Itunes library key change? between external hd and macbook hd

hi
i have macbook and a big external hd. my itunes library is in external hd using "alias". so that when it opens it searches for my library in home/music folder and alias to my external hd.
but when i am on road, i would like to have a small library on my macbook hd using maybe a different library name and so on.
is there any function or some key (like apple + l) to change between 2 libraries?
thanks

Simply hold down the option key when starting itunes. It will present you with the option to create a new library which you can store where every you like. In your case just create the new library on your internal drive, and add whatever music to that library. Make sure copy to library is turned on in itunes preferences>advanced>general if you want it to actually copy the music from the external to the internal library.

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How do I combine an old itune library thats on an external hardrive and a newer library thats on a newer computer into 1 library and keep them on the external hard drive so I won't use up all my memory on my newer laptop

I copied an old iTunes library off my old Toshiba laptop with windows xp and put it on an external hard drive. I have a newer Microsoft surface pro laptop with windows 8.1. I have a small iTunes library on my newer laptop. I want to combine the 2 libraries into 1, add newer podcasts to the combined library daily, but keep it all on my external hard drive, so I don't use all my memory on my surface pro. I have an older ipod classic that I have all my old library on. I love it and don't want to stop using it, but want to be able to add podcasts from my 1 library from time to time. What I usually do is download podcasts for a few weeks then, download them to my ipod. Haven't done any of this in about a year. But want to start getting regular with it again. PS I'm not very computer savy Thanks for any help or advice!

This article explains how to open a different library: iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one. The assumption is that the whole library was copied to the external drive from the old Toshiba laptop, not just the media. If that isn't the case make a new library on the external drive in a folder called \iTunes and move the media inside \iTunes\iTunes Media before adding it to the library.
Once iTunes is using the library on the external drive you can add any content stored on the internal drive to the library by drag & drop or by moving/copying the content into \iTunes\iTunes Media\Automatically Add to iTunes. Make sure the option under Edit > Preferences > Advanced to Copy files to the folder iTunes Media when adding to library is selected. Once complete you can delete the original copies on the internal drive.
Should your library contain duplicates after merging see this recent post on deduping.
If there are ratings, playlists, play counts, or content stored on the iPod classic and not located anywhere else then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
Ideally you should backup your library to a second drive for security. See Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suggested strategy.
tt2

ITunes library help - moved to external drive and now my apps are gone?

I moved my iTunes library to an external drive, but now my apps are gone? I do have iTunes match and iCloud, so my songs are all on the cloud, but none of my apps are showing...
I copied everything over, consolidated, but I must have messed something up as I think I have too many library files on the external drive now. I can see all my files on the external drive, but they are not showing up when I open itunes. It looks like it linked to a new copy of a library as only my most recent apps are showing, nad none of my existing ones are on itunes. What should I do to fix this? How do I know which files to delete?
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I followed the instructions from Apple support to move itunes to an external drive, did what it said (obviously I messed something up). I then started itunes and missed the part where it says to tell itunes where the library was, and consequently itunes created a new library with none of my apps or anything in it.
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Did library's change between 10.5 and snow leopard...?

So my HD died, i had the drive restored by a company, they saved everything thank god...(not having done a back up for 3 months was a bad idea!!!)
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when they installed my new HD, they installed 10.5 and my aperture library's are just not loading up all...im getting broken images, random ones do show up, others are visible but have yellow triangle warning
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That seems to be file corruption. I don't believe that Snow Leopard changed the library.
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My itunes library is on an external drive and i just got a new computer and i cant seem to get the new computer to recognize the connection ?

new computer isn't recognizing external drive containing itunes content?

This article should help. You didn't mention what format the files are in and what format the external hard drive is, however this article povides the basics. You're probably most interested in the last section titled 'Adding content on your computer to iTunes'.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1473

Migrating iTunes library from old mac to new, and library is on external HD

Hi, I'm trying to figure out how to point my newly set up iTunes to my old iTunes library file located on my external HD. It wants to build a new one.
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A library is everything in an iTunes folder, not just media. In particular, iTunes is looking for a file called iTunes Library.itl.
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Can I take my itunes library from my mac external and switch it to a pc?

Can I take my itunes library from my mac external HD and switch it to a pc?
Would it work.
Appreciate any help Thanks

Click here and request assistance.
(80443)

I have an existing mini mac and 4 tb external drive. My iTunes library exists on the external drive under /itunes... I have purchased a new mini mac and I want to leave the library where it is but move to new mini mac.. what do i need to do ?

I have an existing mini mac and 4 tb external drive.
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what do i need to do ?
I have found multitude of articles about moving itunes to external drive or other similar things but I don't want to move itunes from the external drive, just change mini mac machines and have everything in itunes the same..
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I had already tried that one and got this...
below is screen shot of what is on the new mac mini
and what is on the external drive now connected to the new mac mini..
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Do I need to copy anything over from the old mac mini ? xml files ? .. the itunes folder on old mini is about 840mb in size which looks to have artwork ect ? .. I am fairly computer literate, but this one has me stumped.. ?
thanks for help

My itunes Library is on an External Hard Drive, but my internal hard drive crashed, I have to re-install windows XP--What do I do to re-associate my Library on the external drive and not wipe my iphone when I synch?

My ITunes Library is on an external hard drive, however, the internal hard drive on my laptop crashed, requireing a complete re-format and re-installation of Windows XP--When I re-install Itunes, what do I need to do to make sure I do not lose all of the content on the two iphones I have, and to re-associate the library with Itunes ( i know how to change the path) but I am fearful that somehow the library link will be broken since the old Itunes installation is gone, and who knows what else might go awry.
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You're Welcome...
This Link explains the correct way of putting iTunes onto an External Drive...
If you have have not done it this way that could explain a lot...
Backup iTunes to an External Drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751

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My itunes library is split between iTunes/iTunes Music and iTunes/iTunes Media/Music, what should I do to combine them? I would like all my iTunes stuff to be in one, organized, location.

Here are typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
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PS If you really prefer the older layout, but it is already in the new one then edit the file called .iTunes Preferences.plist in your media folder and change the integer from 1 to 0 before doing step 3.
tt2

How to move iTunes Library/Media Files to external firewire Hard Drive and make it the master library, and then point iTunes to that when adding new content??

How to move iTunes Library/Media Files to external firewire Hard Drive and make it the master library, and then point iTunes to that when adding new content??

Copy your ENTIRE iTunes FOLDER to an External Drive...
Full Details Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
To Operate iTunes from the External Drive...
Start iTunes with the Option key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
Be Sure the drive is Formatted Mac OS Extended (journaled)
Also... have a look at these 2 Videos...
http://macmost.com/moving-your-itunes-library.html
http://macmost.com/moving-your-itunes-media-to-an-external-drive.html

I've had my iTunes library stored on an external hard drive, and I'm now trying to load it onto a new computer, how do I do it?

I have my complete iTunes library stored on an external hard rice and bought a new computer yesterday, I've connected the external hard drive to my new computer, downloaded iTunes but cant get my library to show, can anybody tell me how to fix this?

Hold down SHIFT and launch iTunes.
When prompted to create or locate an iTunes library point iTunes to the location on the external drive.

TS3683 Not enough space on my Mac HD to back up my iPad. My iTunes library is on an external drive. Can I use this same drive to Back yup my iPad?

I don't have enough space on my Mac HD to back up my iPad. Actually, my iTunes library is on an external drive. Can I use this same drive to Back up my iPad?

1. First make sure iPhoto is not running. If it is, quit it. Use the Finder to copy your iPhoto Library file to your external drive. Unless you've changed it, its located inside your Pictures folder and is named "iPhoto Library".
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Don't forget to keep a backup copy of your library on a separate disk. It's not a matter of "if" your external drive will fail but "when". You need to make regular backups or you'll be sorry someday.

Old Itunes library (from PC) on external hard drive - Mac won't recognise

I feel like I've tried absolutely everything, so hopefully someone here can help.
I had my Itunes library stored on an external disc. This was when I was using Itunes on a PC. It all ran fine....
Now we've upgraded to a Mac and for the life of me I cannot get Itunes to recognise the library.
First I just tried changing the folder location with no luck. Now I've tried holding down alt when starting Itunes, I've located the folder, and at first it seemed all was well as the albums (sans artwork) all appeared in Itunes. But when I try to play them or send songs to my Iphone, it says it can't locate the file. I've tried to then manually point it to the external drive and the old library and it still won't recognise it.
Can anyone suggest anything??

AnnieeR wrote:
Can anyone suggest anything??
these two reads may be helpful: one and two.

Itunes library key change? between external hd and macbook hd

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