Running iTunes Applications Off External HD

Is there a way to run the iTunes Application off of an external Hard Drive so that it doesn't run off the Mac HD?

I've got a MacBook with the 150GB Hard Drive... is there a way to upgrade it?
That's a broad question the way it is phrased, and also one better asked on the Macbook forum where you'll get the attention of other MB owners.
Upgrade which components, and to what end? Speed, hard drive size, software? Think of those before posting on the MB forums.

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How to run iTunes library off an external pen drive?

How can we run iTunes library off an external pen drive?
i have tried everything just doesn't seem to work, just want to free some space up on my Air.

Let's say the name of the stick is "PenDrive"...
1. copy the the itunes media folder to the pen drive. The iTunes media folder is the one that contains the sub-folders of Music, mobile Applications etc. let's say your iTunes media folder is called "iTunes Media"
2. open iTunes. On the menu, click "iTunes", "Preferences...". Click the "Advanced" tab. Change the iTunes library location in the field at the top (I think you can browse for it). When you have it set, it should read "/Volumes/PenDrive/iTunes Media".
3. The other iTunes files, like the database, should stay on your Macintosh HD.
4. Once you do this, ALWAYS make sure the pen drive is mounted BEFORE you start iTunes, otherwise it will revert to the media folder on Macintosh HD and you will have to do step 2 again.

How can I run iTunes on my external HD via a PC?

My 54 GB iTunes library was transferred from a Mac to an external hd. I want to run iTunes via the external on an old Dell PC Inspiron 700m. I don't have enough hard drive space to transfer that 54 GB.
I've tried changing the advanced preferences to point to the iTunes folder on the external, but that didn't work.
I tried the 'choose a library' option with the shift open, and found no .itl file in any of the iTunes folders on the external, though all my music, video, album artwork, etc are there on the external in the correct folders. Is this a translation issue of the Mac files not having file extensions the PC recognizes?
If you are kind enough to answer this request, please keep in mind that I haven't used a PC in almost 9 years, so I find doing anything on it challenging.

Thank you for the reply!
All the files were copied:
Folders (with content):
Album Artwork
Automatically Add to iTunes
iTunes Music
Mobile Applications
Previous iTunes Libraries
Files:
iTunes Library
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
iTuens Music Library.xml
sentinel

Can i download and run itunes from an external hard drive

can i download and run itunes from an external hard drive?

The iTunes application should be on the boot drive but you can keep the iTunes library on an external.
hold Shift when launching iTune sand select Create library and select the external.
This will create an iTunes folder on the external with all the library files and all media will also go into this folder.

Why can't I move my iTunes library and run iTunes from an external hard drive?

I've been having issues with space on my Macbook pro, so I wish to move my music in order to free up more space. I have been following the instructions on how to run iTunes from an external drive, but each time I attempt it only the 'Automatically Add to iTunes' folder copies to my drive - which has nothing in it.
What is going on?

Which exact set of instructions? Just about all of them are wrong, even the ones that specifically say how to move your library.
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.
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 iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168

Want to run iTunes from an external drive, how?

I want to run iTunes from my external drive, I have already made back ups of my library and media files but I can't figure out how to save iTunes to the external drive? When you download itunes it just automatically downloads to the computer. Can you even do this? If not, how can I use the saved info on my external drive (library and media files) with my itunes on the computer. The problem we are trying to solve is a lack of space on our computer and we want to free as much space as possible. Thanks!

I want to run iTunes from my external drive, I have already made back ups of my library and media files but I can't figure out how to save iTunes to the external drive?
Drag the iTunes library to the external drive, launch iTunes with the Shift key held down, and point it there.
(56927)

Running Disk Utility off External Hard drive

To run "repair disk" in disk utility on my internal hard drive I'm supposed to insert my Install DVD, restart my mac and run disk utility - however running this program off the disk is much slower than running it off my 800firewire external hard drive. I've tried a few different ways of going about this:
1) Partitioning my hard drive in two (both HFS+) with more than enough room for the DVD, I've tried both making a Disk Image of the Install DVD and dragging it into the source field in the "restore" tab and dragged my Install partition into the destination field, after that was complete, I restarted my computer while holding the "alt" key I wasn't even offered the option to boot to my external hard drive
2) I've also tried after partitioning the external drive, in the restore tab just dragging the Install DVD (not the disk image) from the left of the disk utility window into the "source field" and again the partition into the destination field, and when restarting both with the "alt" key and by going to system preferences -> start up disk and choosing my external drive to boot from, I was still unable to boot off my drive.
Please let me know if anyone has any suggestions! This would be such a big help for me since I'm constantly helping people with diagnostic issues with their macs and this would save me so much time. Thanks in advance
George

I'm not sure why you can't make a bootable copy of the installer DVD using Disk Utility but as Niel suggests, it is much better to install the OS on a partition on the external drive using the DVD & then use that instead of a 'clone' of the DVD as a boot source to run utilities. There are several reasons for this:
1. You can update the installed version of the OS on the external to take advantage of any improvements, including to Disk Utility, that may be released in the future.
2. The version of Snow Leopard that runs from the DVD is a special one that among other things is optimized for read-only media. For instance, it doesn't write log files to the startup disk since it doesn't expect that to be possible.
3. You can include other utilities on the external & easily customize it to your liking. For instance, configure it for automatic login to an admin user account, drop Disk Utility into that account's login items & it will automatically launch at the end of the boot process. You can do the same with shell scripts or Applescript applications for just about as much automation as your scripting skills & imagination can dream up.
However, one thing to keep in mind: since a HD is not read-only but a DVD is, you can never be as certain that your external is as reliable as the DVD, since it is possible for something to change or corrupt files on the HD but short of physical damage the DVD is immutable.

Running iTunes on an external hard drive

I just recently purchased a 6th Gen iPod with 160 Gb. The PC laptop that I want to sync this new iPod with only has about 13 Gb of room left on the hard drive. Is it possible to download and install iTunes on an external hard disk and run the program as well as store all iTunes content there?
Thanks for the help!

If you are running iTunes 6,, see:
iTunes: Moving Your iTunes Music Folder
IMPORTANT: do not delete the iTunes folder or the preference files it contains from your boot hard drive; delete ONLY the tracks themselves (i.e. the contents of the old iTunes Music folder).
If you have iTunes 7, then you can use the procedure above, but a better way is usually to just drag the entire iTunes folder (the entire folder, not just the iTunes Music folder) to your desired location. Then hold down the Option key while launching iTunes. You'll be given a dialog box where you can select the iTunes library you want to use. Navigate to and select the iTunes folder in it's new location. Note that this procedure assumes that all of your tracks are contained in the iTunes Music folder. If they're scattered around your volumes, moving them becomes much more complex.
In either case, don't delete the tracks from the old location until you've confirmed that they're working correctly from the external drive.

Running itunes from an external hard drive

Hi there,
My itunes library is getting a little too large for my iMac to handle (nearing 500gb of my 1TB hard drive, leaving little space for all my other software and documents) and I'd like to move the itunes library and run it from an external hard drive.
I've read the following link and am clear on the procedure...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Sure, I can go through the process and see what happens, however, I thought I'd ask to see if anyone else has done something similar and am curious as to whether they encountered any issues / have any words of wisdom to impart?!
I have an Apple TV which syncs with my iTunes, as well as an iPad and an iPhone. The iPad and iPhone sync when connected, but the Apple TV syncs over WiFi...
Will I have any side affects by moving my library to an external hard drive?
I plan to purchase a drive with FireWire 800. That said, I do have a 2TB TimeCapsule, but I cant seem to find any decent information on how to use it as an external hard drive...(even though, I believe, it says you can do so in the 'sales bumf' on the Apple store)
Your thoughts/advice/comments wold be appreciated!
Cheers,
D

MacFormat Issue 236 page 65.
Sorted!

How do I run iTunes without my external hard drive?

Hi,
I have uploaded all my music to iCloud so am under the impression I do not need my local files which are all stored on a 4TB (not fun to move around) G-Tech drive.
I cannot run iTunes without the hard drive plugged in, if anybody knows a way for me to play my music through iCloud on just my internet-connected laptop that would be much appreciated.
Many thanks,
Michael.

Change where iTunes thinks your library is by opening iTunes with the option key selected and create a blank 'iTunes library' on your internal drive.

Running iTunes from an External HD

Hi Guys,
I'm looking into purchasing a MacBook, the purpose of this will be it's light weight, easy transport & for storing / playing (Music, Movies, TV Shows and Photos)
Now looking at the storage which is 250GB which is a reasonable amount. I'm looking to run my whole entire iTunes Library of an 1TB External Hard Drive, i know this is possible.. but my question is, is this data just copied over to the external hard drive and will constantly need updating with the latest version per purchase? or will this be completely running off an External Hard drive, so each purchase will be stored on to the HD instead of the Flash Memory on the Macbook.
I will buy three External HD:
- One which is the main iTunes Library (Which will be plugged in when wanting to access iTunes)
- Two A backup of my iTunes Library, incase of External HD issues
- Three i shall do exactly the same for iPhotos.
Any advice would be great on to how to also set this up once purchased.
Many Thanks in Advance

Hello,
Thank you for the link above i beleive this has answered my question, i shall also store this link until i am ready to go a head with my idea.
Many Thanks & Regards,
James

How to run iphoto 08 off external drive?

Hi - I'm trying to clear space on my 60 gig power book g4 and was wondering if I can run iphoto off an external drive (where I would house many - but not all - photos). Currently, copying the photos to the drive loses all the iphoto info. Thanks for any help - and I'm open to suggestions as to other methods to clear off hard drive. (Have the same with itunes - I lose all the info when I "copy" files to the external drive). Thanks!

Quit iPhoto and drag your iPhoto library to the external drive (just one big drag - do not drag components)
Then launch iPhoto while depressing the option (alt) key and point use the select library option to point to the external drive - verify your library on the external drive by using it for a while and then you can delete the iPhoto library on your internal drive or you can switch back to it and delete some photos by using iPhoto to move them to the iPhoto trash and emptying the iPhoto trash
DO NOT delete photos or otherwise modify your iPhoto Library using the finder or you will corrupt your library and lose data
You may find that iPhoto library manager is useful in managing multiple libraries - http://www.fatcatsoftware.com/iplm/
LN

Can i run itunes from an external harddrive and if so how?

LIke i'm not a complete pleb and i know full well that this should work in theory i am just worried about moving the "itunes" folder to my external harddrive because i feel itunes will then say 'can't find library' or something. I have a G4 emac you see with only 40GB internal harddrive, about 25GB is just my itunes songs and i can't get rid of any as i need them for djing.
can i just copy the itunes app and the itunes folder to my external harddrive and then create a itunes link in my dock? I feel that i'm missing something though.
Could someone tell me a surefire way to do it so i don't mess up. I'm not 100%
cheers
rhys

Yes you can run programs from a differnt drive. All you have to do is download that prgram to that drve same as you would to the c:drive by defualt we will have to reload everything as if you never had itunes.
1 make a folder on your drive called itunes.
2 go to the website and get the itune ( click on the download link and when it ask to run or save click save and tell it where to save.
3. After save is complete click on the install app. it will default to install to you c drive. Change this to your desired drive and folder. (this will install it on that drive and folder.) then you will have to make a shortcut to open Itunes.
4 If you more than one pc configure in the same order and # of drive you will be able to run this drve from any pc.
I do this with alot of programs at work from a 4gb penn drive to get around the firewall and admin rites. (I.T. department)

Can you run/save applications off Time Capsule?

To avoid waste of space on the new Airs, could one use a Time capsule
for all its saving needs, applications, music, videos

Software applications should be (and usually must be) installed on either a local hard drive or directly-connected external hard drive of your Mac.
On the other hand data like iTunes music, videos, pictures, and documents are all things that certainly could be stored on the Time Capsule. How much you want to store on Time Capsule vs your laptop probably depends on how much time you spend "on the road" with your laptop - and if your laptop rarely leaves your home, then there likely isn't much need to keep most of your data on it.

How to run imovie files off external hd

So I have a SSD Mac book pro 120G. and iMovie 10.0.6 has used a very large portion of that space.
Can iMovie run off files from my external HD?
Thanks!

Michael Yarra wrote:
…Can iMovie run off files from my external HD?…
sure, the Manual tells you how:
http://help.apple.com/imovie/mac/10.0.6/?lang=en#/mov3fa25bae7

Running iTunes Applications Off External HD

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