Move iTunes 12 Library Folder Location?

I need to clear room off my internal drive so I have copied the whole iTunes directory folder (playlist files, folder of actual music, etc) to an external drive.
I would assume it would be as easy as simply moving the "iTunes Music" (folder that contains the audio files themselves) and pointing iTunes to the new location....
A simple google search proved that it (apparently) is much more complicated than that and its very easy to break and ruin everything.
I found quite a few "how to"s on doing this exact thing, but they were all for different versions of iTunes and each time the steps were different (and often times contained quite a few unintuitive extra steps like "consolidate library", etc).
I have yet to find a tutorial on doing this in iTunes 12.
I have been organizing playlists, rating tracks and so forth for years, so I am very hesitant in jumping into this without verifying the exact steps first.
It seems like a tutorial on this would be easy to find, but I somehow missed it if it's out there.
If anyone can help me on this I'd really appreciate it. Perhaps its super simple and just a matter of redirecting the folder link, but I'd rather be safe than sorry :-)

I have tried some experiments on my computer at work.
I have found that if you copy the library, and re link it to the new copied folder (in the advanced preferences), it doesn't seem to do anything.
After doing this I restarted iTunes, selected a song and hit "show in finder" and it was the same local location it started in!
Then I learned about holding option down while you open iTunes lets you choose a library. I figured this might be what I was looking for. I chose the new external iTunes folder aaand..... nothing; when I reveal a song in the Finder, it still shows me they are in the original location.
Then I added an extra step. I went to File>Library>Organize Library and checked "Consolidate files" which says it puts copies of media files used by iTunes in the iTunes Media folder. That sounds pretty good; if I've already moved those files there iTunes will surely see them in the new location and make the connection without needing to copy any files.... Not the case. iTunes literally added a duplicate to every single mp3 in my Library (really glad I didn't try this on my real library! what a mess!)
My next idea is doing this same process, but I'll direct iTunes to an empty folder on the external drive. Hopefully when I "Consolidate files" it will do it's copying process and work fine.
I much would prefer copying the files myself, however, for a couple of reasons. One is that I've already done the 18 hour file transfer using Carbon Copy Cloner. The other reason is that OSX is notorious with copying large amounts of files; almost every time I copy a large amount of data, OSX gets upset by some minor problem or a file that it doesn't like and it quits the whole process. I guess I'll go through these steps and let iTunes copy the data itself, and if that doesn't work I'll go to the genius bar.
Basically a lot of work and stress for moving a simple folder.

Similar Messages

How to move iTunes Music Library from an external HD to another?

Yesterday I tried to move all my music from an external HD to a new bigger one.
Well, I encountered various problems, the most important one is that the “iTunes Music Library” file messed up.
I transferred all files and both “iTunes Music Library.xml” and the “iTunes Library” file in the new HD. I have to say that I didn't know so much about those two files and I thought that it was enough to move them in the new location; I discovered that those files included the information about where the music is located (among other infos), so it still redirects to the older HD.
However, now I’m trying to recreate the previous situation on the older HD, and I’m trying to “rebuild” the iTunes Library (I have a back-up of the xml file, even if it is not the running one).
This operation is very important for me because about two years ago I used (for a long time )an earlier version of iTunes that had a bug: even if wrote all the tag infos on an a mp3, the “artist name” and “album name” tags didn’t remained. But I still can see all the informations through the iTunes browser (thanks to the iTunes Music Library DB). So, I cannot recreate it from zero. I absolutely need to export the existing “iTunes Music Library” to the new HD, or at least to use the existing “iTunes Music Library”, leaving it where it already is and moving only the “iTunes Music folder” (even if I don’t want to use two external HDs, the older one holding the existing “iTunes Music Library” e “iTunes Library” files and the newer one holding the “itunes Music” folder I moved!).
As far as you know how can I move safely “iTunes Music Library” e “iTunes Library” files on the new HD applying them to the new “iTunes Music” folder??
I really need your help!
This article http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307074 didn’t help.
Stefano

Sorry, I wasn't responding to you, just the original poster. I didn't look at the date on that posting and didn't realize that you'd added a post that wasn't quite the same problem. In future, you'll find you get better answers if you start your own thread. You're issue really is a bit more complicated.
If iTunes currently recognizes all the music on both internal and the external drives, it should work. You have to make sure that both drives (old and new) are mounted. Make sure you have both "Keep iTunes music organized" (you probably already do) and "Copy files to iTunes..." (you probably don't) checked.
If not all of the music is currently in your iTunes library, perform the procedure with the music that is a part of the library and add the other stuff afterwards.
Best of luck.

How can I move itunes/iphoto library from SSD to HD on my new imac?

I have a lovely new imac with the SSD option. My old comps' boot disk was migrated to the SSD because it is the boot disk for the new computer. This is great and speedy but now I'd like to move my huge itunes and iphoto libraries from the SSD to the 2TB HD. I would rather not move the whole 'home' folder. I would appreciate if anyone could tell me how to do this.
with thanks in advance, nedro
Message was edited by: nedro
Message was edited by: nedro

Go to ~/Music/iTunes and drag & drop the iTunes Media folder to your HDD. It will not actually be moved, it will be copied. Depending on its size this can take a few minutes. When the copying is finished open iTunes and go to Preferences/Advanced. The first area is +iTunes Media folder location+. Click the Change button, browse to the location of your iTunes Media folder on the HDD and press Choose.
Quit iTunes. Then drag only the iTunes Media folder from the SSD to the Trash and empty. When you restart iTunes it will be using the media folder from it new location.
To move the iPhoto library, quit iPhoto. Got to ~/pictures and drag & drop the iPhoto Library to the HDD. It will be copied to the HDD. Drag the library on the SSD to the Trash and empty. Open iPhoto, follow the dialog in the window that appears to locate and choose your iPhoto Libray on the HDD.
Dah•veed

How can i change the iTunes music library file location

Hi, I have installed the latest version of iTunes6.0.4, by default my music library files are storing in "c:\documents and ettings\administrator\myDocuments\myMusic\iTunes\iTunes Music". It's nothing but my H:\ drive and it will be shared by a group of pepole. I would like to move this location to "C:\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music".
I tried by changing the location in the below specified way.
iTunes preferences --> Advanced --> iTunes Music Folder Location --> Change.
But still it's iTunes is storing the music libraries in"c:\documentsandettings\administrator\myDocuments\myMusic\iTunes\iTunes Music".
Could you please let me know how can change this location permanantly from ""c:\documents and ettings\administrator\myDocuments\myMusic\iTunes\iTunes Music" to "C:\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music".
Thanks,
Chetan.

The music library files are hard-wired to the My Documents folder. The only way to move the files is to move the My Documents folder, which affects the entire system.
Related links:
What are the iTunes Library files?
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx - TweakUI, used for moving My Documents, etc.

How to: Exculde the library folder located in the shared user folder.

Ive been told this is a hard concept to grasp. I am sharing my home folder, I want to exclude the "Library" folder from being shared. How do I do this? -Thanks you

In theory, you should be able to select the file in Finder, then use Finder -> File -> Get Info. Then under the "Sharing & Permissions" section, change "everyone" to "No Access".
This would prevent anyone except yourself from accessing your HOME -> Library folder tree. Of course if you mount your home volume using your username and password, then you will be able to access Library.

What are the right steps to move iTunes 11 library from external HD to internal HD?

I have poked around the support communities and tried several times to move the iTunes library (currently on an external HD) to my internal HD.
I've tried
- pointing my library to my new internal HD location
- checking "keep iTunes library organized"
- checking "copy files to iTunes media folder while adding"
- consolidating all files
- exporting library
No dice.
I also tried
- clicking create "new library"
- physically copying (drag and drop) my iTunes subfolders to the new iTunes folder...
- now I've got several duplicates
Clearly I should not become a Genius at the Genius Bar. Please suggest the best process/steps to get er done! I've kept my original iTunes folder nice and safe. So I can go back to ground zero and do it right.
Thanks

What exactly do you have on the external drive? A library is more than just media files.
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.)
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.

How to move itunes music library from an old to new NAS?

I'm moving to a larger LaCie NAS and need to move my existing iTunes music files from the old LaCie to the new LaCie. My iTunes library files are on my mini, but the music files are on the NAS.
I have 2 questions:
1. Since I'm making this move, can I move all my iTunes files to the NAS (the whole iTunes folder in my user folder - library file, apps, artwork, etc.)? Are there advantages / disadvantages to this (e.g. for sharing with other MACs in the house)? (Currently only my music files are on the NAS - everything else is on the mini.)
2. What is the best way to make this move? I assume I could copy the files manually, I could use iTunes organize / consolidate functions to do this, or maybe there are other options. I'm not exactly sure how to do any of the options...
Thank you!

Sorry, I wasn't responding to you, just the original poster. I didn't look at the date on that posting and didn't realize that you'd added a post that wasn't quite the same problem. In future, you'll find you get better answers if you start your own thread. You're issue really is a bit more complicated.
If iTunes currently recognizes all the music on both internal and the external drives, it should work. You have to make sure that both drives (old and new) are mounted. Make sure you have both "Keep iTunes music organized" (you probably already do) and "Copy files to iTunes..." (you probably don't) checked.
If not all of the music is currently in your iTunes library, perform the procedure with the music that is a part of the library and add the other stuff afterwards.
Best of luck.

How to move iTunes and Library to External Hard Drive

Is it possible to move the program and its contents to an external hard drive? The external can hold much more and it would be easier to bog down my external hard drive every so often than try to keep iTunes and its contents on my Mac.

beilenguitars wrote:
For instance would it all work if I simply dragged the "iTunes" application to my external?
Yes providing you use
Consolidating Your iTunes library
and allow iTunes to Manage your music.
Once you are positive that the External is working to your Satisfaction you can Delete your iTunes Library off your computer.
Leaving the iTunes Application / Program installed on your computer...
To Operate iTunes from the External Drive...
Start iTunes with the Option key held down and Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external drive.
On Windows, hold Shift, launch iTunes and select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external drive.

Can't move songs from library folder to new Nano

Just got a Nano and want to load songs to play for my newborn baby girl. I have an existing iTunes library of mp3s - When I try to move some into new playlists on my Nano they don't transfer. Sometimes I get that circle with a slash, other times when dragging them over the new Nano playlist folders they seem drop-abble but dont copy over.
Is there something I'm not understanding about copy-protection.
Anyone's guidence, suggestions or help is most appreciated!!

The easiest way to get tracks off your iPod will be to search VersionTracker for "iPod". You'll find a number of utilities that can transfer your tracks and your playlists from your iPod back to your PC.
It's also possible to do this manually, but the procedure is rather involved. If you're interested, though, see this thread:
MacMuse: Computer crashed
Forum Tip: Since you're new here, you've probably not discovered the Search feature available on every Discussions page, but next time, it might save you time (and everyone else from having to answer the same question multiple times) if you search a couple of ways for a topic before you post a question.
Regards.

Moved itunes library folder

i moved my itunes library by mistake. i've learned that if the folder gets moved, itunes will create a new and EMPTY library the next time it is opened. well, this has happened to me. is there any way to restore the old library back into itunes? email me [email protected] thanks..
Windows XP

These steps may work for you (you have a Mac and you are in the Windows forum...)
If you want to make another drive (direct or portable) on your PC the main music location for iTunes, move all song files there, as well as any future imported music from CDs, here is one method (see the links below):
You will maintain your playlists, ratings, comments, etc. This will only move your music folders location, NOT your iTunes program files or the Library database files. It is my opinion that programs (i.e. – iTunes) work better when installed on your main hard drive. At the very least, it makes it easier to manage all your programs if they are centrally located on one hard drive (the Windows default standard).
See these links for some step-by-step info:
iLounge: Moving your iTunes Library to a New Hard Drive
MacMuse: iTfW: Move iTunes music/Library to new drive
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
If you are moving the music to an external hard drive or network drive, after the transfer (and to work correctly), the drive must be running prior to your opening iTunes. If not, iTunes will reset the location of your music folder location to the default location (usually: ‘C:\...My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music’). If this happens, you need to manually change the path back to your external location, or future CD ‘Imports’ will be deposited on your internal HD.
Also make sure that the new drive always loads as the same Drive Letter, otherwise you will lose the references within iTunes.

Move itunes library to new hard drive

ok i recently got a new harddrive because i ran out of space on my old one. i have started everything over fresh and i want to take EVERYTHING from my old iTunes and put it on my new harddrive. One thing i have tried is taking the itunes>music folder and copied onto my ipod (enable disk use) and then put it on my new hard drive. well my problem is that i dont have the same number of items and its missing all of the ratings and play counts and any of the small details like "skip during shuffle". another problem is that all of my videos are under the movie category, which will take me forever to organize. please help me because i really do not want to organize my whole library again

Then you want to clone your original HD to the new HD. See below - same concept as moving between two computers, you just do it between two HDs on the same PC..
How to Copy and Move your Music Files from One Computer to Another
This is the conceptual framework with related and important links. Apply and adapt it to your specific situation and equipment resources.
The safest, quickest, and most optimal method to move your Library to a new computer is to actually clone the entire ‘iTunes’ folder (directory) structure, rather than just copying just the song files. By copying the entire ‘iTunes’ folder and all sub-folders, you capture not only the music files, but the all-important ‘iTunes Library.itl’ database file (usually located in the ‘iTunes’ folder), which contains all the data about your songs (Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, Last Played, Date Added, etc). See: What are the iTunes Library files?
Install iTunes on the new computer. Then go back to your old computer and move (copy) the "iTunes" folder which usually resides inside your "…\My Documents\My Music" folder from the old computer to the exact same place (both Drive Letter and complete Path) on the new computer. When you open iTunes on the new computer it will look and behave exactly the same way it did on the old, Play Counts, Ratings, Comments and all!
NOTE: It is usually safer moving files between computers with the same version of iTunes!!
iTunes Files to Copy and Move to your New PC
1) All music files in their current folder structure (usually located in and under the ‘iTunes Music’ folder)
2) The Library database file: ‘iTunes Library.itl’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
3) The Library XML file: ‘iTunes Music Library.xml’ located in the ‘iTunes’ folder
4) Any XML playlist files you created for Playlist retention
5) The two iTunes.pref files (optional)
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iTunes.pref
-- C:\Documents and Settings\<your username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Apple Computer Inc\iTunes.pref
6) The XML file of Ratings, Play Counts and Last Played attributes saved from the main Library and created by Otto’s SaveRatings script (also optional, but recommended):
“Download this: http://ottodestruct.com/itunes/SaveRatings.zip . It's a program, just run it like any other program. Run it on the machine where you're copying the info from BEFORE you move the files to the new machine. Click the "Save Ratings" button and it'll create a ratings.xml file. Now when you move the files, move the program and this file as well. Then after you make your new iTunes library, run it again and click the "Restore Ratings" button. Voila, all your information is back in the Library. Well, most of it anyway, it's not perfect. It'll tell you what songs it couldn't figure out though, and there's usually not very many.”
Here's a list of methods to copy and move your music files from one computer to another:
1) Use an External Hard Drive (ExHD) to move the complete files and Folder structures from one computer to another (my preferred option). You can clone’ the entire ‘iTunes’ folder structure in one very easy step. Also great to have available for complete backups of your Library. External hard drives now run less than $100 for 200-250GBs of storage. See This Link
2) Directly connect the two computers....
- 2a) Connect them through a Router &/or Network
- 2b) Directly connect using an Ethernet cable: Straight for using at least one Mac; or Crossover for PC/PC Instructions here.
- 2c) Connect them via a USB-to-USB Network Bridge. Example here. There are various types out there (use Google).
....Then copy the files from one computer to the other.
3) Use the iPod as a transfer device, as this extensive Apple link explains. It will be a bit easier if your iPod has a larger capacity than your music collection, otherwise you will need to perform multiple copy/move transfers. This well written process also works fine while using any other data transfer medium (ExHD, Flash Drive, DVD, CD, Zipp, Jazz, etc.).
4) Burn several DVDs (at 4.7GBs each) with your music data files and folder structure, and load them onto the new computer. Re-writable DVDs are more cost effective (if your DVD drive can manage these types).
5) Burn 6x more on CDs (at 700MB each) than in #4 above and load the files and folders on the new computer. Re-writable CDs are more cost effective (if your CD drive can manage these types).
6) Use a larger USB Flash drive (1GB - 4GB) to move the files and folders. Best if the flash drive is larger than your Library, otherwise you will need multiple copy/move transfers.
These are links to various additional instructions on performing the transfer (read them all, but some listed steps may not be required depending on your specific situation):
Switch from PC to Mac Using the iPod
hudgie: Migrating iTunes for Windows to a new PC
How to copy music between authorized computers

How do I move my iTunes music library off my computer and onto Time Capsule, which I want to use as an external hard drive?

Does anyone know how I can move my very large iTunes music library folder off the computer and onto my fourth generation time capsule, which I'd like to use as an external hard drive?

This Apple support document may help.
Do you also plan to use the Time Capsule disk for Time Machine backups? If so, that approach has problems. For one, you don't be backing up your music library. For another, eventually Time Machine will consume all the space on that disk, which will cause problems for your music.

Multiple iTunes Libraries - Each with a separate Media folder location

I have searched and learned that I can create more than one iTunes library file. I can do this so I can start to separate out my large music collection into more manageable chunks. I have learned that I can switch libraries by holding down the "shift" key while starting iTunes (I'm on Windows, so for me it's the shift key) and selecting or creating a new library. Life is good.
However, it seems that the "Media folder location" is the same for all libraries that I create. I want to have certain files and their associated library files on an external drive, and the rest of my library on my local drive. It doesn't let me do that. When I create a new library, and set it up on my "I" drive, and I change the "Media folder location" to also point to the "I" external drive, it works fine. I rip some music, and it's all good.
However, when I close iTunes and switch back to my original library which stores music on the "C" drive, the media folder location for that library has also been switched to the "I" drive. This is not good. The point of having separate libraries is to be able to manage my music. All of "these songs" go on the external drive, and the library files are also there, but all of "those songs" go on my internal drive, and the library should also be on the internal drive.
Am I missing something obvious, or does it just not work properly? Thanks.

I came across this thread and wanted to add my observations. I'm not experiencing the problem noted here. It works fine. Note that I've just updated to iTunes 10.5 today, but I haven't used my multiple libraries in a few months, so I don't know if my lack of a problem is because of this (or a prior) update to iTunes.
I use two libraries. One media folder is on my D:\ drive, and the other, for storing music in a lossless format, is on my external H:\ drive. The library files, however, are both on my C:\ drive. (C and D are partitions of the hard drive in my desktop PC.) The first library file is under My Documents\My Music\iTunes\ and the second one for my lossless music is at My Documents\My Music\iTunes Lossless Library\. (This works great because when I hold shift and open iTunes, the Open iTunes Library window appears, and I just navigate up one level, pick either the \iTunes or the \iTunes Lossless Library folder, and choose the library file therein.)
Tonight I copied the lossless media folder to a new, larger external drive. I then relabeled the old external drive as P: and labeled the new external drive as H:. I then deleted the lossless files from the old drive (now labeled P:). When I first opened my lossless library in iTunes, I could see all of my lossless files which are stored on the new drive (, i.e., the new H:). But when I went to Edit>Preferences>Advanced, the iTunes media folder location showed the D: drive media folder. Uh oh. Looking for help, I came and read this thread. Althought it left me expecting the worst, I just went ahead and changed the media folder location for my lossless music to the H: drive folder, closed iTunes, went back in, and the change stuck. I opened the other library, went back and forth a few times, and each shows its correct media folder location. So maybe this problem was fixed by Apple with an iTunes update, or maybe it's because I keep both libraries on my C: drive instead of on the separate drives where the files are located. I have no idea, but I just wanted to share my observations in case it helps someone else.

How to put iTunes and library on EXTERNAL hard drive? Having major troubles

I started importing my entire CD collection about a week ago. Got halfway finished before realizing it wouldn't all fit on my computer's hard drive.
Bought a Maxtor 100GB external hard drive, moved all library folders there, then reinstalled iTunes on there as well. I used "Ad Folder to Library" to return all the tunes into iTunes library.
All of that seemed to work just fine, but now I've resumed importing my CDs and they are automatically going right to my computers C drive (the stock internal hard drive) and into "my music folder". Obviously, there is no room there.
How can I get it so that I import CDs onto the NEW external hard drive, and have iTunes pull them from there? I want ALL my library and music folders in the same place, on the external E drive. Can I do this? If so, how??
Many thanks to anyone who can help!

"I want ALL my library and music folders in the same place, on the external E drive. Can I do this? If so, how??"
If you want to make another drive (direct or portable) on your PC the main music location for iTunes, move all song files there, as well as any future imported music from CDs, here is one method (see the links below):
You will maintain your playlists, ratings, comments, etc. This will only move your music folders location, NOT your iTunes program files or the Library database files. It is my opinion that programs (i.e. – iTunes) work better when installed on your main hard drive. At the very least, it makes it easier to manage all your programs if they are centrally located on one hard drive (the Windows default standard).
See these links for some step-by-step info:
iLounge: Moving your iTunes Library to a New Hard Drive
MacMuse: iTfW: Move iTunes music/Library to new drive
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
If you are moving the music to an external hard drive or network drive, after the transfer (and to work correctly), the drive must be running prior to your opening iTunes. If not, iTunes will reset the location of your music folder location to the default location (usually: ‘C:\...My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music’). If this happens, you need to manually change the path back to your external location, or future CD ‘Imports’ will be deposited on your internal HD.
Also make sure that the new drive always loads as the same Drive Letter, otherwise you will lose the references within iTunes.

IPhoto Library folder in C:/...

hi,
can i change the iPhoto Library, which default install to C:\ to another Drive (D:\ E:\)
thnx
v

Hi Flower Child,
I guess you are also a Windows user because I have never heard of drives called those names except for Windows.... :^)
You can move the iPhoto Library folder to another location, partition, external drive formated for Macs (this is important to remember) the next instructions are for moving to an external but would be the same for moving it anywhere else.
Copy the ENTIRE iPhoto Library folder to a Mac formatted external drive.
Launch iPhoto while holding down the Option key.
At the prompt, choose to open another library.
Navigate to the library on the external and highlight it.
Hit the "open" button
iPhoto will open the library on the external and from now on will use this library to import images too. This will now be your working library. Make sure everything is working correctly and everything is fine in the library.
You can then delete the library on the internal if you wish.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93037

Move iTunes 12 Library Folder Location?

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