mac21958

Q: how do use itunes on external hard drive to a new computer

had an old computer with an external hard drive.  I NOW want to use that same external hard drive to run on my new computer.  i only use the external hard drive to store my music.  thanks for help..  please help me..  i am using windows 8

windows 8

Posted on Mar 10, 2013 11:19 PM

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Q: how do use itunes on external hard drive to a new computer

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  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 15, 2014 9:39 AM in response to mitraveler
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 15, 2014 9:39 AM in response to mitraveler

    The suggestion was made on the assupmtion that your old library file was in the iTunes folder. I suppose you could now have a case of Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash.

     

    BTW, the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be inside iTunes, not iTunes Media.

     

    tt2

  • by brooklynkid7,

    brooklynkid7 brooklynkid7 Jan 31, 2014 10:01 AM in response to mac21958
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 31, 2014 10:01 AM in response to mac21958

    My Fault the reply was meant for someone else.

  • by brooklynkid7,

    brooklynkid7 brooklynkid7 Jan 31, 2014 10:00 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 31, 2014 10:00 AM in response to turingtest2

    Ok quick question I want to transfer itunes libaray to another computer but i have music files in many different folders i would say at-least four i'm not sure. In addition to that I'm currently running Version 10.6..3 on this computer. On the new computer i have the lastest version of itunes do i have to reinstall iTunes to version 10.6.3? In addition i want to run iTunes off an external hardrive on the new computer. Any Suggestions? I already consolidated the library but i haven't added the files to that folder because i don't have enough on the old computer.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jan 31, 2014 11:43 AM in response to brooklynkid7
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Jan 31, 2014 11:43 AM in response to brooklynkid7

    Quick answer. See this migrate iTunes library post.

     

    You need to get the entire library operating on the external drive in a portable form. You can then move it to the new computer. Note that you can connect a library to a newer instance of iTunes, but not an older one. If you want the flexibility to work with the library from either machine then both need to run the same build.

     

    tt2

  • by mac21958,

    mac21958 mac21958 Feb 17, 2014 11:12 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2014 11:12 AM in response to turingtest2

    this is me again.  You helped me out last year and were a big help.   I had a virus on my computer, and I had to get rid of itunes and restart my computer.  I am again having problems with getting itunes on my computer from an external drive.  Last year you gave me these directions that worked:

     

     

    1. If your media is currently in a folder called F:\iTunes rename this folder something like F:\Temp
    2. Click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and continue to hold down the left shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. 
    3. Click create, browse to F:\ edit the folder name if neccessary to iTunes and click Save
    4. Check under Edit > Preferences > Advanced that the media folder is set to F:\iTunes\iTunes Media - correct if not. 
    5. Move the folder F:\Temp to F:\iTunes\iTunes Media\Temp 
    6. Use File > Add Folder to Library (press ALT or CTRL-B to reveal the menu bar if it isn't shown) and add the folder F:\iTunes\iTunes Media\Temp.

     

     

    I am confused at step five: where do I move f:\temp.  Do I move that to the media folder? 

     

    thanks for the help.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 17, 2014 3:59 PM in response to mac21958
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 17, 2014 3:59 PM in response to mac21958

    Hi. Those instructions would have been specific to those circumstances that existed at the time. Perhaps you should take a step back and explain what issue you have right now that you are trying to solve.

     

    tt2

  • by mac21958,

    mac21958 mac21958 Feb 17, 2014 6:41 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2014 6:41 PM in response to turingtest2

    Thanks for responding:

     

    I have an external hard drive with all my itunes on.  Last year you helped me get it going on my laptop.  My computer got the trojan virus; so it had to be clean.  I lost my set up for my external drive with all my itunes.   I have the computer back, and I tried doing the steps you sent me last year, and it did not work.

     

     

    1. If your media is currently in a folder called F:\iTunes rename this folder something like F:\Temp.  
    2. Click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and continue to hold down the left shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library.  
    3. Click create, browse to F:\ edit the folder name if neccessary to iTunes and click Save.  
    4. Check under Edit > Preferences > Advanced that the media folder is set to F:\iTunes\iTunes Media - correct if not.    of
    5. Move the folder F:\Temp to F:\iTunes\iTunes Media\Temp  
    6. Use File > Add Folder to Library (press ALT or CTRL-B to reveal the menu bar if it

     

    I did step one.  I think I had the folder from the first time as I called it tempitunes.  That folder has all my music on it (tempitunes)

     

    I did step two with no problems

    step 3: I did step three a few times.  I have one folder call F:\ itunes and another called f:\itunes 2

    step 4: media folder in itunes is set to f:\itunes\itunes media

    step 5:  I do not know how to do step 5  Where do I do step 5?  How do I do step 5?

     

    You made this comment last year and maybe this will help you:

    "once your library is organized like this on your external drive you can move it any other computer running the same build of itunes and connect using the shift-start--itunes technique to choose it, whatever drive letter it appears "

     

    thanks for your help..

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 17, 2014 7:20 PM in response to mac21958
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 17, 2014 7:20 PM in response to mac21958

    New set of steps for the situation as I now understand it...

     

    1. Pedantic I know, but hopefully you've used the correct capital letters and have a folder called F:\iTunes - if not select the folder from within F:\ and press F2 to edit the folder name.

    2. Inside F:\iTunes there should be a folder called iTunes Media, again the correct capitals please.

    3. Presumably this tempitunes folder you mention is in F:\ so browse to F:\ using Windows Explorer, select tempitunes and press CTRL+X on the keyboard to "cut" then browse to F:\iTunes\iTunes Media and press CTRL+V to "Paste".

    4. Once the folder has finished moving click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and continue to hold down the left shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library.

    5. Click choose, and browse to F:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl
    6. Check under Edit > Preferences > Advanced that the media folder is set to F:\iTunes\iTunes Media - correct if not. (Press ALT or CTRL+B to reveal the menu bar if it isn't shown)

    7. Use File > Add Folder to Library and add the folder F:\iTunes\iTunes Media\tempitunes

     

    tt2

  • by mac21958,

    mac21958 mac21958 Feb 17, 2014 10:18 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2014 10:18 PM in response to turingtest2

    I got my itunes up, but I cannot sync my ipod as I get this error message:

     

    "The ipod mmmmm ipod cannot be syched a duplicate file name was specified"

     

    I also see I got duplicate of every album when I connected my external drive to itunes.  Why did this happen?

     

    What can I do to sync my ipod

     

    Thanks for all your help

  • by mac21958,

    mac21958 mac21958 Feb 17, 2014 10:50 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 17, 2014 10:50 PM in response to turingtest2

    I have another question:  When I was in advanced preference in Itunes should the box: copy files to itunes folder when adding to library " should this box been checked or unchecked?  I have duplicate of every song.

     

    Thanks for help

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 18, 2014 1:43 AM in response to mac21958
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 18, 2014 1:43 AM in response to mac21958

    mac21958 wrote:

     

    I got my itunes up, but I cannot sync my ipod as I get this error message:

     

    "The ipod mmmmm ipod cannot be syched a duplicate file name was specified"

     

    This error usually indicates a problem with the folder iPod Photo Cache in whichever folder of pictures you have selected to sync with the device. Delete the folder iPod Photo Cache and the problem should be resolved, iTunes will regenerate the cache on the next sync.

     

    tt2

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 18, 2014 2:09 AM in response to mac21958
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 18, 2014 2:09 AM in response to mac21958

    This is why I asked you to explain what problem you were trying to resolve... Applying the solution I gave the first time around to a different set of circumstances was likely to have unexpected consequences.

     

     

     

    Apple's official advice on duplicates is here... HT2905 - How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls.

     

    In the Songs view use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items to display duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created.  If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.

     

    Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.


     

    (If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed)

     

     

     

    Before you begin I've assumed, since you've not said anything in this regard, that both duplicate copies of each track play. If not then you have a different kind of problem and need to clean the broken links using a different proceedure which we can discuss.


     

    mac21958 wrote:

     

    I have another question:  When I was in advanced preference in Itunes should the box: copy files to itunes folder when adding to library " should this box been checked or unchecked?

     

    This option affects what happens when you add files stored outside the media folder into the library. If enabled iTunes makes a copy of each track inside the media folder and connects to it. If you import the same folder again iTunes makes duplictes because it isn't already connected to the file you are importing. If you disable the option iTunes becomes connected to the files on the original paths. If you attempt to reimport nothing happens. Generally the option is best left enabled so that if, for example, you play a file from a memory stick, iTunes gets its own copy that will work when the memory stick is removed. The reason for putting the "temp" folder inside the iTunes Media folder in previous instructions was to make sure that no duplicates were generated. This was on the assumption that you were importing nothing but media files into an empty library. It is possible that the presence of an iTunes Library.xml file in the imported folder may be the reason for the duplication.

     

    tt2

  • by mac21958,

    mac21958 mac21958 Feb 18, 2014 2:42 AM in response to mac21958
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 18, 2014 2:42 AM in response to mac21958

    let me start all over.

     

    at the present time I have Itunes on an external hard drive.  I installed itunes and now I have double of every song.

     

    I want to keep itunes on the external hard drive.

     

    I had itunes on this computer until last week, then I had to delete itunes as I had the trojan virus.

     

    What can I do to start all over with itunes?  I want to keep my music on my external hard drive?  I do not want to have duplicate songs.  

     

    Thanks for your help.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Feb 18, 2014 3:24 AM in response to mac21958
    Level 10 (87,851 points)
    Apple TV
    Feb 18, 2014 3:24 AM in response to mac21958

    mac21958 wrote:

     

    I had itunes on this computer until last week, then I had to delete itunes as I had the trojan virus.

     

    Do you mean that you wiped the operating system which as a consequence removed the iTunes application from your computer? The correct action following that would have been to install iTunes on your reinstalled Windows and then...

     

    Click the icon to start iTunes and immediately press and continue to hold down the left shift key. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click choose, and browse to F:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl

     

    (Where F could be substituted with the appropriate drive letter if different)

     

    No other actions would have been necessary. Since that moment has passed, and you now have a library containing duplicates, we need to work out how to recover the situation. I've posted a guide to deduping above.

     

    If you look inside the media folder do you have multiple copies of each track in the album folders, or do the duplicates only show in the iTunes interface?

     

    Do both copies of the duplicated tracks play?

     

    If you look inside F:\iTunes\iTunes Media\tempitunes what files and folders do you see? Presumably this is the remnants of what used to be F:\iTunes before you started rearranging things prematurely.

     

    tt2

  • by mac21958,

    mac21958 mac21958 Feb 18, 2014 8:30 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 18, 2014 8:30 AM in response to turingtest2

    i believe they wiped the operating system.  I had no itunes on my computer when I got it back.  I just had the folder called tempitunes.

     

    tempitunes has the following folders

    ipod games

    itunes1

    temp

     

    have multiple tracks in both folders and in itunes.  both tracks play

     

    I do not see the guide you talked about.

     

    what are my next steps.

     

    Thanks again for the help

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