ITunes on External Hard Drive Problem

I have moved my iTunes onto an external hard drive. Problem is I have to find original file every time I want to hear a track. Please help!!!!

Quit iTunes.
Move everything back where it was.
Open iTunes.
iTunes prefs -> Advanced. Make sure the iTunes musci folder location is set to where you want the music to be.
iTunes menu File -> Library -> Consolidate.
This will copy everything to the location you set in prefs and use that location for everything from now on.
The external must be on & connected before launching iTunes.

Similar Messages

Moved itunes to external hard drive problems

Hi
I am trying to clean up room on my laptop and followed directions on how to move my iTunes music to an external hard drive.....I did that and they are on that hard drive, but when I open up iTunes on my laptop, nothing is there and none of my lists, favorites, etc. are listed, just blank. I need to find out how to change it back, and start over I suppose.....if anyone can help and explain it in a really basic way, I would really appreciate it.....
thanks kindly

Limnos wrote:
I believe it is shift key on Windows, option key on Macs.
Indeed you are correct!
Thanks for the correction, forgot I was in the Mac forum...
tt2

Restoring itunes from external hard drive

-I used WD backup program to store itunes on external hard drive
-hard drive on mac pro crashed, replaced hard drive
-trying to restore itunes songsa from external drive and when I copied songs from external hard drive to new internal hard drive which has itunes program, only song titles appear and track number for songs I ripped from CDs. All info is present for songs I purchased from itunes (why is there a difference in the way these two are restored???)
-Can I restore itunes from external drive so that artist and album are associated with each song title I ripped from CDs?
Much appreciate all assistance. Thanks.

I know MP3 and AAC save tag data, and I believe AIFF does as well (if you want to keep them in full-quality but space-greedy format). I don't think WAV supports tagging which is why they were lost. Read:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9558241&#9558241
This time make sure you have a complete backup of your itunes folder (which, in fact you may still have). That way you can recover your complete library and everything intact (as long as you keep your backups up to date).
Here is a related topic
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9267109&#9267109

How do I copy iTunes from external hard drive to iMac?

How do I copy iTunes from external
Hard drive to iMac?

if your main library is on your external, then when not connected, you wont have access to it.
so first decide, where do you want to keep the files.
E.g. In my case, I keep my files on "C:\iTunes Music".
I have a backup on external "Z:\iTunes Backup". If I format my laptop, this is how I restore everything.
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced.
The iTunes music folder in selects as "C:\iTunes Music"
I have checked Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized, and also Copy Files to iTunes Music folder when adding to ibrary". Click OK to save and close preferences.
My iTunes list is now empty. I go to file, and select "Add Folder to Library". From that window, I select "Z:\iTunes Backup". iTunes then copies everything from the backup to "C:\iTunes Music". For me, backup is backup, I dont need it to play music.
Now decide this. If you do not want to keep music on C:, but want to only connect the external to update music on your ipod, do this:
In preferences, set iTunes Music folder as "Z:\iTunes Backup", and uncheck Copy files to iTunes Music folder, since they are already there. Then in files, select Add folder to library again to build and update the list.

HT1660 How do I run itunes from external Hard drive?

How do I run itunes from external hard drive. I only have ssd on PC and media is too large to fit

You do not.
iTunes, like all programs is installed on the C drive.
You can store the media on another drive.
Assuming you are moving an existing library from another computer:
Move or Copy the ENTIRE iTunes folder from the old computer to the new computer and put it where you want it.
Install iTunes using the default options.
Hold <SHIFT> while launching iTunes. It will prompt to create a new library or locate an existing library.
Select the option to locate an existing library.
Point iTunes to the iTunesLibrary.itl file in the iTunes folder that was moved from the old computer.

Problems trying to store iTunes on external hard drive and back up iPhone to internal hard drive?

Hi
I have been tirelessly trying to relocate my entire iTunes function to an external hard drive to free space on my laptop. I have migrated the iTunes library (from the 'My Music' location on laptop) to ext hard drive and also reinstalled iTunes, asking to save all files during set up to the ext drive (not in default 'Program Files' on laptop). I have also pointed iTunes to the library's new location on the ext hard drive. I did this after reading a recommendation on here that it is better to have both my library and all other iTunes files in the same place.
One of the problems is when I have moved the library, it has for some reason created two iTunes folders on the ext drive with different music in each, but the library database file is only available in one of them, and I am not sure if all the music from both folders is available in iTunes.
Another huge issue is that when I have tried to back up my iPhone to the computer (as recommended to do after migrating the iTunes program to another location), it is not letting the process complete; I get an error message saying it cannot save to the computer. It seems the location of the back ups (C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup) isn't compatible with the new location of my library etc (on my ext drive)and from searching the internet for a solution, it seems you can't change the location of where back ups of an iPhone are stored.
So, does anyoine know if there is a fix-all solution to these dilemmas? Or should I just keep my library on one drive and the iTunes program on my int drive?
Thanks in advance
VR

Hmm.
I'm sure I'd successfully tested the command line version of the move instructions at one point, but I'm getting the same "access denied" error when I try. Maybe "Move" doesn't like working with folders when the path contains sections with hidden or system flags. Anyway herewith version 3 which I've just tested works as described...
Relocate iOS device backups
Assuming you're running Windows Vista or later you can use the following steps:
Using Windows Explorer move the current Mobile Sync Backup folder from C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup to your chosen location, e.g. as X:\Backup where <User> is your Windows user name and X: is your preferred drive.
To make iTunes look for the data in the new location open a command prompt by hitting the start button and typing CMD<Enter> in the search box that opens up, then type in this command and press <Enter>
MkLink /J "C:\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup" "X:\Backup"
If your external drive has a different letter or you already have a folder called "Backup" then edit "X:\Backup" accordingly.
If you're still running Windows XP you can use Junction (cmd line tool) or NTFSLink (shell ext). In both cases you move the existing folder to a new location, create an empty folder where the old one used to be, then use the tools to get the operating system to link the two together and silently redirect any file operation on the old location through to the new one.
Note that while this method works for iOS device backups it cannot be used to redirect sections of the media library. iTunes will break the connection the first time it tries to write a file to the target folder.
What happens when you want to sync the device? If you're getting a warning about erasing and reloading the device with media from the current library then something is wrong. If you moved the library files correctly and then reconnected them to iTunes this should still be the "home" library of the device and it should sync as if nothing had changed. If not then revist the make a split library portable post for advice. See also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device if for some reason you accidentally erased the original library files and all backups thereof.
tt2

Problem; itunes and external hard drive

I saved my musics to my external hard drive and imported them to my itunes library, and tried to modify their tags, but everything in info section was inactive and couldn't be modified. but once i move the file to internal drive, it works fine no matter where it is stored afterwards. what's the problem here? I've already tried deselecting the read-only attribute.

You would have to change the tags while working inside the external drive. Then when you look at them through iTunes you will see the changes that you made.

Problem running Itunes from external hard drive- Please Help!

So, last night I transferred my entire music folder over to an external hard drive. It copied all the files and I then proceeded to tell itunes where my new music folder was located. The problem I ran into was when I actually deleted the music files from my internal hard drive my library won't automatically find the files. When I click on a song it comes up with an error message saying, "original file cannot be found, would you like to locate file?". If I tell it yes, I can then manually tell it where the file is, and it will play. I'm really hoping there is an easier way around this issue because going in and doing this for every song in my library would take years. Should I clear out the library and then drag it from the external hard drive? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks a lot.
Sean

I am experiencing a similar problem. I already had all my files on an external drive, where I had transfered them a few months back, and everything was working fine. I have now moved them, again, to a larger external drive, did everything the same, but now receive the message "original file cannot be found, would you like to locate file?" I was advised to use the "add to library" button under "FILE" in the menu bar and all the music was finally imported into iTunes, but the problem now is that the new data on the music files is missing all the metadata, and I am still stuck with all the original files with the "!" in front of each file that is going to have to be manually deleted one file at a time, all 30,000 of them. I would like a way to start over and get it right the first time. Anyone have any solutions? I have found a program, "Super Remove Dead Tracks" which should solve the problem of eliminating the "!" tracks, but so too all the metadata. Ideally I'd like to be able to locate the original files with all the attached metadata and get back to where I was 24 hours ago.

External Hard Drive problems with iTunes and iPod

I recently purchased a 320 gig external hard drive for my computer, hoping in part to load my iTunes library onto it. Obviously I'd have much more room on disc than my actual iPod, so I was going to manually manage my music (an option I didn't have selected on my iPod before).
I followed all the online help topics which have all been helpful so far. I organized my music files, changed my directory, consolidated my library, and now everything is on the external hard drive and is working just fine.
The problem comes when I connect my iPod. iTunes barely even seems to recognize my iPod all of a sudden, saying that it has been corrupted and needs to be restored. When I try restoring it, nothing happens, and I can't seem to do a thing about it through iTunes. Of course, there's actually nothing wrong with the iPod at all, since it still works fine and plays music exactly the same as before. It simply won't update or do anything at all when hooked up to my computer.
I know this has something to do with the new hard drive, since everything was just fine a few hours ago, I just can't figure out why I can't get my iPod to sync all of a sudden. Like I said, my iPod is working fine otherwise, iTunes is playing music through the external hard drive without any issues, and I haven't touched any files other than music files (I haven't even deleted them off my original hard drive yet, so all the original fines remain unchanged, even though I switched the directory).
To the best of my knowledge, all my software is up to date, and the iPod is a 30 gig photo. Any ideas?
pc Windows XP

Yeah, I gave the new drive the letter Z, so there shouldn't have been any conflicts there. I also tried your other suggestion, and while the computer recognized my external hard drive, it didn't seem to make any difference once I plugged in the iPod again.
I've been wrestling with this for days now. I've tried changing the drive letters for both the external hard drive and my iPod several times (but no matter what, the iPod always seems to take F when it's unplugged and then plugged back in). I've tried restoring the iPod on multiple occasions. I've tried reinstalling all my USB drivers. I've consolidated my music library on several occasions (I now have two identical libraries on my external hard drive), yet annoyingly, iTunes seems to keep switching file paths away from the external hard drive and back to their original locations on the C drive. I'm trying to free up internal hard drive space, not house 30 gigs of media on it. That's what this new external hard drive is for.
Somehow, I was able to get them both to be recognized at the same time, but it never lasts long. I'll start iTunes with the external hard drive disconnected, plug in my iPod, wait for the iPod screen to come up in iTunes, then plug my external hard drive back in. Then, I can miraculously start to transfer music back onto my iPod, but iTunes doesn't seem to want this to happen for some reason, and will usually cut off the transfer. So far I've managed to put three whole songs on my iPod.
So now I'm trying to do two things. One, the same as before, get my computer and iTunes to recognize both my iPod and my external hard dive at the same time. And two, get iTunes to stop changing the file paths back to the C drive. These files are already on my external hard drive and don't need to change.
(As a side note, I should comment on how helpful people are on this discussion board. The Apple representitives I called on several occasions seemed totally unwilling to help, acting more like pushy salesmen than anything, while people here seem to be much more friendly and knowledgeable. Just thought it needed to be said.)
pc Windows XP

Problem with itunes and external hard drive

I've have recently downloaded the newest version of itunes, I also have an external hard drive with 40gbs of music on.
When I open itunes preferences and set library to an external one, none of my music copies to itunes.
I have tried to individually copy music folders to itunes, but my whole mac freeze's
Any advice please?

You might find this article useful: iLounge - Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive

Itunes on an external hard drive problem

I've operated my itunes library from an external hard drive successfully for some time now, usually keeping the hard drive connected to the PC. I recently removed the hard drive to use with my laptop. When I reconnected the external hard drive itunes won't load. I get a message which says: "itunes cannot run bacause some its required filesare missing. Please reinstall itunes" Not sue whether to do this I don't want to lose my music files.
I've connected the external drive to the laptop and can see that the itunes library is still there. However. when I use shift and itunes and choose that library the music list comes up but none of it's there. When selected I get the message "the song could not be found would you like to locate it" with the dreaded ! by the name of the song.
Not sue what to do??
Help Please

If the library won't work when it has a different drive letter one approach would be to change settings in Windows disk managment to restore the original letter.
If the library is all there, but has broken links, another approach would be my FindTracks script.
If you want to be able to swap the library back & forth then see making your split library portable.
tt2
Message was edited by: turingtest2

How can I transfer Itunes from external hard drive to a new computer?

Hello,
I had a Dell laptop with Windows XP on it recently crash, but I have everything saved to a Seamagine external 1 terabyte hard drive. I have about 250 gigabytes of media on it, mostly CD's and audiobooks. The setup I had on the XP computer was my Itunes folder saved on the C drive, but I kept all the actual music and audiobooks on the external hard drive, which was labeled the F drive.
After the crash, a relative sold me their three year old Compaq laptop, with Windows 7 instead of XP as the OS. My relative already had Itunes downloaded on it, but when I opened the Itunes on the new (new to me) laptop, Itunes only recognized their (my relative's) account. So, I uninstalled their Itunes and then I re-downloaded Itunes for 64-bit Windows 7. I then opened the Windows Explorer folder so to drag and drop my backed up Itunes folder and library information from the old C drive to the new Itunes folder in the new C drive. But, it wouldn't do anything. It still wanted the password info from my relative's account. It wouldn't recognize my account, even though I had uninstalled and then reinstalled a newer version of Itunes. Dragging and dropping my backed-up Itunes folder from my external hard drive to the new C drive didn't work because it said it didn't have certain permissions or something like that. I think I might have downloaded a newer version of Itunes, different from what I had saved a couple of days ago, which might be one of the problems here, not to mention that I switched OS's from XP to Windows 7.
When I plugged the external hard drive USB into the new laptop no Seamagine manager came up for user-friendly accessibility. I didn't know what to do, so I installed Seagate Dashboard onto the new computer. It didn't do anything for me either. No problem, I thought, I'll just use Windows Explorer to move the Itunes library, and then once I transfer (i.e., drag and drop) the old Itunes folder to the one, all will be as it was. I could then direct my Itunes account to use my external hard drive as the media source folder. I was wrong. It won't let me do that either. It says I don't have permission to do it.
How c an I get my old Itunes library info onto the C drive of this new computer, but keep the 250GB of media files on the external hard drive, just like the setup I had on the old laptop before it crashed? If you can help me, then you will be my hero. I'm scared to death that I've lost my library info and afraid to mess with it too much more for fear of erasing it or, worse, losing the 250 GB of media that is on the external hard drive, which has taken me a tremendous amount of time and money to compile. It is, in effect, irreplaceable. I'm very worried and frustrated. I've been working on this for days, to no avail. You're my last hope. Thank you.

Hmm, I think we should start over...
Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
In the image above the red outline denotes the "media folder", that is the folder listed under Edit > Preferences > Advanced. In the standard layout where the "media folder" is inside the "library folder" the iTunes library has the advantage of being self-contained and portable. Since you've lost the "library folder" from your old computer you're going to have to start over so you might as well get organized properly.
If the folder curently holding your media files is called G:\iTunes then rename it as G:\Media.
The support doc How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one explains how to create a new iTunes library where you want it. In short click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library, click Create and browse to G:\, make sure the folder is going to be called iTunes and click save.
Move the folder that actually holds the media inside the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. We're going to let iTunes reorganize everything (unless you have a collection of .wav files in which case stop and tell me because they require a different approach).
Use File > Add folder to library and select the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. iTunes will search through the whole series of subfolders adding all media files into the library and reorganizing them into the correct artist & album folders.
Again, for data security, you really ought to obtain a second external drive at some point and backup your library to it. Only having one copy, as you have found, leaves you vulnerable to failure. External drives are no less prone to it.
A) Windows uses \ as a folder separator in path descriptions, Mac uses /.
B) Do you have a backup of the iTunes folder that was on drive C:\ or are you simply referring to the location of your media as a "backup" when it really the only copy? If you have a backup copy of your "original" iTunes library you could move/copy that to G:\iTunes shift-start-iTunes to open it, and then I can offer tools or techniques for fixing the links that will be broken becuase the drive letter has changed.
C) Use Store > Sign out and then Store > Sign in to sign into your iTunes account. You will also need to use Store > Authorize the computer to allow playback and transfer of any protected content. If your new library contains protected content from any other accounts then you will have to authorize the computer for those too.
tt2

Itunes on external hard drive - some mp3s stalling and crashing - HELP!

Hi,
I hope somebody can help me.
I've had my itunes library on a western digital external hard drive for nearly a year now. i have upwards of 17, 000 songs. Recently after a few seconds playback of certain songs the hard drives starts to click, the songs stalls, jumps ahead then stalls.
I can't play these tracks in another player such as RealPlayer, or even playing the file through Get Info direct from the hard drive.
It's happening more frequently and I'm worried I'm going to end up losing a lot of songs. I also tried dragging the mp3 onto the desktop but it comes up with:
+The Finder cannot complete the operation because some data in " " could not be read or written. (Error Code -36.)+
Is there anyway to salvage the files? Stop it happening to other ones?
I'd really appreciate a response if anybody has had a similar experience or knows what to do.
Thanks,
Tom.

Hi,
In case you haven't solved your problem yet, here are some tips.
First, the file that iTunes was indicating was "Damaged" was probably the main file it uses, iTunes Library in your "Music" folder. If this file is corrupted for any reason, iTunes will rename it with the word "Damaged" in the filename, and create a new, empty iTunes Library file. Since all the metadata, containing the definitions of the playlists, etc are stored in this file, you lose all your playlists when the "Damage" occurs. The underlying music files are untouched, as you indeed see.
I've not run into any scripts that actually repair a "Damaged" library file per se. But, if you have a copy of your files on a backup tape, CD, or another machine, you can simply copy that backup file back onto your "Music/iTunes" folder, thereby overwriting the new, empty library file, and you should have all your playlists back. I've done this a number of times without problem when I've had damaged library files.
Going forward you might want to take a look at iTunes Library Manager in Doug's Applescripts for iTunes for managing your library file.
Secondly, check iTunes/Preferences/Advanced and check to make sure the path to your iTunes library is correctly shown in the window. If not, correct it with the "Change" button. You will note that the iTunes library, xml file and a few other files will remain in your "Music/iTunes" folder, while all of your music will be located on your external drive. Don't move the remaining iTunes files in your "Music/iTunes" folder.
As you add new music to your library, you'll see the audio file be copied to your external drive, while the iTunes library file will grow slightly.
Good luck!
Ed

What is the best way to back up iTunes excluding external hard drive

*iTunes gives you the option of backing up your library on CDs. It would take me 100s of CDs to back up my library. Is there any other way to back up excluding external hard drive? Can you put music on a DVD and fit more than on a CD? Having just had to reload my whole computer, I would like some advice. I put my iTunes libary on an external hard drive. When I wiped that hard drive clean, it also took out my iTunes on my C drive! I had to buy a program that would save the songs from my iPod and put them back in iTunes.*

I backup regularly to data DVD's without a problem.

Itunes: Intertwining external hard drive and PC hard drive?

I just moved my iTunes library from my old computer to my new one. But there's a problem. I want to have my computer rely on its own hard drive for the storage of my iTunes, but it currently relies on my external hard drive. I would also like to have new songs simultaneously downloaded on the external hard drive and the PC's hard drive, when the external hard drive is plugged in. When its not plugged in and I have new content downloaded to iTunes, it would store it on the PC's hard drive, and later when the external hard drive is replugged in, it will download new content onto it as an automatic update. Is there anyway I can successfully do this? Any help is appreciated.
'Keep iTunes media folder organized' and 'copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library' are enabled. I have been trying to enable 'consolidate files', but it will not stay enabled and it will not do anything when enabled. Again, any help is appreciated. Thank you.

To move your library to the internal hard drive, copy the whole library folder structure (which includes the iTunes database - the iTunes Library.itl file - as well as your media). If you currently have the database on the internal drive and only your media on the external one, see turingtest2's tip on Make a split library portable for the procedure that will bring everything together under one location.
There is nothing in iTunes that supports the "Intertwining" of two drives that you describe. The best approach is to use the internal drive as your "master" drive and regularly synchronize with the external one - many find Microsoft's SyncToy tool an effective method for this.
"Consolidate files" is not a setting - it is a one-off operation that will copy any media files that are currently outside the standard iTunes folder structure into that structure; again see turingtest2's notes referenced above for the scenarios where you may need to do this in order to create a well-formed, manageable library structure.

ITunes on External Hard Drive Problem

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