Moving iTunes to an external drive

Can anyone walk me through how to relocate my iTunes software from my full C drive to an external drive?  I can't update the iTunes software or my iPhone, because my C drive is so full.

I typed "move itunes library to an external drive" into the search bar at the top of this page by "Support" and found:
iTunes for Windows: Moving your iTunes Media folder

Similar Messages

  • Question about moving itunes to wd external drive?

    i found the page where it says u can move itunes music to external drive but will that include my tv shows also and if so can i delete it from my laptop after i move it to other drive?

    \Music\iTunes\ folder is the main iTunes library location. It contains the library files, music files and everything else.
    I have all of my music files already stored on an external HD. But for some reason when i moved it all
    What exactly does "moved it all" mean? What did you move?
    in other words in the old drive I still have the following files:
    itunes library genius
    -itunes library extras
    -itunes library
    These three are all the same type of files. I don't know what type of files they are
    The iTunes library.itl file is the iTunes database file. Without that, iTunes is empty.
    Since i already have all of my music files on my ext. HD can I delete these files without messing anything up?
    Only if you want iTunes to be completely empty and you want to start from scratch.
    Moving the music file syourself is not the correct way to do it. iTunes will lose everything.
    If you want to move everything, copy the entire \Music\iTunes\ folder to a new location.
    Hold Shift and launch iTunes.
    Select *Choose library* and select the iTunes library.itl file in the iTunes folder you moved.

  • Moved Itunes to an external drive.  When prompted to update versions, the download would not install, now I get an error message indicating file msvcr80.dll  is missing.

    I moved my ITunes to an external drive.  Whe I was prompted to run the update for a new version of Itunes, It downloaded but would not install.  now when opening Itunes I get an error message indicating the file msvcr80.dll is missing.  How can I restore this, and e

    Try the following user tip:
    Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates

  • Moved iTunes to an external drive, library files can't be located - help?!?

    So ok, I knew it couldn't be that easy...
    I copied my iTunes to an external drive to free up space on my laptop - followed the instructions for moving files on a PC - and got to the part about moving the old iTunes folder to the recycle bin. Well, the recycle bin wasn't large enough for the folder, so it deleted everything straight out of MyComputer. Apparently the "library files" went with it.
    Now I can see all my songs/movies/videos in folders on the external, but can't get my iTunes to associate with it when I open it.
    Is there any way to fix this? I'm tearing my hair out, here. I have a full backup on DVDs - will that help?
    Thanks!

    got to the part about moving the old iTunes folder to the recycle bin.
    There is no part about moving the _iTunes folder_ to the recycle bin.
    There is a part about moving th _iTunes music folder_ to the recycle bin.
    Did you move them to the external by using iTunes menu File -> Library -> Consolidate?
    Or did you move them to the external yourself?
    Which folders exactly did you move?

  • Help - moved itunes folders to external drive and now my itunes is totally

    A few months ago, in order to free up space on my c drive, i had to purchase an external drive - everything i installed via itunes since that date has been on the hard drive and everything was fine.
    Last night i needed more room on my C drive so i stupidly moved the remaining itunes folders from my C drive to my F drive - unfortunately, when i opened itunes it was blank.
    i've tried a few things - including adding the folder from the F drive - and that retrieved about 80% of my music/videos and the last playlists i had - however, they were all missing songs - even if all the songs that should be included remained on my itunes
    i began the tedious process of manually adding files back in but soon realized this doesn't help itunes consider this the same ipod as what's still on my actual ipod.
    *What I'd like to do (if possible) is to wipe itunes clean and somehow restore everything on my ipod into itunes so that i retrieve not only the songs and videos but also the playlists that i've spent way too much time building. At this point i fear that the various components to my ipod are in too many files on my external drive to be easily restored another way (though if i'm wrong please let me know)*
    sadly (as this story might suggest) I am borderline computer illiterate - I've read a few posts suggesting some sort of software online (something the apple help line also made an "off the record" remark about) - but I can't for the life of me figure out which i would use or how to do this without risking the contents of my existing ipod (which has the playlists and songs/video I want to reestablish).
    *Can anyone possibly suggest how to best handle this and walk me through it in painstakingly basic and specific detail? I would be forever grateful.*
    Thanks

    iTunes uses the iTunes Library files - in particular the iTunes Library.itl file - to keep track of where your song files are located as well as playlist and related information.
    Most likely in moving your folders around iTunes has been confused to such an extent that it created a new Library file. With a bit of luck you might still be able to find the old file which would restore your old Library.
    So the first thing you want to do is look around your computer and make a note of any iTunes Library.itl files you can find. Generally speaking you'll find them in the iTunes folders on your system and depending on how you've been moving the folders - i.e. whether you "cut" them or "copied" them - you may still find at least one one on your F: drive and some on your C: drive.
    Having noted where they are you know want to check each of them out as described in this article in the Apple Knowledge Base. In following those instructions you want to select the Choose Library option and use the pop-up window that appears to zero in on the various .itl files you've located.
    Remember that each Library file will show a different Library in iTunes - perhaps slightly different, perhaps completely different - and if the first one isn't what you're looking for you'll have to close iTunes and repeat the procedure by selecting one of the other .itl's.
    Post back for any clarification.

  • Moved ITunes folder to external drive now can't get Ipod to sync

    I have moved my ITunes folder from laptop to external drive. Had to move each album folder individually to ITunes and when I went to Sync my Ipod, says its in Restore mode and can't get out of it as it stays in Restore mode over and over and over.

    As a best practice, you should move your content to an external drive and import references to into iTunes rather than moving the whole database and app files. In iTunes > Preferences > Advanced, uncheck "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library". This will keep all your music and movies on the external drive, but iTunes and all references to the content on your desktop.
    I know that's not what you wanted to hear as a fix, but this is how I have my MacBook Air setup and it works fine with the iPad. My son tried to move the whole app and database to a hard drive and we had endless problems with it.

  • Moved iTunes media to external drive but...

    Hello all,
    I followed the instructions for moving my iTunes media folder to an external drive (it had taken up most of my mac book's memory) and at first I was able to access the DVDs and CDs I had ripped but no longer. I can go into the external drive and they are still in their respective folders but only the music and movies I have purchased from the iTunes store show up in my library. Does anyone know how to get my iTunes to accept these into my library without re-importing the into my hardrive?
    Thanks much,
    Nick

    Which instructions? There's lots out there and some are flat wrong.
    Close down iTunes.  Turn on the external drive and start iTunes again.  Does it work?  If not try to play a track.  When it asks you to find the file it should play, find that file on the external drive.  It should ask if you want it to find the rest.
    I suspect you have omitted details in describing the situation.  Normally iTunes does not lose links to external files unless the drive is not on when iTunes is started.  Even then trying to play a file will get it to do a second check and find the drive is really there.  You probably have to do something such as renaming the drive, or have a completely corrupt library in order for it to lose track of the media.
    Unless you have to keep only media on the external drive it is much better to keep the whole library together.  Make a split library portable

  • Moved iTunes Library to external drive- now can't move iPad purchase to Mac

    I moved my iTunes Library to an external drive because I didn't have enough internal HD space to move a movie purchased on the iPad to my Mac. Now iTunes won't sync my iPad - and wants to reformat it - because it says it was formatted on another Mac.
    I've tried Aiseesoft iPad Manager but the movie - a iTunes+ movie, so I assume it is a package of some sort - doesn't show up in the movie pane.
    This is a really crappy position to be put into. If I could re-download the movie I'd just reformat my iPad and be down with it. Unfortunately, this is not an option.
    Help!

    As a best practice, you should move your content to an external drive and import references to into iTunes rather than moving the whole database and app files. In iTunes > Preferences > Advanced, uncheck "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library". This will keep all your music and movies on the external drive, but iTunes and all references to the content on your desktop.
    I know that's not what you wanted to hear as a fix, but this is how I have my MacBook Air setup and it works fine with the iPad. My son tried to move the whole app and database to a hard drive and we had endless problems with it.

  • Moved itunes folder to external drive and now lost playlists

    To free space on my hard drive, I moved the folder to my external drive. Now, I successfully can access my music library, but my playlists aren't listed and I can't figure out how to get them/point to them. Any ideas?
    Thanks!
    Compaq   Windows XP  

    polydorus, you are my hero. I launched itunes with the shift key down and was able to select the library on the external drive. I would not have thought of that. Thanks so much.
    shockme, I found changed the folder name under the advanced tab wasn't enough. I used File>Import and imported the music from the external drive no problem.
    mlevin, I was really scared deleted the original file too. I checked several times that the exact number of bytes were moved in case I wanted to go back. Change the music location, do the import, fix the playlists and get all going and then I assume you can delete the contents in the music folder like I did. Then I did a defrag to clean things up. Good luck!
    Compaq   Windows XP  

  • Moving iTunes Library to External Drive

    Hey there,
    I would like to free up 25GB of space on the hard drive of my computer by moving my music library to my external drive.
    I tried once to have iTunes consolidate the library onto the external drive, and by doing that iTunes had difficulty locating the music on the hard drvie and the external drive. I had iTunes reload all of the songs off of my main computer and in doing so, I managed to lose all of the information from each song. Album art, lyrics, comments, some dates and genres were all wiped out. So now I had a huge collection of tunes that had none of that information and they all had the same date of being aquired. I have since repaired the blank-out by readding all of the information. I would still like to have my music folder on the external drive and I want to keep all of the information as well.
    I currently have the music files on the external drive as back up incase something happens to my computer. I just dragged and copied the I Tunes music folder onto the hard drive icon.
    I am wondering if there is a way that I can have my music library on the external drive, without the danger of having all of the additional information wiped out?
    Thanks for your time with helping,
    IslandB
    Cicero   Windows XP  

    iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748
    The above article includes moving the folder to an external drive.
    Patrick

  • Moving iTunes Music to external drive

    If I move my iTunes music folder to an external hard-drive because I'm running out of space on my PC's internal drive, can I then just go to preferences in iTunes and change the folder location and carry on as normal or do I have to act like I'm moving my music to a completely new computer and copy my music to a folder on my Ipod then copy it back to the external drive? Hope this makes sense...
    Thanks for your help.

    If I move my iTunes music folder to an external hard-drive because I'm running out of space on my PC's internal drive, can I then just go to preferences in iTunes and change the folder location and carry on as normal
    Yes. Click here for more information.
    (38235)

  • Moved itunes library to external drive..now issues..

    Hi, I recently picked up an external hard drive and needed space on my macbook so I dragged my folder onto my external drive. Next time I launched Itunes my library was wiped out. I still have the original library on the external but is there anyway I can direct Itunes to pull up the library instead without having to import everything a second time and end up with duplicates? I don't want to lose my purchased apps and songs.

    I am having the same problem.   - everything was fine, and I thought I had figured it out, It looks like I messed up on a step though.  I copied the ENTIRE folder to my external drive.  Then when I opened Ituned while pressing the option key, I think I selected the wrong thing (pretty sure I selected "create library" , when I should have selected "choose library".
    Now, when I open the itunes folder in my computers (macbook) hard drive OR on the external hard drive, looking for that "itunes library.itl" file, it is blank - just a white icon, and says it was created today.
    When I open Itunes from my desktop, there is NO music in it - which is not the end of the world because the files are on my external drive, but all of my playlists and customized itunes stuff is gone.  Is there any way to recover this?!?!

  • Moved iTunes library on external drive. All songs say missing.

    Okay So I just copied my iTunes library to an external harddrive, and I set my music folder in my iTunes preferences to be the new music folder on my external drive.
    If I play a song now in iTunes it says it can't find it and asks me to manually locate it, which I do. It seems like if I find one, iTunes would be smart enough to find the rest but NO! I have to find EVERY single song, even if they're on the same album.
    There has to be a way around this. I have a 50gb+ library and would hate it if I had to find every single song.
    Thanks a lot!

    Simply copying the iTunes library to your new drive may not be enough. If, when you added your recordings to the original library, you didn't have the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" checkbox checked in the Preferences->Advanced tab, or you did not do a "Consolidate Library" action before copying the library to the new drive, your actual recordings are probably still on your old drive.
    To fix this, you'll need to copy these to your extermal drive and then add them to the library that is also on your external drive.
    Tom Hesley

  • I have moved itunes library to external drive as per support article. Every time I know open itunes I have to re-direct it to the new media location on the external drive. Is there a way to retain the location?

    I followed the instructions on the support website exactly to transfer my media to an external hard drive (a network attached storage device), it worked immediately. When I quit itunes and re-open it, the library location has reset to the old location, I can change it to the new location and it works but the next time I log in its back to the wrong place.
    Has anybody got any idea how to prevent this from re-occurring?

    i also just move my library to a NAS. i suggest you do this:
    launch iTunes and point iTunes media folder location to the volume/shared folder on NAS. quit iTunes.
    copy the iTunes folder from <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music to the NAS.
    launch iTunes while holding option (⌥) and click on choose library when prompted. select the iTunes folder you just moved to the NAS.
    you must make sure the volume/shared folder on the NAS is mounted on your desktop before launching iTunes but from now on the media folder location should stick (it does for me).

  • Moved iTunes library to external drive

    NOTE: I have the most recent version of iTunes (as of 14 DEC 08).
    I moved my iTunes library to an external hard drive. The music videos I purchased shows an exclamation icon next to them. Is there a way I can reference all those videos to their new location on the external hard drive? Or is the only way to do it is one at a time? Thanks!

    No longer an issue.

Maybe you are looking for