What must I do to move my iTunes library to a Firewire-connected HD?

I have added an external hard drive (WD 2TB) using the existing FireWire connection to my Mac PowerBook 17" Titanium. The internal hard drive is quite small (120GB) so I want to move my existing iTunes library (and all associated files) to this new external HD - along with all necessary permissions/shares. Because the Mac that I have is fairly old (Titanium 17", pre-Intel, Motorola Power PC, 1.67 GHz PowerPC G4, 1.5 GB DDR SDRAM, running Mac OS X 10.5.8, and iTunes 10.6.3 (25)), I can't seem to find the specific how-to to do this. Suggestions? Answers can be specific and detailed (I prefer them that way).
Thanks,
Carol

I am not entirely sure you need to be concerned about permissions for this (i could be wrong). You will want to go your music folder and find "iTunes" or "Itunes media" there should be a folder in your music folder labled something similar. Copy and paste that to your firewire drive. Then I would suggest selecting all the media in your itunes library and removing it from the library, NOT DELETING it (if it prompts to you move to trash don't select that option).
You will then need to go your itunes preferences and select the folder you just moved to your external drive as your itunes folder. Should be under advanced in preferences select change itunes media folder location. If this doesn't populate your media back into your itunes library then go to file-add to library. Add the folder from your firewire drive and the rest should happen automatically.
The reason I have suggested removing and then re-adding your media is to avoid duplicates from popping up. Also to prevent you from having to tell itunes where each file has moved to. This can be quite tedious for tons of music and movies and etc.

Similar Messages

Whats the easiest way to move my iTunes library to my new iMac?

I have it backed up on an external firewire drive.
The 2 computers are linked via a wireless network.
Thanks
Len

Lend273 wrote:
I have it backed up on an external firewire drive.
The 2 computers are linked via a wireless network.
i would not do that wirelessly. first it is less reliable and, second, depending on the size of your lib, it may take ages. instead, connect both macs via ethernet cable or firewire (starting up the "source" Mac in target disk mode).
either drag & drop the entire iTunes folder from the source to the target or use the recommended steps here.
here's another interesting read.

I'm moving to an imac from a PC. I want to move my itunes library from the PC to my new imac. What is the best method and where can I find instructions?

I'm moving to an imac from a PC. I want to move my itunes library from the PC to my new imac. What is the best method and where can I find instructions?

Move iTunes from PC to MAC, http://www.macworld.com/article/146958/2010/03/move_itunes_windows_mac.html

HT1364 I just bought a new PC and now have ample space on my C drive to house my music Library which is currenlty installed on a external drive. What is the best way to install and move the itunes library to my C Drive?

I just bought a new PC and now have ample space on my C drive to house my music Library which is currenlty installed on a external drive. What is the best way to install and move the itunes library to my C Drive?

If the entire library is on the external drive then simply copy the iTunes folder into <User's Music> on the new computer, then install iTunes. If you've already installed iTunes you will want to remove the empty iTunes folder in <User's Music> first.
If it turns out you only have the media folder on the external drive then take a look at this post...
tt2

New MacBook Pro (first Mac). I need to move my itunes library from my pc to a networked external hd (wd passport for mac). I have an ipod with all my media (including video) and i have itunes match. What is the best way to do this? PC to Mac HD ...

Can I just consolidate and copy to the journaled hard drive over the network? Will a pc recognize a Mac formatted hard drive? I have searchd the forum and online for hours and can't seem to find anything that specifically address this. Does anyone know the best solution?
Itunes library on PC -> WD Passport for Mac (connected via airport extreme to new MacBook Pro). I plan to use this as the default location for my library because the new Pro only has 256 GB onboard.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

A PC cannot read a Mac formatted drive without using special software (MacDrive).
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Macworld - How to transfer iTunes libraries between PC and Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/46248/2005/08/shiftitunes.html
Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/1146958/move_itunes_windows_mac.html

Can I move an iTunes library from Comp1 to Comp2 through Home Sharing? What happens with the first sync? What happens to 3rd party app data (specifically, game scores/levels)?

I need to move an iTunes library from Computer 1 to Computer 2. Can I do this through Home Sharing, by dragging and dropping library items from one to the other? The library consists of iTunes purchases, home shared items and music/movies from our personal collection. Both computers have had all the accounts authorized, so I don't anticipate an issue there. I'd like to do this so that my son's ipod is impacted as little as possible -- specifically, his game scores/levels and other 3rd party data remain intact after the 1st sync and the organization of his icons remain intact.
Is there a way to do this smoothly and easily, protecting his ipod data/organization?

Sorry, I obviously wasn't clear. If you replicate the library from Computer 1 to Computer 2 by copying it, then all will be well. I routinely sync my iPhone and iPad both at home and at work using a single library that I migrate between the two locations via an external drive which is kept up do date using SyncToy.
Backup the iPod touch on Computer 1.
Copy the entire iTunes folder from Computer 1 to Computer 2, replacing any existing iTunes folder on Computer 2.
Check that content is accessible in the migrated library. (Won't be a problem for a standard iTunes library where all the content is inside the iTunes Media folder which in turn is inside your iTunes folder).
Connect iPod touch to Computer 2.
Sync.
In the unlikely event that something goes wrong (it won't) then you can connect the device back to Computer 1 to restore it.
Note device backups are not stored within the iTunes library and stay on the machine on which they were created. It is theorectically possible to migrate them but there isn't really any point. Once you have synced the iPod with the copy of the library on Computer 2 then Computer 2 will make its own backup of the device.
tt2

HOW TO MOVE YOUR ITUNES LIBRARY TO AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE

Read these directions before actually doing anything, just so you can do this right. I've messed things up before, it can get ugly...
That being said, here's what you've gotta do if you're running on a Mac:
Have all your music on the external hard drive. It should be organized in folders the way iTunes set it up
The folders should be organized something like this:iTunes Media (Top folder, everything is inside of this folder)
Audiobooks
Automatically Add To iTunes
Books
Downloads
iPod Games
iTunes U
Mobile Applications
Music
Podcasts
Ringtones
TV Shows
Voice Memos
Those folders are what I have in my 'iTunes Media' folder on my external hard drive. You don't necessarily need to have all of these folders. (I happen to just have a lot of things in my iTunes.)
Finding your iTunes Library Files
The way iTunes works is there are two parts to make what you see in iTunes work right. There's your media (songs, video, iPod games and Apps, etc) and there are your library files. They tell iTunes what your playlists are, where your 'iTunes Media' folder is located, and a lot of other important things. Here is how to find the iTunes Library files (there will probably be more than one!)
Look in (yourusername)/Music/iTunes
There will be a few things in here:
Album Artwork (It's a folder)
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
Itunes Library.itl
iTunes Media (a folder)
iTunes Music Library Backup.xml (this file might or might not be here. If there is no file with this name, it's okay.)
iTunes Music Library.xml
Some "temp" files (maybe, maybe not -- they are not important for this)
Anything in the list that is BOLDED needs to be placed in (yourusername)/Music/iTunesIf you copied these files to your external hard drive, you will need to copy them back onto your internal hard drive. These library files do not need to be in the same place as your iTunes Media folder.
Telling iTunes Where Your Music Is
Now that your iTunes Media folder is on your external drive, and your Library Files are in place in "(yourusername)/Music/iTunes", we need to open iTunes.
On the top bar of the screen, go to iTunes>Preferences.
In preferences, go to the farthest right tab, titled "Advanced" with a picture of a gear.
The top section says "iTunes Media Folder location" and underneath that you see a filepath ending in the 'iTunes Media" folder.
This path is probably wrong, not leading you through the external hard drive.
If it is incorrect:
Click "change" on the right and then locate the folder in the prompt that shows up. Once the "iTunes Media" folder on your external hard drive is highlighted blue, click "Open" in the bottom right corner of the window.
Give iTunes a moment or two (depending on the size of your library) to re-locate all of your songs. Voila!
If it is correct:Do nothing!
While you're in the advanced section, let's check to make sure you have a few important 'housekeeping' things checked off:
"Keep iTunes Media folder organized" (CHECK THIS BOX!)
"Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" (CHECK THIS BOX!)
At this point, iTunes should be all ready to go. Before I get into any troubleshooting, note a few things:
If you ever unplug/disconnect the external hard drive from the computer, you must first make sure that iTunes is NOT running.
Also, if the hard drive is unplugged and you open up iTunes, all of your songs will have little symbols next to them. Until you plug/reconnect the hard drive, the songs will stay like this and will be missing.
TROUBLESHOOTING:
Not having permission to access the external hard drive:
In Finder (or on your desktop), right-click the external hard drive (if you don't have right-click, control-click will also work).
Click on "Get Info"
A thin, tall window will appear on the screen.
Part One:In the "General" section, make sure that "Locked" is unchecked. If it IS checked, uncheck it.
Part Two:
We are now focusing on the very bottom of the window, where it says "Sharing & Permissions"/
In the bottom right corner of the window there is a small padlock icon. Click it. When asked for an administrator password, type it in, and click "Ok".
You will now notice that the bottom section of the 'get info' window is not greyed out anymore. Make sure your user name (it says in parentheses "(Me)" so there is no going wrong here) has "Read & Write" privileges.If not, click on whichever privilege you currently have, and a drop-down menu will appear. Click on "Read & Write".
If you have any other issues, I will add them to the troubleshooting list to help you out. Hope this was helpful!

My iTunes library is set up the way I said in the top post and works totally fine.
Yes, and that is the default structure to which I was referring. iTunes will organize it that way automatically unless people do start changing settings (in which case they should know what they are doing and how iTunes works with library files and media structure.)
Both ways work, the advantages of mine would be that should iTunes try looking fo a library, it will always be in the default location.
It makes people think they have to change media location in preferences. They do not unless they want to relocate media only and leave other things on their internal drive (in which case there is no point in copying library files to the external, and you certainly wouldn't want to then delete them from your internal).
Downside is that then should someone move their iTunes library to anther computer they need to remember to get those library files on the external hard drive.
Just copy the whole iTunes folder and it will get the library files to the other drive in one step, along with all the other files.
Your post has good stuff but it makes a move appear intimidating and look like people have to do a lot of organizing to move the collection. It also throws in extra steps (namely altering preference settings) that could cause confusion or even make a mess of things. If people leave iTunes to default preference settings (which most people do) the move summarizes into a short line: Copy a folder and hold an extra button the next time you start iTunes.
Note that the instructions in the link I provided earlier do also include many steps, but those are to ensure that everybody does have it all organized correctly before simply copying the iTunes folder. In the end it is just a simple action.

How to move my itunes library from my PC to my iMac

Hi, I need to move my iTunes library off an old Windows laptop and on to my new iMac. The library is approx 100Gb in size. I searched and searched and can't believe Apple don't have an app for this. I found a third party app called CopyTrans TuneSwift which i read rave reviews about so paid my $15 USD for it and gave it a go. The backup worked well. Then came the part of downloading the Mac restore file. Once I tried to run this on the iMac, I recieved an error saying that the developer is not registered with Apple and could be a dangerous file.
I paid $4000 US for this iMac and yes I don't want to screw up the op system on day one. I can hold down the Control key and clicking to run the CopyTrans App to bypass the Apple security but I never want to do things like this... I want to keep the iMac clean and stable.
What to do now.
How can I move the iTunes library safely from my Windows laptop to my iMac.
Can anyone help.
Kind Regards

There's a failry discriptive guide on how to use TuneSwift to transfer iTnes from PC to Mac here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbl8PDuMJJ8

I need to move my itunes library from a pc to a laptop in a different home, can I do this? help!

I had set up my original itunes library on a pc in my previous home. I have left this home due to a marriage split up and now live somewhere else.
I have a new lap top which I am desperate to update my ipod nano on.
I have set up home sharing, and authorised my laptop. Unfortunately, I no techno whizz, and I'm really struggling now with this.
I have plugged in my nano to my itunes on my lap top and it is offering to either delete everything off my nano for what is held on as purchased songs from itunes - a total of approx 30 songs, from approx 1400 songs on my nano, or just update to show my purchased songs.
Help!! I'm getting to the end of my tether with this. Yes, I have read the tutorials and help through itunes.
Nothing is making sense or working.
Can someone please explain this to me like I'm a 3 year old?
I'd appreciate any help anyone can give me!!
Thank you!!

A PC cannot read a Mac formatted drive without using special software (MacDrive).
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Macworld - How to transfer iTunes libraries between PC and Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/46248/2005/08/shiftitunes.html
Move an iTunes library from a Windows PC to a Mac - http://www.macworld.com/article/1146958/move_itunes_windows_mac.html

How do I properly move an iTunes library?

I wanted to move my iTunes library from my hard drive (which is full) to my external Time Capsule drive. When I created a new iTunes folder and saved it on my Time Capsule external drive and then re-imported into iTunes, I either have duplicate copies of each file or there is an exclamation point next to the file in iTunes stating that the location of the file can't be found. I have over 4300 files in iTunes prior to this mistake. What did I do wrong and how can I correct this situation?

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Start iTunes with the option (shift on Windows) key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.

How to move my iTunes library from Windows PC to new Mac

I have been using a PC running Microsoft Windows 7 64 bit for the last 12 months or so. I have now purchased a Mac. I want to move my iTunes library from the PC to the Mac.
The PC setup is running the latest version of iTunes for Windows, however, the music etc. is not stored in the default location, instead it is stored on an external HDD (it's approximately 700GB, so too large to have on the internal HDD).
Anyone know the best/easiest way to make the switch and in doing so maintain all my playlists etc.?

So, what I have done so far to try to achieve this is:
I have my Windows PC with it's NTFS formatted external HDD containing the music etc.
I have my Mac with a new external HDD formatted in Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
On the Windows PC:
* I opened up iTunes.
* Went into Preferences, and then under the Advanced tab I checked both 'Keep iTunes Media Folder Organised' and 'Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library', so that all the files would be in the main iTunes Media folder when I copy it over.
* Then File, Library, Organise Library and ticked the 'Consolidate Files' so that it moves any files that aren't in the right folder.
Next I copied the files over. So I copied the updated media folder from the NTFS (Windows) external HDD onto the Mac external HDD.
And I copied the files from in My Documents/Music/iTunes on the Windows PC to User/Music on the Mac.
But this doesn't seem to have done it.

HT1766 I wish to move my iTunes library from my PC to an external drive to make room on my PC. How do I do this?

I wish to move my iTunes library from my PC to an external drive to make room on my PC. How do I do this?

The following may help: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1364
Note the following fine print therein:
Note: If you move your library to an external drive, you'll need to power up and connect the drive before starting iTunes. If you don't, iTunes will prompt you to either locate the library or to create a new library (which will result in an empty library). No matter what, it's always a good idea to have a backup of the media you have in iTunes.

How to move the iTunes library to a Windows 7 network location?

I use Windows 7 and iTunes 11.1.11.
I use a hard disk over my home network that is currently mounted on Windows via ftp using the default "Add a network location" option in Windows Explorer, so the content of the drive is listed as a folder under "Network location". File access / creation / deletion works just fine with other programs.
However, when I try to move my iTunes library to the network folder (Edit --> Preferences --> Advanced), I get an error saying "The folder name is not valid".
I don't care much if I have to mount the NAS differently on Windows or if I have to recreate my iTunes library, but it would be nice to finally manage my Music on the network drive.
Thanks to anyone who knows what I'm doing wrong!

If you hold down the option key when starting iTunes, it will allow you to select a library or create a new one.
You can create a new one, and then add all of your iTunes music back in by simply dragging the old iTunes music file onto iTunes.
There are more detailed instructions at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1451#
It will show you how to re-build your iTunes database file.

I just purchased a ipad 2 and have not sync it yet. I have an old pc and would like to move the itunes library account to a newer pc that I have. Can I move the library to the ipad and sync ipods to the ipad and/or move the library to the new pc?

I just purchased a ipad 2 and have not sync it yet. I have an old pc and would like to move the itunes library account to a newer pc that I have. Can I move the library to the ipad and sync ipods to the ipad and/or move the library to the new pc?

Perhaps this web page will help: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1229
But I must point out that leaving the iPhoto Library on the external is worth considering. Your internal drive would be better off without having to carry the photos.
When you booted with the external connected and you were asked for the library, did you try navigating to the Library in on the external drive?

How do I move my iTunes library location?

Hello, I am trying to move my iTunes library file location from my internal HD into an external HD.
I read a lot of topics within this community regarding this topic, and nothing worked for me...
I copied my entire itunes folder into the new location.
Then I opened iTunes with option key pressed, and selected the new iTunes folder in the new location.
When I tried to play a song, it asked me to locate it, and when I located it, itunes asked me if I want this new location for everything else missing, I said yes, but it does not find any other song, I need to locate one song at a time, and it is quite boring.
What can I do? What I am doing wrong?
Any ideas? I still need to change my iTunes library file location because I do not have more space in my MacBook's HD
Thanks....
KONRAD

Type "move itunes library" into the google search bar.

What must I do to move my iTunes library to a Firewire-connected HD?

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