Possible to save itunes library to external HD, when partial is on HDD?

I moved my itunes library to HDD to save space on my macbook, but as i continue to add songs to itunes, it added onto the macbook copy of itunes.  Is it possible for me to save this itunes library to overwrite the old copy i saved on the HDD? How?
I know its confusing.  Say
I saved my entire itunes library on external drive yesterday
today, i added 5 new albums on itunes, but it's residing on my macbook.
I would like to add this new library (old plus 5 new albums) and permanently move my itunes library to external disk.
I use to not like to have the external drive always attached to macbook since i use macbook as my primary browsing thing, but now i mainly use ipad.

I have most of the iTunes Library backed up in an External HD
What exactly do you have backed up on the external?

Similar Messages

  • Transferring itunes library to external hd when music library is two places

    first off i have read
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301748
    so no one needs to post that. ok heres my issue. i have a folder on my computer that has all my music. i added that onto itunes and now its all on itunes. someof my files were .wmv so itunes converted those and put them in the itunes music folder(this meens i now have to copies of that song. one .wmv in my desktop folder and the other in the itunes music folder). so once again my itunes folder only has the songs that were in .wmv and then made to itunes format. so my question is i want to transfer all my music to an external hard drive. i cant copy all my music to the itunes folder because i dont have that much space on my computer. is there a way to do this without loosing all my tags and rateings and such? i thought of perhaps switching the itunes folder to the external and then copying all the songs to the itunes folder. would that work? would it just copy them all to the external? please help. sorry if this is a bit confusing.

    I'm not sure what you mean.
    Moving your music to another location should not alter the view.
    You can add more colums by ticking checkboxes in 'View options' (command-J) and sort on any column you like.
    Or did you activate the Browser (toggle it with command-B)?
    Can you upload a screenshot somewhere to take a look?
    M

  • Is it possible to keep iTunes Library on an external disk ?

    Is it possible to keep iTunes Library on an external disk ?

    Moving a library: Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings:  Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its sub-folders and files) intact to the other drive.  Hold down the option (alt) key (shift on Windows) and open iTunes.  At the prompt to create or choose a library choose the copied iTunes folder.

  • Switching iTunes Library to External HD

    Okay so heres my dilemma...
    I want to use my external HD as my new iTunes library. However I want to keep all the music from my old library on my internal drive still in iTunes.
    The main reason for this change is I want to have my podcasts be saved to the external drive rather than my internal laptop drive.
    however im in school and will be carting my laptop around a lot, without the external.
    as such is it possible to boot itunes without the external plugged in and still be able to use iTunes to access my old library?
    did that make sense?

    emhjay,
    I think I understand what you are trying to do, as I have done it myself.
    First, I have 3 iTunes libraries. I use the shareware software "Libra" to manage them. One is my everyday library that I keep ON my Macbook Pro. One is my 'Master" library that I keep on an external hard drive. The 3rd is my new "iphone" library where I have ripped everything to a lower bitrate so I can fit more on the phone. Libra allows me to jump between the 3 as I need to, keeping seperate playlists and locations for each set of files.
    On my everyday library, I keep all my music on the Macbook, but the videos stay on an external drive. Once the videos are on the computer, there are two ways I manage the file and its location.
    For videos I download from iTunes: It downloads to my MCP HD, and once a week I move them to the external drive. I have folders set up for TV/Movies/Music Videos. I used the Advanced preference to unselect "Copy files to itunes library." so itunes knows where the file is and that it's outside the regular library. When the external drive is not connected, I get the exclamation mark, but they remain put in the playlists. You cannot do a consolidate library after doing this.
    The other option would be to move the default location of the library by using the Advanced Preference pane. Then download the podcasts and move it back if/when you add music/videos, but otherwise it can stay put. THis might be a pain however depending on how often you add non-podcast content.
    There's likely other options as well, but that's what I use. I like Libra a lot, by the way. I use it regularly.

  • Backup and restoring itunes library from external hard drive?

    is there a way to backup and restore my itunes library to external hard drive and not through the internal itunes backup utility cos i have over 20gbs of music and i want to keep my album art and renamed songs etc. because i will be reformating my pc and dont want to go through painful task of manually adding stuff again.

    Try this...
    *Fast backup for iTunes library (Windows Only)*
    Grab SyncToy 2.0, a free tool from MS. Use it to create a backup copy of your iTunes library & any other media folders onto another hard drive or network share. After making the initial backup copy use SyncToy to periodically synchronise the backup copy with your library and only the changed files will be copied saving lots of time.
    When the time comes to reformat your PC, do a final sync, then open iTunes & deauthorise the PC, reformat & rebuild Windows, copy the backup folders back to the same location as they were previously, install iTunes and it should all work perfectly.
    tt2

  • ERROR (-50) can't save iTunes library

    Since last some weeks, whem I use iTunes it appears this message on popup continuously: Can't save iTunes library. Unknown error (-50).
    What must I do?
    Thanks

    Hello, lepps.
    Here is are a couple articles that you may find helpful when troubleshooting this issue. 
    iTunes Store: "Error (-50)" when downloading purchased content
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1583
    iTunes: Missing folder or incorrect permissions may prevent authorization
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1277
    Cheers,
    Jason H. 

  • I lost my iTunes library on my pc when the hard drive crashed. None of the data on the drive was recoverable and I did not have a backup. How can I get the music that resides on my ipod nano (4th generation back onto the new hard drive on my pc.

    I lost my iTunes library on my pc when the hard drive crashed. None of the data on the drive was recoverable and I did not have a backup either locally or on the cloud. Much of the music is from old vinyl and podcasts which are no longer available.
    How can I get the music that resides on my ipod nano (4th generation) back onto the new hard drive on my pc.
    I have been reluctant to install iTunes on the new hard drive out of fear that I will lose all the contents on the ipod if I try to synch to the new hard drive.
    Help!

    No backup is a huge mistake.
    You can redownload some itunes purchases in some countries:
    Downloading past purchases from the App Store ... - Apple - Support

  • How can I download a previously downloaded purchase to my iTunes library on my laptop when the listing for the song in my library won't play because it says it cannot locate the file. Yes I have searched my iTunes folders and also done a full windows sear

    How can I download a previously downloaded purchase to my iTunes library on my laptop when the listing for the song in my library won't play because it says it cannot locate the file. Yes I have searched my iTunes folders and also done a full windows search. The track plays on my iPad and my iPhones but will not play on my laptop!?
    It has an "!" To the left of the song title in my library
    My worry is that if I sync my iPad/iPhone then I will lose the track on those also!

    If you cannot find the file on your hard drive then once you delete the current broken entry you should be able to redownload from iTunes in the Cloud. This assumes the item in question qualifies. Note that audiobooks, digital booklets, iTunes LPs & Extras, ringtones, selected movies etc. don't.
    If prompted don't hide the item. You may find that you need to close and then reopen iTunes before it will appear for download.
    tt2

  • Is it possible to save a data portion starting from when a "save" button is pressed?

    Hi,
    The below attached vi acquires data from a sensor. The sensor signal output can be reset to zero and the data saved into a file. However, the saved data comprises the data portion starting from when the vi starts running until the "stop" button is pressed. Is it possible to save the data portion starting from when the "save" button until the "stop" button are pressed?
    Best regards,
    Ninjatovitch
    Solved!
    Go to Solution.
    Attachments:
    Sensor Signal Acquisition.vi ‏52 KB

    this should be in 8.2
    Harold Timmis
    [email protected]
    Orlando,Fl
    *Kudos always welcome
    Attachments:
    RandomNumberSubVI.vi ‏8 KB
    savefilewhenselected.vi ‏11 KB
    f.txt ‏1 KB

  • How do i get an itunes library from a phone when the computer has crashed and it needs to go on a new computer

    How do i get an itunes library from a phone when the computer has crashed and it needs to go on a new computer

    1) ensure iTunes is authorized for your iTunes store account(s)
    2) connect your device and right-click or control-click it in the iTunes Source list, then choose transfer purchases from the shortcut menu that appears.
    3) sync the device
    iTunes will wipe the iPhone but, since you transferred your purchases in the previous step, your content will be in your library and you can re-populate the iPhone with it.
    above works for purchases from the iTunes store. for everything else, check out this post by Zevoneer.

  • What are the steps to using an external HD to save itunes library for ipod?

    I just got the new ipod(30GB) that plays videos,etc. I have the itunes/ipod installed to my IBM thinkpad, but I dont want to use all my internal space for downloading music. Is there a way to use an external hard drive that will recognize my ipod and allow me to update music(library) and save my space on my internal drive. I first tried to install the itunes software to my external HD and moved my library there, but then when I plug in my ipod, my computer wouldnt recognize the usb connection? What steps do I need to follow. Right now, Im back to my old way of downloading music to my internal hard drive. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

    For waht purposce?
    For purchases go to Settings>iTunes and App Store and tap athe signed in ID and sign out and sign in with other ID
    Note:
    - Apps are locked to the account that purchased them.
    - To update apps you have to sign into the account that purchased the apps. If you have apps that need updating purchased from more than one account you have to update them one at a time until the remaining apps were purchased from one account.
    The ID is also used for
    Settings>Messages>Send and Receive
    Settings>FaceTime
    Settings>GameCenter
    and Settings>iCloud

  • One Itunes Library, 2 external drives in different locations...

    Here's my problem... I go everywhere with my laptop... iphone and ipod... My laptop contains my itunes library.. I connect at work to an external 1tb drive which houses my entire music collection..
    My goal is to be able to copy that drive (64,000 songs) to another external that I can leave at home.. I want to be able to plug in both places without having to carry the external with me..
    Is is possible to have one library and 2 externals with identical music folders? Any help would be appreciated.

    How to use multiple iPods with one computer , describes two methods.
    If you both use the same account (and one iTunes library), the easiest way is to create separate (Smart) Playlists for each iPod.
    Hope this helps.
    M
    17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM   Mac OS X (10.4.7)   Several ext. HD (backup and data)

  • Using same iTunes library with external hard drive (EHD) on different PCs

    I know some of the issues related to this question have been touched on in different discussions but I don't think I have seen a clear yes/no and if yes, here's how, answer to my queries, so here goes.
    Like another member, I would like to take my iTunes library with me when I'm away on holiday so that I can (for example) use an Apple TV with Home Sharing to watch movies in my library or pay albums in my music library while on holiday, in the same way as I am able to at home. I have a Samsung NC 10 notebook running Windows XP (which I would take with me with a Samsing Story EHD) and a Dell desktop. My iTunes media folders are now on the EHD and I think I have iTunes library files on the Dell and on the Samsung. Of course, if iTunes Match covered movies as well as music, I would use that and just take my Apple TV with me ... but it doesn't and seems not likely to.
    By messing around and not properly understanding some of the discussions about this topic, I think my iTunes library looks as I expect it to be, on my Dell - though I have yet to test this by doing a synch with my iPad or iPod Touch. However, when I plug the EHD into the Samsung and open my library, I am missing at least one movie and I don't have any artwork showing for any of the movies. This is inspite of clicking Get Album Artwork, Consolidate Files and clicking to add, as a file (or folder) to the library, the missing movie which is on the EHD in the Movies folder of the iTunes Media.  In iTunes on the Samsung "Preferences>Advanced", the iTunes media location (on my EHD) is correct.
    I have obviously messed something up trying to replicate my Dell desktop iTunes library on the Samsung. So:
    can/should I start again (if that is the best thing to do) with getting my iTunes library properly on to my Samsung notebook? And, if yes, how do I do that?
    is it really possible to have all that you need to run and use iTunes on an EHD (i.e. both media folders and the various iTunes library files (.itl, .itdb, .xml etc.)) so that whenever I plug the EHD into my Dell or Samsung I can access my iTunes library in the same way and via the same files? Or, do you always have to have the library files (at least) located on the PC you are connecting your EHD to (showing my ignorance here! )?
    if you can have all the library files as well as media on the EHD (i.e. all of your iTunes library), I assume there is more to moving these from the C drive in my Dell to the EHD, than just cutting and pasting them into the EHD and then deleting similarly named files in C drive in the Samsung?
    if all of my iTunes library can be located in the EHD, would I just access that (i.e. open my iTunes library) - whether on my Dell or the Samsung - by pressing the Shift key when clicking on iTunes as a programme on my Dell or Samsung, or - and I appreciate this is more basic computer knowledge than iTunes query - does the fact that I would need to access iTunes via some form of link on the relevant PC indicate why some iTunes library files would always have to reside on the PC rather than the EHD?
    if the iTunes library files have to stay on the relevant PC, how can they be kept in synch - i.e. the more portable Samsung offering the same access and picture of my iTunes library as the Dell does - or is iTunes just not set up to do this, in which case I might as well ignore trying to replicate my iTunes library on the Samsung?.
    Apologies for this long list of questions. Any pointers to where the answers lie or even better specific answers themselves would be very much appreciated.
    Many thanks.

    I think that's yes, yes, yes, yes, and not necessary...
    Make a split library portable
    Here are the typical layouts for the iTunes folders:
    In the layout above right, with the media folder (everything in the red box) inside the library folder, the library is considered to be portable. A portable library can be moved from one path to another without breaking the links from the library to the media, and being self-contained it is much easier to backup and restore. (You do backup, don't you?).
    You can rearrange things to make a split library portable by taking a number of small steps which don't break the library.
    Before you start any media files that are outside of the media folder will need to be consolidated. If the library is in the old style layout then it should be upgraded to iTunes Media Organization (Library > Organize Library > Rearrange files in the folder <Media Folder>) to ensure that iPod Games, Mobile Applications etc. are brought inside the media folder, otherwise the links to these won't survive changes in the path of the library.
    The basic non-fatal manipulations are:
    You can create or connect to an alternate set of library files by holding down Shift (Win) or Option (Mac) when starting iTunes. (Note iTunes will continue to use this library until you use the same method again.)
    You can move the library files to a new location and connect to it there as long as the media stays put.
    You can move the library files and the media together if the media folder is a direct subfolder of the library folder.
    If you have already moved/copied the media content from a subfolder of the library folder to a different location then you only need to copy the library files for it to appear as if you have moved the entire library in the way allowed above. I.e. just copy the library files into the parent folder of the media folder.
    You can rename the media folder to iTunes Media (if it isn't already) if the media folder is inside the library folder.
    iTunes uses the name of the folder holding the library files as the window title. Having made a library "portable" you may need to take a final step of renaming the library folder to iTunes or, if the library files have ended up at the root of a drive, moving all of the library files and content folders into a new folder called iTunes.
    IMPORTANT: After each change you need to open, test and close the relevant library before attempting another change. If a change broke the library, undo it or revert to using the previous set of library files.
    In essence all you need to do to join up a split library and make it portable is copy the library files into the parent folder of the media folder on the external/secondary drive and use the hold-down-shift/option-when-starting-iTunes method to connect to it. Other manipulations may be required to normalize the library so that the library and media folders have standard names.
    tt2

  • After connecting my itunes library (on external drive) to another laptop iphone no longer recognized

    I'm hoping to get some help on a matter of 'portability' of my itunes library.
    My itunes library resides at work attached to my MacBook Pro 17" running 10.7.5 but on an external USB drive.
    Using iTunes 10.7 on Macbook Air and 11.1 on MacbookPro (to which the iTunes library is normally attached from the USB drive).
    I bought a Macbook Air to travel with also running 10.7.5.
    I connected the external drive (where the itunes library resides) now that I'm away from from the office to the Macbook Air, changed the itunes media location to the external USB drive itunes library, with "Keep iTunes Media Folder Organised" and "Copy files to iTunes Media Folder when adding to my library" then did the File/Library/Organise Library/Consodilate Files function.
    Alas, my iphone when connected to the MacBook Air is still not recognised on sync. I want to be able to back-up my iphone when not at the office (but not to the iCloud, to a local drive). Is this possible?
    Thanks very much!
    Dan
    Message was edited by: DZReinstein

    You might want to post this over in the iTunes Match forum.

  • Can't find iTunes Library on external drive after iTunes 8 install

    My music library (50GB) has always been on an external drive. After installing iTunes 8 I went to preferences to change from default to this drive but nothing showed up. The complete library is still on the disk. Tried reinstalling V 7 but still no luck.
    Any ideas how to "reconnect" the library ?
    iPOD is also still complete. Is there a reverse recovery that my iPOD content could be retrieved to my external drive as the library ?
    Message was edited by: samben52

    Changing the Library location within iTunes instructs the program were to store future music when Importing - not where to go look for current music.
    You music files may be on the ExHD, but your music metadata (Playlists, Playcounts, Ratings, and other potential important attributes) are kept in the Library Database file. See: What are the iTunes Library files?
    If you did not save a copy of this file, you may be in for a long recovery.
    This well-written iLounge Article is a must-read for anyone who wants/needs a better understanding of how iTunes manages your music. It may shed some light on what you need to do next. or at the very least, help you describe your specific problem here a bit better.
    Also see: Managing your iTunes Library on an External Hard Drive
    Best of Luck

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