...other than changing the filenames?  I really don't want to destroy the integrity of my library by changing a bunch of characters that accurately identify artists.  I guess if all i had was Billy Joel and the Beatles in my library, i'd be Okay...but i don't.
    I also read a thread somewhere that suggested that error code -8084 relates to inadequate power distribution of an attached HDD.  This also complicates my problem...as the new external HDD (Toshiba) is bus powered, and lacks an option for a dedicated AC power supply.
    While i am able to access and use my iTunes as normal...i'm tied to that WD HDD, which is like, over 5yrs old, and i'm really hoping to get my media off that old HDD, and onto a new HDD with the files intact and accurate.
    Any help would be much appreciated and welcome.
    --j.m.
    P.S. I'm running iTunes 10.7

    No solid data here but it just seems to me that when I see issues arise about copying data and strange error messages that it has to do when people are using non Mac-formatted drives.  I think they kind of work but once you put them under real pressure you just get problems.   Maybe I'm just thinking of all those vague error -50 "communications difficulties" messages from people trying to copy their libraries to FAT drives.  I wonder if using Terminal to do the copying would help.
    Now, there is a difference between placing your media on a drive and your library on a drive.  Your library is your whole iTunes folder along with files such as the critical library.itl file and artwork files, etc.  Media are just what's in your media folder - music, movies, etc.  If you are moving your whole library you can drag and drop copy.  If you are moving your media you can drag and drop but then the new drive has to have the identical drive name as the old one (the old and new pathnames have to remain unchanged).  Usually the best way to move media is to use iTunes' preferences setting to consolidate your media to the new location.  iTunes very easily loses track of files unless you let it do the moving (exception: moving the whole iTunes library folder).
    iTunes 10 for Mac: Consolidate your iTunes library - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH990
    iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
    vs.
    iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
    Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings:  Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive.  Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
    Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

  • I transfered my music into my new mac into itunes media folder from an external, but it dosnt show in itunes.  I have to click on each one to activate it on itunes.  there has to be a better and easier solution.  help

    i transfered my music into my new mac into itunes media folder from an external, but it dosnt show in itunes.  I have to click on each one to activate it on itunes.  there has to be a better and easier solution.  help

    Thank you for your prompt response - I did as you said and did a drag and drop into the iTunes window - it imported and got my album art from the net. When I started Itunes with the shift key down I was prompted to choose a library but since I copied over the media folder and not the library folder I was unable to select that so I guess I will have to create a new library and add in all the music, videos, etc. unless I wait for my laptop and export the library or at least that seems to be the case? In short, all my data (iTunes media folder) is on my external drive and can be added to the blank iTunes screen but I can not choose a library folder. Is there anyway around completely making all those playlists again? I am not sure my laptop will survive the shop with data intact and really hate to start over on those.
    In an unrelated question - I collect old TV shows from the 1950's. Can I make playlists within the home video folder somehow?  In other words like one for Quiz shows, one for comedies, one for police and detective shows, etc. while I am remaking all my playlists for my music if I end up having to go that route?
    Once again thank you for helping me out. I am not too Itunes savvy and really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

  • I can find all my music in the iTunes media folder on my c drive, but not in the iTunes library.

    Hi-
    First time here - thanks in advance for any help!
    Last year, I loaded a lot of music from my CD collection into iTunes 10 on my PC (running Vista). Now, much of that content does not appear in the iTunes library,  but I can find all of it in the iTunes media folder on the c drive. I upgraded to iTunes 11 today and the same problem persists.
    Can anyone tell me why the content doesn't show up in the iTunes library?
    Thanks again!
    John

    See this post.
    tt2

  • Error Code -36 When Copying iTunes Music folder to an External Drive

    _*"The finder cannot complete the operation because some data in "NAME.mp3" could not be read or written. (Error code -36)_"*
    This is the error message I get when trying to copy my iTunes music folder to an external drive. I am following Apple's knowledge base article, so yes, I have consolidated my library, have closed iTunes and there is plenty of room on the external drive. For what it's worth, I am also getting this error when trying to do the same thing with my iPhoto library.
    Would be grateful for some insight,
    With oodles of appreciation in advance,
    Joe

    I was getting the same "-36" error while trying to backup to a Lacie firewire external drive.
    I had a lot of people telling me to re-format, erase, reinstall, run utility programs ... yada, yada, yada.
    First off, test to see if it is the connection type (firewire). I reconnected the offending external drive via USB, restarted the drive and ... BINGO! ... all transfers went perfectly.
    Once i knew it was the firewire connection and not the drive itself i simply unplugged my iSight camera (the only other firewire device connected to my machine), reconnected my external drive via firewire and the problem is now corrected.
    Firewire buses seem to be very finicky things ... i would suggest eliminating all firewire devices from the machine (except, of course, the external drive you're trying to transfer to) and see if the problem goes away.
    Like i said, i simply unplugged my iSight camera and the transfer to my external drive went perfect and my transfer rates went from an average of 4MB/sec to over 19MB/sec.
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  • Moving my itunes media folder back to my computer from external hard drive

    Hope someone can help me here as I've gotten myself confused.
    A couple years ago I moved my Media Folder to an external hard drive.  I now want to move it back but I'm doing something wrong.
    Here's what I did.
    Copied the Media Folder from external to computer desktop.
    Moved Media Folder into the Computer's iTunes Media folder.
    Changed the folder location in Preferences of iTunes to the computer's Media Folder.
    It didn't work.  It is still looking for songs on the external hard drive.
    Thoughts?
    Do I need to follow the same tutorial for moving the media folder backwards?
    Why can't I just move the media files to where I want them on the computer and then change the media folder location in itunes?
    Do i need to create a new folder for it to work?

    Jason R. McCarty wrote:
    So I don't need to follow this tutorial and create a new folder? http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
    Correct, you don't need to create anew folder.
    You may want to do that if you are putting the media elsewhere and don't want to simply have a folder named iTunes media floating around.
    If there is already a Media folder in Music/iTunes will it make another or use that one?
    It will use the one already there.
    Also, what if there are duplicate files in the computer location?
    After you consolidate, you will need to delete them from iTunes (if they actually show up in iTunes).
    If they don't show up in Tunes, either add them to iTunes (if they are not duplicates) or delete them from the iTunes media folder.
    I suggest first dumping them into a folder on your desktop before you actually trash them (in case they are not duplicates).

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