Q: Move iTunes library to external hard drive?

Hi I don't understand where I am finding the folder to drag please help me.  Your instructions seem simple but when I am looking at it I don't see that part

Hello.

I have never posted before so I apologize for any errors. I attempted to move my entire itunes library (music/movies) to an external hard drive, however still access them through iTunes. My internal hard drive is full, so I needed to move everything to an external drive. I used this process (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449) first. At the end, I deleted my library from the internal hard drive. However, I still have no space on internal drive. I later found the explanation on this post (using the "option" key), however I can not locate my library on the internal or external drive. I apologize if I am not using the correct terminology. Feel free to use really "dumbed down" explanations.

I suspect you used iTunes to consolidate the media to the path, that is create copies of the files in their new locations, link the entries in the library to the new copies, leaving the originals in place. Space isn't automatically freed up because the originals are left behind. I then suspect that instead of deleting the iTunes Media folder on the original drive you deleted the parent folder iTunes which contains the database for the library. Once this is done iTunes will create a new empty library next time it starts. There is no iTunes Library.itl file for you to find on the external drive because you never copied it there.

If you have a backup of the original iTunes folder in Time Machine or elsewhere you may be able to recover the missing database, otherwise you're probably going to need to reimport the media into an empty library.

See also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.

tt2

Hi everyone,

I am about to move my itunes library from my macbook to an external hard drive, which already contains an old version of my itunes library that I saved as back up.  After reading through the above, I'm not quite sure where to start, so hoping you can help me please...

My goal is for the backed-up version of my library and the library currently on my computer to come together (without duplicates and missing songs/albums), so that I am able to access them via itunes.  Do I need to create a slit drive to do this?

Also, once everything is moved off of my computer, will I still be able to access the playlists I've created? 

Thanks for the help!

Thank you Limnos.  Is it then still easy to Sync or otherwise get updates after the library is off-loaded? If I follow the "shift" Open iTunes library , (PC), and choose my externall device, will it sync to regular devices still as if it's still on the hard drive?  Thanks in advance for the reply.  My husband's iTunes has killed my hard drive and it's time to get it better organized and off the hard drive.

When you relocate the library properly to a new hard drive or computer and then connect to it iTunes behaves as if nothing has changed. All your content will be present, downloads and updates come into the new media folder and your devices will sync as before. You should always backup the library to a second drive for security.

tt2

it has been working properly from the external hard drive for months, its only since the last itunes update that it doesnt recognise the library

estia wrote:

 

it has been working properly from the external hard drive for months, its only since the last itunes update that it doesnt recognise the library

See Empty/corrupt iTunes library after upgrade/crash.

tt2

Thanks, turingtest2.  I've since moved my library, but have now lost all of my playlist information.  From everything I've been reading, I should be able to re-import the .itl files from either my backup or my time machine and they should be restored, but it's not working for me.  So much love and time went into making these playlists that I hate to lose them.  Any help here?  When I try to import the itl files, I get a message saying 'The file “iTunes Library.itl” cannot be imported because it does not appear to be a valid exported file.' .  Thanks for any help!

Hi. The .itl files are not importable. You can open alternate library files by holding down shift (Win) or option (Mac) as you launch iTunes. However if you've moved things around in the wrong way then the library may not be able to "see" your media.

tt2

Thanks I did try that route without success, but have just discovered a previous libraries folder and now have my playlists returned.  Thank you so much!

You're welcome.

tt2

Hi turingtest2, it's me again...

So I continue to battle with moving my itunes library from my computer to an external hard drive.  I've moved everything over and saved my playlists, but then discovered it didn't recognise some the location of some of my music.  Sigh.  I've since sorted this out, but have just noticed that the data on my external hard drive is 53GB while the data in my itunes folder on my computer is 75GB.  Clearly I don't want to lose 20GB worth of music.  Is there some explanation for this?  When I do a quick spot check all appears in place...

thanks again for your help.

Where is iTunes looking for the media? Is the external supposed to be a clone of the main library? If so what are you using to clone one copy to the other?

tt2

It's looking for the media on my external, which was supposed to be a clone, I think... I followed the directions from apple so I could move my files but keep my playlists (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449).