ITunes Media Dir started on External - deciding to switch to local - how?
When I first set up my macbook pro, I set up iTunes to use an external WD 2 TB to store my media library. Everything worked fine, but now I'd like to
sync my devices without having to connect the external drive. I thought I could do this with a little housekeeping in iTunes ( I went into preferences -> advanced, and changed media directory location, reorganized my library with consolidate etc ... )
That did move all my music and mobile apps into the correct directory ... however, iTunes can still only locate these files if (and only if) the external drive is connected. It seems that it makes cheat notes to itself to "go looking from here into the correct location".
That's why I'd like to reinstall iTunes from a fresh start. Anyone know:
(1) Am I forced to re-install for my stated purpose?
(2) The best way to go about doing that?
If I can avoid (1) by changing up some XML files locations or something, I'm fine with that ... but thought I'd ask here first before I mess anything up.
I'm all ears for tips ...
Thanks in advance !!!
Richard
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.
Similar Messages
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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. -
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 WVThank 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 have my itunes media stored on my external hard drive. On this external drive I have a folder called "TV shows". I previously cut and pasted itunes TV shows to this folder to free up some space. How do I incorporate this folder (TV shows) back into the itunes library?
assuming the copy files ... when adding option is checkmarked in preferences > advanced, drag the folder into an open iTunes window while holding option (⌥).
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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 -
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. -
I have files in my iTunes media folder that somehow are not in my library. How do I get iTunes to scan my media folder and add missing files to my library without making a copy of each file in the same location? If I use add file / folder to library, it scans the folder and then makes a copy of any file that is not in my library in the exact same location; I recal in older versions of iTunes being able to just drag my media folder into my library and it would update missing links.
Only the songs that are connected to iTunes will be copied when you consolidate to a new folder.
Splitting the media folder away from the usual location makes it harder to move iTunes in the future.
Are you go move everything back once you've tidied up or are you going to leave it that way? Either way I'd recommend you create an iTunes folder at the new location, an iTunes Media folder inside that, and consolidate to this new iTunes Media folder. You should also use the option File > LIbrary > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder "<Media Folder"> if you have not already done so.
tt2 -
I have restored and updated my ipod from recovery mode, however I still have the usb cord and itunes icon on the ipod when it is switched on. How can I get my ipod to work again? I have updated and restored 5 times! When connected to itunes it only shows the summary page saying ipod in recovery mode.
Fixed it!
1. Made sure itunes software was up to date
2. Pressed and held 'home' button and 'on-off' button at the same time for about 10 seconds till ipod reset (I hadn't done this step previously)
3. Connected to itunes
4. Pressed restore and update ipod
Update successful and ipod taken out of recovery mode -
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 11.4I 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. -
I can't copy iTunes media files from one external hard drive to another.
Hi, I am running the latest iTunes and Mavericks software on my MacBook Pro. My iTunes library is stored on an external Seagate 2tb hard drive and it is almost full. I want to transfer the files to a WD Elements 3tb external hard drive and have made that new volume the destination folder for my iTunes library. However, even though I have enabled read/write on both volumes and made the iTunes media folders on both shared folders, I can't copy all the files from the Seagate drive to the WD drive. It comes up with an error message that says "The operation can't be completed because an unexpected error occurred (error code -8058)". I can transfer files from my MacBook hard drive to the new volume, but can't copy files from the old Seagate volume to my MacBook hard drive; it makes the "boing" sound that indicates it is copying but nothing transfers. Files that won't copy include all music files, some video files and all podcast files. Some transferred with no problem. Any ideas out there?
Hi Limnos, thanks very much for your reply.
both external drives came preformatted for Windows but I erased each and reformatted them for Mac before using them.
i made the destination folder on the new WD drive the new iTunes folder using Advanced preferences in iTunes.
my original iTunes folder on the first drive contained all my iTunes files, as that, also, was the destination folder that was linked via Advanced preferences.
If I download new content now with the new drive attached, iTunes has no trouble finding where to place the files.
in Preferences I have both boxes checked (copy files" and "organize") that deal with copying iTunes files.
When I first attempted to copy all iTunes files from one media folder to the other on the external drives, I just did a drag and drop of the whole iTunes media folder from one to the other while both were mounted on my desktop. It started copying immediately with no problems, but as it progressed it started skipping files, each time displaying the error message I reported earlier. that included my entire Music folder. When I open, for example, a season folder that contains files that would not copy, eg, Modern Family Season 5, the episodes that won't copy are there and visible but any attempt to drag and drop them into the correct folder on the new drive results in the error message. There is no pattern to it; it will choose some episodes from some seasons but not others, and no music at all.
when I look at the "missing" files in iTunes they have the small exclamation mark that indicates the file is missing, but when I locate it through iTunes it doesn't copy the file on the old external drive to the new one. It just plays it having found the file on the old drive.
originally I had to make the iTunes folder on the old drive into a shared folder using the Get info window after either a software upgrade or an OS upgrade (I can't remember which, it was several years ago). For some reason the upgrade changed the preferences of that folder to a Read Only folder and after researching the problem found the only way to keep using the drive was to make the folder a shared one. I can't remember why and I apologise for that but it was a long time ago.; I can tell you that at the time it was necessary.
thanks again for your time; I have a good working knowledge of iTunes and Macs in general so I truly believe I have done everything according to how it should be done,, but clearly I've done something wrong! -
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?
ThanksMany 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.) -
Itunes Media Folder location on external hd but computer hd still losing space
Hi, im importing all my old CDs to my itunes, however as my computer's hard drive was getting too full, i've changed my itunes media folder location to an external hard drive. but now, even though the music is being saved to an external hard drive, im still losing space on my computer's hard drive. Why is this happening? and how do i prevent it? Thanks
By organizing it should both relocate all current media as well as start using the new location from that point on. You're mostly okay there. Where you are not okay is iTunes doesn't look at your files directly. It only really looks at one single file, the iTunes Library.itl file which tells it where everything is located. You need to get both copies of iTunes using the same complete library (media + library file). The way you do that is using the option start method. You should only need to do that once unless for some reason the library storage drive is disconnected when starting iTunes, in which case iTunes will use the default location and you will need to option start again.
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
By the way, both copies of iTunes will have to be the same version or the library will become unreadable to the older iTunes.
There are variants to the above but I am not going to type in all the possibilities unless you say something that tells me you need a different structure. -
2nd destination folder for iTunes media appears in my external hard drive ?
I've been having trouble with my external hard drive that houses my iTunes media (33,000 songs).
I've solved that issue, but during the course of it, because the external was flitting in and out,
I believe the destination for media in iTunes preferences went from : /Volumes/iomega/iTunes Media to
simply "/Volumes/iomega"
Now I have a new external hard drive folder named "Music", and all activity in it is just from yesterday.
My guess is when all this was happening, I'd get the "do you want to organize your media" question from the advanced preferences.
One time I pushed "yes" and a lot of files started buzzing. I didn't want to wait for 33,000 songs so I stopped.
Am I right in guessing iTunes was reorganizing my stuff to the new folder "Music"? Less than 1,000 songs are in the file, and
those are no longer in the old "iTunes Media" file. There's really no consistency to what shifted...it might be a single
song shifted over while five others on the same album stayed behind. I can't just shift the folders back because it will replace
the original artist folder with the new one, which will lose a lot of songs. I tried manually to shift some back song by song and
it worked OK. But it would take forever to shift them back in that fashion.
Is there a way to get everything back in a single folder? If I do the "organize" thing thru iTunes and let it run, will it
eventually shift everything from my old "iTunes media" folder to the newer "Music" folder that appeared yesterday?
And will iTunes then recognize that as the active media folder and I'll redirect new media to that folder??Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders (albeit Windows images):
Older versions of iTunes would put artist folder inside the media folder, newer versions inside <Media Folder>/Music. I'm guessing that your library was in the older layout, even if the main folder was called iTunes Media, instead of the new one. There is an option to move from the old layout to the new one. Moving from the new one back to the old one can be achieved by tweaking a hidden preference file in the media folder. There are however good reasons for preferring the newer layout when it comes to moving your library to a new drive or computer. Details in Make a split library portable.
Have I understood the issue? If you really want to force the old layout edit the file .iTunes Preferences.plist in your media folder and change the integer from 1 to 0 then turn the "Keep media folder organized" preference off, then back on again.
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 10.7No 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 -
Hi all....I have spent weeks tidying up my music collection. I moved it all to Itunes media folder. Since I don't like how Itunes manages this folder I manually organised it myself so that albums where together etc. I am wondering if there is a fool proof way to move my media folder to an external hard drive without letting itunes manage and consolidate files as this will reverse all the work I did in organising. Im not sure if Im posting to the right place but fingers crossed:)
Thanks in advanceJust one more thing puhlease:) This is the list of things that are in my iTunes folder. Album artwork, Automatically add to iTunes, iTunes media, Mobile apllications, podcasts, previous itunes libraries, voice memos. Then it has files itunes preferences, itunes libary extras, itunes libarry genius, itunes libraary, itunes music library......Is there stuff in there that doesnt need to be there as some are repeated in itunes media folder which contains....automatically add to itunes, books, downloads, home videos, mobile applications, music, podcasts, tones, voice memos and itunes preferences. Any thoughts on deleting some folders??? Thankyou so much for your time on this
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