Using an external hard drive for music

Hi. I'm quite sure the answer to this question is obvious--I just don't know a lot about external hard drives.
I have a MBP, but I'm running low on memory. The majority is being used on my huge music collection. If I were to purchase an external hard drive and put all my music files on it, would I still be able to access them in the same way?
In other words, as long as the external hard drive is hooked up to my computer, will I be able to play them in iTunes?
I just want to remove all the music from my computer's hard drive, and place them on an external hard drive. But, I'm not quite sure if this is possible.
Thanks!

I use an external firewire drive to store my iTunes library on. One thing to be aware of...
You need to go into your iTunes preferences, then to "Advanced", then select the location where you want to store your iTunes Music folder. In my case it is in a folder titled "Music" on my external firewire drive. The iTunes "Library" file is stored on your internal hard drive.
The thing that can cause you problems it that....if you forget to turn on the external drive before you boot up your Mac, the iTunes library file will look for your music folder and won't be able to find it. So a new iTunes Music folder will be created on your internal hard drive, with nothing in it. You'll see all of your songs listed in your iTunes program...but if you try to double click on any of the songs to play them, you'll get an exclamation mark saying "cannot find file".
If this happens, you need to delete the new iTunes Music folder on your internal drive (but not the iTunes Library file!), then quit iTunes, turn on the external drive, then relaunch iTunes....and it will find the original music folder.
It's a hassle that I have had to go though many times, I keep forgetting to turn on that drive before launching iTunes.
Oh, one other thing....about the way you worded your post. You aren't running short on "memory", you are running short on "storage"....they are two different things. Hard drives are storage, RAM chips are "memory" that run your programs.

Similar Messages

How do i use an external hard drive for all my itunes music?

how do i use an external hard drive for all my itunes music?

Hi valleydave,
Here are two good links for you to check out:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1751
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449
The first one goes over, in-depth, what you're looking for in regards to "off site" iTunes.

Can i use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a backe up?? im thinking for music and photos

Can I use the time capsule as just an external hard drive for music or does it have to be used soley as a back up? I'm thinking for music and photos

Nickles96 wrote:
Hello friends.. I have a similar question, in that I would like to purchase the 2TB TC for use as a NAS device, in addition to taking advantage of the Air Port extreme.. Then I could dump my Linksys router.
I was originally looking at a Synology NAS solution, but the TC seems like it can meet my needs.
I have a Synology NAS as well as the Time Capsule. If you look at the 3.2 beta program, the Synology actually attempts to replicate TC functionality in that you can use it with Time Machine on your Mac.
I must say, Airport on the TC is definitely a nice feature!
Nickles96 wrote:
In addition to the obvious feature of the backup, can I indeed also use the TC as a NAS drive to access from remote locations (example from the office)?
I'm surprised more people aren't using the TC as a dedicated NAS deviced.. I've searched high and low on forums around the web, and don't seem to see many people trying to use it as I've outlined.
I can't see why this wouldn't fufill my needs, and take the place of a separate NAS solution (like the Synology, or iOmega, Seagate, etc....)
Has anyone used this TC as such?
Yes, you can do this and it's something I've been trying to do, but I'm currently having issues. I have another thread stating I consistently get "connection failed" messages. I'm basically storing my music/photo/video files on the TC and keeping my Mac hard drive fairly lean. In terms of NAS functionality, the TC is very basic. Synology/QNAP and others have a lot more features so don't rule them out.

Using an external hard drive for both TM backups

I would like to use an external hard drive for both TM and as the main hard drive storage for my Macbook which is now approaching being full...how do I do this ??? or should I have 2 separate devices....want to free up space on Macbook

Now that I've partitioned my I Terabyte external drive to two partitions using the disk utility with one partition for Time Machine and one partition as my new "hard drive"...my internal drive on the MacBook almost filled....I wanted to move...pix, movies, music..etc to the new drive and have all future storage pointed to that drive not the internal drive....need to have space available on the original drive on the MacBook....How do I move existing stored data and point ongoining saved music..files...etc to the new drive...???
Thank you...Bob

I found information on how to transfer my library to a new computer. I am going to use an external hard drive for this and transfer my itunes folder to the new computer. I will then download and install a new version of itunes on my new computer. My q

I found information on how to transfer my itunes library to a new computer. I am going to use an external hard drive for this to transfer my itunes folder to the new computer.
I will then download and install a new version of itunes on my new computer.
My question is this. When I do this, will itunes have all my album artwork for all my library? My library has a lot of my own music and I have spent quite a bit of time copying album artwork that itunes did not add. I am really hoping I don't have to do this again!
Thanks for your help!

If you follow the directions in this Link...
Copy iTunes to an External Drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751
Everything should be carried across...

Can I use an external hard drive for my ipad mini?

Can I use an external hard drive for my ipad mini?

There are some wireless external hard drives that can be used with the iPad.
The Kingston Wi-Drive, which costs $50 for the 16 Gigabyte, and then $30 more for every 16 gigs more. It works by you turning it on and then accessing the files on it from an app that you download on your iDevice. You can access music, movies, and other stuff. No connections or anything, it works like a WiFi connection, you connect to it from the setting on the iPad under wireless networks.
Then there is the Seagate GoFlex, which some would recommend over the Wi-Drive. But this one costs $199 and had 500 Gigabytes of storage. It works the sameway as the Kingston: no wires, runs over its wireless connection. You can actually fit up to 300 HD movies on it.
Another option:
Expand your iPad's storage capacity with HyperDrive
http://www.macworld.com/article/1153935/hyperdrive.html
On the road with a camera, an iPad, and a Hyperdrive
http://www.macworld.com/article/1160231/ipadhyperdrive.html
 Cheers, Tom

How can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory?

i don't know if this question has been asked before: how can I use my external hard drive for my iphoto instead of my mac book pro memory? just like itunes all my song are save on my external hard drive. make sense?

Moving the iPhoto library is safe and simple - quit iPhoto and drag the iPhoto library intact as a single entity to the external drive - depress the option key and launch iPhoto using the "select library" option to point to the new location on the external drive - fully test it and then trash the old library on the internal drive (test one more time prior to emptying the trash)
And be sure that the External drive is formatted Mac OS extended (journaled) (iPhoto does not work with drives with other formats) and that it is always available prior to launching iPhoto
And backup soon and often - having your iPhoto library on an external drive is not a backup and if you are using Time Machine you need to check and be sure that TM is backing up your external drive
LN

I use an external hard drive for my Lightroom library and I notice that all the images shown on there are DNG. On my MAC hard drive I have images shown as NEF. I desperately need to free up space on my hard drive, can I safely delete these NEFs?

I use an external hard drive for my Lightroom library and I notice that all the images shown on there are DNG. On my MAC hard drive I have images shown as NEF. I desperately need to free up space on my hard drive, can I safely delete these NEFs?

dj_paige wrote:
however, I do point out that obtaining an additional hard drive and not throwing anything away seems a preferable solution to me.
heidie22, dj_paige has a very good point there. I would not through away the NEF files; I would archive them to a external drive.
By the way, I am assuming that converting RAW files to DNG is a decision you have made and not an accident.

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

Is it possible to use an external hard drive for time machine backup and also as a regular hard drive?

I am using an external drive in the exact way that you described. You just keep it plugged in to the computer when you want to access the movies and files. In order to put files on it, just go to finder open up the drive under devices and drag and drop files onto the drive. It is just like using a usb drive with a terabyte of space.

OS is Mountain Lion, upgraded no problems, used an external Hard drive for my time machine, now my iPhoto will not show any of my photo's or ay new ones I import! Help please!!

OS is Mountain Lion, upgraded no problems, used an external Hard drive for my time machine, now my iPhoto will not show any of my photo's or ay new ones I import! Help please!!

Do you get this window when you hold down the Command+Option keys and launch iPhoto?
If not then you're not holding down both keys long enough.
OT

Can I use my external hard drive for additional storage on my ipad?

can I use my external hard drive for additional storage on my ipad

With the Camera Connection Kit you can input data from an external USB device to the iPad, but you cannot write from the iPad to the connected drive.

Want to use an external hard drive for my photos, iMovie, music and documents for use on my MacBookPro and iMac, can I do it and how?

I want to use an external hard drive to store my photos, imovie, music and documents, how can i do....Thanks

There are very good external drives available...I bought one when I got this MBP in September from OWC, http://www.macsales.com they are Mac specialists. Bought their 2 TB Mercury Elite Pro since it was eSATA, Firewire 800/400, and USB interface...use the Firewire 800 now. Partitioned into a 1.5 TB partition for Time Machine backups and 500 GB for extra storage. Both show up on the desktop, you just set the destination for you application to be the external drive volume you want to use.
If you want to discuss further, just ask what you want to know.

How to use an external hard drive for your music storage

How do I use my external hard drive as my storage for music? I have already saved my music on my external and I have my iTunes program on the computer just wondering what is the next step is? Also I want to make sure I do not use my computer's hard drive for any sizable storage.

sorry to butt in, but this appears to be the best thread to pose my question/problem.
i have successfully migrated my iTunes Library to my external hard drive. the last part of the instructions tell me to delete the iTunes music folder from my hard drive to free up space.
however, i've not done this because i would like to keep a reduced number of music files on my MacBook so that i can listen to music when i'm away from my external hard drive.
i've managed to delete the files i don't want stored on my hard drive, and when i open iTunes without the external hard drive, it defaults to the original location. i'm sure this is not good practise, because whilst i can now play music, the information in iTunes is not right.
what is the best way of storing and playing some of my iTunes library on my hard drive, whilst using the external drive as a 'master'? can it be done?
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2GB RAM, 120GB HD, 2GHZ

How can I use one external hard drive for both Time Machine and iPhoto Library?

I have been using a 1 TG LaCie external hard drive for Time Machine backups. My (older) Mac has 160 GB and is almost full. I would like to move my iPhoto Library to the external hard drive, but I've heard Time Machine doesn't share one space well. Should I
1. create another partition (but will this erase what I've already saved) with Disk Utility? *I am running Snow Leopard*
2. create another volume to use for iPhoto, and if so, should the two volumes be of equal size?
3. leave it with one partition and move the iPhoto Library to the same partition with Time Machine back ups?
I know I don't need the entire 1 TG for back up of 160 GBs. Please advise the best path to take. Thank you!

You are getting incorrect information from your ASP. If you look at drive specifications the heat generated is no different for high vs low capacity drives.
I have upgraded the internal drive in my iMac 2007 with a 3TB Hitachi drive without any heat issues or other problems.
Larger hard drives have higher density platters so to access any given amount data the drives travel a shorter distance. Higher capacity drives should therefore run cooler than lower density drives because the drive spends less time spinning to access data.

Can I use one external hard drive for 3 of my Macs?

I have a 2007 white MacBook, a 2011 MacBook Pro, and a 2013 MacBook Air.
I want to be able to transfer all of my precious family photos off of my MacBook and Macbook Pro onto an external hard drive and then wipe those computers clean, and then I want to be able to backup and wipe clean my Macbook Air so that I can update it to Mavericks.
Can I use one external hard drive to do this for three of my Macs? Will it be compatible with all of them? And will I still be able to use the hard drive with my Air once it is updated to Mavericks?
Which hard drive do you recommend?

1. Yes. Note that anything you want to keep should be on at least two drives in case one of them fails.
2. Yes.
3. Yes.
(110959)

Using an external hard drive for music

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for