Multiple Hard Drives, One iTunes Library

Is anyone aware of a way I could spread my files between two drives while keeping them in the same iTunes library? I'm looking for a way to free up some space on my laptop's hard drive, so I thought I'd move my movies and TV shows onto my external drive, while keeping all of my music on the laptop's hard drive. Is there any way I could do this? Thanks.

long ago, i tried the simple "alias", but iTunes didn't follow that link... so i just copied individual folders to an external drive and deleted the original files on my internal drive. then when i clicked on the songs that had been deleted, iTunes displayed a "open file" dialog box and let me select the files on the external drive... keep the option for "copy file to iTunes Music folder" turned off. it's not elegant, but it works in a pinch...
if iTunes 7 will follow links, that would be better in the long run...

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Multiple iPhones and one iTunes Library

I have a question about multiple iPhones and one iTunes Library.
Currently I have 3 PC's, 2 iPods and 2 iPhones.
My PC had the iTunes library on it and everyone was just listening to mine via the iTunes sharing.
Well I bought a Buffalo LinkStation and told itunes to move my library to M:\My Music\..... and then did a Consolidate Library which in turn moved all the music from my C: drive to the M: drive.
My wife's computer has it's own Library with no music (only app store apps, and ringtones).
Now my question is what happens if I tell my wifes computer that M:\My Music\....... is her new location of the library and restart itunes. I am pretty sure this will work fine. But what happens if she syncs her iPhone now? Will all my apps now be on her phone and she will lose hers? She does have her own itunes store account with her own apps. Is there a way to have it so only her apps are on her phone and my apps are on my phone? Can she choose different playlists to be synced than what I have?
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
Brad

Since the three of you are using separate iTunes accounts, then you each need to run your own itunes, which should be logged into the itunes store using each individual account. For that, on a laptop, you each need to have your own computer accounts.

Managing apps for multiple users in one iTunes library

Hi - my wife and I both have iPhones and separate iTunes ID's. We both share music in one iTunes library and sync to the same library. We also backup our phones to that same computer. We have some apps on both phones (for example, Pandora) and when we backup/restore our phones, iTunes apparently will put "my" version of apps on her phone and "her" version of apps on my phone. Afterwards, when I update apps, my phone will ask for BOTH my iTunes ID AND her iTunes ID. Similarly, her phone asks for both her ID and my ID. Presumably, this also uses two of my FIVE authorized devices, which is also a problem.
My question is how can we manage our apps separately on iTunes so that we can get rid of this annoying behavior? It is very common for families to share one common iTunes library, so I don't see why this would be unsupported.
Thanks for any assistance!

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Multiple Hard Drives - One Library

Hi, I've been doing some looking around here already for a good solution, but have yet to find it, including some of the existing threads dealing with similar issues.
So here is my scenario: Laptop with a hard drive that is almost full, need to move two thirds to an external drive, however I need to maintain the integrity of the whole library (current playlists, playcounts etc), none of this option key launching stuff, and separate libraries. My concerns, with doing some initial testing, is that itunes still asks for the location of the music files when they have been moved to another drive, I don't want to and shouldn't have to re-locate each file individually (30+gbs). It seems like I either have to do one thing or the other can't do both. Move everything and re-direct it to the new location and re-import to the local drive, or go the option click route which I don't really want to (and I would lose some of my library info in the process). Is what I'm asking to do even possible with the constraints of splitting an existing library of music, with one library file & multiple drives?
Thanks for any info or help.
iMac 17 1ghz G4 1.25gb ram / iBook 1.25ghz G4 768mb ram Mac OS X (10.4.6) PowerMac G4 1.4ghz OWC 1.3gb ram 9800pro 128mb

so what about my original post?
Hi, I've been doing some looking around here already
for a good solution, but have yet to find it,
including some of the existing threads dealing with
similar issues.
So here is my scenario: Laptop with a hard drive that
is almost full, need to move two thirds to an
external drive, however I need to maintain the
integrity of the whole library (current playlists,
playcounts etc), none of this option key launching
stuff, and separate libraries. My concerns, with
doing some initial testing, is that itunes still asks
for the location of the music files when they have
been moved to another drive, I don't want to and
shouldn't have to re-locate each file individually
(30+gbs). It seems like I either have to do one thing
or the other can't do both. Move everything and
re-direct it to the new location and re-import to the
local drive, or go the option click route which I
don't really want to (and I would lose some of my
library info in the process). Is what I'm asking to
do even possible with the constraints of splitting an
existing library of music, with one library file &
multiple drives?
Thanks for any info or help.
iMac 17 1ghz G4 1.25gb ram / iBook
1.25ghz G4 768mb ram Mac OS X (10.4.6) PowerMac
G4 1.4ghz OWC 1.3gb ram 9800pro 128mb

Can I have multiple computers accessing one iTunes library simultaneously?

I've purchased a Lacie Network HD that I'm keeping all of my iTunes on. I've put an alias to the iTunes library from that drive in the music folders of the computers I want to access and update it. That all works well. The only problem is that both computers cannot have iTunes running at the same time. I get an error stating that the library is locked. It would appear that I can't have multiple computers accessing the library at the same time. Is there a work around for this aside from doing network sharing via iTunes? The reason I don't want to do that is that I want both computers to have access to the actual files if I'm using the various iLife apps that use iTunes.

Scott
The only problem is that both computers cannot have iTunes running at the same time. I get an error stating that the library is locked. It would appear that I can't have multiple computers accessing the library at the same time
This is true. It's not a server app.
The nearest thing would be a library file on each machine pointing to the same set of music files. However, you might have problems if both machines try to access a particulat track at the same time. Also, changes made on one machine would not be reflected in the other. So if you rip a CD on one, the files will also have to be 'imported' to the other.
Regards
TD

Time Capsule or AirPort Extreme + External Hard Drive for iTunes Library

Hi, I currently have an Airport Extreme (Gigabit) and am planning on getting a MacBook Pro. What I want to do is keep my iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive and attach it to my AirPort so I can access it anywhere in the house (and world). Now I have been reading various reviews that perhaps a Time Capsule would be better for my needs. I don't plan on using it for Time Machine backups right now, just as a NAS Drive. If anyone has any experience with this I would appreciate the advice.
Thanks!
Message was edited by: Mr. Macintosh693

Hi,
I have something like that working at the moment. My setup is based on a Mac Mini Core Duo [ OS 10.5.6 ] connected to a Time Capsule. I have configured iTunes to store all archived music on the Time Capsule. I use the Apple Lossless format for my CDs and approx 420 titles have taken approx 130Gb from my 1Tb Capsule. In general this setup works well [ especially the optical out of the Mac ] but be aware of the following potential pitfalls:-
1. The Time Capsule is a little on the noisy side and depending on the quality of your playback equipment, your choice of music, ambient noise and your values of "satisfactory" you may want to put your Capsule or HDD in another room. This seems OK for generic playback, but in my experience wireless is not a good way to go for streaming content.
2. iTunes v8.0.2 has a preferences capability to allow you to redirect it's archive to the Time Capsule. However, even if you leave the Capsule switched on it goes into a "sleep" mode. Rip a new CD and iTunes won't tell you this; instead it will silently reconfigure itself to store on your local hard drive and then you're left with the challenge of moving your collection piecemeal if you want it in one location, followed by manually updating iTunes to "point" it to the new location of the music.
One nice thing about the Capsule is that it does allow other connection types. I have mine networked to a PC running Ubuntu Linux and a music player called Amarok and I am able to stream the Mac-Ripped lossless files and play them over Linux perfectly... Works very well. Apparently you can do this with a Windows client and iTunes for Windows, but I don't run Windows as a matter of principle and can't validate that.
My 1Tb Time Capsule runs hot, too. Not dangerously so, but hot to the touch. There are no cooling fans, but you might want to think about placement; it needs plenty of fresh air circulating around it.
For what it's worth [ and I appreciate this is going beyond your question ] I also wanted my setup to be able to store and retrieve recorded TV. I have Elgato EyeTV and a USB Freeview decoder. I quickly learned that despite claims to the contrary the performance of the wireless connection just isn't up to streaming video content. So I went out and purchased a pair of Ethernet-over-mains adapters from Zyxel that are absolutely perfect for the job.
Yes, the Capsule is a little pricey for what is little more than a Hard Drive in a box, but it does work very well.
Beware the timeout disconnections and the silently re-configuring iTunes thought...

Using Multiple Hard Drives for iTunes Storage

I am running out of room on my current hard drive and want to use a new external hard drive to add space. My problem is I want to use both hard drives for storage (not the same music). Is this possible as I have only been able to direct iTunes to one hard drive? Thank you.
Dual G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 400GB Raid set

When you change the location in iTunes preferences what you are doing is telling iTunes where ripped music should be put. It isn't changing where iTunes should look for music that is already in the library. So go ahead and change the location to where you want music to be stored from now on. iTunes won't lose the other music. (At one times my iTunes library was spread over 4 drives.)

Multiple users sharing one itunes library

i have multiple users on my mac, but i'd like us all to be able to access the same itunes library. when i go to itunes prefs on one of the other users accounts and redirect their music library to my folder, it says it is doing it, but itunes still goes to their own music folder instead of mine. i can share my library with the sharing pref, but while they can now listen to my music, they still can't use it in imovie. is there any easy way around this problem??
thanks for your help.

I wrote a simple shell script that executes each time a user logs in (well, actually, each time I log in, coz' it's not really applicable to other users). It syncs my work and home addressbooks and iCal calendars to one another.
I named it "sync". Then I read somewhere that if you wanted to make it double-clickable (to launch it from the Finder), I appended a ".command" filename extension (so it's now named "sync.command"). I also did a chmod 755 to that file so that it had execute privileges. Depending on whether you give each user their own copy of this thing, or keep a single copy in, say, the /Users/Shared directory, you may have to play around with chmod. Whatever, just so long as the user that has just logged in has execute permissions to the file, and to the entire path to the file, you should be good.
Then, in SysPrefs > Accounts > Login Items, I added that "sync.command" file to the list. So, really the only difference is I'm not wrapping mine inside an Automator script like you are.
I had tried adding it to ~/Library/LaunchAgents and make a launchd plist for it, that would kick it off at login. But I didn't get that to work. Don't know why. But just adding the double-clickable executable unix script to the Login Items list did the trick. Whether the plist has to hang out there with it, I don't know. I still have it there, though, in case I ever get motivated to figure out what's wrong with my launchd plist file. So, if just adding it to the Login Items list doesn't do it for you, you could try making a (functional?) launchd plist for it and plopping them both in ~/Library/LaunchAgents, too. That's how I am now, and, like I said, it launches at user login as that user's process (not as a root process like the above referenced article said how login hooks worked -- although, you may want it to run as root since you want this to work with multiple users...in which case, you might want to listen to Cole and not me...).

How do i get itunes 11 to stop adding music played from external hard drive to itunes library

I use itunes 11 to play music from my external hard drive and when i am finished using the hard drive and disconnect it the artist and songs appear in the itunes libary and when i click on it to play them it cannot locate the file and i assume this is becuse under the advanced prefrences tab i unchecked the auomaticly add played music to itunes library. I do not want my external hard drive music to be added to itunes library which at this point it does not but it is still showing the music in the library even though it cannot be played this is very fustrating please help. how do i get the artist and songs played from the external hardrive from appering in the itunes library.

Do you have a working copy of the library anywhere? The key file is called iTunes Library.itl and normally exists inside <User's Music>\iTunes. This is the file that knows what is in your library and each of the playlists, and holds ratings, play counts etc. Changing the media folder path in preferences tells iTunes where you'd like it to store media in future. It doesn't magically connect iTunes to any media that might already be there, or fix links to media that has been moved, or make it pick up a non-existent library file. If the worst comes to it you will need to import the media into the new empty library.
See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device if you have any of these to recover ratings, play stats and playlists, and to associate your device with the new library.
tt2

Is it possible to synch multiple iPods to one iTunes library?

Hi --
I had an old Windows XP machine sitting around with a pro sound card, so I put a 1 TB SATA drive in it and use it as my iTunes machine in my living room. The plan is to put ALL of my 1400+ CD collection into iTunes as full-fidelity WAV files (yes, I can hear a difference, and no, you can't convince me to do otherwise - there are a lot of advantages of using WAV files if you've got the space). Doing this, of course my entire record collection will not come close to fitting on one 160 GB iPod, but in reality I don't need to carry the whole thing around at one time anyway -- BUT -- I do figure I will probably need two iPods to carry around everything I need (I mostly play music in my car and on my boat; don't really use headphones much), AND I can probably separate things reasonably by genre: Rock on one, Blues & Jazz on the other. So my question is this: Is it possible to synch two iPods to the same iTunes library? Are there any problems with this?
Another question for anyone from Apple: Any plans to offer at least 8X oversampling on an iPod? Even when using WAV files, connected to my control room monitors an iPod still doesn't sound as good as playing CDs on a decent quality DVD player.
Thanks!

If you want differnt selections of tracks on each iPod, simply create a playlist for each user and on the Music tab use the options to sync music to selected playlists. I manage our four iPods this way. Rather than use manual playlists I have used the grouping field to record which iPod each track belongs on, e.g. Alice/Bob/Charlie and create smart playlists to be synced to the ipod, e.g. *Grouping contains Alice*. An advantage of using this approach is that the grouping information is stored in the file's tag rather than the iTunes library which makes it a simple matter to recreate the playlists if you ever have to rebuild your iTunes library from scratch. (Since .wav files don't have tags this won't help the original poster)
tt2

Syncing voice memos from multiple accounts to one iTunes library

I ran into an interesting one today. On the iMac at our house, we have 4 user accounts. All of them point to the same iTunes library (a shared directory that all can see). This has worked great so far, as we can all see all music, and updates are all there etc.
One of my daughters has been using the voice memo app to quickly record things she wants to keep. She has enough of them now she wants to make sure they get backed up. I searched the web and found that you can add syncing voice memos as an option in iTunes. However, my other daughter must also have that checked off, and now when we go into iTunes, we see Voice memos, but it's only from the one phone (i.e. it doesn't appear it will sync multiple phones to separate voice memo libraries or even to the same library).
Does anyone know if you can direct your voice memos to a specific library, or what other alternatives I might have? Ideally it would be automatic (like syncing) so that it's not something we forget to do.
Thx!

- Did it work before?
- Did you do this:
Moving recordings to your computer
You can sync voice memos with the iTunes library on your computer, and listen to them on your
computer or sync them with another iPod touch or iPhone.
When you delete a synced voice memo from iTunes, it stays on the device where it was recorded,
but it’s deleted from any other iPod touch or iPhone you synced. If you delete a synced voice
memo on iPod touch, it’s copied back to iPod touch the next time you sync with iTunes, but you
can’t sync that copy back to iTunes a second time.
Sync voice memos with iTunes. Connect iPod touch to your computer. Then in iTunes, select
iPod touch. Select Music at the top of the screen, select Sync Music, select “Include voice memos,”
then click Apply.
Voice memos synced from iPod touch to your computer appear in the Music list and in the Voice
Memos playlist in iTunes. Voice memos synced from your computer appear in the Voice Memos
app on iPod touch (but not in the Music app).
- Does any media now sync to the iPod?

I have a laptop with a bad hard drive, my iTunes library is on an external hardrive. How do I move iTUnes to a new computer and have it work?

I have my iTunes Library all saved on an external hard drive. I have iTunes on the desktop of my laptop. The hard drive in my laptop is going bad. How do I move iTunes to another computer and be able to use my external hard drive? This may be easier than I might think. I hope so.
Thanks

Hey oob,
Thanks for the question. You may find the information in the following article helpful in moving your iTunes library via external drive:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Thanks,
Matt M.

Using old external hard drive as iTunes library on new macbook pro

Recently purchased new macbook pro with 256 GB of memory. I have an older external Passport for Mac hardrive with close to 1 TB of music. I would like to use this external hard drive as my itunes folder. I opened itunes on new computer, went to preferences - advanced and chose new location /Volumes/JP KAF/Itunes Media/Music and select OK but no music is available. How do I connect my external hard drive and direct my new computer to use it as my music library. I tried the starting itunes and holding Left shift key but that does not open an option of creating a library - Again, this is the newest macbook pro with retina screen. Please help.

No not do it changing preferences. That does as it says; it just relocates media, not the whole library which is more than media.
Quick 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), then guide it to the new location of the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.

How do I transfer my music from external hard drive to itunes library?

Hello everyone!
How do I transfer my .mp3 files from my external hard drive to my itunes library?

Drag them into the open iTunes application window. You may need to copy them to the internal drive first or organize the iTunes library afterwards.
(65802)

Music files deleted from hard drive and iTunes library

Often, after iTunes software updates, I find that some of my music files that have been uploaded from cds are completely erased from my music library and from my external hard drive, where I keep all my music. I always make sure I turn on the external drive before opening iTunes, and I quit iTunes before turning off the external drive.
So why is my music disappearing?! Where does it go? This has been a problem for a long time and I can't find any solutions online. Please help! Thank you!

When you have the unit in the dock, anytime you sync, you have to make sure that it will sync again to the folder. If it isn't set to sync the same folder where you had the music sync before, it'll delete the file.
That's just the way it's set up. So you have be conscious of it.

Multiple Hard Drives, One iTunes Library

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