Ronnie Drew

Q: Backing up iTunes from 2 internal hard drives

Hi,

 

I have a Dell laptop that came with 2 x 250GB internal hard drives.

 

I use it mainly for iTunes (circa. 10,000 songs in my iTunes library).

 

One of the drives is full so I changed the "iTunes Media Folder location" to the unused drive and it works fine and any new music I import is stored there.

 

My question is what is the best way of backing up both drives to a single back up drive and restoring say to a new single hard drive in the event of my existing laptop failing or is it possible at all/am I screwed in the event of my laptop failing?!

 

Thanks...

iPhone 6 Plus, Windows 8

Posted on Jul 16, 2015 1:40 PM

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Q: Backing up iTunes from 2 internal hard drives

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  • by hhgttg27,Apple recommended

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Jul 16, 2015 3:55 PM in response to Ronnie Drew
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Jul 16, 2015 3:55 PM in response to Ronnie Drew
    1. Connect external HDD - I'll assume this is drive E:
    2. Create E:\iTunes and within this E:\iTunes\iTunes Media
    3. In iTunes, select Edit > Preferences > Advanced and set the iTunes Media folder location to E:\iTunes\iTunes Media
    4. Select File > Library > Organize Library:
      • if the Reorganize files ... option is not greyed out, check it
      • check Consolidate files
      • click OK
    5. iTunes will then copy all files referenced by your iTunes library (i.e., those on both your internal HDDs) to the external drive
    6. Once this has completed, make sure that everything's working as it should do - you can then delete the iTunes Media folders on your internal HDDs.

     

    You may also want to move your iTunes database, artwork folders, etc. to the external drive, so that the structure on E: looks like this:

    Well Formed Library.jpg

    This puts all the data that comprises the iTunes library in a common location (easier to backup, easier to move between systems) - see turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable for more details.  You should also get a second external drive and use this to create and maintain a backup of your library - see Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suitable/recommended method.

  • by Ronnie Drew,

    Ronnie Drew Ronnie Drew Jul 16, 2015 10:41 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 16, 2015 10:41 PM in response to hhgttg27

    Thank you for your help.

     

    So it will capture all the songs from both iTunes Music Folder locations and put them in 1 place?

     

    I've since been thinking of getting a Mac Book. Is it easy to transfer from a PC to a Mac that will put al the iTunes songs in one place and will work ok?

     

    I have read about transferring from a PC to a Mac in the support forums and it appears to be easy enough but I'm concerned it may not work or be easy given I have 2 internal drives?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jul 17, 2015 5:44 AM in response to Ronnie Drew
    Level 10 (87,858 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 17, 2015 5:44 AM in response to Ronnie Drew

    The steps 1-6 above will consolidate all of your media into one media folder. If you're thinking of migrating systems then you also need to make the library portable as shown in Make a split library portable. Consolidating to \iTunes\iTunes Media as suggested leaves space for the library files to be copied into \iTunes.

     

    Macs can read NTFS drives natively but cannot write to them without an additional driver. You can either buy one of these, or transfer the portable version of the library over to an HFS+ formatted drive using the Mac.

     

    tt2

  • by Ronnie Drew,

    Ronnie Drew Ronnie Drew Jul 17, 2015 6:48 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 17, 2015 6:48 AM in response to turingtest2

    OK, that's brillian, thanks for your help

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Jul 17, 2015 6:58 AM in response to Ronnie Drew
    Level 10 (87,858 points)
    Apple TV
    Jul 17, 2015 6:58 AM in response to Ronnie Drew

    You're welcome.

     

    tt2

  • by pablohoney1,

    pablohoney1 pablohoney1 Oct 3, 2016 5:13 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 5:13 AM in response to turingtest2

    Just getting back to this. I just want to back up my 2 internal hard drives in case something happened my 8 year old Dell Studio 1735 laptop and continue using the laptop.

     

    So if I do the back up like you detailed above can I change the media folder location back to what is currently is after or is the process above just for moving drives?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Oct 3, 2016 5:59 AM in response to pablohoney1
    Level 10 (87,858 points)
    Apple TV
    Oct 3, 2016 5:59 AM in response to pablohoney1

    There are two separate but related suggestions in this thread. One is about putting the iTunes library into a portable layout so that it is easy to move around without breaking the links from the database to the media. If your library is currently split and you do this then any changes you make to the media folder will become permanent. Putting or keeping your library in this layout makes it easier to back up as there is only one source folder to worry about, and the backup copy is ready to use as a standalone library in the event of an issue with the source copy. The backup process is efficient, backing up only changes each time you run it. The tool I suggest can be used to backup any set of folders in Windows, not just an iTunes library. You can use it to backup the two internal drives to two folders on a larger external drive or, more usually, any subset of folders on those drives that contain your documents and data, since the OS and programs are probably better off being reinstalled from scratch. The main limitation is that it cannot backup files that are actively in use.

     

    tt2

  • by pablohoney1,

    pablohoney1 pablohoney1 Oct 3, 2016 6:45 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 6:45 AM in response to turingtest2

    I suppose what am I really wondering now is if I consolidate my library like is described above to an external hard drive and change the iTunes media folder location back to the original internal drive location will iTunes work as it had before?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Oct 3, 2016 6:59 AM in response to pablohoney1
    Level 10 (87,858 points)
    Apple TV
    Oct 3, 2016 6:59 AM in response to pablohoney1

    Consolidating is a one-time process that makes a new copy of any track that is outside of the designated media folder inside the media folder and reconnects the iTunes database to that new copy. iTunes ignores the original thereafter. If you attempt to add it again iTunes will do so, since it doesn't match (by filepath) anything already in the library. You only need to consolidate media if you add it to iTunes when it is stored on paths outside of the designated media folder, and you have the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" turned off. Anything ripped, purchased, converted or transferred from a device already ends up inside the media folder.

     

    Changing the media folder tells iTunes where to store newly added content in future. iTunes will also ask if you want to consolidate the existing content to the newly selected media folder. You should not need to change the media folder as part of any backup process, unless we're talking about making a split library portable to simplify things in future. Again if you do this then you're looking at a one time change that you won't need to revisit. Changing the media folder path is not the way to switch between libraries, that is achieved by holding down shift (Windows) or alt/option (macOS) as you launch iTunes and then choosing a different .itl file. The advice on making a library portable can be applied equally well to data that is on internal drives as external ones.

     

    tt2

  • by pablohoney1,

    pablohoney1 pablohoney1 Oct 3, 2016 7:11 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 7:11 AM in response to turingtest2

    Thanks. What would you recommend as how I go a backing up the 2 internal drives to a single external drive?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Oct 3, 2016 7:40 AM in response to pablohoney1
    Level 10 (87,858 points)
    Apple TV
    Oct 3, 2016 7:40 AM in response to pablohoney1

    It depends on what data you've got on them and how they are organized already. Why not start by following Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy and put the iTunes backup in the root of the new backup drive. See Make a split library portable if your library is currently split first. Once you've played with the software once you should be able to explore its features and decide how to choose and arrange other data that you want to backup. You can then preview and update individual folder pairs when you've changed data or run the All Folder Pairs option to update everything in one hit.

     

    tt2

  • by pablohoney1,

    pablohoney1 pablohoney1 Oct 3, 2016 7:49 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (8 points)
    Oct 3, 2016 7:49 AM in response to turingtest2

    Great. Thanks again for your help.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Oct 3, 2016 7:51 AM in response to pablohoney1
    Level 10 (87,858 points)
    Apple TV
    Oct 3, 2016 7:51 AM in response to pablohoney1

    You're welcome.

     

    tt2