Moving photos and library to an external hd

I have entirely too many photos and videos on my MacBook Pro and need to move the files to an external HD to avoid get the Rainbow wheel everytime I launch iPhoto. What is the best way to do this, keeping in mind that I would like to continue using iPhoto AND I would lke to continue backing-up up my MBP using time machine and another dedicated HD.
What are the steps to ensure I move my files successfully and what would be the best HD to purchase for this? Is it necessary to purchase a MAC mini or will a 2 TB external HD suffice? I've read that i need to ensure that it is formatted for MAC, but I assume I can format it after I buy it???
Any links to the step-by-step instructions or advice to avoid pitfalls is greatly appreciated.

You can use any USB, Firewire or Thunderbolt external disk with a wired connection.
Make sure the drive is formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
1. Quit iPhoto
2. Copy the iPhoto Library from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
Regards
TD

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I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air. I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but i

I just bought a MBA and I need to move my photos and itunes to an external hard drive (from my old MacBook Pro) because they won't fit on the Air. I got the photos moved fine and I followed an online tutorial to move the necessary files for itunes, but it didn't work. The files copied fine, but when I tell iTunes on the Air to look at the external drive for the library, it doesn't find anything. What I copied was the entire iTunes Media folder. So, how do I move the necessary iTunes files from my old Pro to a external drive so I can access them from my new Air? Whew!

iTunes- How to move the library to an EHD
After you move the library you need to open iTunes by first depressing the OPTION key then launching iTunes. You will be given a choice of which library to use. This can then be made a permanent change, if you wish, in the Advanced section of iTunes preferences.

I moved my iTunes library to an external hard drive. It re installed itself on the PC and there is now no more room. I cannot sync with the external version. My wife has is a user on the same computer and we have the same iTunes account. Can I uninstall

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

I moved my itunes library to an external hard drive and now when I try to sync my ipad it says it is already synced to another library.

I moved my itunes library to an external hard drive and then I tried to sync my ipad. I got a message that says my ipad is synced to another library and it will erase my ipad, which I don't want to do. I'm not sure how to fix this problem, any ideas?

Ok. progress...
So is your media folder called iTunes Music or iTunes Media? And does it have a folder called Music inside it?
Before going any further you should first attempt to use File > Library > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (ignore if grayed out). This will make sure that any iPod Games or Mobile Applications get placed inside the iTunes Media folder which is needed for portability.
If your iTunes Media folder is called iTunes Music, close iTunes, rename the folder as iTunes Media and start iTunes again. iTunes will automatically adjust. Close iTunes again.
On your external drive rearrange the folders that you have already copied there so that they match the layout in your active library. You should end up with a folder called X:\iTunes where X: is the external drive letter, and the media folder is X:\iTunes\iTunes Media. If the library layout was upgraded then you will need to create a Music folder inside this and move all the artist folders and Compilations into Music. You will also need to copy iPod Games and Mobile Applications from your internal drive into the new media folder. Next copy the files iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel and the folder Album Artwork from the internal drive into X:\iTunes. The preceding manipulations should make the internal and external copies of your library match without you having to copy all of the media over again.
Now hold shift as you start iTunes. Click choose, browse to and open X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.
Finally use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files. This will ensure that any stray files that might have been added from outside your original media folder will be copied into the new one.
You can now reclaim the space used by your library on the internal drive, however before you do so I would advise you to obtain another external drive and make use of this backup tip.
tt2

I moved my itunes library to an external hard drive and now I can not update my phone and my apps aren't showing in the sidebar of my library. How can I fix this?

I moved my whole library onto an external hard drive but now when I plug my phone in, it can't back up, it can't update and my apps stopped showing up on the side. It still charges and syncs but I can't update the software. I use a PC. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Ok. progress...
So is your media folder called iTunes Music or iTunes Media? And does it have a folder called Music inside it?
Before going any further you should first attempt to use File > Library > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder "<Media Folder>" (ignore if grayed out). This will make sure that any iPod Games or Mobile Applications get placed inside the iTunes Media folder which is needed for portability.
If your iTunes Media folder is called iTunes Music, close iTunes, rename the folder as iTunes Media and start iTunes again. iTunes will automatically adjust. Close iTunes again.
On your external drive rearrange the folders that you have already copied there so that they match the layout in your active library. You should end up with a folder called X:\iTunes where X: is the external drive letter, and the media folder is X:\iTunes\iTunes Media. If the library layout was upgraded then you will need to create a Music folder inside this and move all the artist folders and Compilations into Music. You will also need to copy iPod Games and Mobile Applications from your internal drive into the new media folder. Next copy the files iTunes Library.itl, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb, sentinel and the folder Album Artwork from the internal drive into X:\iTunes. The preceding manipulations should make the internal and external copies of your library match without you having to copy all of the media over again.
Now hold shift as you start iTunes. Click choose, browse to and open X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl.
Finally use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files. This will ensure that any stray files that might have been added from outside your original media folder will be copied into the new one.
You can now reclaim the space used by your library on the internal drive, however before you do so I would advise you to obtain another external drive and make use of this backup tip.
tt2

How do I keep photos and videos on an external hard drive and run the application on the macbook

I am running out of space on my Macbook and would like to move all my photos and videos to an external hard drive to free up disk space. How do I designate those drives as the destination drive when running the application (iPhoto, iMovie) on the Macbook.

Moving your iTunes Music folder   http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Moving your iPhoto library    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1229
Moving iMovie footage to another drive    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1026

Moving the iTunes library to an external drive

I followed the Apple article and successfully moved my iTunes library to an external drive. BUT, is the Album Artwork supposed to stay in the original location (internal drive)? Mine did, and I had to redownload album artwork again. HOWEVER, I don't have all my artwork since the transfer and since the redownloading of it.
Is it safe to drag the album artwork folder to the external? I don't want to mess anything up.
Thanks.

I followed the Apple article and successfully moved my iTunes library to an external drive.
which article (post a link) did you follow and what exactly did you move to the external ?

Can I view photos and movies from my external hard drive? I used Time Machine and a WD Passport for backup. Since my drive on my MacBook Pro is filling up I was planning to delete some of the movies and photos.

Can I view photos and movies from my external hard drive? I used Time Machine and a WD Passport for backup. Since my drive on my MacBook Pro is filling up I was planning to delete some of the movies and photos. I wanted to see if I could view them from the hard drive. Thanks

Hello, eco1.
Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.
This sounds like you are wanting to move your iTunes media folder to an external drive and have iTunes this folder from this location. If this is the case then I would recommend taking a look at the article below.
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
Cheers,
Jason H.

Migration assistant with photos and music on an external drive

I have an I 7 ready to turn on, I will be transferring from a mac mini. I have 100 gigs of msic and about 80 gigs of photos that my mini access for I tunes and i photo. Will the migration assistant copy the photos and music from the external hard drive? My guess is it will but I wanted to hear it from someone else.
Thank you
Joe

I just move my iphoto's from a iMac to a Mini. I just used the import in the iphoto application, and it worked fine. I found migration to much work to use. Still have not moved itunes yet, but it doesn't have the import like iphoto, has export, so have not looked into the move yet.

I moved my iPhoto library to a external hard drive to free up space on my iMac per instructions, but the library is still on my iMac so I don't have much room left. How do I get rid of the all the contents of my library on my iMac so just on backup drive

As per Apple instructions, I moved my iPhoto library to an external hard drive so that I could free up space on my full iMac. However, I was not told the last step in the process -- How do I get the iPhoto library off my iMac so I free up that memory?

And after deleting the old Library, you should start up iPhoto while holding down the Option key in order to force iPhoto to let you select your iPhoto Library that is on your external hard drive. If you start up iPhoto the usual way, it will just create a new, blank iPhoto Library in your /users/yourusername/Pictures folder on your iMac's internal hard drive.

Moving photos and movies to free up space on hard drive

My MacBook hard drive is almost full. The majority of the space is taken up by photos and movies. I would like to move my current collection of photos and movies to an external hardrive, and then delete the files off my harddrive so that I have the space available to add more photos. However, I still want to easily access the old photos on the external harddrive and the new photos thta will be put on the hard drive. Any suggestions and the best way to accomplish this?

Easiest way to do this would be to copy your iTunes folder (located inside your home folder/Music) to your external hard drive. Next, open iTunes while holding down the option key on your keyboard. When iTunes asks you to select a music library to use, select the one on the external hard drive. Test to make sure everything is working just as it did with your old library. Assuming it does, you can now delete the iTunes folder on your internal hard drive.
The same process can be used with iPhoto.
Best of luck.

Moving a music library from one external hard drive / disk to another

My music library is already on an external hard drive and I want to move it to another external hard drive (along with the music filkes). I have follwed the standard setps of chaning the itunes folder location, keeping my itunes folder organised etc. When I come to consolidate my library it doesnt find anything or copy anything accross? Is it just looking on my MAC drive do you think? How can I get it to look on my 1st external hard disk?
Getting fed up with this now - must be the 4th time I've had to move libraries from one machine / disk to another and each time I always end up having to re rate music, or have lots of duplicates etc.

Hey,
There's a really good guide to moving your iTunes Library to an external hard disk on Lifehacker...
Here's the link... http://lifehacker.com/238296/ultranewb--how-to-move-your-itunes-library-to-an-ex ternal-drive
Cheers
Rosco
proposed | solution

How do I // find the library for i photos // move i photos and library to picture folder- macbookkpro a1150? 2005-2008

how doi find and identify i photos and library and make sure i photos is valid .. i want to move iphotos library to picture folder so i can sync my black berry media and clean it off .. it says i need an update but i learned that its just the iphotos folder misplaced
help im super computer/jargin stupid keep it real simple

if you need an update from App Store I assume that means the application in /Applications and nothing to do with iPhoto Library which can be anywhere and default is in Pictures, though it runs smoother if it is on a separate different drive. (Just go to where it is and open and will remember its location so whether now or after the move)
I put my iPhoto Library on an SSD which works very well. same goes for Aperture too.

Thanks TD it worked ! I can now access my photos and library.

Thanks TD It worked! I can now access my photos and library.

If you can't remember the Passcode, you need to restore the device from the computer it was last synced with.
Follow the instructions for putting the device in recovery mode > iPhone and iPod touch: Unable to update or restore
That restores the iPod to factory settings.
Will my iTunes library be effected?
It will be deleted from the iPod touch.
If you are a resident of the U.S. have iTunes 10.3 or later, iOS 4.3.3, you re download iTunes purchases for free.
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

Moved my iphoto library to an external drive and now I can't import photos from my camera or iPhone - will only import previously impoted photos - why?

Anyone else had this problem? Anyone know how to fix it?
I haven't deleted my photos of my computer's hard drive yet so can go back to using that if it will fix my problem
Thanks

No that is not a problem and no one has reported it here
to change the library depress the option key and launch iPhoto and use the select library command - see if the behavior is the same on both frives
How did you move the iPhoto library to the external drive?
What format is the external drive?
LN

Moving photos and library to an external hd

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