Question about backing up library in iTunes

Before I post my question, I just wanted to say that I did searches for the answers but couldn't find a concrete answer, so here I am.
I am using iTunes 7.x for Windows (Thinkpad X41 Tablet, Windows XP Pro, 2GB RAM) and it works fine (except for burning CDs but that's another topic!).
I just have one major question: I keep my music and library on an external hard drive, and had to perform a restore of a backup from a week ago. Anyway, I lost ALL of the album art, lyrics, and other customizations I had made to the library. I spent the entire day getting everything back the way it was before and I'm now backing up the library to DVDs. Is my album artwork also backed up with the library, or is there an additional process I have to take to do that because I don't want to have to search for and download all that stuff again.
Thanks!

When you do your backups, do you back up the itunes metadata library ITL file?
That holds all your ratings, playcounts, etc.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
+I lost ALL of the album art, lyrics, and other customizations I had made to the library+
Where are you storing these? By using itunes defaults?

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Question about backing up library onto disc

Hi everyone,
I'm trying to backup all of my music onto discs, but I don't want my subscribed podcasts to be backed up (I have a TON). Is there any way to only backup my music?

When you do your backups, do you back up the itunes metadata library ITL file?
That holds all your ratings, playcounts, etc.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
+I lost ALL of the album art, lyrics, and other customizations I had made to the library+
Where are you storing these? By using itunes defaults?

Few Questions About Backing Up Files

Okay, I'm pretty new to this, and have checked the support pages, but I do have some questions about backing up my files.
I'm running out of room on my computer's hard drive, and am wondering if burning the library to CDs will allow me to quickly restore my library on my computer when I sync my iPod.
I know that when an iPod syncs with a comp, it will lose any songs that aren't on the library list. (If I deleted some songs to free up room, I'd lose those songs on my iPod when I synced it up.) Is there a way to prevent that from happening? Some way to save a headache continuously restoring my iPod's library every time I want to add a new song or recharge it?
I'm on Windows XP, if that matters.

Best and easiest solution is to buy an external hard drive. Then simply drag and drop your iTunes folder from your internal onto the external and copy the entire library.
Patrick

Please delete my question about backing up. I already found my answer.

Hi,
Please delete my question about backing up. I already found my answer. Just wanted to make sure that it was okay to backup the iPod_Control folder. I've read that other people have done this and re-imported back to iTunes. Here's the question I submitted. When I get my iPod back in order I am gonna backup the iPod_Control folder .
https://discussions.apple.com/message/15836196#15836196
Thanks,
Liz

No urgent reason to delete it. Just reply to yourself as above, if you care to, and then mark your own answer as correct. You won't get any points, but it will be clear you are closing out the topic.

Where to post question about backing up new G580 laptop

I'm new to Lenovo products and this forum and would like to know where I am to post a question about backing up a new G580 laptop.
I would appreciate any help.
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Hi kec234, welcome to the forum,
the best place would probably be in the Lenovo 3000 & Essential notebooks board; it's the correct board for your system and who knows after searching through it you may find an existing thread on the same subject??
Regards
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
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Question about Backing Up apps and using Migration tool

Since installing Leopard on my G5 PPC, I have been having a strange problem with the sleep, screen saver. Anytime the system goes into screensaver or sleep, it will not come back and will be frozen. Needless to say I was told by the Mac Genius guys that I need to do a clean install.
So my real question now is about backing up all my apps and then using the migration tool to bring them back into the new install. I was going to attempt to use Carbon Copy Cloner on a second internal drive (Time Machine has never worked for me on my Lacie 500gb.) Once I have a full bootable copy, I will do a clean install (erase and install option) on my original drive, then I guess I am going to use the migration tool.
So my questions are:
1) Does this strategy seem like it will work?
2) Is the migration tool straightforward? IE - Can I pick and choose what to put back on the new install?
3) Any pitfalls that I should be aware of?
I have already backed up my docs and data to the external, but I have so many programs with plugins installed that getting my apps back the way they are is essential to me.
Thanks.

Remember Time Machine is designed to do constant, incremental backups of your HDD. If you delete something from the internal HDD of the Mac it will no longer be backed up to the external HDD and will eventually be deleted from the backup archive as time passes and TM keeps doing its backups.
What will probably be a better solution is to simply drag-n-drop the entire iTunes folder to an external HDD for backup and use that as the main iTunes library. The drawback to this is that to play the music you'll need to have the external HDD connected. Unless your plan is not to delete all the music from your MBP, just some of it.

HT4859 question about backing up iphone

if I back up my iphone/ipad to my computer, then delete a file (say, a picture) from my iphone/ipad, then back up the iphone/ipad again, will the previously deleted file still be backed up, or will it be gone?

The iphone backup that itunes performs does not include photos or itunes content. You should be including this content in your regular backup of your computer files/docs/pics/music/etc.
Here is info on the iphone backup that itunes performs:
Backing up, updating, and restoring iPad, iPod touch, and iPhone software
more detailed information about backing up

Question about backing up iTunes library to hard drive

So I was looking at getting a MacBook Pro, and was going to buy an external hard drive (WD My Passport for Mac) to transfer the files to the new computer. I was wondering if my movie / digital copies will go to the external hard drive as well as music & everything. Also how would I go about doing the transfer, I'm sure it will be pretty easy to figure out just want to make sure everything goes to the new computer.
Thanks

it may not be necessary to get an external HD, although you could use it for back up purposes.
one simple solution to transferring your complete library would be to connect the two Macs with a firewire cable, boot the source Mac in _*Target Disk Mode*_, and copy the entire iTunes folder (not just the iTunes music folder) from <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music on the source to <MacintoshHD>/users/<yourname>/music on the target (overwriting the iTunes folder in place there).
launching iTunes on the MBP should then take you to the exact same library you were used to on the old machine.
JGG

Question about backing up Referenced Iphoto Library

I was wondering about the best way to back up a referenced iphoto library.
At this point in time I have my referenced iphoto library and my "master" photo library (a folder that contains all of the actual photos) on one external drive. I would like to back up both of these files to another external drive (on a monthly basis).
My question is, if I have both external drives on a the same time (both containing the Iphoto library & Master folder on each), and open up one of the reference iphoto libraries, which "master" photo folder will iphoto access? I want to make sure iphoto "references" the master folder I want it to.
I hope this question makes sense and appreciate any help.
Thanks.

Well that's for iPhoto 09 or earlier. In those versions the amount of space used was even greater with Referenced Libraries... (all those aliases take up space too...)
The installation consists of your Master Photos, plus thumbnails, Previews, database files and caches. In a managed Library the Masters are stored within the iPhoto Package File. In a Referenced Library the Masters are stored outside the iPhoto Package File. That's the only difference. So the total amount of space used in the Installation is... The same. Masters plus thumbnails, Previews, database files and caches.
Running a referenced Library offers no extra functionality, no extra capability and significant pitfalls. And it takes up the same amount of disk space.
For more on the pitfalls:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3062728?tstart=0
Regards
TD

Still Questions about Backing-Up Itunes

When I tried to reinstall iTunes (9.2.1) library from my external hard drive to a newly installed iTunes 10 on a new HDD, I noticed my play count, ratings, and EQ settings weren't present. Well, the new HDD was a bust in lease than 24 hours. I took out the new busted HDD and put my old HDD back in to my computer with iTunes and upgraded to iTunes 10. . . so I could finally play with my new Touch 4g. I'm getting another new HDD today; I'm going to back-up my iTunes 10 library and then move them to the new HDD.
My question , what am I doing wrong? I thought I read Apples instructions on backing up, and reinstalling an iTunes Library. Thank you for any assistance you can give me.

Thanks Katrina for joining the conversation. To be honest, I had copied and paste my iTunes folder back into Tunes. I'm sure I'm making this far more complicated than it is. Even so, I'd hate to go through 35000 songs and set EQ settings and ratings again. Thanks again for your assistance.
Here's Apples Support Instructions . . . I posted the wrong link but for me I don't think it makes any difference. lol! http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751

Question about trying to import my itunes library

ok so like i had a problom with my computer and had to toattly unistall and reinstall itunes, after this nothing was in my itunes library, however i backed up all my music and the itunes libary file on my external hard drive, now when i try to import the itunes library file it says the file cannot be imported because it is not appear to be a valid exported file
so i guess i never exported the file like i should have
like is thier anyway i can use my old itunes library file anyway to get all my playlists and play counts back into my library or could i some how do this with my ipod with all the playlists and playcounts on it
anyhelp would be great

willstarsk8er182 wrote:
ok so like i had a problom with my computer and had to toattly unistall and reinstall itunes, after this nothing was in my itunes library, however i backed up all my music and the itunes libary file on my external hard drive, now when i try to import the itunes library file it says the file cannot be imported because it is not appear to be a valid exported file
so i guess i never exported the file like i should have
like is thier anyway i can use my old itunes library file anyway to get all my playlists and play counts back into my library or could i some how do this with my ipod with all the playlists and playcounts on it
anyhelp would be great
Sounds like a total bummer, dude. If you're trying to import the iTunes Library.itl file, you can't do that the way you're trying to. Try this out and see if this helps you out:
1) Hold Shift when you open iTunes.
2) You should be prompted to choose iTunes library. Click "Choose iTunes Library..."
3) Navigate to where your .itl file is stored on your external hard drive.
This should populate your library info in iTunes. Let me know how it works out for you!

Questions about updating ratings in my iTunes library.

Hey, I've always wondered this, but is there any way to have the ratings in my library updated from my ipod when i hook it up to my pc? For example, if i'm listening to my ipod, and realize that i don't want it anymore, and lower the rating, is there any way that when i hook it up to my pc, it'll automatically change the rating of that song in my library to that new lower rating? I'm pretty sure that iTunes used to do this, which made managing my music a **** of a lot easier, but now, I have to manually look up each song with a lower rating just to get rid of it from my library.

Automatic syncing is indeed supposed to sync rating changes made in the iPod back to the iTunes library. However, after several years of working fine, in the past year I have found that it has become unreliable; often the sync fails to update the library with iPod play counts and rating changes.
Since you note that "iTunes used to do this," you may well be experiencing the same problem.
Updating iTunes did not help. Restoring the iPod did not help. The only way I have found to assure that it works 100% is to reboot Windows before syncing the iPod. (Yes it is a pain.)

Recovering from crash. Questions about iPhone andiTunes library files, etc.

Hi all - Had a major system crash which I'm trying to recover from. My iTunes purchases are backed up, as well as the iTunes application folder and everything contained within.
Anyway, I've reinstalled Window and iTunes and have all my iTunes purchases up and running, but have a couple of questions.
1) My new iTunes install thinks my iPhone is still synced to another iTunes library and wants to Erase and Sync to connect it to this new one. I'd obviously like to be able to sync without erasing, so are there settings and library files from my backed up iTunes directory that I can copy over to my freshly-installed iTunes directory to allow this to work?
2) Similarly, if there is a way to do this, will I be able to connect my old iPod that was also synced to my old iTunes and copy over the non-iTunes purchased songs? I have my CDs, no no real worry -- just would be simpler this way...
Thanks!

Assuming you have the default itunes setup, if you backed up your c:/.../music/itunes folder, it has the itunes database in it.
iTunes Library.itl
If you didn't make a backup of that folder and do not have the ITL file, you can try getting playlists,ratings, playcounts etc back from the iphone by using a 3rd-party ipod manager.
This ilounge article explains it more;see page 3
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/
Make sure it supports iphone - not all of the other programs do.

Question about backing up to an external hard drive and then restoring

I want to back up my iPhone to an external hard drive rather than to CDs/DVDs, and it isn't an option under "Backup." I thought this could be done by consolidating the iTunes library and then copying the entire iTunes folder to the hard drive. But now I've read some things that make me not so sure. Can this be done? And if so, how do I restore everything if need be? I want to have a way to backup/restore in the case of having to reformat the hard drive or if I switch to using another computer. I am using a Windows computer.

Your iPhone's backup, which is created and maintained by iTunes stores data such as most iPhone settings, email account settings, contact info, SMS messages, notes, recent calls, call favorites, photos available in your iPhone's camera roll (you shouldn't depend on your iPhone's backup alone for these photos, which should be imported by your computer as with any other digital camera), and 3rd party app settings and data created and stored by a 3rd party app.
It isn't necessary to backup your iPhone's backup. You can manually update your iPhone's backup at any time without syncing, and the same when connecting your iPhone with iTunes on another computer. With your iPhone connected to iTunes and without syncing, control-click on your iPhone and at the menu window that appears, select Back Up.
Maintaining a backup of your iTunes library is much more important - copying the entire iTunes named folder to an external drive or some other external media used for backup purposes.
Since the iPhone is designed to be synced with a supported application on your computer for contact info and calendar events, you should maintain a backup of the supported application on your computer for this data. Photos transferred from your computer to your iPhone are not included with your iPhone's backup, so these photos should be included with your computer's backup along with all other important data.
When syncing an iPhone with iTunes on another computer, only iTunes content on the iPhone will be erased first, not all data on your iPhone such as contact info and calendar events. When selecting photos to be transferred to your iPhone from another computer, all photos available on your iPhone that were transferred from another computer will be erased first. If you don't select to sync contact info and calendar events with a supported application on another computer, contact info and calendar events on your iPhone will not be touched.

How do I back up my itunes library within itunes? I just purchased a new HP laptop and my library did not fully load from my back up files on an external hard drive (HP Simple Save). I was told yesterday by a tech to back up library within itunes

How do I backup my itunes account on my old laptop within itunes so I can access on my new laptop. Both are HP's

While the above sorts you out for a one time transfer this is what I would recommend...
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
tt2

Question about backing up library in iTunes

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