USING IPOD, ITUNES AND AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE-URGENT

Greetings. All my songs are save in my extereal portable hard drive (Under the music folder). I DO NOT like saving song in the hard drive of my ibook because it eats up too much space. When I connect the external hard drive to my mac and open itunes, the songs do not come out in itunes. The songs only come out when i connect my ipod. My seeting for my ipod is manual. What I would like to do is- whenever i transfer songs to itunes, the song in my ipod are also automatically updated. the songs in the external hard drive should also be updated. In short, the songs that i should have in the ipod should be the songs in itunes and in the external drive. how do i do this? what settings should i do? I am afraid to click on automatically update songs because it might erase my whole ipod library. Please advise. thanks.

First I would use Finder and go verify that your songs are actually on your external hard drive. If they are, then make sure you specified iTunes directory is pointing to the correct directory on that external hard drive.
If both look ok, then go ahead and switch it on over to automatic. Otherwise, if the songs still arent showing up just re-add them all to your library.

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The computer should be cloned using Disk Utility, so no additional software is required. However, it's preferable to incrementally update the clone using backup software. I would recommend using one of the following. They each have different capabilities and features. Each can be used for a free trial period. My personal preference is Carbon Copy Cloner. All of them can make and maintain bootable clones.
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Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on backup and restore. Also read How to Back Up and Restore Your Files.
Clone Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion using Restore Option of Disk Utility
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
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I'm having a problem with downloading multiple app updates and moving songs between iTunes and my external hard drive.

I'm having two problems with iTunes, but I'm not sure if they're related issues. First, when I try to click "Download All Updates" for apps, only one update will download and I will get successive error messages for all of the other updates. However, if I click update for each individual app, they download fine. Why am I not able to download all app updates simultaneously now.
My second issue is that I cannot move songs from iTunes to my external hard drive or vice versa. When I drag the files, the blue plus sign appears, but the file does not appear where I moved it to.
Both issues have been occuring for about month. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

While downloading select Downloads in the left-hand column and make sure Allow Simultaneous Downloads is unchecked. This seems to help with partial downloads...
The other issue doesn't ring any bells.
tt2

Itunes and an external hard drive.

I'm using itunes with an external harddrive. Recently, after traveling with my computer, and resyncing upon returning, itunes has been unable to find any of my music. I get the ! next to the songs. I have itunes pointed to the external drive but to no avail?
I have noticed that the external drive just has the mp3's which are not in any folder at all. I would expect that the music would be in a folder named "itunes music"? I don't know if this could be the problem. I'm being really careful because this is the only copy of this music, and I don't currently have a back-up drive big enough to copy them to.
Advice? Help? Can anyone point me to any previous threads?
thanks.

As long as you follow the tip that was linked, you should be OK.
A couple of things:
1. You can't start iTunes when the ext hard drive is not connected. Doing so will result in a library messed up at least a bit, possibly a lot.
2. To safeguard against that little bit, you're going to want to backup your library files occasionally.
3. Somebody (may have been StarDeb55) suggested renaming the iTunes program link to 'check external' as a reminder.
4. If you'd like to still be able to use iTunes for some music, say, like during travel, you can make another user account, and put the desired music there (make sure it's all on the actual laptop).
5. Any ext hard drive sold nowadays should do. USB2 or Firewire.
<hr>
What are the iTunes Library files?

Itunes and my external hard drive

I recently moved all my music from both my pc and my laptop (both windows) onto my external hard drive. I followed the step by step instructions set out by apple support. Everything was working great until I opened Itunes without my ex hd being connected. The itunes media file location has now gone back too F/;itunes. And 90% of the music in my library now wont play as it cannot find its original location.
How do I get back to using my ex hd?
Itunes scares the life out of me and im petrified that if I simply change it back to the filepath to my ex hd it will all go t*ts up basically?!
How do I fix it without messing up everything? Will I get duplicates then on my library?
And what folder in my hard drive do I direct it back too?
Would I be as well deleting itunes and reinstalling?
Any help would be great!!
Please dont be too techinal in your responses as Im not great with the pc lingo! Explain like you would to a child lol!!

With the external drive connected, correct the media folder location (Edit > Prefrences > Advanced) so that it points to media folder ont the external drive, then shut down iTunes and restart it. Links to the files should be repaired. If that doesn't work try out my FindTracks script.
See also this post.
tt2

If i back up my mac using Time Machine and an external hard-drive, can that same hard-drive be used on another computer and on a PC?

Hi!
I hav just got a macbook pro and am used to using a HP pc and am a newbie! I have backed up my macbook with my elements external hardrive and was wondering if i can transfer the music i have purchased and is now on my external hard-drive back onto my other laptop purely because i use both laptops for different things and want to use my music on both. how do i do this? and do i need a particular software to do so?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated
thanks
alex xxx

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
You can do it, but it's not recommended to use a Time Machine volume to store other files. In this case, you can create a second volume on the external drive, so you will be able to use it to store data and transfer it to other PCs.
As you are going to use the external drive with other PCs, you can make the volume and format it in "MS-DOS (FAT)" with Disk Utility > http://pondini.org/OSX/DU3.html Finally, you will be able to copy files to the external drive.
If you copy files to a Time Machine disk, you may damage the Time Machine file structure, so you shouldn't do it. It may not happen, but it's better not to try that. Also, you won't be able to read the Time Machine drive in a PC

HT5097 I recently upgraded my macbook to Mountain lion. Before doing so I used time machine and an external hard drive to back up my entire laptop. When we upgraded my computer came back like new. All pics, music, videos documents etc gone. How do I ge

I recently upgraded my macbook to mountain lion. Before doing so I used time machine to back up my entire laptop with an external hard drive.
When I got my computer back it was clean....all pics, music, documents, bookmarks etc. are gone. How do I get these files off the external hard drive and back onto my laptop with the new upgrade?

I recently upgraded my macbook to mountain lion. Before doing so I used time machine to back up my entire laptop with an external hard drive.
When I got my computer back it was clean....all pics, music, documents, bookmarks etc. are gone. How do I get these files off the external hard drive and back onto my laptop with the new upgrade?

Apple Tv's, itunes and an external hard drive

Hey everyone hope you are all well. I was wondering if I would be able to have my itunes library on an external hard drive and then be able to access it from two different apple tv's in different houses.

Yes, that works fine.
So long as the computer is running iTunes (doesn't matter where the library is.. so long as the computer can access it) any AppleTV on the network should be able to see it

Help with iTunes and an external hard drive please

I have an external hard drive that I like to store my music on since I usually have a good deal of it.
Anyone know the best way to do this?
Cause what I have done in the past is set iTunes to monitor the folder on the ext hd where my music is. But it still seems to create an iTunes music library folder on the Mac hd. So then I have double of everything. One on my Mac hd and one on the ext hd.
Anyone have advice? Or know why it might be doing this or how to fix it...
Thanks
MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7) I'm new to Mac

For instructions, see:
iTunes: Moving Your iTunes Music Folder
Don't delete the tracks from the old location until you've confirmed that they're working correctly from the external drive. And 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).

SOS!!! iTunes and new external hard drive

So I just hooked up my external hard drive (LaCie d2 160GB) and I moved all of my music onto it to free up some space on my computer. I have a lot of music (30+ GB), and my computer was sluggish because of it. Well now I have my music on this nice handy dandy hard drive, but when I open my iTunes, every song has an exclamation point next to it. I already went to iTunes preferences and changed the iTunes music folder location to the LaCie hard drive, but it still won't locate the songs unless I do it manually. I DO NOT WANT TO MANUALLY LOCATE 6500 SONGS!!!! What can I do???? I already restarted my computer, but I can't get these files recognized!!!

This is how Apple say it should be done:
iTunes: Moving your iTunes Music folder
If you moved it manually and then changed the preferences to tell iTunes where the music folder is you are really telling iTunes where to put new stuff.
Move all your music back to where it was and then follow the instructions above.
Regards,
Colin R.

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

My system information shows 232gb used as a "back up"on my internal hard drive even though I use time machines and a external hard drive.

Hi
I have had my mac book pro for almost 6 months. Whilst using a 500 gb portable hard drive with time machine, I was surprised to get a message saying there wasn't enough disk space to complete a back up.
I brought another but started to look into why I had used so much space. In system information I had this view. Can anyone help me find where to clear this back up which is taking up so much of my hard drive.
Thank you
Dan

Local Snapshots - About
Local Snapshots on Portable Macs

HT1751 I want to copy the songs that are in my ipod in to an external hard drive and not from a itunes folder in my computer.

I want to copy the songs that are in my ipod in to an external hard drive and not from the itunes folder in my computer (the reason being is that the songs in itunes folder are not to my taste. Please help?)
I have the orignal ipod 120gb
Many thanks.
Afzal

Bare in mind that Sync is only oneway, from PC to your device. Unless you have the same music on your PC, iTunes is going to wipe out what you have on your device if you are syncing to a new library.
You can only transfer Purchased music over to Itunes on your PC.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848
As for you own music, you may have to use a third party software. A good Free one is called Sharepod which you can download from Download.com here:
http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2

I moved itunes file to external hard drive and want to move the file on my pc to recycle bin. When I move i get an error message that it cannot delete ituneshelper.dll access is denied. Can I move that file to the recycle bin?

I am trying to free up space on my pc and moving itunes files to external hard drive. I have followed instructions and believe I have file copied to new drive, but I am having trouble moving file to recycle bin as the instructions say. I am getting the following error message: cannot delete ituneshelper.dll:access denied, make sure disk is not full or write protected and file not in use. I know the file is not in use when trying to move. Any help would be most appreciated. I am on Windows XP.

Yes. And you should not have moved that folder. Put it back. To move your iTunes library move the folder from User's Music.
tt2

How do I back up my itunes to an external hard drive and restore from same if necessary

How do I back up my entire itunes to an external hard drive and restore from same if necessary.
Thanks

This is where iTunes stores backups for different operating systems: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946
I do not use a Windows machine, have a Windows Vista Dell I rarely startup now. But, from what I remember with Win boxes is, you will have to create on the external hard drive a file system like that one iTunes normally uses, and then in the iTunes preferences or control panel edit the location for the storage to specify the name of the external hard drive, or its letter code, with the name of that file system you created on the exernal drive.
I would also move all of the files from the internal file system to the external since you have now told iTunes that is where they are...before deleting from the internal drive, test iTunes to see that it goes where you want it to go.

USING IPOD, ITUNES AND AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE-URGENT

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