ITunes Library organization in one folder...

I have a Mac Mini which serves as the family Video Server to an AppleTV (and all the other Mac / iDevices we own). It is running Lion 10.7.4, with iTunes 10.6.1.
The iTunes library is set up on a connected Drobo via USB. iTunes runs on the Mac Mini's internal HD (of course), but the Library is located on the Drobo.
This is what I want: I want the iTunes folder (including the iTunes Media folder, and all the xml / library files) to all be on the Drobo, in one self contained folder, as though it was on the Mac Mini. For some reason, iTunes chooses to keep the library files etc, on the Mini itself, when the movie / TV files are on the Drobo. Everything works as it should, but I want a tidy iTunes folder on the Drobo itself, with nothing on the Mini (which will make moving the entire library easier in the future, if necessary).
Regardless of my Choosing to Consolidate library / Organize Libfary (which do nothing not even a progress bar), nothing happens.
Here is the current state of my iTunes:
This is on the Mac Mini: (contains no media files, they're all on the Drobo)
This is on the Drobo: (contains the actual movies and television show files)
This is what I want on the Drobo only, to contain everything in one folder, rather than split between two drives.
Is this possible? If so, how? Do I need to start from scratch? I will if that is the only way.
I currently have a little over 550GB of movies and TV shows.
Thanks,
Sal

Make a split library portable
Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
In the layout above, with the media folder (everything in the red box) inside the library folder, the library is considered to be portable. A portable library can be moved from one path to another without breaking the links between the library and the media and being self-contained is much easier to backup.
You can rearrange things to make a split library portable by taking a number of small steps which don't break the library.
Before you start any media files that are outside of the media folder will need to be consolidated. If the library is in the old style layout then it should ideally be be upgraded to iTunes Media Organisation (Library > Organise Library > Rearrange files in the folder <Media Folder>) to ensure that iPod Games, Mobile Applications etc. are brought inside the media folder.
The basic non-fatal manipulations are:
You can connect to an alternate set of library files by holding down Shift (Win) or Option (Mac) when starting iTunes.
You can move the library files to a new location as long as the media stays put.
You can move the library files and the media together if the media folder is a direct subfolder of the library folder.
If you have already moved/copied the media content from a subfolder of the library folder to a different location then you only need to copy the library files for it to appear as if you have moved the entire library in the way allowed above. I.e. just copy the library files into the parent folder of the media folder.
You can rename the media folder to iTunes Media (if it isn't already) if the media folder is inside the library folder.
iTunes uses the name of the folder holding the library files as the window title. Having made a library "portable" you may need to take a final step of renaming the library folder to iTunes or, if the library files have ended up at the root of a drive, moving all of the library files and content folders into a new folder called iTunes.
After each change you need to open, test and close the relevant library before attempting another change. If a change broke the library, undo it or revert to using the previous set of library files.
In essence all you need to do to make your library portable is copy the library files into the parent folder of the media folder on the external/secondary drive and use the hold-down-shift/option-when-starting-iTunes method to connect to it. Other manipulations may be required to normalize the library so that the library and media folders have standard names.
tt2

Similar Messages

  • How do you encript voice memos in the itunes library so no one else at the computer can listen to them?

    How do you encrypt voice memos in the itunes library so no one else at your computer can listen to them?

    iTunes has no ability to encrypt anything. You'll need to search for encryption software appropriate for whatever type of computer you have. Or, you could set up separate accounts for other users of your computer and password your account.

  • Syncing to new iTunes library without losing app folder organization?

    I reinstalled the OS on my PC and after installing iTunes and pointing it at the iTunes folder on my second drive, it nevertheless lost my iTunes library. I was able to re-add all my content by adding the My Music folder to iTunes, but I lost my playlists. I was okay with recreating those, but...
    When I chose to sync apps, iTunes said it would replace the apps on the phone with the ones from the libray. And all my folder organization work will be lost.
    Is there any way to associate my iPhone 4 with the "new" library but maintain the folder organization I have?

    A manual backup will help. Disable autosync in iTunes, connect your phone and right click on it in the device list and choose backup. This will save all settings, data, photos and much more to your computer. More info here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1766
    After that, transfer our purchases the same way, choosing transfer purchases this time. All apps and purchased media fro the Store will be copied to the new iTunes library.
    Don't forget to set up at least one contact and event on your PC to be able to merge calendars and contacts after the first sync, which will wipe your phone. But you can restore from the manual backup you made before.

  • When adding folders to iTunes 11, they don't show up in the library.  On one folder add, it created a playlist (not what I wanted).  On the second folder, it shows nothing.  Never seen this before.  Advice?

    I added my first folder of MP3s and it created a playlist, but didn't show up in the library.  When adding a second folder, it didn't show up anywhere.  I can do a search for them in the search window, and it finds/plays them, but I want to be able to browse them in my library.  These are not MP3s downloaded from iTunes, but are personal files located on my hard drive.  Can anyone help?

    I have a Dell that's running Windows XP. I have found that itunes is very temperamental. this works most of the time... except on my son's computer that's running Windows Vista.
    Go to your library in iTunes. Then go up to file and try one of the options (import, add folder to library, or add file to library).
    Adding a folder is the least work. You can add all the files from a folder with one click... if it works. Remember that itunes is temperamental.
    If that doesn't work, try adding a file. The problem with that is that you have to go through the whole process for each and every file (song, movie, etc).
    Sometimes the only thing that works is to import.
    I haven't gotten iTunes to work on my son's computer (Windows Vista).
    I can't get support from apple in any way at all! They are good about creating electronics that appeal to us But they are lousy at support. If anyone figures out how to access support (where you can actually contact Apple) please let me know ([email protected]). I've been trying for 6 months.

  • Sharing iTunes library/playlist, only one user can run iTunes

    Greetings everyone
    Just got a new aluminum iMac, setting it up for the wife and kids. From the descriptions here, I have set up several accounts to share a single iTunes library, by creating aliases in each user's iTunes folder that point to the shared library. It seems to work great: I only have to import music ONCE (instead of once for each user), and if one user creates or changes a new playlist, everyone sees it, which is exactly what I wanted.
    However, I have run into a small problem, and it is this. Under this setup, with everyone sharing the same library, *only one person can be running iTunes at a time.* If user A is running iTunes and doesn't quit the app when the computer is switched to User B or C, they get the message
    ----- +"The iTunes Library is locked, on a locked disk, or you do not have write permission for this file."+
    ----- Switch back to User A, quit iTunes, and then the others can launch iTunes fine (though again, just ONE of them). Same behavior regardless of whether the user is admin or not.
    So, is there any way to enable more than one user to run iTunes at once under this shared scenario? I'm thinking iTunes may not allow multiple users to access the library file at once, so it may be necessary to have users quit iTunes or log out before switching accounts. Let me know if there is a workaround or if anyone has gotten this to work....
    Thanks in advance!
    sno-man

    Hi, I just read your post here - I'd like to do exactly what you were able to do, that is, sharing one iTunes library with multiple user accounts on my iMac so that we can both use/add to the same library (I also want to do this with iPhoto, so I'm assuming it's the same process); would you mind quickly telling me how you were able to do this? I've been checking around and can't find a reliable answer. I'd appreciate it - thanks!

  • Itunes library tranfer from one hard drive to another on the same computer

    Hello I have two hard drives on my mac g4 and the first has 80gig and i only have 10 gig of memory left to fill in my ipod library so... I want to move the itunes library/song data from one hard drive to another, how do I do this? the ipod has the ability to hold 40gig of songs etc. so I know the main hard drive will be full before my ipod will be... I'm new to apple and have had a pc for several years but had too many problems with viruses and like what I've learned so far on my mac thanks for your help out there... you can email me at [email protected] thanks again for any help out there

    For the record, hard drives don't hav ememory it is just storage space.
    Anyway, in your user folder you would want to drag the Music folder to the other hard drive. Once that is finsihed copying in the iTunes preferences you would want to point iTunes to the new drive and folder for the music folder it should be using.

  • Discrepancy between iTunes Library size and stored folder size

    Hi
    I'm looking around for ways to clear up my computer's hard drive, and typically it seems that my iLife libraries seem to be the bulk of it. The main problem is that iTunes claims that my iTunes Library size is some 21GB, when the size of the "iTunes Library" folder claims all the music accounts to 26GB. This doesn't include any content in the 'TV Shows' or 'Movies' folders.
    The only thing I can think of is that not all of the music in my iTunes Music folder is in my iTunes Library... is there a simple way to check which ones aren't? Or is there another reason why there would be such a difference in the sizes?
    Thanks in advance.

    It may take some creative thinking rather than expertise to figure this one out.
    Oh, and my girlfriend got herself a standard MacBook a month ago, which has possibly sown the seeds of envy since it has as much RAM and a faster processor than my PowerBook MacBook Pro-wise, let's see what MacWorld in 2 weeks brings
    Then, it may be time to talk to the bank - or the finance people at Apple - about how best I can pretend I can afford one

  • ITunes Library Only Play One Song at a Time After Upgrade to 7.2

    Just upgraded to ITunes 7.2 this morning. After upgrade (on Windows Vista Enterprise operating system) ITunes Library no longer will play through the songs in the library. Try as I might to reset Controls, clicking on play gives me play of the single highlighted song but will not play on to the next song on the list, which it always did before. This is a BIG problem. Would appreciate any advice (knowing I've probably overlooked something simple) to solve this. Thanks!
    Dell Optiplex 745   Windows Vista  

    that can happen if all the checkboxes to the left of the songs in your main library display have become unchecked.
    if they are unchecked, hold down Ctrl and click one of the boxes to do a "recheck all".

  • Why am i receiving error message "the ipod cannot be synced. an unknown error occurred (13019)" when i try to move a song from my itunes library into my music folder on my ipod touch?

    Why am I receiving the following message when I try to move a song from my iTunes library into my iPod touch's music folder?
    "The iPod cannot be synced. An unknown error occurred (13019)."
    It was working just fine.  Then all of a sudden this error message popped up.

    Try here:
    iTunes: Error 13019 during sync

  • ITunes Library File in Documents Folder? Mac problem not Windows

    I am confused!
    I have several very small iTunes Library folders in my Music/iTunes file which date back to iTunes 4. Some of the files are less than 10kb. I also have a folder titled Previous Libraries in my Music/iTunes file which has two Libraries which are 768kb and 2.6mb in size. My main library which is 10.3mb was in my Documents folder which seems strange. I have now moved it to my Music/iTunes folder which is where I think it should be.
    I am trying to tidy up what appears to be a bit of a mess. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks.
    David.

    I am confused!
    I have several very small iTunes Library folders in my Music/iTunes file which date back to iTunes 4. Some of the files are less than 10kb. I also have a folder titled Previous Libraries in my Music/iTunes file which has two Libraries which are 768kb and 2.6mb in size. My main library which is 10.3mb was in my Documents folder which seems strange. I have now moved it to my Music/iTunes folder which is where I think it should be.
    I am trying to tidy up what appears to be a bit of a mess. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks.
    David.

  • How to Move iTunes Library FILE not the folder

    The FileVault space recovery process mangled my email archives and iTunes library for the second time in two weeks. If it weren't company policy (to protect local copies of source code), I'd turn the **** thing off. As it is, I have to live with it, so I've created a non-encrypted mirror of Users named Files and have started moving all of the files that don't need encrypting there.
    I've already moved my music and video files, but I'd like to move the .itl and .xml library files too. I don't want FileVault chewing them up again. All my searches online have turned up nothing, except for a brief mention on these forums that the file cannot be moved. I really hope that isn't true, because it's a really stupid design (just like FileVault has a really stupid design).
    By the way, does anyone know how to get the Thunderbird and Firefox prefs.js files back??? I have my email archives organized across 100 folders, and I really don't want to add them manually.
    **** you FileVault!!!

    I've moved the iTunes Library and iTunes Music Library.xml files to a shared drive on the network and created an alias in my ~/Music/iTunes folder. This allows me to use the same libray on the iBook connected to my stereo upstairs.
    Tom
    Dual 1G MDD G4, 15" PB, Mini, iBook   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   I'm an Apple whore

  • Itunes library vanishes, old one reappeared!!

    My Itunes library vanished and some old one I had in the past with another (now dead) Ipod, this is not the first time this mistery happens but unfortunately I forgot how I sort out the problem before.
    Any advice very welcome.
    Thank you:)

    Refer to these articles:
    iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
    iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751

  • ITunes Library lost, "new" one created, but now my iPod won't sync. HELP!!

    My brother had been messing around on my computer, and something happened to iTunes. At first, it wouldn't open at all. The only way I could access it was to hunt through my files in my MacHD. When it finally opened, there was NOTHING in it! I managed to find my songs, and load them back into the library, but now, it won't let my sync my iPod. The message "The iPod "Kayla's iPod" is in use by another user on this computer." I tried to find/restore this 'other' library/user, but the only iTune file that opens is then new one. How can I access and sync my iPod through the new library?? Please help!

    The only solution I can think of apart having computer administrative privileges and switching users to strictly use your brothers iTunes Library would be to reset your iPod. Maybe that will deauthorize your brother's Library enabling you to start from scratch.
    If you haven't already, try this http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=61705
    If that works, you're going to need this application http://ipoddisk.ourbiti.com/ to transfer any music not purchsed from the iTunes Store from your iPod to your iMac.

  • ITunes library appears twice in folder

    Hello -
    My iTunes library seems to appear twice in my Home>Music folder. The second time they are duplicated but all tunes at higher quality than I'd downloaded the previous set. Can I delete the duplicate set?
    Thanks...

    do you know where on your machine the files are at (start in "my computer", then into your hard drive, and so on)??? If you do then make sure that the directory that itunes has for your music is the same as where they are actually at. If you can't find them do a search for "all files and folders" using an audio extension such as .mp3 or .aac and see if you can locate where they are at.

  • ITunes' Library "populating' Purchased Music folder

    It seems all of the music I've copied off of CDs has migrated from my iTunes Library folder and now shows up in the 'Purchased' music folder. Those items that have been purchased show up twice. I'm hesitent to 'delete' anything from the Purchased folder for fear of losing music.
    1. Why/how did this happen?
    2. How can it be resolved?
    Tks!
    Dell Dimension   Windows XP  

    Exact same thing has happened to me. Could do with advice also

Maybe you are looking for

  • Error in InfoPackage: Error when uploading Flat Files

    Hello Experts, I encoutered this error in Info Package when uploading a flat file. When i try to click on the "Preview" button, this errors appear: "Error 8 when compiling the upload program: Row   237, message: Data Type / BIC/ CCCBMA1_COCTR2 was fo

  • MacBook trying to connect wireless printer via A Express

    Am trying to connect my macbook with an existing linksys network to a wireless printer via an Apple Express. The computer seems to reconize the Apple Express but, in following the instructions to use the Printer Setup Utility to get the computer to r

  • How long should the apple protection plan take to register?

    it says it has been registering since yesterday

  • Export hidden layers error

    Flash CS3 Under 'Publish Settings' I have 'export hidden layers' checked. But every time I paste something from Fireworks, 'export hidden layers' unchecks itself. This behavior may also be triggered by other actions. Is there a solution to this probl

  • Comments when rejecting an workitem on the UWL

    Hello, I am using the Universal Worklist on the SAP Portal environment to execute an workflow process and I have a client requirement to only be able to reject workitems after inserting comments on a specific step. Is there a way to force a user inse