Spainadp

Q: problems with external hard drive in iTunes

i have transferred my iTunes library to an external airport wifi drive to save space on my mid 2010 MBP and now when i play the music from that drive  it seems to copy the music file back to my local MBP drive, any ideas why it does this please as i can not seem to find an answer for this.

 

thanks for any help.

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.1), 128 ssd

Posted on Dec 18, 2014 4:28 AM

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Q: problems with external hard drive in iTunes

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  • by pedro d,

    pedro d pedro d Dec 20, 2014 6:46 AM in response to Spainadp
    Community Specialists
    Dec 20, 2014 6:46 AM in response to Spainadp

    Hello there, Spainadp.

     

    When trying to organize and keep your iTunes Library in a location other than the default, the following Knowledge Base article offers information on how to accomplish that:

     

    Locate and organize your iTunes files - Apple Support

     

    Find and change the iTunes Media folder location

    You can change the iTunes Media folder location to share music between accounts on the same computer.

    1. Mac OS X: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
      Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences.
    2. Click the Advanced pane.

    In the Advance pane, you can also:

    • Make sure that you back up your media to your media folder. Click the check box next to "Copy files to itunes Media folder when adding to library."
    • Reset your media folder to the default location (the iTunes folder). Click the Reset button next to the location box.
    • Move your iTunes Media folder to a new location. Click the Change button next to the location box. After you change the location of the folder:
      • If you make a new or alternate iTunes library, the library will use the new location.
      • Existing files won't be moved unless you choose File > Library > Organize library and choose the option to "Consolidate files."

    If you want to move your music to a new computer, see How to move your music to a new computer.

    Copying music to and keeping the iTunes Media folder organized

    You can select these options on the Advanced pane of iTunes preferences:

    • "Keep iTunes Media folder organized." Learn more about how iTunes 9 and later organizes your media.
    • "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library." Select this option to store all of your media files in the iTunes Media folder. Since they're all in one location, you can easily transfer or back up your media.

      When you import media into iTunes from a CD, it's automatically added to your iTunes Media folder. If you add media to iTunes another way (choosing "Add to library" from the File menu or by dragging an MP3 file into iTunes), it might not be added to your iTunes Media folder.

     

    Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.

     

    Cheers,

    Pedro.