Moving ITunes movies to external hard drive

I want to speed up my downloading by moving a bunch of my ITunes movies to an external hard drive. How do I do it? Should it help?

moving content to an external drive will probably not increase your download speed - but it will free up space on your boot drive.
if your download speed isn't satisfying, talk to your ISP. you can find out what speed you're enjoying by going to http://www.speedtest.net/.

Similar Messages

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

I have a macbook air. I was unable to fit all my music onto it so i moved iTunes onto an external hard drive. How do I transfer my music (80GB) onto my iPod classic?

I recently bought a Macbook air. I had 80gb so I moved iTunes onto an external hard drive. How do i move that music onto my iPod classic?

You can only sysc with one iTunes library. The new computer is a new library. You have to restore your iPod on the new conputer and then sync.

Moving itunes folder to external hard drive

I moved my itunes to an external hard drive for Windows 7 using itunes 10. something. I lost all playlists and they are gone. Ive read somewhere you can get them back from your xml list in system but I'm a noobie on computers. CAN ANYONE HELP?

I moved my library from itunes folder i believe
What do you mean by "library"?
Which files/folders did you move?
Quit iTunes.
Copy the entire /Music/itunes/ folder to the external.
Hold Shift and launch iTunes.
Select Choose library and select the iTunes folder you copied to the external.
That is all you need to do.

Moving itunes 12 to external hard drive

I have been running my itunes from an external hard drive for years. For some reason, after the last ios 8.2 update, I cant get music to stay on my ipod 5th generation ipod touch. After trying pretty much anything I could think of, and many things that the people that I chatted with at itunes thought of, I deleted all music files completely from the hard drive on my laptop, and completely uninstalled and reinstalled itunes. Is there an updated way to move itunes to my external hard drive, or a different way to get the re downloaded itunes to recognize the music that is already on my external hard drive? I am using windows 8.1

See Make a split library portable. If starting over make a new library at the root of the drive, e.g. as X:\iTunes, then move the media inside X:\iTunes\iTunes Media before adding the folder to the library.
tt2

Moving iTunes to an external hard driv

I'm trying to move my iTunes music to my external hard drive but when I try to drag it to my Iomega drive I get an error message saying cannot copy from or write to. Also when I try to update my iPod I get the same error message and I noticed that I am missing 2,000 or so songs from my iPod that show up in iTunes. I also should mention that I even tried restoring my iPod and I still get the same message. I did notice that each time I plug my iPod in it gains a few more songs each time. How can I move my iTunes to my external hard drive and how can I get my iPod up to date again?
Thank You

That's why you can't write to it (it's probably NTFS format (Windows)).
You'll need to repartition it (this WILL erase all files on it):
This option will erase the disk and allow you to install the firmware update. Important: Back up your important data. Partitioning a hard disk erases all data on the disk.
1. Back up your important data. Partitioning a hard disk erases all data on the disk.
2. Open Disk Utility
3. Select your external Hard Drive (disk name).
4. Click the Partition tab in the Disk Utility window. If the partition tab is not visible, make sure you've selected the disk (not volume) in the left side of the window.
Tip: In Disk Utility, volume names are indented on the left side of the window. Disk names are not indented.
5. Choose the desired number of partitions from the Volume Scheme pop-up menu. (Choose "1")
6. Click Options.
Note: On some Intel-based Macs, the Options button does not appear under the partition tab. Use the erase tab to erase the disk instead. This will change the partition scheme to the default "GUID Partition Scheme". You can then use the partition tab to create additional partitions if desired.
7. From the Partition Scheme pop-up menu, choose "GUID Partition Scheme".
8. Click OK.
9. Make any other changes you wish in the Volume Information section, such as partition size or naming.
10. Click the Partition button to erase and partition your disk.

No success moving iTunes library to external hard drive

I'm trying to move my iTunes library to an external hard drive to free up some space on my laptop. I'm working on a Macbook running OSX 10.8.2 and trying to transfer the library to a WD My Passport for Mac (which is optimized for Mac OS Extended). I followed all of the steps in this article from apple: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449. When I reopen iTunes, as instructed in step 15, I get the message that "The folder containing "iTunes Library" cannot be found, and is required. Please choose or create a new iTunes library." In the article, it just says that if you get that message, then take your old library back out of the trash. It offers no real solution! I don't want to keep my iTunes library on my Macbook! I've tried holding down the option key when opening iTunes and choosing the folder on the external drive. When I do that I get this message: "An iTunes library file could not be found in the folder "iTunes 1" (which is what I called it). Please choose a different folder." What am I doing wrong? This should be a simple process!

I just want to clarify: Your library had been moved to an external, but your database files are still where they ought to be, right? In the home / music / iTunes folder?
If not, try putting these files back in the Music / iTunes folder in your user folder.
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.itl
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library.xml
Keep the media on the external drive. If you get a message about missing content, go to preferences and make sure that the library location points to your external drive's itunes folder.

Moving iTunes Music to external hard drive

I am trying to move my iTunes music library to an external hard drive to free up space on my HD, but I'm having trouble. Tried the following, suggested by MacMuse:
iTunes Preferences -> Advanced tab; Keep Music Folder organized ... should be enabled.
* iTunes Preferences -> Advanced tab, set the library location to some folder on the new drive; preferably a new empty folder
* iTunes Advanced menu -> Consolidate Library... This step copies all the files in iTunes' library to the new location. It also maintains your ratings and playlists.
* if it finishes properly, manually delete the original files through Windows Explorer. iTunes won't Move the files, only copy them to the new location.
* If you see a file called iTunes 4 Music Library.itl1 in the old area - leave it alone. It continues to live in that location despite the change to the Library location.
1 - in version 5, this file is now known as iTunes Music Library.itl
I am having trouble in that I can't seem to find the "Consolidate library" command under advanced tab. there is a box to check to "copy files to iTunes music folder when downloading music", and I checked that box. I then hit OK, and a window popped up saying "updating iTunes Library" which took about 30-60 sec, and then it closed. When I went to the folder on the external HD where the music was supposed to be, it was empty.
Do you all have any suggestions? Thanks!
Russ

I think you mistakenly looked in the preferences for 'Consolidate Library..'.
It's in the Advanced menu in the menubar.
You will find more info in this article:
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
Hope this helps.
M
17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM Mac OS X (10.3.9) Several ext. HD (backup and data)

I've moved iTunes to an external hard drive now have massive duplication of albums

Recently moved my iTunes folder to an external hard drive. Used the Itunes preferences to transfer the itunes folder to a new location. Didn't transfer it manually or by drag and drop! Followed this - I hope correctly - by using the iTunes/File/Library/Organise Library tool. May have got this bit wrong....
Result?.........
Here we see, in the second column, that I have both an 'iTunes Music' folder and a folder simply called 'Music' (Highlighted in red). You'll have to take my word for it but these folders have different amounts of music in them. Some is duplicated, some albums are split across the two folders. Howwever, most empty folders are in the 'iTunes Music' folder, whereasost complete folders are in the 'Music' folder! In addition, There's a 'Compilations' folder within the 'iTunes Music' folder (highlighted in blue with a red arrow) which has a small number of compilations most of which I've never selected as compilations.
Note the repetition of folders called 'Automatically add to iTunes' in both the 'iTunes' folder and the 'iTunes Music' folder. There's another one of these in the 'iTunes Media' folder.
Going further in.....
Here we have the 'Music' folder in the 'iTunes' folder. It has its own 'Compilations' folder which is even larger and more irrelevent than the previous one. It also has way more album folders than the 'iTunes Music' folder itself.
If I use the iTunes/File/Library/Organise Library procedure the splash screen that comes up allows me to choose the first optiuon but the second one is greyed out.
One of the results of this is duplicated albums on my iPhone, another is randomly missing tracks in my collection. In addition, my iTunes screen saver now has duplicate album covers and many album covers that I know I've downloaded at high resolution have just gone missing making my iPhone look like its been populated by a chimp! (no offence to our cousins) Where I've discovered a missing track I've used the 'File/ Add to library' procedure. In one case it copied an album folder from the 'iTunes Music' folder where I found it into the 'Music' folder on another occasion exactly the same procedure left the album precisely where it was.
BTW, I have another iTunes folder on my Mac with all the normal stuff in it but only music that I had to add whilst nopt connected to my hard drive.
How can I remove this massive duplication safely?
How can I consolidate my files efficiently without having to go through each folder separately?
How can I remove all these albums from 'Compilations' and prtevent other albums being added?
How can I get all my album artwork back in sync?
Phew!
Thanks!

The folders and files are all normal to a basic iTunes library. They would be there even if you didn't have a single media file. Until you start up with the option key held down, iTunes will keep on looking for your library on the internal drive and will repopulate that folder with those basics if you delete them. You should have a similar folder with contents on your external and that is the one you want iTunes to use. As long as you keep it all intact while copying from one drive to the other, iTunes will be internally consistent and you won't even have to change preferences.
Preferences window
iTunes Media folder location: Just that; where iTunes keeps media. This is not necessarily where the library files (which are what ties the whole thing together) are to be found.
Keep Media Folder Organized - put all your files in folders according to type and name and album etc.
Copy Files to iTunes Media Folder - put it this way, if you didn't have that checked itunes would leave the files wherever you had them when you added them to the library. this one makes sure there is a copy (though not necessarily the only one, but the only on iTunes uses) in your media folder.
What actions take place when itunes "consolidate library" is used?
When you consolidate iTunes looks at all the files you have listed in iTunes and puts them in the location indicated by your media file preference. I don't think it hunts around your drive looking for things that aren't in the library, it just places a copy of those that are innto your media folders. If you want a searching tool you'll have to use a script that does that kind of job.
Your original images are not showing for me so I can't tell what exactly you are seeing.
Again, what I would do given what you have told me is I would make sure iTunes is using the library on the external by holding down the option key while starting iTunes (you only neeed to do that once). If you find there are files on your internal drive that are not in the library on the external then add those and iTunes will place a copy on hte external if you have that "copy files..." preference checked. You'll lose a few things such as playcounts, ratings, on those. If you absolutely must keep those there are a few tricks that can be performed but that's another very long post.

Moved iTunes Library to External Hard Drive - having trouble - HELP!

I have had quite the ordeal...upgraded my Mac iBook G4 from os 9 to os x 10 Tiger.
Bought an external hard drive to back up my 30 GB of music
Now...my computer won't function because it's out of hard disk space.
I moved my iTunes library to the external hard drive. Everything seems to be jim dandy...except that when I go to play a music file...the computer does not recognize the file.
I have to locate, and re-direct the path for each song to the new file location. SONG BY SONG!
Is there any way to do this globally for the entire library???
What else should I do to ensure I free up hard drive space, without jeopordizing my precious music files?
Thank you!!!

With iTunes 7.x you can transfer iTS purchases from the ipod back into iTunes.
To prevent your iPod from syncing - hold down the 'option' and  keys at the same time when plugging in your iPod. Keep the keys held down until the iPod show up in iTunes.
MJ

ITunes move to external hard drive

I have run out of space on my 2007 Mac and have purchased an external hard drive in order to free up space on my Mac hard drive. I have moved my itunes library to the external hard drive. Before I delete the itunes library in my mac hard drive, I would like to be sure that the entire library has been moved. The problem that I can not figure out is when checking on the storage capacity of my hard drives, the mac hard drive shows 117.91 gb of audio storage and the external hard drive only shows 6.18 gb of audio storage. The descrepancy scares me. When I open the external hard drive's library, it all seems to be there. I have over 70 classical albums, plus another 70 pop/jazz/etc albums. The first time I moved itunes to the ext. hd, I just dragged the icon. The second time, I consolidated my entire itunes library into a folder and dragged that over. It didn't show any change in the external audio usage. Can some one give me advice?

Hello metalau,
If you're unable to verify the transfer, I'd suggest following through the article linked below (in the interest of avoiding data loss), as it provides step-by-step instructions for transferring your media to an external drive.
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Cheers,
Allen

Moved iTunes folder to external hard drive

I have a 40-gig iBook and wanted to create more space on the hard drive so I pick up a 160 gig external hard drive. I copied the iTunes folded onto the new external hard drive including the iTunes Library, iTunes Music and the iTunes Music Library.xml files. I then went to the iTunes reference folder and changed the location of the folder to the new external hard drive. My music shows up in iTunes but when I select a song I get the “The song “___” could not be found. Would you like to locate it” error message. How do I fix this problem without relocating each song?

OK try this. Warning, while I am hoping it won't this might lose all your ratings, playcounts, and playlists.
Exit iTunes. Go into the iTunes folder and make a copy of the two database files onto your desktop. These are the files that contain the ratings, playcounts, playlists, etc. If you don't care about those things, then skip this and go to the next step.
Now create a NEW iTunes library by following these instructions...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
Now, grab, drag, and drop the iTunes music folder where your music and other media already is, onto your new library. It should now add all the stuff to the library AND know where it is now. It may create a new copy of everything on your hard drive, so you need to have enough room to do this. When it is done, you can go ahead and delete the old location you just dragged and dropped if it was all copied into the new library's music folder.
Again, if you don't care about ratings, playlists, etc. you can stop here since you now have everything back in your library and working. If you want to try and save your ratings, etc. we can try this...
Exit iTunes. Go get those copies of the database files you put on the desk top. Move them and overwrite the ones that were created in your brand new library. Restart iTunes. Did you get them back?
Patrick

Moving iTunes library to external hard drive

I would like to free up some space on my internal hard drive and move my iTunes music, movies and videos to an external hard drive. Can this be done and iTunes still access the files to play or sync them to my iPad when needed?
If so, what do I need to do?

1. Yes.
2. Drag the entire library there, launch iTunes with the Option key held down, and choose that library. Keep a copy of it on a second external drive in case the first fails.
(120468)

Moving iTunes Library to external hard drive when iTunes can't consolidate.

Hi guys, hope you can help.
I want to move my whole iTunes library to an external hard drive and then delete it all from my laptop, and from reading around I realise I have to consolidate the library into the iTunes music folder. However, as my internal hard drive on my laptop is completely full, iTunes won't let me do this, saying I don't have enough space. Is getting the libary into the iTunes music folder the only way of getting it onto the external hard drive?
I can't really free up much space on the laptop as most of it (45 out of 60Gb) is the music I want to transfer!
Thanks very much!

Over half of my stuff isn't there.
Isn't where? In iTunes or not in the iTunes folder?\>Is it possible to copy the iTunes music folder from my laptop to the external, and consolidate from iTunes directly onto there?
Why not do as I posted above? Point iTunes prefs Advanced to the external then consolidate. Everything will be consolidated to the external.
You can then delete \Music\iTunes\Media\ folder and hunt around the internal and delete all the other songs that were not in the iTunes folder.

Moving iTunes files to external hard drive -- error message

Trying to copy iTunes files from iBook G4 to a nearly empty 320 GB FreeAgent Pro external hard drive. When I attempt to consolidate the files, I receive an error message saying "there is not enough room on external hard drive to copy files". I have a very small internal hard drive on the laptop and not very much music so the message doesn't make sense to me.
The external hard drive appears in Finder, and says the format is "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)".
Any tips on where to go from here? I'm about out of room on the laptop and desperately need to move files to an external hard drive to free up space.
Thanks,
Brendan

If you follow the steps in this article, it should work.
Just delete everything from your exHD and start over.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
Also - naming your exHD a letter far down in the alphabet is a good idea.
E: F: and G: are frequently used by other USB devices, and if your exHD letter changes, you'll get all the ! marks again.
So name it K: or Q: or W:, something another USB is unlikely to use.

Moving ITunes movies to external hard drive

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