Moving just part of an iTunes library?

Hi,
I posted this over in the iTunes Forum... but nobody replied, and as I thought more about it, it seems like it may be more of a Finder related problem.
I just got a new MacBook and would like to move some of my music from my old iMac (which is running 10.4.11) to my new computer.... my problem is, I have over 2,000 songs on my original iMac... but I don't want all 2,000 on my new MacBook... There is a lot of stuff that I don't listen to anymore or wasn't too fond of in the beginning but it somehow ended up in my library anyway. I'd like to keep my new MacBook iTunes Library more organized, so I went through all 2,000 and picked about 1,200 that I want to move to my new computer. I just made a playlist with the songs that I want to keep. (The music is a mixture of iTunes purchases and CD rips, if it makes any difference.)
My plan was to just drag those songs right from iTunes to a portable LaCie hard drive that I have, and then import them on my MacBook, but when I drag the files to the hard drive, it says "Preparing To Copy"... it even begins to list the songs on my hard drive... but then it all goes away.
I just tried to do a screen capture so you could see exactly what I mean, but now it doesn't even say Preparing To Copy! Just take a look for yourself: http://www.deandagati.com/itunes2.mov
If I try to copy a single song it works.... even a few songs at a time works.... and I got it to do 100 songs ONCE... but now it won't do that anymore either.... It seems like my iMac is being temperamental... or is this some kind of crazy security thing?
Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated =)
Thanks!

For anyone who has this problem in the future - I have a solution!
I used iTunes to burn the playlist to two DVDs... then I imported the songs over on my MacBook.
It took about an hour to do all the burning/importing... but now I have all the songs that I want. =)

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HT1751 Question: Is it possible to move just part of my iTunes content (i.e. TV shows) to an external harddrive, keeping the rest of the content in place? Several seasons of TV shows are taking up 102 GB of space, and I'm completely out of space on my HD

Is it possible to move just part of my iTunes content (i.e., only TV shows), keeping the rest of the Library in place? I have purchased several seasons of some TV shows, which take up 102 GB on my harddrive, inside my iTunes Media Folder. I don't want to move my entire Library of music and apps etc to the external harddrive (HD), but I rarely watch the TV shows, so wouldn't mind them being located on an external HD, which I would plug in before trying to watch the shows through iTunes?
Any advice?
Thanks!

I don't think you can simultaneously have two libraries open. But you can have your media spread across multiple disk drives. Just change your iTunes preferences such that the option "Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library" is not selected. That way, new items can remain on your external drive if that's where you add them from.
The only caution is if you ever add items to your library from some "temporary" location, such as a USB drive. With these preference changes, iTunes would keep the native file on the USB drive, which would possibly lead to you deleting the file and losing the link. So, when you have your preferences to allow you to add new items to iTunes without copying them to the iTunes Music folder, you would want to put the native files in the desired location first, then add to iTunes.
To move existing videos and podcasts to the external drive, you can either do that as you have been (moving the native files and correcting the ! warning), or simply delete them from the library (but keep the native files) then re-add them from their new location on the external drive (you'd lose play history and ratings though, but may not be an issue for videos and podcasts).

Part of my Itunes library is saved in icloud and these songs are on my Ipod. Other songs in my library that aren't saved in Icloud are not on my Ipod. How do I fix this?

Part of my ITunes library is saved in Icloud and these songs are on my Ipod. Other songs in my library that are not saved in Icloud are not in my Ipod. How do it fix this?

Hello cherijewell,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
To learn more about iTunes in the Cloud please check out the article linked to below.
iTunes 11 for Windows: iTunes in the Cloud overview
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12489
Take care,
Alex H.

Moving just part of a library?

Hi everyone,
I just got a new MacBook and would like to move all of my music from my old iMac to my new computer.... my problem is, I have over 2,000 songs on my original iMac... but I don't want all 2,000 on my new MacBook... There is a lot of stuff that I don't listen to anymore or wasn't too fond of in the beginning but it somehow ended up in my library anyway. I'd like to keep my new MacBook iTunes Library more organized, so I went through all 2,000 and picked about 1,200 that I want to move to my new computer. I just made a playlist with the songs that I want to keep. (The music is a mixture of iTunes purchases and CD rips, if it makes any difference.)
My plan was to just drag those songs right from iTunes to a portable LaCie hard drive that I have, and then import them on my MacBook, but when I drag the files to the hard drive, it says "Preparing To Copy"... it even begins to list the songs on my hard drive... but then it all goes away.
I just tried to do a screen capture so you could see exactly what I mean, but now it doesn't even say Preparing To Copy! Just take a look for yourself: http://www.deandagati.com/itunes2.mov
If I try to copy a single song it works.... even a few songs at a time works.... and I got it to do 100 songs ONCE... but now it won't do that anymore either.... It seems like my iMac is being temperamental... or is this some kind of crazy security thing?
Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated =)
Thanks!
Message was edited by: behindTHEscenes5

Thanks to.... well, nobody.... for helping me with this problem.
But for anyone who has this problem in the future - I have a solution!
I used iTunes to burn the playlist to two DVDs... then I imported the songs over on my MacBook.
It took about an hour to do all the burning/importing... but now I have all the songs that I want. =)

Exporting only part of an iTunes library

My disk is full. I need to get my iTunes library off of it. Can I only export part of the library, say just the videos or music files, or do I have to export the whole thing?
Is it possible to export it to a network disk so that it will play over the wifi network?
Thanks,
Ira

For anyone who has this problem in the future - I have a solution!
I used iTunes to burn the playlist to two DVDs... then I imported the songs over on my MacBook.
It took about an hour to do all the burning/importing... but now I have all the songs that I want. =)

After moving files out of the iTunes library they still show in the iTunes list

I am archiving movies out of my iTunes library. I have moved the files from the iTunes media folder and into another folder but the movies still show up in the iTunes movie list in the main iTunes window. I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?

Geoffrey Kleinman wrote:
I am archiving movies out of my iTunes library. I have moved the files from the iTunes media folder and into another folder but the movies still show up in the iTunes movie list in the main iTunes window. I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?
An easier way is to simply drag movies/songs from the iTunes window to where you want.
Then delete it in iTunes.
I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?
When you add files to iTunes, it adds them to the iTunes library database file and this is what is displayed in iTunes.
I f you remove the file from its location, iTunes will not know until you try to access it in iTunes. It will then show an exclamation mark if it cannot find that file.

Move PART of an iTunes library to an external hard drive

So I just got a new external hard drive, and I need to free up some space on my internal hard drive. Naturally, I thought that iTunes would be a good place to start. I've read some tutorials on how to do this if I want to transfer my entire iTunes library - but I don't.
In having a laptop, there are many times when I'm off at some random location away from my stationary external HD, and so I would like to keep certain songs on my internal hard drive so that I could listen to those when I'm away from home.
My question then, is how can I transfer most of my songs to an external hard drive, maintain my ratings and play count, and still keep some of my songs on my internal hard drive? Thanks in advance for the help!

Jason
The easiest way to do this is to copy your iTunes Folder to the external. Now you have two identical libraries.
From the laptop, delete the tracks that you don't want to keep on it.
Now you have two libraries: A full one on the HD and a smaller subset on the laptop,
To choose between them? hold down the option (or alt) key when launching iTunes and select 'Choose Library'.
Regards
TD

How do I move only part of my itunes library to an external hard drive?

I have all my music and movies in the itunes library. I am wanting to move the movies to an external hard drive to save space, but keep the music in itunes on my computer. I want to be able to play them all through my apple TV via home sharing. I have read a number of posts about consolidating the library and how to access files from an external hard drive, and how to move the entire library to another location, but don't know how to move part of the library.

It is possible but it is not standard configuration for iTunes. You will need to learn details of how iTunes operates in order to stay on top of it and not be back here in a month with a messed up library, or in a year or two when you discover it is a real nuisance when it comes to transferring your content to a new drive.
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/instant-expert-secrets-featur es-of-itunes-9/ - "To perform a consolidate operation on selected tracks only, simply highlight the tracks you would like the consolidate, right-click and choose 'Consolidate'. iTunes will prompt you to confirm that you want to copy these tracks into your iTunes Media folder." You will, of course,need to temporarily re-designate your iTunes media folder location as part of doing this.
The above method is a possibility but I have not tested it because I still run iTunes 7.5
Another way would be to copy the files to the external drive. Delete them from iTunes, then drag the copied files back to iTunes (re-adding them) while holding down the option key. If you do have anything in a playlist it will have to be re-added to the playlist, and you will lose ratings and date added.

Using an old iPod as storage for part of my iTunes Library.

I have an old 4th Gen iPod (40gb) that needs a new battery, which I plan to have repaired. I know that i can use the iPod as a hard drive, however, as my iTunes Library has grown to a huge size (pushing 63Gb), it is taking up rather more of my MacBook Pro's Hard disk space, than I would like.
My question is this; Is there a way that I can store part of my iTunes music on the iPod and the rest on the Macbook Pro? Then, when i needed the full library, I would simply plug in my iPod/Hard drive. Is this possible? and also, would it be as straight forward as plugging in the iPod and launching iTunes?
Hope you can advise me.
Cheers

" I know that PCs don't recognise Mac stuff but, and correct me if I'm wrong, I remember something about Macs recognising PC stuff??"
An iPod formatted for Mac it won't run natively on a PC because the Windows OS does not support the HFS Plus file system and therefore will not see the drive. There are third party helper programs to overcome that, however Macs can read Windows formatted drives so you should be able to use your old iPod as a straightforward removable drive without any problem.

Files moved to external hardrive now iTunes library is empty

I moved iTunes to an external hard drive, but when I go to use iTunes the library is blank. I still have the library on the new drive, how do I get it to appear back on iTunes. My iPod has not been docked so the library in on the iPod as well. Please help.

Did you put back
i both
the music files and the original 'iTunes Library.itl' file to their expected spots?
If the music files are returned without the correct ITL file, you'll end up with a blank Library. If the ITL file is in place without the music files, you'll end up having song references within iTunes with the '!' symbol.
My guess is that you need to find the 'iTunes Library.itl' file that was used when the music was on the C: drive. Did you make any copies of this (before or during your move attempt) or do you have any backup copies of this file? It will need to be placed in the 'My Music\iTunes' folder, replacing the current one that is there.
If the only ITL file you have is the current 'blank' one, you may have lost some music information (playlists, last played, playcount, date added). We can get the music back into the Library with the remainder of the meta-data.
Post back with comments or more questions.

Can I have parts of my iTunes library in different places?

I'm thinking about upgrading to the new Retina MacBook Pro and the 256GB of storage isn't enough for me. I'm going to get an external hard drive to put my iTunes media and keep backups on and I was wondering if I can have the movies (at least most of them) of my iTunes library on the hard drive but keep my music on the computer.

This isn't a feature built into iTunes right now. Do you want the free way or the one that costs money?
There's this commercial utility that proclaims to do exactly what you want. I have not used it so I cannot rate it:
TuneSpan: (OS X app) A utility that allows you to distribute the media files in your iTunes Library across multiple drives. - http://tunespan.com/ - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tunespan/id528459889?mt=12
Manual ways to do this are slightly to moderately cumbersome depending upon exactly how you want to do it. My favorite is just to create a separate library for movies. I know for me watching a movie is a deliberate decision and I don't want listen to two CDs, watch a movie, listen to another CD, and watch another movie all in one continuous process.
You can also add an item to iTunes and have the file stay in a different location by holding down the option key while dragging the item to iTunes. Of course if you obtained it from an iTunes download in the first place you have to delete it, move it, then add it again.
Do not be tempted to do this by changing media location in preferences unless you really know what you are doing.

Why wont my itunes start? it just says error new itunes library

my itunes wont start, it just says error new itunes library

You have to go into the iTunes folder, open the subfolder labled "Previous iTunes Libraries" and delte the most recently saved library. Actually can I assume this is because you installed iTunes 11, then like most people, saw how much the new chanbes suck and went back to an older version. If that is the case, when you go to your "Previous Library" you have to delete any library that was created with iTunes 11. I just went through all this on Thursday.
I really hope Apple is listening to all the complaints on here. The very least they can do is give an option for something like a "Classic View" like microsoft has done in the past with Office, and Windows

What is the best way to move part of my iTunes library to an external drive?

After many years of collecting iTunes content on my Mac, I'm starting to get low on internal hard drive space. I'd like to move my movies and tv shows to an external drive while keeping all other content where it is. I have found numerous explanations on how to do this, but they vary widely in their methods and most of them are at least a couple of years old.
Could anyone with recent experience share with me the best practices for doing this? In addition, I'd love to know this: Although I have a firewire external drive, but I don't keep it connected at all times and would prefer to put the files on my Time Capsule, since it connects to the Mac wirelessly. Would that work?
Thank you!

I don't think it is easy to move part of a collection unless you don't care about the metadata such as date added, etc. You can copy the files to the other drive, delete in iTunes the references to the copies still on your computer, then hold down the option key while dragging the files on the external to iTunes so it doesn't copy them back to your internal but just references them where they are. You have to remember to do this each time. Either that, or set preferences so iTunes does not automatically copy any file to your media folder when added but leaves them all where they land on your computer. You can move them by hand around the computer, but not between drives.
You could try Dougscript "Move Files To Folder" but I don't know if this enables iTunes to track items moved to a different drive. iTunes doesn't really like using multiple drives.
As for using Time Capsule, I have seen various takes on this. I recall reading somebody saying it isn't a good idea to have a backup drive competing for dual purposes. My take on it is, TC is a backup, period. If you keep your movies on it and the TC drive dies, you lose your only copy of the movies.
How often do you really watch these movies? Yes, it is nice having them appear in iTunes, but unless you are watching them every day then it isn't a huge burden to have them on another drive. Frankly, if I had iTunes movies I would probably make a whole different library for them and start from it with the external drive turned on when I was in a movie mood.

How do i (easily) store only PART of my iTunes library on an external disk?

i have a LOT of music to digitize and not a lot of space left in my powerbook. i want to keep this music on an external drive for later. i do not need to play it (for now) and i do not connect to this external drive often.
should i just drag the song folders or artist folders out of the iTunes folder on my laptop and onto the external drive?
or, is there some sort of cool way (play list?) that will let me keep them catalogued in iTunes even though unavailable?
pb g4 12 (first one) Mac OS X (10.4.5) want a new one

so dude, it would be better to put it all. You can't just put part because itunes needs to draw the songs from one place. So what you do is drag your whole itunes folder to your external hard drive then when it is all transported go to preferences and select advanced. Hit general and change the itunes music folder location to the iTunes music folder within the itunes folder. Also select keep library organized. It will automatically update you library, organize, and transport any imports to your external hard drive. Finally, it is safe to delete the folder from your computer. DO NOT DELETE FROM ITUNES! Delete the whole folder library on your computer. Remember to connect the hard drive when ever you open itunes, and if you forget repeat the steps to as stated before to draw the songs from the hard drive. Hope this helps. It helped me free up soooo much space on my computer.

Moving to Mac - problem with iTunes Library

Hi, I am moving from a PC to a MacBook Pro. I have exported my library on the PC, and tried to import it to the MacBook, but get a message that some of the songs in the library were no added because they could not be found. I've made the changes in iTunes to point it to a shared network drive that holds all of our iTunes files. So when I got this message I peeked inside the library.xml file from the PC and found that it was point to \\localhost\y:\songfilename(s) because on the PC the shared network drive was mapped as drive Y. So how do I go about getting my playlists and ratings onto the MacBook Pro?

Just add one track on your MacBook from that shared folder
Export the Library to *.xml
Compare the paths used in this file to that \\localhost\y:\songfilename(s)
Open a copy of the PC *.xml
Do a search & replace to correct the paths
Again try to import the resulting file on your Mac

Moving just part of an iTunes library?

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