What's your external drive for iTunes storage?

I have a portable SmartDisc 60gig FireLight .
It's firewire powered so it goes to sleep with the eMac . It works great but I need something bigger and I guess the desktop drives that cost less are AC powered ?
I didn't like the Maxtor OneTouch III and returned it . The backup software that I guess I didn't need is uninstallable .
this was on an archived thread ;
Most external hard drives come with fans. I suggest anything from LaCie, SmartDisk, or Western Digital
I suggest LaCie D2 Hard Drive Extreme w/ Triple Interface, SmartDisk CrossFire, or the WD Dual Option.
I use a SmartDisk CrossFire for both my iTunes library as well as my iPhoto library. If you need help moving your iTunes library you might want to look at Knowledge Base Document #301748 explains How to Move Your iTunes Library.
Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6) Panther eMac

I have a LaCie D2 extreme triple interface and am happy with it. it is well built in a metal casing and came ready formatted for mac so really was just a case of plugging in and going. It also runs off the mains. It has not caused any problems so far. I bought the 160G version because at the time it was all I needed but I would recommend getting the biggest you can afford as it it is more cost effective than having to buy yet another one when you run out of space as I almost have. You never actually get the ammount of free space as the description lets you believe you are getting. eg my 160G actually gave me 147G of free space straight from the box. The only other thing i would have liked is a minimum of two firewire 400 ports as the one gets used up connecting to my macbook leaving nothing with which to daisy chain any other devices.

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What is the best way to set up an external drive for video storage

What is the best way to set up an external drive for video storage?

Check the formatting. It need to be formatted as Mac OS Extended (journaled). This is also known as HFS+.
FAT32 and NTFS formatting will not work with iMovie.
If necessary, you can reformat using Disk Utility.
Make one large partition. No need for multiple partitions.
Do moves or copies to the external drive through iMovie as detailed in iMovie Help. If you move Events in the Finder, they may become unlinked from the projects that use them.

Going from xp to windows 7 64 bit using an external drive for music storage

Greetings Techies!
I hope you all are well.
I need to move my iTunes from an XP machine to Windows 7 64 bit. On the XP machine I am using an external drive for music storage and the iTunes database is stored on the internal drive. I am looking for advice on how to transfer all of this over to my new Windows 7 64 bit machine. I know iTunes can be picky about everything and I don’t want to take and chances and loose my playlists or music.
Any help would be much appreciated.
Blessings,
paul

You are right about it being picky. I just upgraded from Vista to Windows 7 and was forced to format my drive. I had all the music backed up, but when I imported it, I have 2 or 3 copies of some songs, art work missing, and have lost my playlists. I hope someone responds to your question, because I could use similar help! Best of luck to ya . . .

I have the G Drive 1 TB (GEN4 1TB) external drive purchased in 2010. I need to connect to my new MacBook Pro. I'm using the external drive for media storage of my video editing projects. Will a 800fw to thunderbolt adapter cable work?

I have the G Drive 1 TB (GEN4 1TB) external drive purchased in 2010. I need to connect to my new MacBook Pro. I'm using the external drive for media storage of my video editing projects. Will a 800fw to thunderbolt adapter cable work? I understand that using a USB port connection is not fast enough for video editing. I read somewhere the G Drives don't connect well to MacBook Pro.
thanks
larry

I doubt this can be relocated or moved so you might want to just repost in the macbook pro area.
MacBook Pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os?view=discussions
Can you afford a new Thunderbolt case and cable? any case with FW800 is going to be slow 72MB/sec and less, and any new 1TB drive is capable of 75MB/s minimum up to 125MB/sec.
Thunderbolt storage can of course when setup properly reach 100's of MB higher using multiple drives.
Use what you have for a system backup or for secondary backup storage.
you might be able to take the drive - most cases allow you to open and swap drives - and use this:
G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mini High-Speed Portable Hard Drive
or this:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/HB137VC/A/g-technology-4tb-g-raid-professional -high-performance-dual-drive-hard-drive?fnode=5f

Should I create a partition on external drive for iTunes music?

...or will it create it's own space outwith my backup stuff?
(Secondary question: would moving my iTunes music from internal to external drive noticably improve performance of my Mac? I'm using about 135GB of a 250GB drive, 60GB of which is in iTunes Music folder)

Should I create a partition on external drive for iTunes music? or will it create it's own space outwith my backup stuff?
I see no good reason to create a separate partition unless you're backing up with Time Machine. TM prefers to have it's own volume, so in that case partitioning would probably be a good idea.
would moving my iTunes music from internal to external drive noticably improve performance of my Mac? I'm using about 135GB of a 250GB drive, 60GB of which is in iTunes Music folder.
No, probably not. As long as you're not getting the drive too full - opinions vary but about 20GB remaining should be plenty for most uses - you probably won't see any overall change in performance just from moving the iTunes content.
Message was edited by: Dave Sawyer

Dlink router + external drive for itunes library?

I have a MBP who is slowly running out of space... I have a dlink router 826L with a 2TB external hard drive that is plugged in by usb into the router. dlink has settings to set it up as storage, but it wants to use a sharepoint software thing. I want to know if I can put all my music on it and then have itunes look for my music there. I have to admit, when it comes to networking, etc. i become so so so dumb.

Well did you let iTunes import all your music into its folder structure or just let it create a database of the songs?
More then likely it copied your music into itself because that is the default behavior of iTunes unless you first turn that off. So all your music is in the iTunes Library. Go to your Home folder, Your User Name folder, then Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/Music and all your music is in there.
But you can just copy the complete iTunes folder, ~/Music/iTunes, to your external drive then open iTunes and go to Preferences and the the advanced section and click the Change button
then browse to your external drive and select the iTunes folder that you copied over to the external.
Once you do that you can Delete, move to trash, the iTunes folder in your username music folder.

Case Sensitive External Drive for iTunes

My iTunes Library is currently stored on a case sensitive external drive. I am moving it to another drive that I found out is formatted as a non-case sensitive (both areJournaled). When I tried to move my iTunes Library, it would not copy because there are apparently some duplications that are different in case and this causes a problem when duplication to a non-case sensitive drive.
I figure I have two options:
1) Reformat the new drive to be Journaled and Case Sensitive
2) Go through the tedious process of identifying which files in the iTunes Library would be duplicates in a non-case sensitive drive. There could be just a few or hundreds (or even thousands).
What is the disadvantage of using a Case Sensitive drive for iTunes (option #1)? I may also store some other files on this drive.
I noticed that all my other drives, on both my desktops and external are formatted as non-case sensitive.

If you can get to the two metadata files that iTunes keeps on the old PC, then you have several options. See: What are the iTunes Library files?
1) Use the 'iTunes Library.itl' file on the old PC to completely recreate your Library. You will have to place all the music files/folders in the exact same location on the new PC as they were on the old PC. That drive letter and directory path. Then copy the older ITL file over the current one on the new PC. Open iTunes and you'll have a clone of the old PC's Library. As you have been using an ExHD to store the music, this would be my preferred choice. It's easy to remap the drive letter of an ExHD, if needed.
2) The other way is to 'File=>Import' the XML file and recover the Playlists from there. They will not be in any folder structure as they were in the previous iTunes. Also, any playlists that depended on ratings, play counts and last played will be changed, as those attributes have not been carried over using this method.
Post back if you have questions.

Using both internal and external drives for iTunes

Hi
I know this is a basic question . I did a few searches and my head started spinning .
I've been using an external drive for my music but it only has 3GB left .
My internal drive has 12GB so I would like to start to use it for storage of music along with the external . (I'll be getting a new mac soon)
In Importing I have >Create file names with track number
Advanced>Keep iTunes Music folder organized
This is on my Panther eMac with iTunes 4.7.1
thanks in advance for any help
----------bob
Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6) Panther eMac

The only thing you have to do is to click the 'Reset' button in Preferences>Advanced>General.
Your 'iTunes Music folder location' will be reset to the default location on the internal disk.
All new imported music will be stored there.
New added music will be stored there if you have the checked 'copy files to iTunes Music folder location when adding to library' in Preferences>Advanced>General.
When your new Mac arrives and you want to transfer the library, first copy the entire 'iTunes' folder (in ./Users/YourUsername/Music) from your eMac to the exact same location on the new Mac.
To transfer the iTunes folder, you can burn it on CD or DVD, but a lot easier is to put the eMac in Firewire target mode.
This article tells you how to do that:
How to use FireWire target disk mode
After the transfer of the iTunes folder is completed, connect your external drive and run iTunes.
The new Mac will have a newer iTunes version and it will take some time to convert the old library format to the new format.
Once all works OK and If you want all your music on your new Mac, use the 'Consolidate Library...' command from the Advanced menu in the menubar.
All music from the external disk will be copied to the internal disk.
Hope this helps.
M
17' iMac fp 800 MHz 768 MB RAM Mac OS X (10.4.6) Several ext. HD (backup and data)

NAS or Firewire 800 drive for iTunes storage?

My iTunes files are currently about 5 or 6 TB of files. I tend to add about 1 to 2TB of media files a year. I have a Netgear ReadyNAS Pro which has 9TB of capacity and has dual gigabit cards (redundant - load balancing) wired via cat6 to a gigabit router. I also have a 8TB LaCie raid big4 quadra which can connect to my iMac 27" via firewire 800. Which would be the better choice for storing my iTunes media AND library files? I have tried storing my library files on the internal 2TB hardrive and the media on an NAS but after a while it begins to create problems so I want to have everything on one drive.
The house is all networked via wired cat6 and there are 4 apple tv's streaming the media files. Since they need iTunes to stream, it still has to go through the iMac as an intermediary and can't use the NAS directly.
Anyone have concrete opinions about or experience with this?
Thanks

First.................BACK UP ALL YOUR MUSIC
now you can play around, moving your iTunes library is pretty simple.
In Prefernces>Advanced there's a box at the top showing the 'iTunes music folder location' and a button next to it saying 'change'.
Now, before you change the iTunes music folder (basically your librabry) you need to move the actual files. So create a folder your external hard drive ('music' or something) then find your current iTunes folder in Home>Music. In that folder there are 3 files you have to move; the 'iTunes music' folder, the 'iTunes Library' file and the 'iTunes Music Library.xml' file.
The Folder has all your music and the other two contain information such as playlists.
It's as simple as moving (not copying, unless you want to for safe keeping) those 3 things (make sure iTunes is closed) to your external drive, to the folder you created earlier. When that done re-open iTunes go to Preferences>Advanced click to Change button up the top. That will open up the Finder Browser, just navigate to that folder on your external drive and select it. Make sure you select the actual folder, not the whole external hard drive OR the contents of the folder.
Quit and re-open iTunes all your music should be back to normal, and any songs you import or add from now on will go into the music folder on the external HD.

Use of an external drive for itunes library - backup options?

Hi,
I have a dell laptop with 60GB of memory and I just purchased an 80GB ipod classic. I cannot upgrade the storage in this laptop. Originally I was thinking I would just buy a new laptop. But given that all laptops now come with Windows Vista and reading about all the issues that users have had with Vista and Itunes I do not think that would be a good idea. Do you agree that I should just stick with my Windows XP Machine?
So I was thinking I would change my music library so it resides on an external drive. My only concern with this - is how do I keep a backup of this external drive? From reading all the forum posts if this external drive failed it can be done moving the information from an ipod back to another drive using third party software but it sounds risky.
Any thoughts on how others are handling this would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Karen

Karen, most 3rd party software is pretty easy to use. The one thing I need to point out that relying on the iPod can be pretty risky, too. What if iPod is lost or stolen? What if you have an iPod problem that requires a restore? I would suggest that as a secondary backup for the EHD, you either burn data discs or possibly consider a 2nd EHD, since you can buy them pretty cheap these days. Right now, I backup to 2 different EHD's, then burn data discs as needed of my iTunes library, just in case I would be unlucky enough to lose everything.

Using Time Capsule as External Drive for iTunes Music Folder in iTunes 9

First, prior to upgrading to Snow Leopard and iTunes 9, I had my 210 GB of music on a 1TB Time Capsule which I accessed wirelessly through my Macbook Black and I set my path to the "iTunes Music (External) Folder" I created on the Time Capsule as the default path for iTunes to access the iTunes Music (External) Folder. My iTunes Library and Album Art reside on the Macbook hard drive. Unless I opened iTunes when the Macbook was disconnected from the Time Capsule (e.g., not at home), it always remembered the drive path the next time it was opened and would play music fine. If I had to reset the drive path, iTunes would remember it (again, unless I was disconnected from my Time Capsule). Now, under iTunes 9.0.1 and Snow Leopard, iTunes always defaults back to the iTunes Media Folder on the Macbook each time I open iTunes even if I set the path to the Time Capsule. The TC is also used as my airport connection to the cable modem and Home Sharing is enabled. Oddly, iTunes seems to play music just fine even though the drive path to the iTunes Music (External) Folder is not being utilized, which it would not do under the old version of iTunes. A screenshot is below. Anyone know what is going on here?
/Users/seanrichardson/Desktop/Screenshot_1.png

Make sure the Time Capsule is ready and mounted before launching iTunes.
You can add it (the Time Capsule) to your Login items in System prefs -> Accounts.

External drive for iTunes library and backing up via time machine

Hi, I currently have an 320gb external drive plugged into usb port of my imac for time machine back up, but my itunes library is 500gb and currently excluded from time machine back up, I would like to buy a 2 or 3tb external drive and then move my itunes library to that to free space on my imac.
I'd really like to know the best way to set up and what to buy, ie, if i move the library to an external drive am I able to back up the external drive via time machine, plus I assume if I do this i need a second external drive or time capsule to back up the library
Also the external drive is plugged directly into imac but I have an airport extreme is there any benefit plugging the drive into this, would this mean you access file from network (should you do this if its used for time machine), should I get rid of the extreme and buy a time capsule
Thanks in advance

Hi, I'd recommend one of these...
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/1394/USB/EliteAL/eSATA_FW800_FW400_USB
FW400 will be faster than USB2, & FW8000 even better.
I see no advantage to plugging it into Your Extreme.

Using Multiple Hard Drives for iTunes Storage

I am running out of room on my current hard drive and want to use a new external hard drive to add space. My problem is I want to use both hard drives for storage (not the same music). Is this possible as I have only been able to direct iTunes to one hard drive? Thank you.
Dual G5 Mac OS X (10.4.5) 400GB Raid set

When you change the location in iTunes preferences what you are doing is telling iTunes where ripped music should be put. It isn't changing where iTunes should look for music that is already in the library. So go ahead and change the location to where you want music to be stored from now on. iTunes won't lose the other music. (At one times my iTunes library was spread over 4 drives.)

External Drive for ITunes and IPhoto

I'm out of space on hard drive and would like to use an external hd for all Itunes and Iphotos. Can someone help me in moving these to the external and to make this external the default drive for all things new to both ITunes and IPhoto? I'm a novice!

You post in a workstation forum, Mac Pro has 4 internal drive bays and easy to expand and upgrade.
But yes you can have any media library and folder on add'l drives.
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
Transferring iTunes Library
Moving your iTunes Music folder
Transferring your iTunes Library iLounge

Problem with Shift to New External Drive for iTunes

Hi,
I hope I can explain this clearly. I currently have all my music files on an external drive however the iTunes Library files, xml, etc are on my laptop. The external drive is running out of space so I simply got another external put the same exact music files on there but am having trouble getting iTunes to read from this new location. Is there a way to simply get the computer to read from this new file WITHOUT copying all the files over via changing the Media Folder Location and using the Library>Organize Library>Consolidate function? That seems ridiculous when I already have the files on the external drive and I'm worried that they will somehow be altered in the copying process.
I also like to have my iTunes Library files on my hard drive but is it better to have them with the music on the external drive?
I hope that makes sense and thanks in advance for the help, I simply couldn't find anything on here that quite describes that problem.
JP

OK, not having a Mac I keep forgeting details. See this support document for how to use Option to open an alternate library.
Can I just confirm that you've already copied your existing media from External/Music/iTunes to
New?External/Music/iTunes without changing the layout of any of the subfolders inside. If so then we should be good to go. While there are quite a few steps the aim is to avoid recopying any files that are already where they need to be and make sure that your playlists, playcounts and other meta-data remains intact.
1. Copy the *Album Artwork* folder and the files *iTunes Library, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb & sentinel* from <User>/Music/iTunes/ to External/Music/. Ignore the XML file, it would get a new name in this location and will be recreated automatically.
2. Start iTunes, pressing Option until prompted to choose or create a libray. Chose the library at External/Music/.
3. Check that the media plays. Check under *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* that the location of the media folder reads as External/Music/iTunes.
4. Close iTunes.
5. Copy the *Album Artwork* folder and the files *iTunes Library, iTunes Library Extras.itdb, iTunes Library Genius.itdb & sentinel* from External/Music/ to New?External/Music/. Again, ignore the XML file.
6. Use Option-Start iTunes to open the new library at New?External/Music/.
7. Check that the media plays and that under *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* that the location of the media folder now reads as New?External/Music/iTunes/.
8. Close iTunes, rename the folder New?External/Music/iTunes/ as *New?External/Music/iTunes Media/*.
9. Start iTunes. Check that the media plays and that under *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* that the location of the media folder now reads as *New?External/Music/iTunes Media*.
10. Close iTunes, rename the folder New?External/Music/ as New?External/iTunes/.
11. Use Option-Start iTunes to open the library at New?External/iTunes/.
12. Check that the media plays and that under *Edit > Preferences > Advanced* that the location of the media folder now reads as *New?External/iTunes/iTunes Media/*.
13. You should now be able to use *File > Library > Organize Library... > Consolidate files* to consolidate any files left behind in *<User>/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music/* that you weren't able to consolidate to your old external drive.
14. If you haven't already done so then you should also select the option *File > Library > Organize Library... > Re-organize files in the folder "iTunes Media"*. If the option is greyed out then you have already upgraded to "iTunes Media Organization".
15. Rename the folder <User>/Music/iTunes/ as *<User>/Music/Old iTunes/*. Now if you ever start iTunes without connecting the external first iTunes will complain that it can't find the library instead of silently switching to the old internal one. This is likely to lead to less confusion in the long run.
16. Backup... You should get another drive big enough to hold everything so you have a backup copy for disaster recovery. Now that everything is organisized sensibly you just need to copy the iTunes folder from one external drive to another to back it up or better yet locate a folder syncing tool so that only new & changed files need to be copied across when you back up.
tt2

What's your external drive for iTunes storage?

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