Move my itunes account to an external drive

I need help to figure out how to move my itunes to my new external hard drive.

find the external in my computer. then do a backup, click on what you are going to be copying (ex. C:\Documents\My Music) and let the backup finish
if you did it correctly, there should be a my music folder in your C drive and your F drive (which is the external)

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How do I move an iTunes library from one external drive to another?

I need to move my iTunes library from one external disk to another, because the original disk is about to fail. So, I went into iTunes Perferences --> Advanced, and set the library to a new, empty folder on the new drive.
Nothing changed. I expected all my music to vanish from iTunes, so that I would have to re-import it. However, all the music remained, still on the old disk. At this point, if I were to recreate the library on the new disk, I would have all of my music twice.
Is it possible to move an iTunes library from one external drive to another, or am I stuck with my original choice until I buy a new machine? If I can move it, can one of you clever folks explain how it could be done?

Paul Seymour1 wrote:
However, those are all dealing with old versions of iTunes that still contained the Advanced --> Consolidate Library command which is no longer part of the app. (I'm on iTunes 10.6.1.)
Consolidate is still part of iTunes.
It is in iTunes menu File > Library > Manage library > Consolidate.
The article you linked to is old and it is (and was) a hacky way of doing it.
Just copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to new location, hold Option (Mac) or Shift (Windows) when launching iTunes.

I wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.

i wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.
currently i am managing my own folder structure, but have decided to bite the bullet and let itunes organize my media.
i moved the media library location in advanced options to the external drive i would like iTunes to us, checked 'keep iTunes media folder organised' and copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library'.
approx a third of my music transferred. the remaining music is now greyed out. when i click on information on the greyed out tracks, the location is given as iCloud. how do i download these songs?

benefit: To move the library in the future you drag the whole iTunes folder to the new drive, hold down the option key while starting iTunes, point to new location, iTunes starts as if nothing happened. You can also use the library with a different computer. It's easy to back up when it's all together.
You cannot simply move a media-only folder to a new drive by dragging unless you maintain the folder structure exactly, and the new drive has the same name as the old one. Yes, there's fixes but it's not as fast.
The main disadvantage to having the whole library on an external is if for some reason you keep some media on the external and some on the internal. You can use iTunes with a bunch of broken links for media on an unattached external if you only want to play the files on the internal. Then, of course, you need the library file (library.itl) on the internal drive.
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

I backed up my itunes account to an external drive because I had to reset my hard drive. How can i restore my old itunes library?

I was having problems with my hard drive on my desktop computer. I made a back up of my itunes account to an external hard drive. I now have my computer back. How do I restore my itunes account to the desktop so that I can sync my music and movies?

Was the entire folder copied including the iTunesLibrary.itl file?

How do I move my iTunes Library to an external drive and retain everything?

I'm sure this is a common [stupid] question, but I couldn't find a clear answer and I want to be sure I'm doing it correctly.
To clarify; I want to move/relocate my iTunes Library folder to an external drive (FW800 two-disk RAID1) to free up my system drive and have a backup. Do I redirect iTunes to the new location and use File>Library>Consolidate Library, or, can I just move or copy the 'iTunes' folder to the external drive and then change the iTunes 'music folder location' to the new location? Will this now save all subsequent imported/purchased music, movies,,..etc to the external drive and retain all my library details?
Message was edited by: Sakahara

Hello, Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Below you will find more information about your options of relocating iTunes Library and backing it up.
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Music folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1329
Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
How to back up your media in iTunes
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1382

How do I move my itunes media to an external drive?

My hard drive is getting full. I would like to move my tunes media to an external drive but now I have music all over. Has anyone done this succesfully?

Copy the entire iTunes folder to the root of external drive, e.g. as X:\iTunes where X: is the drive letter. Click the icon for iTunes and immediately press and hold down the shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the file X:\iTunes\iTunes Libary.itl. Use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files and click OK. iTunes will create local copies of any stray files in the media folder. You can then delete the originals stored elsewhere.
Backup the library with this User Tip. (And yes, that means you really need another drive.)
tt2

How do I move my itunes library to an external drive?

I moved my itunes media folder from laptop C:drive to external E:drive. I redirected itunes to the new media folder in Preferences,but in the moving and deleting, messed up the placement of the itunes library folders. Now itunes is empty (just like when you first install it). If I "add folder to itunes", it rebuilds a media folder on the C: drive.
Is there a way to move the whole itunes package to the E:drive, and just have it launch from/save to there?

might this help: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive ?

How can I move entire ITunes library to an external drive

How can I move the entire file to a new external drive & still add new downloads & use from the external G: drive?
Or can't this be done - I have the 80G Ipod & the files take up so much space that I want to move it to the new G: drive.
I thought I had it figured out but nothing would play from the G drive, so I had to restore everything back to the C: drive.
Thanks for any advice

This is actually the 5G iPod forum, not the iTunes folder.
However, To move your iTunes music...
1 Quit iTunes.
2 Move the entire iTunes folder including music to the external drive.
3 Restart iTunes holding the Shift key in Windows, Option key in Mac.
4 iTunes will ask to Create new library or Choose existing library. Select Choose existing library and select the library in the folder you just moved.
5 Move the old iTunes folder to the trash but do not empty it.
6 Restart iTunes normally and verify the songs work. If they do, empty the trash.

How do I move my itunes library to an external drive to free up space on a Macbook?

Hi, I'd like to free up some room on my Macbook and was thinking of moving all my music library to an external drive. I hardly ever use my computer to play music, more I download an album and then sync it to my iphone to play from that. I use itunes and back up with time machine, but would like the music folder separate entirely, is this possible?
Thanks in advance.

Drag it from the Music item of the Finder's sidebar to an external drive, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, and point it there.
(59635)

Moving iTunes library to an external drive.

My startup disk is full so I would like to move my iTunes library to an external drive to fee up space. What is the best way to do this?

Our iTunes guru Terence Devlin advises the following:
1. Quit iTunes
2. Drag the iTunes folder from your internal hd - located in ~/Music folder - to your external hd. DO NOT delete the original one from your internal hd... yet!
3. When the transfer is complete, press and hold the Option(alt) key and fire up iTunes.
4. A "Choose iTunes Library" window will come up. Click on the "Choose Library" button.
5. Navigate to where the iTunes folder is located in the external hd.
6. Within the iTunes folder, select the iTunes Library file and click Choose...
That's it. iTunes will now display all your playlists, songs, movies, podcasts etc. At this point, should you wish, you can delete the iTunes folder from the internal hd to free up space.
More info:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
Or if you prefer a more complicated explanation:
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive

Moving iTunes Library to an external drive. My itunes cant connect to the library

I have tried to move my iTunes Library to an external drive. When I open the iTunes app i can not get the app to read the library on the external drive. I have gone into iTunes preferences and redirected the app to read the external file and I still look as though I have a "New iTunes program" with no music, apps, videos etc.
Thanks all!

If you moved the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder, hold "Option" and launch iTunes.
Select "Choose library" then select the iTunes folder you moved.
You do not need to change the iTunes media folder location in iTunes prefs > Advanced.

Moving iTunes library to an external drive converting to different format

I want to move entire iTunes library to an external drive. I've found several Mac 101's to help but those helps makes no sense. I should be able to move music to another drive and give iTunes the path to find it but that does not work.
All files are iTunes Plus including everything from Amazon but I want to convert everything to a mp3 or other format so all files are independent of iTunes. Lots of old music from CDs I imported and lots from iTunes as well as Amazon. I guess i could sit and burn everything to a physical cd but that would take months and hundreds and hundreds of cds. Can someone advise how I can convert these files and then move to an external drive?
I'm running mountain lion and version 10.7 of iTunes. Two external drives and 145 gigs of music. Any guidance will be most appreciated.
Thanks.

HI Limnos,
Thanks for the reply. Something I forgot (age) to mention, this quest to move the library is precipitated by the Mac drive is running out of space. While I still have about 50 gigs of room left, I was thinking I should just plan on opening up the space by moving the iTunes library.
The other reason is, I read an article about how upon ones death one can not bequeath ones digital music or book files to loved ones. IE; If all of the music was on LP's, tapes, cd's then this physical format can be left in ones final will. But according to what I read and trying to read the user policy by Apple, Amazon etc when one downloads music or a book or whatever that use policy says we don't own the material we only can read it or listen to it. When we die it dies with us. Several people in the article as well as myself believe this is crap. At one time I was purchasing content and then burning it. I stopped because I thought how silly to burn it, I have back ups on an external drive. Man was I wrong. If I have to I'll sit here in my last days and burn hundreds of cd's.
So realizing this, I want to take all my music files and save them to another drive as though this drive was hundreds of cd's. That way all those files in some other format can be played independent of iTunes or transfered to one of my kids PC's or a Mac if they get with the program. If the conversion process destroys the integrity of the file then I have no choice but to burn cd's.
In my estimation, I'm doing nothing wrong. I bought downloadable music just as if I'd bought cd's. I should be able to throw it away or give to my kids upon my death. The kids can decide what they want to do with it once I'm gone. I now no longer buy any music or books in a digital download. All content is purchased with a physical copy. That said, more content providers are moving towards downloads only or like Amazon and Apple towards the cloud and streaming. I realize all this gets into the fair use act but I think most people are unaware of this issue.

Hi, can I move my iTunes library to an external hardrive without having to consolidate it as my prehistoric computer just doesn't have the space even though I have deleted everything possible to make room? Please help :(

Hi, can I move my iTunes library to an external drive without having to consolidate it as my prehistoric computer just doesn't have enough space even though I have deleted everything possible to make room? Please help

Hi, do you know if this works if I then want to move my library to a new computer as that is my main intention bacause my old computer hasn't got enough space for me to add new albums so I want to ditch the computer (its got to be about 100 years old and doesn't seem to cope well with modern technology!!) and start using my laptop for my iTunes. I am at the point now where i'm ready to throw both my computer and iPod out the window!!!! I might point out as well that in trying to clear space on my computer I accidently deleted the Bonjour programme which is aparently needed to use the home share option, oops!!!!
Thanks, Kerry

I saved my itunes account to an external hard drive and can no longer access it

i have saved my itunes account to an external hard drive, then deleted my account on my laptop to make space on my hard drive and can no longer get acces to my itunes account.

If you move/copy your data back to internal drive, you should be able to add it to library, by clicking file add to library at the top of itunes.

How to move my iTunes library from an external FAT32 drive

My music library is located on a FAT32 external drive that was created with a PC. It works just fine when I access the drive using iTunes on my Mac.
Now, however, I would like to permanently move my library to a different external drive, which has been formatted for Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
How should I do that? Is it as simple as dragging my music folder to the new drive? Will iTunes be able to see the metadata, etc.?
I have SuperDuper, but it won't work from a FAT32 drive. Anyone have any suggestions? Naturally, I'm paranoid about losing my music.. but I'm also paranoid about losing the data.
Thanks!

If it's the same as with a PC, the procedure would be to:
(a) Plug in the new external drive,
(b) Set your iTunes preferences such that the iTunes Music Folder is on the new drive,
(c) Use the iTunes "Consolidate Library" utility to copy your library to the new location.
(d) When the transfer is complete, check "Get Info" on some songs to verify their location.
The original files will remain on the old drive, so you'll have a way to recover should there be a problem. You may need to manually copy any iPhone/Touch Apps to the new drive since I'm not sure those are transferred with the Consolidate utility.

Move my itunes account to an external drive

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