iPhD
Level 1 (29 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Library file & Media folder not in same location--Need to be!

iTunes 11.3  and  OS 10.9.4

 

My iTunes media is located on an external drive {  /Volumes/Apostle/iTunes media  }

My iTunes Library files are located on the main iMac {   users/*****/Music/iTunes   }

 

I am trying to use a third-party application that will determine the bpm of the songs and then write that info to the ID3 tags. However, the FAQ for the application says the database files, Library.itl and Library.xml, and the Media folder should be in the same location.

 

The amount of media I have is far too large to live on my main computer.

 

How can I move the Library file or files to the Media folder on the external drive and not lose any of comments, ratings, playlists, etc.?

iMac (27-inch Mid 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.4)

Posted on Jul 20, 2014 9:42 PM

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iPhD

Q: Library file & Media folder not in same location--Need to be!

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  • by Jay-Ray,

    Jay-Ray Jay-Ray Jul 20, 2014 10:22 PM in response to iPhD
    Level 4 (2,692 points)
    iPhone
    Jul 20, 2014 10:22 PM in response to iPhD

    The comments, ratings, playlists, etc are indexed into your iTunes Library.itl file located in ~/Music/iTunes

     

    You iTunes Media Folder only hosts the actual raw media files, which you have on your external.

     

    It is possible to move your iTunes Library.itl file and all the other files located in ~/Music/iTunes into your external, but the iTunes program will only look to ~/Music/iTunes for this .itl file.  If it is absent it will just create a new on in it's place when you open iTunes.

     

    So in the end, leave the .itl file in it's current location.  (Some people may make a copy of this for backup.)  If your third party program REQUIRES that all files be in the same location, the only way to do this an have iTunes function as expected is to move your media folder back to ~/Music/iTunes.

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Jul 21, 2014 6:31 AM in response to iPhD
    Level 9 (54,353 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jul 21, 2014 6:31 AM in response to iPhD

    Use the links below to get an idea as to the standard structure for iTunes.

     

    Back up your computer.

     

    You can drag-copy your iTunes folder from your main drive to the external drive.  Hold down the option/alt key while starting iTunes and guide iTunes to use the iTune Library.itl file on the external drive.  Now there's still the issue that your media folder isn't inside the iTunes folder in the standard location.  You can try dragging the media folder there and start iTunes.  iTunes may fuss about broken links but if you find a single link iTunes should ask if you want it to try to fix others based on standard media folder structure and that single link location.  At the end of this you should have a standard iTunes library structure as per the links below:

     

    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

     

    iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847

     

    Image of folder structure and explanation of different iTunes versions (turingtest2 post) - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-7392

     

     

     

    I'm surprised the application needs standard structure.  It should just be able to look at a file, determine BPM, then write the BPM data to the BPM tag in the file.  It probably wants to get iTunes to update the BPM stored in its own library otherwise the updated BPM would no display until the next time yu played hte file, or if you got iTunes to re-scan the tags from the files (not easy without using a special script).