Moving iTunes to NAS or Drobo

I'm considering moving iTunes to my Drobo and would like to know if anyone has done this by moving whole contents of iTunes folder and then replacing the contents on the Mac with Aliases to all files and folders in new location?
Aliases or Symbolic Links?

i know apple has a help disk on your system disk that carries all personal data over from old system to newly installed systems, like playlists, email setting, bookmarks, etc. but i don't know how it would work with non apple environments. ask your apple dealer. yeah so what's the alternative. thinking outside 'the box', is there any standalone digital player stereo system available now that does not require computer hookup, that does not need stupid operating systems, that does not need software updates, that does not try to sell you something each step of the way, that can record, play, download, music cds, vinyl, aac and mp3, organize my library, 50,000-100,000 songs and just let me listen to my amazing music? i am tired of pulling five tons of software around just to hear songs. ipod it too small and the earplugs kill your eardrums. i remember hi-fidelity stereo on a vinyl sound surround system. now that was phaaaaat! mac osx is too slow. aren't nas and drobo still computer software? they actually look like external drives for computer. i looked them up but very little that makes sense to me out there. i'm talking about a standard music player with a built in 1 terabyte, oh ****, make it 10 terabyte storage system.

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Lost music after moving iTunes to nas

Ok I've been a Pratt. This I know. But can anyone help me?
I bought a buffalo NAS drive and set it up as my network storage
I copied the contents of my computer hard drive to it
Deleted my music, along with document files, from my laptop (yes I said I'd been a Pratt)
Thinking that all my music is on my nas I then synced my iPhone 4s and promptly lost all my music from my phone
I can see that my music is on my NAS but after ages of me prattling about I seem to have many fragmented iTunes libraries
Today I get a shiny new laptop so it's time to sort thing out.
Is there any way I can easily find all the music on my NAS and set it up on the new laptop without ageing a further 10 years?

Holding "Shift" Button on iTunes start will let you setup a new library. You can then choose your library file on your nas ... and everything should be fine again .... if you moved the whole iTunes folder to your nas.
Otherwise, you can delete your songs in iTunes without moving them to thrash and then add them again from your nas ... be aware that iTunes does not update the tags of your music files when changing them in iTunes. This information is only stored in your library. So if you changed e.g. album names or genres you have to do it again when adding deleting and adding from a new drive as you clean your library by doing so.

Moving itunes from NAS to computer

Dear Reader,
Some months ago i transfered my ITunes to my NAS Drive on the LAN. as I needed much more space that I had on my computer. I was a long painful move, but i got ti to work i the end
Kmow I find I cannot sysnchronise with my iphone and outlook because the NAS seems to be too slow,so a syschronishation takes 12-14 minutes instreat of 2-3.I when iI use the iPhone and Outlook for work.
I would like to use Home Sharning but once putting my itunes on my desk top I seemed to lost almost everything alhough most of my deskop music is present and all of my applications have disappeared.
I have not deleted any of the files on my NAS drive. I have two other compiuters I would like to share itunes with.
I would appreciate any help I could get.
Youyrs faithfulluy,
Russell
Sydney

I am a fitness instructor with the same problem! HELP US PLEASE!

Moving iTunes library to Drobo

My iTunes folder is currently contained on a WD MyBook. I am going to copy my iTunes folder to a Drobo and use it to contain my iTunes folder. (the drobo will be connected directly to the macbook via firewire)
I wish to keep all of my song ratings during the transition. What is the easiest and most seamless way to switch libraries without loosing my song ratings?
Thanks in advance.

Is your iTunes folder (containing the *iTunes library* file and *iTunes library.xml* file and the iTunes music folder) on the MyBook or the just the iTunes music folder?
If it the iTunes folder move it to the other drive, start iTunes then immediately press and hold Option and select *Choose existing library* and select the *iTunes library* file you copied over.
If it's just the iTunes music folder, go to iTunes prefs -> Advanced, set the iTunes music folder location to the new drive.
Go to iTunes menu File -> Library -> Consolidate.

Reindex itunes to NAS

I have moved all my music files onto a NAS and am in the process of cleaning it all up, removing duplicates, keeping the better quality files etc. Once finished I would like to have the NAS as my base folder going forward for all my itunes files. Has anyone done something similar, what is the best way of going about wiping the current music library and reindexing itunes to the NAS folder? Will it be possible to keep my playlists?
I'd like to also have it that itunes in future then send all imports/downloads etc to the NAS as well - is that easily done too?
Many Thanks!

i know apple has a help disk on your system disk that carries all personal data over from old system to newly installed systems, like playlists, email setting, bookmarks, etc. but i don't know how it would work with non apple environments. ask your apple dealer. yeah so what's the alternative. thinking outside 'the box', is there any standalone digital player stereo system available now that does not require computer hookup, that does not need stupid operating systems, that does not need software updates, that does not try to sell you something each step of the way, that can record, play, download, music cds, vinyl, aac and mp3, organize my library, 50,000-100,000 songs and just let me listen to my amazing music? i am tired of pulling five tons of software around just to hear songs. ipod it too small and the earplugs kill your eardrums. i remember hi-fidelity stereo on a vinyl sound surround system. now that was phaaaaat! mac osx is too slow. aren't nas and drobo still computer software? they actually look like external drives for computer. i looked them up but very little that makes sense to me out there. i'm talking about a standard music player with a built in 1 terabyte, oh ****, make it 10 terabyte storage system.

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).

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

Moving iTunes from PC to Mac - problem...

When moving my iTunes folder from PC to Mac (via hard drive), the following error message appears: The operation can’t be completed because you don’t have permission to access some of the items". Anyone come across this before?

My feeling is there isn't much you can do about it since standard things such as changing file permissions won't work if you can't write to the drive. You could try formatting the drive to FAT so both the PC and Mac can use it (as long as you don't have any huge files). Alternatively, if you have a smaller flash drive formatted FAT you can move the library in groups of folders as long as you make sure it all goes back together properly again.
Here's my standard post on moving libraries:
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 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.)
Longer answers if for any reason you do not think all library files are inside your iTunes folder (changed preferences settings at some point):
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.
Windows users see tip at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/18879381

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

I have followed Apple support Article HT4527 for moving itunes but have insufficient space on my new PC for the complete library of. How can I leave music on the external HDD but associate the content on my external HDD with my pc itunes when it is open?

I have followed the Apple Support Section Article HT 4527 and have moved itunes media onto an external Hard Drive. The complete file is 103GB in size.
I have downloaded the latest itunes onto my new PC.
When I follow the article and try moving the itunes file onto the new PC, I am informed that there is insufficient space on my new PC.
In any case, like my old system, I want to leave my music on the external HDD and just have the music library displayed in itunes when I click on the "Music" folder.
How can I get itunes on the new computer to interogate my external HDD to just list the library and leave the music on the external HDD?

you can do this by keeping the external hard drive connected and doing the following
-hold shift key down on computer while opening iTunes and a prompt will appear to choose a library
-select choose library, iTunes should bring up your explorer windows where you can search for the external HD
-after you find the external HD find the iTunes folder you just copied to it
-after opening the iTunes folder look for the file that says iTunes library.itl or if you can't see that extenstion just look for a document looking thing in the iTunes folder that shows up as a database file
-double click the database file and boom iTunes should load your library without having to copy it to the computer
PS: do make sure that if you are going to do it this way, make sure that the external HD is connected at all times, because if you don't then you will get exclamation marks next to your iTunes songs
double PS: if you are unsure how to find out if the iTunes library file is a database file just right click it and choose properties and under the type it should say database file
hope this helps:)

I moved iTunes folder location, now all my personal song ratings and playlists are gone. How can I get them back? All the iTunes files are intact, just in a new location. Running iTunes 11.1.5.5

I moved iTunes folder location, now all my personal song ratings and playlists are gone. How can I get them back? All the iTunes files are intact, just in a new location. Running iTunes 11.1.5.5 on Windows 7

Put everything back the way it was.
Them move the folder correctly.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1364

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 to an external drive...how to?

I'd like to make room on my hard drive -- it's only 15GB. My Itunes and iphoto take up about 5gb by themselves. I'd like to move them to an external drive. I ain't the smartest cookie....is this easy to do?....moving the libraries that is?

I moved iTunes to an external hard drive a while ago. The move (using the above links) worked fine but the need to ensure the external drive was available whenever iTunes was launched was a major nuisance. I ended up keeping iTunes on the main hard drive and moving less critical stuff to the external drive. The same goes for iPhoto.
BTW, I recently upgraded my internal hard drive from 80Gb to 120Gb. Apple's Migration Assistant was brillant for doing this. I temporarily put the old hard disk in my external drive case and Tiger found the system and migrated apps and data with very few problems. I would recommend looking at this option for coping with ever-increasing iTunes storage demands rather than going to an external hard drive.

Since I moved ITunes media folder to an external bkp unit upload of my home shared videos on Apple TV is very slow. Is there anything I can do?

Since I moved ITunes media folder to an external bkp unit, Apple Tv uploads my shared videos very slowly. Is there anything I can do?

USB 3 should be more than enough for what you want.
I don't know anything about Pinnacle but iMovie (assuming you are going default) does produce movies with a datarate of around 10 Mbps, which is quite high in comparison to iTunes movies from the iTunes Store. I don't know if you might want to try custom exports.
Although saying that I have plenty of movies at around 10 Mbps on my eSATA external which doesn't have any problems.

HT1364 If I already moved Itunes media folder to external drive and now music is not matching up in iTunes?

Dear Itunes Community~
This is my first time using glad you are here, but all the passwords!!
Question/Quandry:
If I already moved Itunes media folder to my external drive and now my music is not matching up in iTunes, what should I do? I have tried my solution !?, and now I have 17,000 songs, instead of 9,000!
Should I just uninstall Itunes, and then reinstall Itunes, and let it do it's thing, and then figure out how to move to the external hard drive later?
Help, I screwed it up all on my own!
Any/all help and Itunes educated suggestions appreciated!
Thank you very much,
Doris =:o
PS ~~ Is there anyway to easily delete duplicates?? Seems not?

I have a very similar problem. Hope I don't confuse people trying to help us since the solutions may be different.
I had my iTunes path directed to a 2nd internal hard drive. Everything was working fine - except I found that purchased Apps were still being downloaded to the Mobile Applications folder on my main hard drive instead of the 2nd internal drive. I decided to retry directing the iTunes path to my 2nd internal drive, hoping that might get iTunes to save my Apps there. Big Mistake. Suddenly, there were no Apps showing in my iTunes Library Apps window at all. I verified the downloaded apps are still in my main hard drive's Mobile Applications folder, but I cannot get iTunes to display them in my Apps Library window anymore.
I decided to try downloading a new app and, sure enough, iTunes once again downloaded it into the very same Mobile Applications folder on my main hard drive, where all my (now orphaned) original apps are, but the only one iTunes will only display in my Apps window is the new one. I read you can redownload purchased apps, but my apps are not missing. iTunes just won't display them in the Apps window anymore.

Moving iTunes to NAS or Drobo

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