Moving itunes library in Mountain lion from hard disk

My iTunes library is on a external hard disk with the rest of my old computer's stuff , I want to transfer all my music in my new iMac , I want to make sure what I am about to do is correct...
iTunes is turned OFF on the new iMac , the external hard disk is plugged in the computer and the finder window is opened where I located the iTunes blue file,
In the new computer finder ,I located the blue file "iTunes media" in users/music/itunes/itunes media
Do I simply drag the first file in the other one ??

I just transferred my iTunes media to an external drive, but it sounds like you want to go the other direction. I would suggest you follow Apple's recommend procedure rather than just dragging the folder:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
or,
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Good luck!

Similar Messages

Snow leopard iTunes library to Mountain Lion iTunes

Hi folks,
I want to bring my iTunes library from my old iMac running Snow Leopard and new itunes to my new iMac which has Mountain lion installed.
Previously relocating the iTunes library was as simple as dragging the library folder to a new location and then pointing iTunes to the new location. Is it still that simple with new iTunes and Mountain Lion?
Thanks,
David.

Hi Chris simply because I don't want to bring it all over.
I've done that the last 3 times (well the apple store has for me) and I now have so much junk on my hard drive that I want to be very selective this time.
Probably getting off track for the iTunes forum, but will migration assistant allow me to pick and choose individual bits to bring accross? I always believed it just dumped the lot, but happy to be told I'm wrong.
Thanks,
David.

Moving iTunes library on to a portable hard drive and then my new laptop?

I am getting a new PC laptop and I want to move my entire iTunes library from my old PC to a portable hard drive and then eventually put it on my new laptop.
How do I do this without loosing all my play counts, play lists etc.?

Assuming you use the iTunes default settings where iTunes copied added items to your iTunes folder and organizes your library (meaning - everything is all self contained in the iTunes folder), then all you have to do is drag & drop your iTunes folder (not just the iTunes Music folder you find inside the iTunes folder) to the external drive and copy the entire thing.
If you want to test that it worked or would like to actually start using it from that location instead, use these instructions when you start iTunes to point it to the new location...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
If you are just testing, then close iTunes after you verify it works, and restart iTunes again with the same instructions and point it back to your internal drive (original) location.
Additional info...
Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=307074
Cheers,
Patrick

Moving iTunes Library and Music to External Hard Drive...Possible?

I want to transfer my iTunes Library to an external hard drive. Is this possible and what are the pitfalls, if any?
Thanks
A.L.I

Yes it's quite possible, that's how I have mine set up, and Moving iTunes Music will tell you how to go about it.
Pitfalls? Can't really think of any.
Regards
TD

Successfully moved iTunes library to a bigger external hard drive.......

Hi all,
Yesterday I successfully moved my iTunes media library over to a larger external hard drive for my profile. The problem I am having now is that my girlfriends profile is still pointing over to the old hard drive. I thought following the same steps would be the best way to get her pointed to the new location.
I updated the path in the iTunes preferences Advanced tab to the new location.
I started the "Consolidate" process and noticed that it was creating duplicates of everything that I copied (Consolidated) yesterday, so I stopped that before it got too far - last thing I want is to have to go through and find and delete all duplicates.
In addition to her profile on my Mac, there are 2 other profiles as well. How can I get all profiles to recognize that the iTunes library location has changed, with out creating multiple duplicates of each media item?
Thanks in advance!
Mike

Drag the entire library to the Mac's internal drive, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, and point it to that library. If the library only contains the music and not the iTunes database files, drag it into the open iTunes application window.
(80731)

Moving Itunes library back to desktop from external drive-problems

I had moved my itunes library to an external HD becuase I did not have enough space on my desktop. I recently upgraded my desktop and tried moving my itunes library back. I did not go too well. After several tries I set itunes to keep the library on the external drive since I did not delete it. Now when I open itunes it can't find the location for 90% of my music. I hope the application did not delete the library on the external drive. I don't think it did since the file size has not changed. How can I set this up so my songs are on my desktop and can be accessed by itunes? Any help would be appreciated.

I had used that article and followed it exactly but I am still having problems. I moved my library back to the external drive, all of my songs are there but itunes has to be directed to the songs to find them.

Error when trying to install Mountain Lion - says hard disk is damaged :(

I downloaded and installed Mountain Lion on my iMac today - without any problems. But when I downloaded it to my Macbook pro (bought 2010) I get an error message telling me the installation cannot continue due to hard disk error My harddisk was fine before the installation, to my knowledge ...
Of course I tried disk utility (during the installation) and it tells me the disk needs to be repaired but I can´t choose "Repair disk" since it is grey (no write permissions it says). What can I do? I really need help!!!

I rarely post, however, because of a major screw up with Mountain Lion, I will. I have been using mac computers since 1987, have obviously installed and upgraded multiple OS new and upgrades and never, I mean never had a problem with any of them, until now. The install stalled with the message that the hard disk needed repair. I thought all of my data was lost, except for time machine backup, which was not as current as it should have been. Losing that data would have been a royal pain.
Went through the restore OS from Time Machine, then tried to repair the disk with apple disk repair utility. Not repairable. Why? I still don't have a clue. After reading multiple threads, decided to go ahead and buy DiskWarrior. This was a weird experienc. Loaded it onto external hard drive, hooked my MacBook Pro as Target disk. Loaded in DiskWarrior as hardware probelm. ???? Immediately went online to see what advice about this message. Looked like a massive coincidence had hit my laptop. Worked perfectly until loading Mountain Lion, the decided to have hard disk melt down. Suddenly, DiskWarrior indicated it was ready to rebuild my directory. The hardware warning was gone. A few minutes later, directory repaired. Rebooted, same problem. Can't load OS X, need to repair hard disk. Apple disk repair still unable to repair disk. Used DiskWarrior, repaired it no problem.
Deleted original OS 10.8 dmg. Rebooted and downloaded fresh copy of OS 10.8. This time install went flawlessly. Mountain Lion transferred all info flawlessly. Mid 2009 MacBook Pro running flawlessly and actually more smoothly now than in Lion.
1. I think original download was somehow corrupted and that is what screwed up the disk directory.
2. I do not know why apple Disk Utility would not repair the disk and Disk Warrior would. Expensive fix, but ultimately worthwhile. Did it mysefl and did not have to mess with "Genius" bar.
3. I will never go so long without backup again. That was a big mistake.
My advice:
1. Be sure you have smooth download of entire Mountain Lion file, if not, start over. My download was paused a couple of times.
2. If the install is messed up and you need Disk Repair, buy DiskWarrior and repair directory, it works flawlessly. If it initially says your disk has hardware problem, wait a few minutes while it finishes entire evaluation. It may well disappear like mine did, then actually repair the directories without a problem.
3. Be sure you have deleted old OS 10.8 Install file and load fresh one.
4. Install OS 10.8 and you should be OK.
5. Good luck.
Mountain Lion seems to have some problems, but many of them may be due to server overload at apple, delayed download with incorporated unrecognized code problems. If there is any delay, start over and get a smooth download.
Disk Utility is too light weight. Apple needs to beef it up. This is my biggest complaint. Apple utility should be able to fix disks. We should not have to spend $100 to fix a disk, but there you are.
Once fixed however, back to usual beautiful, flawless apple experience.

Songs deleted from Library but not deleted from Hard Disk

HELP: I had multiple songs repeated in my Library, deleted the songs and cleaned up the Library data base. Some songs were NOT deleted from the hard drive. Copied all my music to my laptop computer and asked Itunes to rebuild database. There are about 1100 more songs in the new data base than in my home computer. how can i erase all the songs that are on my laptop hard drive that are not in my itunes Library?

You may have to rebuild your iTunes Match library by turning it off on both your computer (iTunes>Store>Turn Off iTunes Match) and you phone (Settings>Music>iTunes Match>Off), then turn it back on on your computer, and when complete, turn it back on on your phone.

HT4718 Installing mountain lion from external disk

I am trying to install lion mountain but it's Beig stuck at the same place

I'm not sure where you read that about the disk being "write-locked." That doesn't make much sense, given that the major task an installer like this must achieve is writing a whole bunch of files to the hard drive. I think your source was mistaken.
As to what happened, it sounds like your hard drive was badly corrupt to start with, or possibly was on the edge of failing and is now in the process of dying entirely. If you don't have backups of your data, that does not bode well for you, unfortunately. If you can manage to use target mode to copy your data, do that.
Once you're sure you've got all your data, you need to start up from your Snow Leopard install disk and repair the hard drive. (Since it sounds like the Mountain Lion installer didn't work, I wouldn't trust the recovery partition that Mountain Lion installs.) Or, even better, just erase the hard drive entirely and reinstall Snow Leopard. Then, once you're back up and running, with all your data back on the system and with Snow Leopard updated to the most recent version, try installing Mountain Lion again. If any of that fails again, the problem is likely to be a dying hard drive, and you'll need to replace it.

Why after having installed mountain lion in hard disk using a MBP 17"mid 2010,isn't possible to install native original snow leopard in other hard disks using the same MBP?

Seems something is changed in the firmware that doesn't allow more to install snow leopard. Someone can help me?

In general, a 2010 model Mac should be able to re-install Snow Leopard. It would require a complete backup, a complete wipe, then install of Snow Leopard. Then be careful not to restore OS X Mt. Lion files over SL, when restoring your data files and applications.
What is the Mac Model Identifier in About This Mac/More Info/Hardware Overview?
Are you using the Restore disc that came with that model Mac? If not, you may need to purchase a retail Mac OS X Snow Leopard Install DVD 10.6.3 from Apple for $19.95.

Moved iTunes library to an ext hard drive to make space on my int drive... Followed steps from apple. Now I cannot access my music... It says: "File could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?"

Moved iTunes library to an ext hard drive to make space on my int drive... Followed steps from apple. Now I cannot access my music... It says: "File could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?"
I moved my iTunes library to my external hard drive some time ago and I followed the directions listed here on the apple support page. It did copy my library and now is on my hard drive... I can open iTunes and use it to sync all of my devices but I would like to play my music... I can see all of my music files but can not play them if I click on an album or song it says the following: "(file name) could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?" I click locate but do not know where to go from there? I need a way to access all files and not to hunt down one at a time on my hard drive... I am pretty sure I deleted the original library to make space on my internal drive which was the reason for moving it. I have tried and tried to fix it and do not have a lot of time to do so with a one and two year old at my house who do not like it whenI sit down at my computer. What to do??? Any help is much appreciated!!!

See Make a split library portable. Move all of the bits of the library together in the the correct shape and it should work. Or undo exactly what you did and then start over.
If you're a former Windows user don't try merging two folders together that have the same name by dropping one into the same folders as the other, as that goes badly on a Mac.
tt2

HT203167 Moved iTunes library from one computer to another using external hard drive. Cannot play many files. Says they are missing but locates them in an archive file but still won't play them. Are the files themselves part of the .itl files?

Moved iTunes library from old computer (PC Windows 7) to new (PC Window 8) using external hard drive. Library listing shows all music but can only play a fraction of it. On the ones it cannot play it asks to locate, then refers to an archived version (an .itl file), and still cannot play them. Do I just need to copy the archived .itl over, or is that not where the actual media are (do the actual media files even exist on the new computer?)? Any advice or information on this would be helpful.

*Also...is there any way I can filter out all the tracks with the ! so I can delete the unplaying copies as they're taking up room in my iTunes? I know how to find duplicates, but then I have to go and delete each one individually...*
*Thank you!*

Moving iTunes library from laptop to new desktop

I'm thinking about getting an iMac desktop, and would like to move all my music and video files from my iBook to the new setup. What is the correct procedure for doing this? I'm reading on these boards that there's a way to just plug the computers into each other, but will that copy everything onto the new hard drive? I'm thinking about doing this because my 60 GB laptop's capacity is maxed out from my iTunes library (33 GB and growing); once I move it to the desktop can I trim down my laptop's iTunes library and still play from there? Can I then only update my iPod to the desktop (if I want the full library)?
Should I run it all through an external HD as a sort of middle man/back-up? Is this all much easier than I'm thinking it is?
I know...so many questions.
Thanks.
Lindsay

get the two, system prefs, click sharing, make sure personal file sharing is checked on both
second in finder click go in the menu bar and click connect to server, click browse
enter your login name and pass for the user account you want music from from the old computer . .
that computer will appear on your desktop, double click it, find your music folder, open itunes on the new computer and go to user/music/itunes/itunes music and drag itunes music into the library source on your new itunes . . . it will do the rest and this is also the best for the new computer, to create new files while coping not moving and taking all the old bagage with it.
then just clear your ipod and set it for the new iMac and back everything up from there and clear off the ibook. keep it authorized and when they are on network if iTunes is open on the desktop you will be able to play music from it, worked great i use it on 4 computers in my house . .
then as far as travel goes . . no music on the old laptop . . who cares, you have an ipod . . enjoy!
hope i understood your question, please feel free to ask if you have any more!

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.

How do you erase and reinstall a hard drive without a disc? I bought this mac book pro under a year ago and am pretty sure i downloaded mountain lion from the app store. Basically Im having startup issues and this is the final step Ive reached

when I start my laptop it loads a third of the way and shuts down automaticallyI've tried to safe boot, repairing discs and clearing RAM but nothing has worked. basically I've come to the final step of having to a erase my hard drive and reinstall mountain lion however Apple support suggest that I install from a disc however I installed mountain lion from the App Store. can anyone help me go about this?

Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Erase the hard drive:
1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the
      left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on
        the Security button and set the Zero Data option to one-pass. Click on
      the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible
            because it is three times faster than wireless.

Moving itunes library in Mountain lion from hard disk

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