ITunes setup on external HD

I am after some help with iTunes and how to set it up correctly. I have lots of music and movies, so got an external HD. I recently got a larger ext HD, and whenever my iMac shuts down or is restarted, it changes the file path and i have to reconfigure iTunes every time. The Apple store have been no help at all. I even purchased an Airport Time Capsule on their advice, and it solved nothing. Still does the same thing. I then tried with a WD MyCloud 3TB, and still having the same issues. Am not interested in trusting store sales reps anymore. Can anyone help?

The basic solution is to make sure you always have the external drive fully mounted on the computer before starting iTunes.
Often people misunderstand how iTunes works and particularly what you do and do not do with preferences. Details depend upon how you have iTunes set up. Do you have your entire library on the external drive (best) or only media? A "library " is the entire iTunes folder with contents.
I do not use an external drive so I can't observe myself how iTunes responds when you start without one connected. Others have said you get a warning message telling you to turn it on first and that's about as good as you're going to get. If it isn't doing that then others have tried using an Applescript to start iTunes where the script checks first if the drive is mounted and gives you a chance to mount it before starting iTunes.

Similar Messages

Need help with Cloud/External HD iTunes Setup

Hello everyone! For a while now I've had an ideal iTunes setup in mind, but haven't put together all the pieces to make it work......
Here's my situation: I'm an avid Classical music listener and have a large colection of music on an External HD (about 100GB or so). Some of these files were ripped from CDs, or were originally bought on iTunes on a previous computer, some time ago.
With my new Macbook Pro, I want to save as much internal HD space as possible. I would like these files on my iTunes, just not copied to a folder on my computer. I also want to access this large collection and listen to them on my iPhone (only 16GB). I've heard of iTunes Match, but still don't know if the music is indeed streamed (like Google Play Music) or has to be downloaded to be played. I simply do not want any files to be stored on my Mac or Iphone - a complete Cloud-based system.
How should I do this?
Thanks,
Devin B

I hadnt tried looking there! Found a serial number on the device and the original box. It is 10 characters, but the input field is 20. Tried it with trailing and leading zeros - no luck. Will have to wait to see if Freecom responds - or maybe forget it and try if I can use the disk in any case.
Thanks for response.

How do I a setup an external hard drive on my Macbook Pro?

How do I a setup an external hard drive on my Macbook Pro to my primary hard drive for my iTunes library?
I ask this because every time I try to do this it my Mac book pro always wants to use the external hard drive I plug in as a time machine back up rather than my primary hard drive. I figured it would be cheaper and more efficient to use an external hard drive rather than have apple charge me an arm and a leg to replace and upgrade my current hard drive in my Mac book pro.

I responded to this in your duplicate posting at: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2690347
I recommend giving a first post a chance before posting a second time, especially since it may result in a lot of duplication in effort from the people volunteering their time here.

Using MacPro and PC Laptop -- sharing same itunes library on External Drive

Hi guys, my main computer is a Early 2008 MacPro with Lion installed on it. I have iTunes 10.5 and all my music is classified witht that version of iTunes. But all my music is actually stored in an external 1GB WD Passeport HD.
Thing is I have a dj gig and have to bring my pc laptop to play music. This laptop has Windows 7 installed on it with iTunes 10.5.
What I want to achieve here is to be able to connect the external HD (with all my music on it and run iTunes and see the same thing I would see if I was on my mac : my playlist, comments, id3 tags, etc…
I actually did this :
On the PC --> in itunes, went to Preferences/Advanced, set the itunes library to the folder itunes on my external HD (my itunes library and my itunes music folder is setted there).
I exported my library from itunes MAC (Files-->Library-->Export Library) (it's a XML file) and imported it in my itunes windows installation (Import Playlist).
Thing is I see some files like my podcasts and audiobooks, but I dont see any of my other songs or apps, even if they are in my external HD. I see the playlist but they are empty.
Any ideas?

thanks for the help tt2, really usefull!
Just to be sure i'm doing things right, let me explain more in detail what is my actual setup to know how your explainations applies to it.
Ok. First, my main goal here is to consolidated all my music in one place on one external HD. Let's call it ExHD1.
Actually, my setup involved that all my dj music (1600 tracks in wav format) and my iTunes music are on another external HD, we will call it ExHD2.
Thing is, if I move the wav tracks to another computer, all the tag informations (covert art, title, artist, comments, album, etc) are lost. It's because WAV format do not keep that info. I've recently knew that AIFF format can keep all that info. So I manage to convert (with iTunes built-in utility) all my wav files to AIFF. I've tested it and yes, it keeps everything so far.
But I tried before to make the cross-plateform to work so I have copied all the converted AIFF to my ExHD1 in a specific Beatport folder. Like this.
I had an intense way of manage them in itunes where I made 150+ playlists. I have, before reading your comments, replace all the wav files, to their equivalent in aiff. I just replace the files in the playlist. If you go in the main music window, you can see that for each songs, there is a wav, a aiff, and mp3 format of the song.
Sometimes I have 2x mp3 versions of the song, i don't remember why. I've created these versions long ago. So the thing here is that I have the wav + mp3 version of my tunes on my ExHD2, the aiff version in ExHD1 (the main HD i want to use) and a duplicate mp3s of these tunes ALSO on my internal MAC HD.
++ note that I don't have music on my PC internal HD and not planning to keep ones. ++
So, this is my actual setting of my iTunes, where I have copied my iTunes folder on my new ExHD1 and set iTunes to point his library to there.
Also, this is my settings in Preferences/Advanced
Note that before yesterday, the Keep itunes Media... and Copy files were unchecked.
I prefer that way because I like to manually manage my songs. But I think for what i want to achieve, we need to check this again?
So the main goal here is I want to keep the wav format in the ExHD2 for backup, get rid of the mp3s that I've done before (the mp3 copys of the wav), consolidate everything at one place only: ExHD1.
Also, will my Windows installation (on my pc), when i will set the itunes library to be on the ExHD1, recognize all the playlist I did, and recognize the path of the songs?
Thanks for the help tt2, i know there's a lot, hope I have well explained it. Hope you can answer shorly because my gig is tommorow
regards

HT1926 I followed the troubleshoot for iTunes setup.exe is not a valid win32 app; even uninstalled QTime; reinstalled QT; then tried itunes ; no success any ideas? Windows IE8 version on PC

I followed the troubleshoot for iTunes and get message the iTunes setup.exe is not a valid Win32 application. I remove QuickTime and reinstalled QT, then tried iTunes install with no success. Any ideas?

Perhaps try downloading and saving a copy of the installer to a different (32-bit) PC. Copy the iTunesSetup.exe installer to an external hard-drive, or a large-enough thumb drive or burn it to a CD-R. Carry the installer back to your PC, copy the installer to your hard drive. (Don't run the install from the ExHD, thumb or CD-R.) Start the install by doubleclicking the iTunesSetup.exe file.

ITunes setup on a NAS with multiple windows users - how?

iTunes setup on a NAS with multiple windows users?
I am very confused on what is the best way to handle this setup for my friends family. Any help would be appreciated. Sorry in advance as I know this is a long winded post - I have a feeling this will help others faced with the same issues or questions.
CURRENT SETUP
I have three new Windows 7 machines networked (two desktops and one laptop) that have four users on each - as busy family with children who need the computers for homework, projects, games, etc... The goal of this setup is that any user can log onto any computer and have there documents available to them no matter computer was free to use. I set this up using the library function in Windows 7 and seems to work pretty well.
I have put a Buffalo Linkstation NAS on the system as well. This was going to serve two purposes 1) run some backup software to protect the computers and 2) consolidate the iTunes content in one place for all users. There is also an iPad in the home that I should would be better served by accessing the content on the NAS without requiring any of the computers being on. Dave is thinking about getting some other playback devices like Apple TV so thought a NAS would be a good way to go.
CURRENT ITUNES SETUP - I have created a new iTunes library on the NAS by holding the SHIFT button down while starting iTunes and pointed to that folder on a Share on the NAS. There was no music on the system at the time as we are planning to copy this over from an OLD machine that is now not being used. I have also authorized all the computers and turned on the home sharing feature (although I am not sure what good that does).
This “shift” button trick seesm to also point the default directory there without point to it in the advanced setup tab of iTunes.
I then synced one of the iPods with purchased content on it and synced that to the library after asking me to do so before an update. All the content showed up in the library and was playable - awesome.
I then logged into each user on each machine (yikes) and installed iTunes and used the “shift” trick to connect each users iTunes to the database on the NAS. Everything seems to work - but I have not tested it thoroughly.
SUMMARY
3 new Windwos 7 networked machines
4 identical users on each machine
1 TB Buffalo linkstation
iTunes setup with the folder on a SHARE
all user’s itunes connected to the iTunes folder on the NAS
all computers authorized with home sharing turned on.
one iTunes user account signed in on each machine
multiple iPods and one iPad in the system
QUESTIONS/CONCERNS
Is there a better way to do this on a NAS?
Would home sharing be better in some way?
I understand the NAS should show up under the shared section in iTunes - I assume that would mean that would mean each user has an iTunes library on their documents?
I have read that there may be corruption issues if users on the different machines try to access iTunes at the same time.
Will there be any issues syncing that various iPods with?
Ugh - sorry for the long post and all the questions. I am just trying to find the best way to do this. I wish Apple would put out a best practices document for setups like this. Thanks in advance.

This is a user to user support forum. Your fellow users can offer solutions or workarounds based on their experience with the application. If you think it should work differently drop a line to iTunes Feedback.
For reasons unknown Apple haven't chosen to allow iTunes to be suspended in one profile and active in another. My recollection is that this applies even if each profile has a different library, although it is some time since I've committed a personal test.
I'm not sure why my suggestion make less sense that your current approach?. As I understand it currently everybody is either signed into their own account when they can do something other than work with iTunes, or they sign into the special iTunes account where they can't access any of their other stuff. You don't have to disable fast user switching. Follow exactly the same steps, but make sure everyone closes iTunes before turning the computer over to another user. Disabling fast user switching helps to enforce that action.
tt2

I moved itunes file to external hard drive and want to move the file on my pc to recycle bin. When I move i get an error message that it cannot delete ituneshelper.dll access is denied. Can I move that file to the recycle bin?

I am trying to free up space on my pc and moving itunes files to external hard drive. I have followed instructions and believe I have file copied to new drive, but I am having trouble moving file to recycle bin as the instructions say. I am getting the following error message: cannot delete ituneshelper.dll:access denied, make sure disk is not full or write protected and file not in use. I know the file is not in use when trying to move. Any help would be most appreciated. I am on Windows XP.

Yes. And you should not have moved that folder. Put it back. To move your iTunes library move the folder from User's Music.
tt2

How can i save my individual playlist on itunes on my external hard drive because i want to buy a laptop and install itunes and move all my music and playlist thats on my desktop to my laptop and almost all my music is from a bunch of cd's i own

how can i save my individual playlist on itunes on my external hard drive because i want to buy a laptop and install itunes and move all my music and playlist thats on my desktop to my laptop and almost all of my music is from a bunch of cds i own

Hello ryane84
The easiest and most efficient way to copy your music is to follow the steps under the External drive section. Make sure that you have organized the iTunes library first before you copy it over. Then put the copied iTunes folder in the same Music folder on your computer.
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
Regards,
-Norm G.

I am trying to backup my Itunes onto my external hard drive. I am at the step where I on Itunes, click on File - Library - Organize library. I am suppose to check mark both boxes there, It won't allow me to check mark the second box, why? How to fix this.

I am trying to backup my Itunes onto my external hard drive. I am at the step where I on Itunes, click on File ->Library ->Organize library. I am suppose to check mark both boxes there, the first being "Consolidate Files" & the second being "Reorganize files in the folder 'Itunes Media'. I am able to checkmark the first box but It won't allow me to check mark the second box, why? How can i fix this? Please help!

Well you must have made a mistake somewhere. The last instruction of step four reads:
When you've found your iTunes library folder, drag that folder to your external hard drive. This will begin the iTunes backup. The amount of time the backup will take depends on the size of your library. When the transfer is done, your backup is complete and your external hard drive can be disconnected.
Normally dragging content from to a new location on a different drive will result in a copy action which is what you were supposed to do. At a guess you somehow managed to move the iTunes folder. Then when you started iTunes it created a new blank library for you assuming it had just been installed rather that raising a warning.
Close iTunes. Rename the iTunes folder on the internal drive as iTunes (Empty) then copy the iTunes folder from the external back into the User's Music folder. Start iTunes. All should be well.
When you've made sure it all works please read my User Tip and use that method to backup in future. Since you already have a folder with the backup in place you can skip the "Make New" operation in the fourth step and simply choose the external folder.
tt2

I redirected iTunes to an external drive and moved my iTunes library and folder, but my hard drive is still low on space. How can I be sure that my music is all on the external HD ONLY, especially with the new iCloud technology?

I redirected iTunes to an external drive and moved my iTunes library and folder, but my hard drive is still low on space. How can I be sure that my music is all on the external HD ONLY, especially with the new iCloud technology? It doesn't look like I created any more space by doing this, AND I totally lost all my iTunes playlists. I'm not sure if because I added old library materials manually if this messed up my playlists, or if the new location is just not reading my moved library. In any case, I followed step by step instructions and found a few holes and thought I'd just "figure it out" but I guess I'm not as smart as I thought since I'm still scratching my head many hours later.
Thanks for any support ;-)
Eaglerocker

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 select a library, then guide it to the 'iTunes Library.itl' file in the moved 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: 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.

HT1338 I am trying to setup my external drive, but when I do, I get a box that pops up that says You can't open the application "LaCie Setup Assistant" because PowerPC applications are no longer supported".

When trying to setup my external hard drive, I get this box that pops up and says this:
You can’t open the application “LaCie Setup Assistant” because PowerPC applications are no longer supported.

PowerPC was a type of processor used in Mac systems before Apple switched to Intel-based processors. These older chips required applications to be coded differently, to the extent that they will not run on the Intel processors in newer Macs. Apple used to include a translator that allowed these programs to at least run, but this translator is no longer available so if you run into an older PowerPC-based program then OS X will give you this error.

Every time i try to open itunes i get the 'Itunes Setup Assistant'

Every time i try to open itunes i get the 'Itunes Setup Assistant' even though i have already installed and configured itunes. And after exiting this i get onto itunes but all of my music is GONE. (even though i know i can always import it back) But this means that whenever i want to use itunes i have to configure it and import all of my tunes again which takes ageees. The, as soon as i go to open it again i have to repeat the whole process!!! By the way, i have already tried re-installing itunes and every other apple device completely on my computer, but nothing is working!!! ANY HELP WILL BE MASSIVELY APPRECIATED!!! Ps. this only just started happening a week or so ago.

This just started happening to me last week also. After I went through the setup process I could get into my itunes but would get a msg about library not being saved due to user not being an administrator. I went into my program files opened the itunes folder right clicked on the itunes music folder and clicked on "Run as administrator". I haven't had a problem
since. Don't know if this will work for you but I guess it won't hurt. good luck.

Error message when trying to open the itunes setup

when i try to open the itunes setup icon on my desktop i get the error message i get the message "'iTunesHelper.Resources' is not a valid short file name". this is after itunes vanished leaving behind the same message a few days ago. i have deleted itunes related programs from my computer but to no avail.
i'm running windows xp,can anyone help me please?

i keep trying to download itunes after getting right of all itunes related software. i have downloaded the new quicktime, still the same error message. i have used the windows clean-up thing, and i have tried to download an older version of itunes, from the internet and from a disk i have. the internet directs me to download the new version and the disk dosn't open.
i'm now very stressed as nothing i do works.
please help me.

How do I back up my itunes to an external hard drive and restore from same if necessary

How do I back up my entire itunes to an external hard drive and restore from same if necessary.
Thanks

This is where iTunes stores backups for different operating systems: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946
I do not use a Windows machine, have a Windows Vista Dell I rarely startup now. But, from what I remember with Win boxes is, you will have to create on the external hard drive a file system like that one iTunes normally uses, and then in the iTunes preferences or control panel edit the location for the storage to specify the name of the external hard drive, or its letter code, with the name of that file system you created on the exernal drive.
I would also move all of the files from the internal file system to the external since you have now told iTunes that is where they are...before deleting from the internal drive, test iTunes to see that it goes where you want it to go.

How can I run iTunes on my external HD via a PC?

My 54 GB iTunes library was transferred from a Mac to an external hd. I want to run iTunes via the external on an old Dell PC Inspiron 700m. I don't have enough hard drive space to transfer that 54 GB.
I've tried changing the advanced preferences to point to the iTunes folder on the external, but that didn't work.
I tried the 'choose a library' option with the shift open, and found no .itl file in any of the iTunes folders on the external, though all my music, video, album artwork, etc are there on the external in the correct folders. Is this a translation issue of the Mac files not having file extensions the PC recognizes?
If you are kind enough to answer this request, please keep in mind that I haven't used a PC in almost 9 years, so I find doing anything on it challenging.

Thank you for the reply!
All the files were copied:
Folders (with content):
Album Artwork
Automatically Add to iTunes
iTunes Music
Mobile Applications
Previous iTunes Libraries
Files:
iTunes Library
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
iTuens Music Library.xml
sentinel

ITunes setup on external HD

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for