Moving iTunes files/library to an external hard drive
Hello,
My music library has outgrown my MacBook, so I've purchased an external hard drive which I'll use to store all my music. I've been able to find information on the apple site about consolidating and moving my iTunes folder to another location, which I've done. But this hard drive will not be hooked up to my MacBook, but to a MacBook Pro that will remain on my desk, mounted to the hard drive, while I access the tunes through iTunes on my MacBook.
The problem is uploading the transferred files into the iTunes software on my MacBook Pro. When I do this, I lose a lot of the tagging (numbers appear before song names, I lost information about track and disc numbers, and sometimes much more) and I certainly don't have my user ratings or play statsitics. How do I preserve this information while moving the files from my MacBook to an external drive and then uploading the library into iTunes on a different computer?
It's this last step of successfully uploading the files with all their correct data that I'm having trouble with.
Thanks
I just bought a new hard drive, since my old 250 GB drive was maxed out (mostly music - I have 50,000 songs). I tried to do the standard consolidation method to move the songs over, but after 10 long attempts I kept getting an error. I'm going to try this method though - seems to be much more straightforward - I don't have ratings for my songs, so all I care about is getting the songs onto the new drive and having them play in itunes.
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As per Apple instructions, I moved my iPhoto library to an external hard drive so that I could free up space on my full iMac. However, I was not told the last step in the process -- How do I get the iPhoto library off my iMac so I free up that memory?
And after deleting the old Library, you should start up iPhoto while holding down the Option key in order to force iPhoto to let you select your iPhoto Library that is on your external hard drive. If you start up iPhoto the usual way, it will just create a new, blank iPhoto Library in your /users/yourusername/Pictures folder on your iMac's internal hard drive.
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tt2 -
The external hard drive is connected, through USB, to a wi-fi router. So, can I save my entire iTunes library on that external hard drive and access the files wirelessly and also use that library to sync my iPhone 4S? I have a limited hard disk space on my MacBook Air and don't want any itunes media on my computer, so would it be possible to have it all on the external hard drive while maintainig the ability to sync/play those files saved on the external hard drive without the original files being on the MacBook Air? Sorry for the long question I just want to make everything as clear as possible. Really thanks guys!
Unfortunately, I don't see a solution to your problem.
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HT1229 Moving my IPhoto library to my external hard drive Seagate 1.5TB
My computer is an IMac late 2006. She's been running really slow and erratic. My IPhoto has over 5K photos which may be the culprit.
I have a Seagate External hard drive with 1.5 TB capacity with very little data stored. I would like to move my IPhoto library to my external hard drive, to improve the performance of my computer. I am unable to locate my external hard drive even though it is connected to the IMac. Can some one help?
Shaiboy48Suer as long as it is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled)
Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
I am not sure what this mean
I am unable to locate my external hard drive even though it is connected to the IMac
LN -
My macbook has been telling me that it is running out of space. Therefore I moves the iphoto library to an extarnal hard drive. How do I free space on my macbook now? If I erase the files/library (I don´t now witch of them?) from the internal hard drive, will they still be there on the external one?
Moving iPhoto Library - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229. and http://support.apple.com/kb/PH2506.
First, set up finder to show your external drive on the desktop. To do this, click finder in your dock, then click the word finder beside the apple. Select preferences. When the preferences window opens, select the "general" tab, and under "show these items on the desktop" ensure you check off "external disks"
Connect an external drive. You should see an icon appear on the desktop.
In order to move an iPhoto Library to this external drive, the drive must be formatted for a mac. To check the format of the drive, open up disk utility (applications / utilities). In the disk utility window, you will see the external drive on the left. Select it. Then go to the "erase" tab. This tab will show the current format of this drive. It must be "Mac OS Extended Journaled", or the iPhoto Library will not allow you to move it to that drive.
As long as it is formatted correctly, simply click finder in the dock and go into your pictures folder. Here you should see your iPhoto Library. Simply drag the Library to the external drives icon on the desktop. This will start to copy. It may take some time to copy the library to the drive.
Once the copy is finished, you can then drag the iPhoto Library in the pictures folder, to the trash. -
Can't consolidate iTunes files to move to external hard drive. No room on HD!
Hi,
Trying to move my iTunes library to External HD, but when I get to the consolidate files part, I get a pop-up saying there is no room to do so...Is there a way around this step? Can I move everything some other way? My HD is soooooo full!
Thanks!
ScottYou can do what Niel recommends but from what you have told us about this issue I think it possibly won't be something solved by a plain "do this" statement. You may not even need to consolidate.
If you are consolidating to your HD and it is requiring so much space to do so then it sounds to me like somehow in the past all your media has become scattered around or at least is not in the iTunes preferred structure. It is possible Niels suggestion of moving the iTunes folder first may not apply because the material that is the very reason you are consolidating may not be in your iTunes folder to start with and will get left behind in the dragging prior to consolidating. Unfortunately consolidating copies files, does not delete them and when you say iTunes is telling you there's too little room then that suggests to me your folder structure is very disorganized (at least iTunes thinks so) because it is copying a lot of files. In order to resolve this you may need to do some hand consolidating but it would be better to hear from you exactly the state of your library before doing this. Have you been manually managing media? If so, where's the majority of your media in your folder structure?
Here' general background on moving libraries:
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.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168
2011 ilounge article: Transferring your iTunes library - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive/ - An article with good background information (similar to the links above), particularly if you are not sure your media files are all grouped for quick answer above. Unfortunately under the single term "transferring library" it describes two very different moves; relocating just your media (not really transferring your library and not recommended unless you really need this configuration), and relocating media+database (really your whole "library"). Make sure you understand the difference before electing to move only media.
Do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449 -
How do I restore my itunes 11 library from my external hard drive to my Windows computer?
I cleaned my computer out and reinstalled Windows XP and ITunes 11 but I cannot figure out how to restore my entire library and playlists from my external hard drive. Which file am I looking to restore and how do I do it?
Hopefully you backed up the entirety of the folder iTunes in <User's Music>. If so copy it from the backup into <User's Music> and install iTunes.
tt2 -
Moving a music library from one external hard drive / disk to another
My music library is already on an external hard drive and I want to move it to another external hard drive (along with the music filkes). I have follwed the standard setps of chaning the itunes folder location, keeping my itunes folder organised etc. When I come to consolidate my library it doesnt find anything or copy anything accross? Is it just looking on my MAC drive do you think? How can I get it to look on my 1st external hard disk?
Getting fed up with this now - must be the 4th time I've had to move libraries from one machine / disk to another and each time I always end up having to re rate music, or have lots of duplicates etc.Hey,
There's a really good guide to moving your iTunes Library to an external hard disk on Lifehacker...
Here's the link... http://lifehacker.com/238296/ultranewb--how-to-move-your-itunes-library-to-an-ex ternal-drive
Cheers
Rosco
proposed | solution -
My current laptop has no free space, it has my iTunes on, my wife's, and ours kids too.
In order to sync our iPhones/ iPad I need more free space.... Therefore was going to purchase an external hard drive and move the files from my laptop to the external hard drive.
But have no clue on which files to move across?
Need to move them across and keep the individual iTunes accounts for me/wife/ kids.This article may help
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751 -
I want to move my iPhoto from my internal hard drive to an external hard drive to free up space. Can it be moved entirely and function the same as before with all features and the software itself on the hard drive? Also, can anyone give step by step instructions on how to do this? I'm having a difficult time figuring this out on my own by trying to search through Apple support.
Oops...
Here you go...
iPhoto: How to move the Library to an EHD
Make sure that the EXT Drive is formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled).
That's what iPhoto Likes... -
I've recently moved my iphoto library to an external hard drive...
The external hard drive I'm using is wireless, and while all the events are there, some of the photos don't display at all (see attached image). Help or ideas please?
Sorry but we can't see that image you've attached.
Note: A strong warning: If you're trying to edit the Library (that is, make albums, move photos around, keyword, make books or slideshows etc.) or edit individual photos in it via Wireless be very careful. Dropouts are a common fact of wireless networking, and should one occur while the app is writing to the database then your Library will be damaged. Simply, I would not do this with my Libraries. -
HT1449 My iTunes files are on an external hard drive. how to access them
I have a new iMac with an SSD and a 1TB second drive. I backup the iMac 2nd hard drive to an portable external drive so I can carry my entire iMac file storage on an extended trip...5 months. What is the easy way of connecting my MBP iTunes app to the iTunes on the portable exernal hard drive so I can access stored movies, music etc.
Thanks
SteveStart iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the library on the external drive.
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HOW DO I TRANSFER PC ITUNES FILES FROM WESTERN DIGITAL EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE TO NEW MACBOOK PRO?
I AM VERY EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW MACBOOK PRO AND ITS SUPPOSE TO BE HERE TOMORROW! THERE IS ONE MAJOR CONCERN I HAVE THOUGH, I HAVE ALL MY MUSIC FILES ON MY WESTERN DIGITAL ELEMENTS HARD DRIVE (1TB). THE HD IS FORMATTED FOR WINDOWS THOUGH. I WATCHED YOUTUBE VIDEOS ON HOW TO REFORMAT THE HD TO MAC BUT IT ERASES EVERYTHING OFF THE HD. SO TWO QUESTIONS,
1.HOW DO I TAKE MUSIC OFF OF MY EXTERNAL HD AND PUT IT ON MY NEW MAC EVEN THOUGH ITS WINDOWS FORMAT AND NOT HAVE IT ERASED WHEN I FORMAT TO MAC?
2. HOW DO I REFORMAT THE EXTERNAL HD FROM PC TO MAC AND WHAT OPTION SHOULD I SELECT?
THANKSI'm very glad your excited about getting your first Mac.
On the Internet, it's not polite to use ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT MEANS YOUR SHOUTING!!!
So with that out of the way.
efromlancaster wrote:
1.HOW DO I TAKE MUSIC OFF OF MY EXTERNAL HD AND PUT IT ON MY NEW MAC EVEN THOUGH ITS WINDOWS FORMAT AND NOT HAVE IT ERASED WHEN I FORMAT TO MAC?
First your Mac is going to need to read the external drive.
Mac's can read exFAT (since 10.6.5), FAT32 and HFS+ (Mac format) external drives.
I'm going to assume your drive is formatted NTFS, the Windows format that is also on the boot drive of Windows machines.
For that your need to install a free piece of software on the Mac here (bookmark this page!)
NTFS Mounter (for WindowsNTFSdrives)
That will allow your Mac to read the NTFS formatted drive. You then get all your files off that you want to save.
efromlancaster wrote:
2. HOW DO I REFORMAT THE EXTERNAL HD FROM PC TO MAC AND WHAT OPTION SHOULD I SELECT?
Once you have gotten all your files off, in the Applications/Utilities folder on the Mac is a program called Disk Utility and it looks like this.
You select your external drive on the left and click Erase > Format > exFAT and click Erase. A warning will pop up and you say ok.
The exFAT format can be read on both Windows PC's and Mac's. Allows for large file sizes over 4GB.
Now this format is for going between Windows and a Mac. Windows Vista and 7 can read this format fine, if you have XP you need to download a free update for exFAT from Microsoft (its easy to find, just search for "exFAT XP microsoft")
Now! however there has been one report that the exFAT formatted on a Mac didn't work on the PC. So if that happens, just format the drive exFAT on Windows first, then the Mac should see it. So check first before doing anything and have a copy of the data elsewhere just in case.
Now if you intend to use the external drive for TimeMachine or a Carbon Copy Cloner/Superduper clone (like "Ghosting") of the OS X boot drive, then you need to format the drive HFS+ journaled in Disk Utility and it cant' be read natively in most cases by a PC unless you install adiditonal software on the PC. (and likely the PC can't read a TimeMachine drive, I don't know I haven't tried it, so your on your own on that) -
I moved my whole library onto an external hard drive but now when I plug my phone in, it can't back up, it can't update and my apps stopped showing up on the side. It still charges and syncs but I can't update the software. I use a PC. Does anyone know how to fix this?
Ok. progress...
So is your media folder called iTunes Music or iTunes Media? And does it have a folder called Music inside it?
Before going any further you should first attempt to use File > Library > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (ignore if grayed out). This will make sure that any iPod Games or Mobile Applications get placed inside the iTunes Media folder which is needed for portability.
If your iTunes Media folder is called iTunes Music, close iTunes, rename the folder as iTunes Media and start iTunes again. iTunes will automatically adjust. Close iTunes again.
On your external drive rearrange the folders that you have already copied there so that they match the layout in your active library. You should end up with a folder called X:\iTunes where X: is the external drive letter, and the media folder is X:\iTunes\iTunes Media. If the library layout was upgraded then you will need to create a Music folder inside this and move all the artist folders and Compilations into Music. You will also need to copy iPod Games and Mobile Applications from your internal drive into the new media folder. Next copy the files iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel and the folder Album Artwork from the internal drive into X:\iTunes. The preceding manipulations should make the internal and external copies of your library match without you having to copy all of the media over again.
Now hold shift as you start iTunes. Click choose, browse to and open X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.
Finally use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files. This will ensure that any stray files that might have been added from outside your original media folder will be copied into the new one.
You can now reclaim the space used by your library on the internal drive, however before you do so I would advise you to obtain another external drive and make use of this backup tip.
tt2
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