I want my music back on my hard drive.

I have over 4000 songs collected over the years, mostly copied from CD that I purchased. I am unable to access them, how do I get them back on my hard drive and off the cloud?

When did you first notice this behavior?
In Finder go to ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music. You ought to see all the Artist folders for all your music. Open a couple folders and view the contents of the Albums. You ought to see the music files.
Do you have backups?

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How do i get my music back if my hard drive crashed?

what do i do if my hard drive crashed? how do i get back all the music i paid for from itunes?

You can ask if they will let you download again and I have heard of Apple allowing lost content to be downloaded in some cases but here is a copy and paste of the terms from the iTunes Store Terms and Conditions from the site Niel refenced above in his post. Apple is not bound by law to let you download again so keep that in mind. You do not have the right to download again if they refuse you.
APPLE DOES NOT REPRESENT OR GUARANTEE THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE FREE FROM LOSS, CORRUPTION, ATTACK, VIRUSES, INTERFERENCE, HACKING, OR OTHER SECURITY INTRUSION, AND APPLE DISCLAIMS ANY LIABILITY RELATING THERETO. PRODUCTS CAN BE DOWNLOADED ONLY ONCE; AFTER BEING DOWNLOADED, THEY CANNOT BE REPLACED IF LOST FOR ANY REASON. YOU SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR BACKING UP YOUR OWN SYSTEM, INCLUDING ANY PRODUCTS PURCHASED OR RENTED FROM THE ITUNES STORE THAT ARE STORED IN YOUR SYSTEM.

Transfer music back from external hard drive to iMac

I currently have an iMac and have an external hard drive connected to it that holds all my music, movies etc. However, I am concerned that if the external hard drive fails then I will have lost my media. As such, I would like to store everything directly on the imac and back it up to time machine. It is a long time since I have set up my existing system and I am unsure how to get the media onto the imac. Advice on this would be very welcome. Thanks

I don't know what your layout is on the external drive. The "formal" hierarchy for iTunes is:
/Home/Music/iTunes
/Home/Music/imm Media
/Home/Music/iTunes Playlists
You need to drag each of those folders to the corresponding locations on your startup volume. Then open iTunes while depressing the OPTION key in order to tell iTunes the change in location.
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
iTunes 10 for Mac- Move items to another computer

I want my photo files back on my hard drive, not on Revel

I uploaded about 5,000 photos to Revel but neglected to keep the originals on my hard drive. I want my photos back on my hard drive. How do I download the photos back into Adobe PSE 13 Organizer in the same date folders they were in before they all got transferred to Revel? Once I have my photos back, I want to delete the photos on Revel and then I'll selectively upload Mobil Albums from the Organizer. How do I keep Revel from wanting to upload photos? I am signed out, but everytime I sign in through PSE 13, Revel starts to upload photos and I want that stopped too. Clearly I have some settings which are causing this. Help and understanding would be very much appreciated.

Hi seashel,
Welcome to the Apple Support Community!
It sounds like the iTunes icon may have been removed from your dock on your computer. You can find your applications and move them to the dock from the Launchpad. Please use the attached article for more information.
Mac Basics: The Dock holds your favorite apps, documents, and more
Adding and removing Dock items
If you want to add an application to the Dock, click the Launchpad icon in the Dock. Then, drag an app icon from the Launchpad to the Dock. The icons in the Dock move aside to make room for the new item. If you want to add a file or folder to the Dock, just drag its icon from any Finder window (or the desktop) and drop it on the Dock.
Cheers,
Joe

HT1473 I want to keep my music on my external hard drive to free up room on my computer how do i get itunes to recognise the hard drive to play the music?

I would like to keep all my music on my external hard drive but I can't seem to get itunes to recognise my hard drive. How do I get itunes to recognise my hard drive so I can play the music off there rather than copying the files over each time?

Click the icon to launch iTunes
Immediately press and hold down the shift key
Keep holding shift until asked to create or choose a library
If iTunes opens normally close and go back to step 1.
Browse to the iTunes Library.itl file you want to open.
See also: HT1589: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
If you had copied across as directed there would be no need to move anything back...
tt2

Hi, have a iphone/macbook itunes prob. i connected my phone to mac to add songs, and it wiped 99% of music from my phone. on the mac it still lists the songs on my phone but they are greyed out. can anyone help? very frustrated and want my music back.

hi, have a iphone/macbook itunes prob. i connected my phone to mac to add songs, and it wiped 99% of music from my phone. on the mac it still lists the songs on my phone but they are greyed out. can anyone help? very frustrated and want my music back.

I am having the same problem. I have just tried this. Unplug iphone > open itunes > delete all music from itunes library > close itunes > re-open itunes > add music from original folder > plug in iphone > select songs > press sync > unplug iphone using eject button onscreen > checked phone .... still nothing in music folder on phone. On itunes the "On this iphone" tab the songs remain there but greyed out.

I want to put all my music onto an external hard drive. But I can't get it to put music on my itunes. The music list is completely empty and so is my IPOD.

I want to put all my music onto an external hard drive. But I can't get it to put music on my itunes. The music list is completely empty and so is my IPOD. How do I do this? I have a PC with Windows.

You say the music is not on the external HD, the music list (iTunes?) is empty, and it is not on the iPOd. Then where is the music you want to move to the external HD?
You can redownlaod iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

I have all my music on my external hard drive when I try to add it to iTunes it is automatically added to my MacBook Pro's hard drive. How do I stop this from happening? I just want the music to stay on the external hard drive. Thanks!

I have all my music on my external hard drive when I try to add it to iTunes it is automatically added to my MacBook Pro's hard drive. How do I stop this from happening? I just want the music to stay on the external hard drive. Thanks!

This is true of course, but doesn't cover the situation where some files are in the iTunes Media folder and others are on an external drive. In my case I keep my music in the Media folder and all my films on an external drive (there are too many to have on the internal drive). In iTunes 11, and before, it was easy to add those external files by holding down the alt/opt key while dragging to the sidebar. In iTunes 12 this is no longer possible. There are several workarounds: use TuneSpan to move the file after it's been added; delete the file from the Media folder and empty the trash then use iTunes Get Info which will report the file is missing and allow you to locate it; constantly switch the Add to iTunes toggle on and off as required. All of these require a lot more work than just holding down the alt/opt key while adding.
It constantly gets harder.

I bought a Mac PowerBook in 2008. It came with InDesign CS3. I did not use it. My computer was stolen in 2014. I had backed up the hard drive. I reinstalled on my new Mac laptop. I want to use the CS3 now. It will not download or install. What do I do?

I bought a Mac PowerBook in 2008. It came with InDesign CS3. I did not use it. My computer was stolen in 2014. I had backed up the hard drive. I reinstalled on my new Mac laptop. I want to use the CS3 now. It will not download or install. What do I do?

From where are you trying to download it?

HT1391 I had all of my music on an external hard drive that failed. I have iTunes Match so all of my music was synced with the "cloud". How do I now download and save all of my music back down on a new external hard drive?

I had all of my music on an external hard drive that crashed. I have iTunes Match so all of my music was synced in the cloud. How do I now re-load my music back down onto a new external hard drive?

Hey Rbe58!
I believe this question can be answered by the information in the following article:
iTunes 11 for Windows: Access all your music anytime, anywhere with iTunes Match
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph12492
Play or download songs from iCloud
You can play songs directly from iCloud, or you can download songs so you can play them when you’re not connected to the Internet.
If a song is available in iCloud, it has a Download button next to it.
To play the song, double-click it.
To download the song, click the Download button.
After you download a song to a computer, it remains in the computer’s iTunes library, even if you turn off iTunes Match.
To only display downloaded songs in your iTunes library, choose View > Hide Music in the Cloud. This also hides any previous iTunes Store purchases you haven’t downloaded.
For information about downloading and playing songs on an iOS device, see the documentation for the device.
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!
Cheers,
Braden

I have backed up all my music on an external hard drive and i was wondering is there a quick way to put it all back on itunes.

i have backed up all my music on an external hard drive and i was wondering is there a quick way to put it all back on itunes.

Hello, Gazzlaa84.
You can import your media a couple different ways. If you plan on keeping the media on the external drive, I would just direct iTunes to read the media folder on the external. Here are the steps on how to make that change.
iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Also, here is another great resource for moving your iTunes media.
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Cheers,
Jason H.

I have just purchased my 1st mac and want to start my iTunes fresh. I have all my music on an external hard drive and want iTunes stored on it. How do i do this

I have just purchased my 1st Mac Mini,
I haven't imported any music yet except from purchased music.
I have 100gb of music on an external hard drive (already formatted to Mac OS Journaled.
I want my iTunes to be store on the External Hard drive, and to update my External Hard drive with new music I add to iTunes.
I also want to know the best way of adding my music on the Ext Hard drive e.g.: "add folder to library" or "import"
I plan on buying a Macbook Pro soon, and want to be able to use the same iTunes library.

Launch iTunes with the Option key held down, click on Choose Library, and specify it. If the external drive doesn't contain the iTunes database files, create a new library there and import that music.
If the library contains any rented movies, they won't play on a different computer.
(109334)

I want to upgrade to Mavericks. Will I need to reinstall all of my apps and copy my files back to the hard drive? I have not installed an OS on a Mac before and I'm wondering whether it is as involved as on a PC.

I want to upgrade to Mavericks. Will I need to reinstall all of my apps and copy my files back to the hard drive? I have not installed an OS on a Mac before and I'm wondering whether it is as involved as on a PC.

Short answer: You do NOT have to reinstall all your apps and copy your files back.
Longer answer: Upgrading the OS does not touch any user files. Upgrading the OS should not interfere with any applications which are compatible with Mavericks. In my experience non-Apple apps are generally left unchanged by the upgrade. It is possible that some apps may need to be upgraded. One good resource for checking application compatibility is RoaringApps.
Finally, it is always wise to backup everything, just in case.

My old computer has broken and I had not backed up my Itunes. I now have the hard drive from my old computer but cannot transfer the music. How can I transfer the music from my old hard drive to the new laptop?

My old computer has broken and I had not backed up my Itunes. I now have the hard drive from my old computer (windows 7) but cannot transfer the music. How can I transfer the music from my old hard drive to the new laptop (windows 8)?

Copy the entire iTunes folder from \Users\<User>\Music on the old drive into your music folder on the new computer.
Or see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

HT1660 I lost my entire music library when my hard drive crashed 2 wks ago. It's all on my iPod, though. I just cannot figure out how to download my iPod music BACK into my iTunes library. All they seems to address is Library - iPod. I'm not an iT geek..

Hi, I lost my entire music library when my hard drive crashed 2 wks ago. It's all on my iPod, though..but the songlist appears gray. I just cannot figure out how to download my iPod music list BACK into my iTunes library. All they seems to address is Library -> iPod transfers. I'm not an iT geek.. Help meeee!

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

I want my music back on my hard drive.

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