Transfer music back from external hard drive to iMac

I currently have an iMac and have an external hard drive connected to it that holds all my music, movies etc. However, I am concerned that if the external hard drive fails then I will have lost my media. As such, I would like to store everything directly on the imac and back it up to time machine. It is a long time since I have set up my existing system and I am unsure how to get the media onto the imac. Advice on this would be very welcome. Thanks

I don't know what your layout is on the external drive. The "formal" hierarchy for iTunes is:
/Home/Music/iTunes
/Home/Music/imm Media
/Home/Music/iTunes Playlists
You need to drag each of those folders to the corresponding locations on your startup volume. Then open iTunes while depressing the OPTION key in order to tell iTunes the change in location.
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
iTunes 10 for Mac- Move items to another computer

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How do I copy iTunes from external hard drive to iMac?

How do I copy iTunes from external
Hard drive to iMac?

if your main library is on your external, then when not connected, you wont have access to it.
so first decide, where do you want to keep the files.
E.g. In my case, I keep my files on "C:\iTunes Music".
I have a backup on external "Z:\iTunes Backup". If I format my laptop, this is how I restore everything.
Edit -> Preferences -> Advanced.
The iTunes music folder in selects as "C:\iTunes Music"
I have checked Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized, and also Copy Files to iTunes Music folder when adding to ibrary". Click OK to save and close preferences.
My iTunes list is now empty. I go to file, and select "Add Folder to Library". From that window, I select "Z:\iTunes Backup". iTunes then copies everything from the backup to "C:\iTunes Music". For me, backup is backup, I dont need it to play music.
Now decide this. If you do not want to keep music on C:, but want to only connect the external to update music on your ipod, do this:
In preferences, set iTunes Music folder as "Z:\iTunes Backup", and uncheck Copy files to iTunes Music folder, since they are already there. Then in files, select Add folder to library again to build and update the list.

Transfer music library to external hard drive

I just got a Nano and downloaded itunes to my PC. I started loading my own CDs into the library when I decided to buy an external hard drive to keep my music rather than take up space on the pc's hard drive. I was able to transfer the itunes files to my external hard drive, and copy the few albums i had downloaded. however, when i went to delete the songs from my pc's hard drive, it also deleted the files from my external hard drive. Then when i went to re-load the cd's onto the external hard drive, it apparently loaded them into a library on both the pc hard and the external hard drive. How do I un-sync the two libraries?

I have been trying to do this and encountered serious problems. I wanted to have iTunes on an external drive and run it from the E drive, removing it from the C because the C was way too full. I did not want to do anything fancy like maintaining some songs on C and others on E, etc. Earlier advice from discussion did not include all the following steps:
"Move the entire iTunes folder including music to the external drive."
"Click on the iTunes icon to start it, then immediately press an hold the Shift key in Windows, Option key in Mac." **I simply copied all iTunes to my new external hard drive by clicking and dragging it in**
"iTunes will ask to Create new library or Choose existing library. Select Choose existing library and select the library in the folder you just moved." **iTunes never asked me this**
Move the old iTunes folder to the trash but do not empty it. **I didn't do this until I checked the E (external hard drive) several times and found the complete iTunes collection - music, movies, tv shows & podcasts in it. I also purchased a new show from iTunes and it was in it too. So I thought I was safe.
After checking and opening iTuens when I was in the E drive several time, I deleted iTunes from my internal - C drive. It said it did have shared folders associated with it, but I thought it was referring to my son's library on the family MAC on our network which sometimes shows on the left navigation column that allows me to play his music but not copy into my iTunes, so I said ok. Wrong move! It wiped out everything in my iTunes on both my C and E drives!
"Restart iTunes normally and verify the songs work. If they do, empty the trash." **Wish I knew this and the above first." **To recover my iTunes content, I installed a 3rd party app which allows one to copy everything on the iPod back into iTunes. It was very cumbersome. Although I downloaded it to my E drive, it still was in both the C drive and E drive. After a more complex operation than the instructions stated, I thankfully have everything from my iPod back in iTunes and recreated my playlists manually. But unfortunately it is still on both my C and E drives - still leaving me with low disk space messages on C. SO HERE IS MY QUESTION: when I connect the iPod I get the message - "The iPod is synced with another library. Do you want to erase this iPod and sync with this library- it can be synced with only one iTunes library at a time." (By the way this is for an 80g iPod Video - with a 30G laptop.) Now that I have recreated my iTunes on both C and E - is it ok to do this sync? Or will I have more heartache - lose something, lose everything, etc?
And after doing this - will I be able to use iTunes and the store again normally?
Secondly, is there any way to get iTunes off my C drive and run it always through the E drive without losing anything?

Need help moving music collection from external hard drive to Macbook Pro

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     I then tried playing a file off of the hard drive, a wma, and received a prompt that the file was incompatible with Quicktime player, the default for no apparent reason. I tried then opening it with iTunes, and nothing happened, as far as I could see. Naturally, my next step was to google how one would transfer wma files to a mac, and, to make matters even more confusing, all of the results seemed to tell me that iTunes should automatically convert wma files to mp3, which does not seem to be happening in my case.
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One problem is that iTunes for Mac can't handle WMA files, iTunes for Windows will convert them, but not iTunes for Mac. When you add unprotected WMA files to your iTunes library (Windows only), iTunes converts them to new files that iTunes can play, based on your import settings. See if you can use your friend's PC to do this. If the borrowed PC has iTunes, create an alternate iTunes library so you don't mess up your friend's library. This explains how: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
This support document might be helpful: iTunes: About the Add to Library, Import, and Convert functions, http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1347

Hard Drive Crash--Restoring music files from External Hard Drive

My hard disk crashed, but I think (at least I hope) that I'm backed up. I had copied all of my Itunes music onto an external hard disk before the crash, although I'm not sure I copied everything that you are supposed for a full backup (i.e. all files in the Itunes folder). I'm uncertain as to the process to get everything restored.
Right now, Itunes is not installed on the new hard disk. Obviously I need to download and reinstall Itunes, which I'll do. But from here I'm confused, and I haven't seen a straightforward explanation of the next steps. Is it then as easy as copying all the old music from the external hard drive into the new Itunes music folder once Itunes is reinstalled, then synching? Or, do install itunes, then reopen it while the external hard drive is attached, and "consolidate" the old library into the new? Or do I first have to plug in the Ipod, authorize the new drive, and move the purchased music from the Ipod to the new drive through the manually managing music process that I've read about? Is there a relatively straightforward "step by step" process someone can point me at?
I'd appreciate any guidance anyone can provide, or any directions to some materials that I can read. Thanks very much.

If you copied the entire iTunes folder to the external, then all you have to do is install iTunes like normal, then start up with these instructions and point it to your backup on the external...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304447
Assuming that works, you can either leave everything as is and continue to use it directly off the external. Or close iTunes, then again copy the entire iTunes folder back to your internal drive, then reopen iTunes with those instructions again and re-point it back to your internal drive's copy.
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Hi sally232!
Here is an article that can walk you through the process for re-adding your files to iTunes from your external hard drive:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4527
Part 5: Copy music to your new computer
To copy all your music files (including the library file that holds all your playlists and other settings) to your new computer:
Locate the following folder on your new computer:
Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Windows Vista: \Users\username\Music\iTunes
Windows 7 and Windows 8: \Users\username\My Music\iTunes
Drag the "iTunes" folder in this location out to the desktop.From the Music folder to the Desktop on your new Mac:
From the My Music folder to the Desktop on your new PC:
Locate the external drive on your new computer:
Mac OS X: On the desktop.
Windows: In My Computer.
Double-click on the external drive icon to open it.
Drag the iTunes folder from the external drive to the Music folder (Mac OS X) or My Music Folder (Windows) on your new computer (from step 1 of this section). This can take a while if you have a lot of content.From the external drive to the Music folder on your new Mac:
From the external drive to your new PC:
Open iTunes.
You've now moved all your music, playlists, and other information like play counts and ratings from your old computer to your new one.
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
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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.
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How do I transfer iTunes Library from external hard drive to another drive?

I have filled by 160GB drive with my iTunes music library so I am purchasing a 400GB external drive. I want to transfer the entire library to the bigger drive. Can I simply drag via fire wire then entire libarary to the new drive and then "tell" by iTunes Mac where it is? Any step by step would be appreciated.
Thank you.

I just posted this to another topic, but it applies here as well. Hopefully there's no prohibition on cross-posting on this board, my apologies to all if there is:
"I haven't read the whole thread, so someone could have already mentioned this, but I did the same thing, move my music library to an external drive. The Help articles are helpful, but only up to a point. When that didn't work, I called up AppleCare support up, and they took me through all the standard steps, and got stumped at the same point I did. Finally she suggested trying something, and that ended up doing the trick. So here in brief is what you do:
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3) In iTunes, go to the Library window (which is probably blank), then in a Finder window, find the icon for the "iTunes Music" folder in the new location. Drag that icon onto the Library window.
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Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
Comparison of iPod managers
A selection of iPod to iTunes utilities:
Senuti Mac Only (iPod Touch & iPhone compatible)
PodView Mac Only
PodWorks Mac Only
iPodDisk PPC Mac Only (experimental version available for Intel Macs)
TuneAid Mac only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPodRip Mac & Windows
YamiPod Mac & Windows
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
Floola Mac & Windows
Music Rescue Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
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4). Keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync.
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