Moving large iTunes Library -Help
Hello, I have 18,000 songs and videos filling up by 200GB hard drive. So I purchased a 500GB time capsule and followed the steps Apple advised to move your music folder. After I press consolidate, it seems to be working (very slowly), however, it continued for about 24 hours and only moved 10% of my iTunes library. then I got an error, and had to start again. Surely, there are others out there who have had to move a large iTunes Library...this method seems like it is not designed for large libraries like mine? Any suggestions?
None of these suggestions are complete solutions to the problem, I'm afraid.
The latter is basically the same as the first one, as iTunes will still use the old location to look for music files that are already in the library. In my case, I'm moving from a USB HD to a NAS over WLAN...this way I can still reach my entire lib from anywhere in the house; without being hooked up to the USB HD.
So I have the same problem, and experience that the consolidation process crashes.
I have also tried re-importing the entire mp3 collection into iTunes from its new location, but this also lingers for several hours before finally freezing (I had to force-quit iTunes).
What we really need, is a way to regenerate the library file without moving tons of data.
The library is described in a plain-text XML file, and that stupid, stupid binary file, which is the actual database that iTunes uses (the XML is primarily for convenience of other apps)
I already copied my data using Finder, so if iTunes Music Library.xml wasthe only file that mattered here,
all we needed was a plaintext search and replace...
Example:
I moved all my mp3 files from
1) *My Book:mp3*
to
2) *Public:Shared Music:mp3*
Since the file structure of all my mp3 lib is intact;
substring 1) in the existing iTunes lib needs to be changed to substring 2); for all mp3 files and lib root paths, and voilá...
BUT this is not the case; the binary file is the actual database used by iTunes.
So until someone comes up with a way to regenerate the iTunes database file, for example from the XML file, we're stuck.
Just my $.02 worth of rambling.
Cheers;
Eivind
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I moved my iTunes library to an external drive, but now my apps are gone? I do have iTunes match and iCloud, so my songs are all on the cloud, but none of my apps are showing...
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To listen to music I imported the iTunes Library in Windows Media Player and changed the audio output using the following instructions: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/c00d11ba
However, I would also like to rent movie's from iTunes,
Would be great if iTunes would let you choose the output device, too, like most other applications using sound from Skype to Windows Media Player,... -
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Not sure if this helps:-
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I'm having trouble with my iPad 2 iTunes Match loading all of the music from my very large iTunes library off my Pc to my iPad. I really only want a few playlists. Do I have to delete all of the music off my iPad that I don't want? Will it remove those songs from my main library if I'm connected to iCloud and music match? Help!
Move the itunes Library.itl file to your exHD.
Then to get itunes to start using it from that new location, press *and hold* the shift key while starting itunes. Choose "use existing library" and browse out to the ITL file that is now on the exHD.
Future app downloads will go to the Mobile Applications folder created there. It will also start downloading the itunes store artwork to the exHD.
You can try downloading a free app to test it. -
I moved my iTunes Library and now the first track of most CDs is missing. Why? What can I do?
I have moved my iTunes library several times. Sometimes to free up space on the main drive, I have moved the library to an external drive. I have also moved the library when changing drives and changing computers. I find that most of the CDs I have imported into iTunes in the past are now missing the first track. It shows the sign, but I haven't been able to locate them. In many cases, I have given the CDs themselves away and so I have no easy way of re-importing the tracks. Why does iTunes do this? Is there something I can do in the future to prevent this from happening? It gets rather tedious to go through hundreds of CD and locate a single track for each one after upgrading a drive or the computer. HELP?
What process did you use for moving the library?
I have noticed iTunes on rare occasions loses files. Don't know why. Keep back ups. Before updating a backup run a script such as Dougscript List MIAs so you can make sure you aren't deleting your only copy should one get lost from your main drive.
You might want to note that it is a mistake giving away the CDs. When you no longer posess the CD you relinquish the right to keep a copy of the music. Also, as you are finding, you no longer have a backup source for the music. -
Moving my itunes library to a removable hard drive.
I have moved my itunes library to a removable hard drive. Every time I try to trash my old itunes file and access the removable HD, I cant find it from iTunes. the only thing I can get it to do is to reload (duplicate) the entire 30gb library on the HD I want it off of. Now I have 2 duplicate versions of my library, but still can't get it to keep the files on the HD. Can someone help?
MarkHey Mark -
I think it's helpful to understand how this whole process works, and along the way, maybe we'll find where things went wrong for your situation.
iTunes can take as much or as little control of your library as you like, and different settings may be turned on or off for you as it's not always standardized.
If you'd like your entire iTunes Library to be transferred to one centralized, organized location (wherever - a local directory or an external drive, whatever you like), here's what you need to do (and if it's not too late, here's what you need to go "back" and do to make this transition smoother).
- Open iTunes with the default library (where you had it).
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- Select File, Library, Organize Library and check "Consolidate files" and "Reorganize files in the folder 'iTunes Media'". These two marks take anything up-to-this-point and consolidates them into the one location, then uses its sorting structure to file it all away.
Then, Mark, I think it's appropriate to exit iTunes, take that entire library folder (YourUsername\Music\iTunes\) and put it wherever you'd like it to go. To tell iTunes where your new library is, hold the Option key and click on the iTunes application, then "Choose Library" and reference your new location.
I think it's important to follow the preliminary steps first. I've run into instances with customers where they've moved their Library file, referenced it by Choosing the new Library, and then thought everything was fine, only to find two weeks later when they try to play an audio file that the file isn't found - and this happens because the user moved the library FILE but didn't have a consolidated library TO move - the files were spread out all over the computer.
I hope that's helpful to you. I know it may be too late to "undo" yourself back to the beginning and do those organizational steps, but it's at least useful to know the process and how it might help you in the future.
Best of luck. -
Trying to relocate a LARGE iTunes library to external HD - it's NOT working
I have a large iTunes library (160+ GB ... about 30,000 songs) that I store on an external USB 2.0 hard drive. I'm trying to move/copy/relocate the entire library to another USB 2.0 external hard drive. I have tried copying the entire iTunes library ... only to return hours later to find "not everything was copied to your folder" message - after a decent 24 GB had been transferred. I also tried making a playlist of my entire library and transferring it to another user on my computer - to no avail - that stopped, too.
What is THE BEST way to copy a huge iTunes library? One external hard drive is filling up and I need to transfer everything. So far, I have been hooking up both external hard drives to my MacBook Pro - should I invest in one of those USB-USB connectors to connect the hard drives to each other directly? Should I try it without allowing my computer sleep?
I want to transfer my HUGE library without running into snafus - everyone just says "copy the music folder" - but it's so big, the thing inevitably crashes!
Any advice?Warren Willows wrote:
When you ask about the "entire" library what are you referring to?
Warren,
i asked about the entire iTunes folder
your iTunes library consists of your media files (music, movies, apps, etc.) and the, shall we call them, +support files+ (iTunes library file, iTunes library.xml file etc.)
a typical iTunes folder looks like this
if you keep your library files locally and just have the media files on the external, you should follow the steps provided by Chris.
if your entire iTunes folder is on the external, you can do what i suggested.
btw, a 160 gig library is not LARGE
mine weighs in @ 1.6 TB and lives on a 2 TB firewire 800 external. i recently cloned this drive to an identical 2 TB drive for backup purposes using CCC. it took in excess of 20 hours to finish the cloning process !
so, you need to approach the moving operation with patience ...
good luck !
JGG -
I have moved my iTunes library from an old PC to my new one running on Windows 8. All play normally apart from two albums: Songwriter by Justin Hayward and The Roaring Silence by Manfred Man''s Earth Band. The FAQ suggestions don't resolve the problem.
Honestly, all the people in all the world that look at this forum, no-one can tell me why my itunes is causing my machine to fall over?
I wiped the machine and started again. Fresh XP install, fresh iTune download, fired it up imported one album and bang. Over it went. I've PC Checked the hard ware, mad onioned the system to see if it's a resource thing but it's rock solid until i open iTunes. Then after every re-boot, the message is back in the event log.
This:
Source iPod Service Event ID 0
The description for Event ID ( 0 ) in Source ( iPod Service ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and Support for details. The following information is part of the event: Service started.
Can someone at least reply to let me know I've not typed this in dutch!! :o)
Cheers
David -
Moved my iTunes library to ext HD...MacBook won't boot
I followed the directions on moving my iTunes library to the ext HD, checked to see if iTunes worked correctly, shut down my computer and went to class. Got home and when I tried to start my computer all I get is an picture of a folder with a question mark in it.
I used the startup disc to verify and repair the HD and it says there is a problem with one of the volumes but it is unable to repair it.
I've never had a single problem or even a hiccup in the six months I have owned it.
Anyone know what to do? It has been several days and because of my schedule I can't get to a Mac store to for help.It won't start even with the ext HD unplugged. I have tried to repair the drive a bunch of times and it just says that it can't be repaired.
I just find it odd that I've never had a problem until I moved my iTunes library.
Is there a way I can use my wife's MacBook to explore my drive and check for files? I know I can connect them with a firewire cable and hold the "t" when booting up but I can't figure out how to access the files on my computer. -
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 ;-)
EaglerockerQuick 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. -
I use windows vista. I moved my itunes library fromvista to data hard drive. Very little available memory on vista. I cannot sync my ipod to library anymore.
how can I fix this problem. Willy.Go to Settings>Preferences>Advanced and make sure that the location of your media library is correct.
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I have moved my iTunes library to a new Windows 7 PC and cannot transfer music from the new iTunes PC to my iPhone 4S. The iPhone will only accept music transfers from the original iTunes PC. I have come to understand that an iPhone can have only one "daddy" iTunes PC, but have not been able to find out how to change the "daddy". I have done a backup of the iPhone, and a "Restore to Original Settings". Then I restored the content using the new iTunes PC. My Apps and contacts, etc. are back on the iPhone, but it still won't accept music from the new iTunes PC.
What happens when you try to sync the iphone to the new computer?
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I moved my iTunes library to an external hard drive due to lack of space on the PC. I uninstalled it from the PC at the time to increase space. My wife is a user on the computer and shares the same apple account. I discovered that iTunes was back on the PC hard drive when I tried to sync my iphone and it would not for lack of space on the PC. If I uninstall I tunes from the PC where I am the user will it affect my wife's itune account which is still on the PC?
Close iTunes. Click the icon to start it, then press and hold down the left shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Choose the iTunes folder on your external drive. That should bring back all your playlists, ratings, play counts etc. You may have to settle for removing and reloading the media onto the device again. That's not too bad, but what you don't want to have happen is your apps being removed and reloaded as then you can lose settings and data. If that looks likely backup and then restore the device rather than sync it.
If for some reason rebuilding the library the way you did has moved files around then the restored library may have trouble finding things. If so post back and I'll explain what to do...
tt2
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