pfromglynneath

Q: i wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.

i wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.

 

 

currently i am managing my own folder structure, but have decided to bite the bullet and let itunes organize my media.

 

 

i moved the media library location in advanced options to the external drive i would like iTunes to us, checked 'keep iTunes media folder organised' and copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library'.

 

 

approx a third of my music transferred. the remaining music is now greyed out. when i click on information on the greyed out tracks, the location is given as iCloud. how do i download these songs?

itunes, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Jan 23, 2014 8:06 AM

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Q: i wish to move my itunes media to an external drive.

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  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jan 23, 2014 8:23 AM in response to pfromglynneath
    Level 9 (54,621 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 23, 2014 8:23 AM in response to pfromglynneath

    First question.  Just media, or the whole library?  There's advantages to moving the whole library.  It will make future moves easier.

     

    Make a split library portable - https://discussions.apple.com/message/17457605#17457605

     

    Changes the preferences settings does not move media unless you consolidate too.  It simply tells iTunes to start saving media there from this point on.  You did say something about some music moving though, so maybe it did consolidate.

     

    I have never used iCloud.  Are these purchases or is iTunes Match involved in this too?

  • by pfromglynneath,

    pfromglynneath pfromglynneath Jan 23, 2014 8:50 AM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iTunes
    Jan 23, 2014 8:50 AM in response to Limnos

    Hi Limnos,

     

    yes i did consolidate library. It appears to not have moved the itunes matched songs for some reason, so i have selected all and selected download. Perhaps this will fix my issues.

     

    WHat is the benefit of moving the library to the hard drive?

     

    edit

     

    no songs are now greyed. i selected all songs, get information. itunes then informed me itunes match was running, did i want to get information and cancel match. i didnt cancel match and now no songs are greyed.

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jan 23, 2014 8:55 AM in response to pfromglynneath
    Level 9 (54,621 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jan 23, 2014 8:55 AM in response to pfromglynneath

    benefit: To move the library in the future you drag the whole iTunes folder to the new drive, hold down the option key while starting iTunes, point to new location, iTunes starts as if nothing happened.  You can also use the library with a different computer.  It's easy to back up when it's all together.

     

    You cannot simply move a media-only folder to a new drive by dragging unless you maintain the folder structure exactly, and the new drive has the same name as the old one.  Yes, there's fixes but it's not as fast. 

     

    The main disadvantage to having the whole library on an external is if for some reason you keep some media on the external and some on the internal.  You can use iTunes with a bunch of broken links for media on an unattached external if you only want to play the files on the internal.  Then, of course, you need the library file (library.itl) on the internal drive.

     

    What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

     

    More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management

     

    What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html

     

    Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391