I tried to move my iTunes to an external HD but...

I tried to move my iTunes to an external HD and everything is coming up exclamation marks!! I used this site to do it: http://www.tuaw.com/2006/09/19/how-to-keep-your-itunes-library-on-an-external-ha rd-drive/
Thanks for your help!!

That article is 5 years old...
Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to external.
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
select Choose library and select the iTunes folder on the external.
That is all you need to do.

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I was trying to move my itunes to an external hard drive and I have now lost all music not purchased with itunes

I was trying to move my music to an external hard drive but now I have lost all music that was not purchased with itunes. I never hit delete so its still somewhere on my imac. How do I find it?

Do a Spotlight search or do a logical search along folders that make sense such as looking in the music folder first. Moving a library correctly should not result in any loss, and I can't think of any way to move a library and lost just a select grouping of files. How were you trying to effect this?

HT1751 I am trying to backup my iTunes to an external hard drive, but it won't let me click and drag or copy and paste into the external drive.

I am trying to backup my iTunes to an external drive, but my Mac won't let me drag and drop into the external drive or any of its folders.
Any suggestions?
Thanks,

I think I know what I did....my external hard drive has been used to back up my PC. I was trying to back up my iTunes on my Mac. I forgot that the formats mattered. Thanks.

So, I have just about had it. For nine days now, I have valiantly tried to move my library to an external drive. At first, I attempted to move it to my 2TB Time capsule, iTunes didn't like its new home though and moved home without telling me.

So, I have just about had it. For nine days now, I have valiantly tried to move my library to an external drive. At first, I attempted to move it to my 2TB Time capsule. iTunes didn't like its new home though and moved home without telling me. So then there were two libraries. I meshed them back together reluctantly and iTunes in a silent revolt, absolutely refused to use its own 'Keep Library Organized' criteria and may as well have thrown my music against the wall. Seriously, my 5 year old nephew has his computer files better managed. Then I bought a 3TB Time Capsule and you may ask yourself why??? Well, iTunes doubled in size- although when I ran apps that are designed to find duplicate iTunes files, it deleted the music I actually bought from iTunes. So then I watched as iTunes got it back. How you ask; I run a MacBook Air, iMac and Mac mini in my house - as soon as one powered up it hit the net like a sailor on leave and re-downloaded it all without abandon. I tried to keep the libraries separate, no success there. I tried to keep them unified; iTunes response was to ask me if I wanted to join iTunes Match every time I logged on to my computer and on any computer - my iTunes match song number has been as high as 24,367 and as low as 11,112. And I can't simply refuse iTunes. No one refuses iTunes. Refusal to allow iTunes Match to run through all 24000 songs again was to revoke my rights to the songs that were once part of my library. If I took a long time to decide or was visibly impatient while iTunes did its little 3 hour scan it would arbitrarily decide that music I bought from iTunes was ineligible for iTunes Match. How could that possibly be??? I am missing music, or at least iTunes tells me so by showing me that lovely exclamation point. I have tried backing up my computer to do a full system restore and start all over. Time Capsule claims I have 979 GB of data and takes its sweet time to even back up one gig (about 18 minutes) even though I can transfer files to my Time Capsule at about 1 GB every 40 seconds. I guess though performing back-ups are somewhat like government jobs; it will get done, when it gets done. The back up requirement of 979 GB is surprising though, my Mac claims that I currently occupy just about 25% of my 2TB drive. The discrepancy, who knows, but I think the solution lies somewhere in iTunes. But maybe iPhoto. But that is for another time.

After admittedly only a quick read the one thing you don't say is how you are trying to make this move. Most people with moving library issues do it the wrong way. Plenty of web sites tell you how to do it the wrong way.
If the iTunes application is started before the drive with the library is fully mounted and awake iTunes will revert back to the internal drive.

I am trying to move my itunes library from my old pc to my new imac, home sharing is on and I can see the shared library. My problem is that when I check the shared library to import it to my imac I cannot import it. Can anyone help me?

I am trying to move my itunes library from my old pc to my new imac, home sharing is on and I can see the shared library. My problem is that when I check the shared library to import it to my imac I cannot import it. Can anyone help me?

You need to transfer the iTunes Library from the most recent backup you made before the hard drive was replaced.
You can't transfer the full iTunes Library from the iPad back to iTunes.
There are third-party Windows applications that will transfer data from an iOS device, but they don't re-create the iTunes Library exactly as it was before.

I accidentally deleted my media files from iTunes and Trash when I was trying to move the files to an external hard drive. Is there a way to restore the media files from a Time Machine backup or from iTunes Match? What are the steps to do this?

I accidentally deleted my media files from iTunes and Trash when I was trying to move the files to an external hard drive. Is there a way to restore the media files from a Time Machine backup or from iTunes Match? What are the steps to do this?

If you have been backing up on Timemachine.
All you need to do is enter time machine... Then the rest is obvious.
Find the iTunes folder and hit 'Restor'.
If not the only way to get all your iTunes music back is to enter iTunes Store.
On the right hand side you should see 'Purchased'.
Click 'purchased' and there you have it.

Trying to move my iTunes Music and other media from the main drive on my pc to an external hard drive but iTunes is not recognizing the new file location? Ideas?

Trying to move my iTunes Music and other media from the main drive on my pc to an external hard drive but iTunes is not recognizing the new file location? Ideas?

Hello there, Underwriter.
The following Knowledge Base article provides in-depth instructions on how to migrate your content to an external drive:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
Particularly of note for your situation:
External drive
This option requires more work than Home Sharing, but it creates a backup of your iTunes library on the external drive in addition to moving your content.
Notes before you start:
You can use most iPods as an external drive.
Windows operating systems don't recognize Mac OS-formatted disks (HFS or HFS Plus formats). Because of this, you can't use a Mac-formatted iPod or external drive to move your music to a Windows PC. See iPod: How to determine iPod's hard disk format if you're not sure how your iPod is formatted.
Mac OS X can read Windows-formatted iPods and drives. This means there are many ways to migrate your information from your old Windows-based PC to your new Mac.
Mac OS X: To be sure external drives appear on your desktop, choose Preferences from the Finder menu. Be sure the options for "External disks" and "Hard disks" are enabled.
Part 1: Locating and consolidating the iTunes Media folder
Part 2: Copy iTunes folder from the old computer:
Part 3: Get iTunes ready on your new computer
Part 4: Back up any music that's already on your new computer
Part 5: Copy music to your new computer
Part 6: Add preexisting music that was on the new computer back into the library
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro.

HT1449 I tried to move the itune folder to an external hdd, (precisely as written above) but after "consolidating, happens nothing

tried to move the itune folder to an external hdd, (precisely as written above) but after "consolidating, happens nothing

That's because too many people confuse moving media folder with moving the library properly.
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 iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168

HT5699 I was trying to buy a movie in itunes for the first time but I don´t remember my answers to apple´s security questions . how can I do? thank you very much

I was trying to buy a movie in itunes for the first time but I don´t remember my answers to apple´s security questions . how can I do? thank you very much

Hey antonio.b5,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
If you can't recall your Apple ID security questions and answers, the optional rescue email provides a way to reset them.
Rescue email address and how to reset Apple ID security questions
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht5312
Have a nice day,
Mario

Trying to move iPod library to an external hard drive

Okay I am totally confused and hope that some of you can help me. I have a 60GB iPod and a few months ago I tried to move my library to an external portable hard drive (so it wouldn't take up so much room on my computer hard drive) using the instructions in the manual for iPod. Moving the library using the instructions in the manual did not include my playlists and play count and etc. Then I realized that when I opened iTunes the file names were there but the songs wouldn't play. So I came to the message board for help. Someone gave me links to info on how to move the music from iPod to iTunes including play count and etc. Well I tried that but all of the songs were not transferred (I have over 7000 on my iPod now) and some songs are being transfered more than once when I try to run the program again to add the songs that were missed. This whole process has been a mess!!!! So I just stopped working with it. So now I really just need to start from the beginning. I want to rebuild my library from my iPod to iTunes but I want the iTunes library to be on an external hard drive so that it is not taking up all the extra room on my laptop. Can this be done? Can someone help me please!!!! I am in desperate need of help!!! Thanks!!!
HP notebook Windows XP

Usually, I set up my ExHDs to be a letter that is farther down the alphabet. Try 'M:' for Music, or 'T:' for Tunes. That way, anything else you add will not take up that drive letter inadvertently.
Remap you ExHD to another letter. See the instructions below:
-- Click on 'Start'
-- Right-click on 'My Computer'
-- Select 'Manage' from the drop down box
-- That will launch the 'Computer Management' utility. From there, select 'Disk Management'
-- If you right-click on the ExHD drive letter, you should be able to 'Change Drive Letter and Path'
-- Change only one drive letter at a time
-- Reboot after the change, for it to take effect.
-- Repeat for additional drives
Also see: How to change drive letter assignments in Windows XP

I am trying to backup my Itunes onto my external hard drive. I am at the step where I on Itunes, click on File - Library - Organize library. I am suppose to check mark both boxes there, It won't allow me to check mark the second box, why? How to fix this.

I am trying to backup my Itunes onto my external hard drive. I am at the step where I on Itunes, click on File ->Library ->Organize library. I am suppose to check mark both boxes there, the first being "Consolidate Files" & the second being "Reorganize files in the folder 'Itunes Media'. I am able to checkmark the first box but It won't allow me to check mark the second box, why? How can i fix this? Please help!

Well you must have made a mistake somewhere. The last instruction of step four reads:
When you've found your iTunes library folder, drag that folder to your external hard drive. This will begin the iTunes backup. The amount of time the backup will take depends on the size of your library. When the transfer is done, your backup is complete and your external hard drive can be disconnected.
Normally dragging content from to a new location on a different drive will result in a copy action which is what you were supposed to do. At a guess you somehow managed to move the iTunes folder. Then when you started iTunes it created a new blank library for you assuming it had just been installed rather that raising a warning.
Close iTunes. Rename the iTunes folder on the internal drive as iTunes (Empty) then copy the iTunes folder from the external back into the User's Music folder. Start iTunes. All should be well.
When you've made sure it all works please read my User Tip and use that method to backup in future. Since you already have a folder with the backup in place you can skip the "Make New" operation in the fourth step and simply choose the external folder.
tt2

I'm trying to download iTunes to an external harddrive but it wont let me change to this drive. WHY?

I'm trying to download iTunes to an external harddrive but it wont let me change to this drive. WHY?
There isn't enough room on my laptop and I have deleted all traces of previous iTunes

I think you've misunderstood.
iTunes ONLY works on the C drive. There is no moving it. End of discussion.
The MEDIA can be house on any other drive (internal or external).
Install iTunes correctly using the default options.
Once it is installed and working correctly with everything on the C drive, close iTunes.
Follow the instructions here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364 to move the iTunes media folder.

When I play a movie through iTunes, audio has no issues but video stutters and skips

Hey everyone,
I have a Dell 17R, Windows 8 64 bit, intel i7-3630QM at 2.4 GHZ, 8gb ram, Nvidia GT-650M at 1920x1080 using driver 320.49
When I play a movie in iTunes, the audio works flawlessly but the video will be smooth for a few seconds, stutter and then skip small 2-3 second spots. I haven't noticed that the parts skipped are any more graphically intense than other spots and there is no discernable pattern.
In the past, I have been able to play movies through iTunes with absolutely no problem but when I downloaded this most recent one a few days ago all of my movies have been experiencing the same issue.
When I stream other videos from other sources I do not experience the same problems as I do when I use iTunes. Streaming 1080P over youtube or a similar services is no issue.
I have updated my video drivers to the latest version as well.
I am at a loss, any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

Hi there,
I would recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below.
Troubleshooting iTunes for Windows Vista or Windows 7 video playback performance issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1718
-Griff W.

Trying to move my iPhoto library to external drive

I'm trying to clear up room on my internal drive and so trying to move my library to an external drive. I've copied the photo library to the external drive. How do i point the iPhoto application to this new location so that I can delete the library on my mac's drive. Follow up question, do i need to make any changes with time machine so that the new location continues to get backed up?

1 - Option - launch iPhot
2 - Yes - in the TM preferences under options be sure that drive is not excluded
3 - what format is the EHD? It MUST be Mac OS extended (journaled) to work for the iPhoto library
The general answer including those points is
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

I'm trying to update my itunes to 10.5.2 but it freezes on about 55% and i can't sync my iphone 4s untill i updates... PLEASE HELP!

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