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
- Connect external HDD - I'll assume this is drive E:
- Create E:\iTunes and within this E:\iTunes\iTunes Media
- In iTunes, select Edit > Preferences > Advanced and set the iTunes Media folder location to E:\iTunes\iTunes Media
- Select File > Library > Organize Library:
- if the Reorganize files ... option is not greyed out, check it
- check Consolidate files
- click OK
- iTunes will then copy all files referenced by your iTunes library (i.e., those on both your internal HDDs) to the external drive
- 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:
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.
Posted on Jul 16, 2015 3:55 PM
