ddt460

Q: How do I link my external iTunes media folder, yes I searched.

My situation is that I have my iTunes media folder on an external hard drive.  It was being used with my 24" 2008 iMac.  I just upgraded to a new 27" 5K iMac, and intended to do a new setup rather than use migration assistant.  I thought that it would be a simple matter to point the new iTunes app to the old media folder on my external drive, but I'm finding out it is not so.  So I went to iTunes/preferences/advanced and set the iTunes media location to my external drive  volume, and opened the iTunes media folder there.  Then following some other recommendations, I went to organize Library, and clicked Consolidate files.  But iTunes still doesn't recognize my drive and folder, what am I missing?

Posted on Dec 8, 2015 9:47 PM

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Q: How do I link my external iTunes media folder, yes I searched.

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  • by Kenichi Watanabe,Apple recommended

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Dec 9, 2015 8:37 AM in response to ddt460
    Level 8 (39,917 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 9, 2015 8:37 AM in response to ddt460

    This is because your new iMac has a new (different) iTunes library.  It does not know about any of the media on the external drive.  Pointing iTunes preferences Advanced tab at the iTunes Media folder on the external drive is for new media going forward.  It does not put your old media files that are already there into the new iMac's new iTunes library.  The Consolidate command is also for media that the iTunes library knows about; for example, if you have iTunes media files stored in several different locations (that the iTunes library knows about), the Consolidate command puts them all into the designated iTunes Media folder.  But the problem here is that the new iTunes library on the new Mac does not know about your existing media.

     

    Hopefully, you still have access to your old Mac, with its iTunes library intact.  What you should do is transfer your entire iTunes library from the old Mac to the new Mac.  Because your iTunes Media folder is on an external drive, it is much easier.  Find your iTunes folder, in your user account Music folder (on the old Mac).  This is the location of your iTunes library database file.  The iTunes Media folder is also located there by default, but you put it on an external drive.  Leave it alone.  I do this too, and it will save you time.  Copy that iTunes folder to a USB flash drive, or other external drive.  Since your iTunes Media folder is not in the iTunes folder, it should be fairly small.  Disconnect it from old Mac and connect to new Mac.

     

    On the new Mac, find its (blank) iTunes folder (at the same location in your user account Music folder).  iTunes should NOT be running at this point.  Move that iTunes folder somewhere else, like to the Desktop.  Copy the iTunes folder from the OLD Mac to the NEW Mac to replace its iTunes folder.  So, put it in the user account Music folder.  Connect the external drive that has your iTunes Media folder.  Make sure it has the exact same name it had on your old Mac.  Now, launch iTunes.  It finds your iTunes library from the old Mac and uses it; iTunes looks like iTunes running on your old Mac with all content and supporting data (such as playlists, play count, ratings, etc.).  And the iTunes library finds its media files where it expects to find them, on the external drive with the iTunes Media folder.

     

    The iTunes folder you moved to the Desktop can be deleted, unless there are items there that are not in your old (now current) iTunes library.  If there are such items, manually add them to your iTunes library.

     

    This document (below) describes this complete procedure in full detail

     

    How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Support

     

    but again, your situation is different (easier) because your iTunes Media folder is already on an external drive, so there is no time-consuming step to copy it off the old iMac's internal drive.

  • by Limnos,Apple recommended

    Limnos Limnos Dec 9, 2015 8:27 AM in response to ddt460
    Level 9 (54,543 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 9, 2015 8:27 AM in response to ddt460

    That's because preferences don't point to old media. A library is all the files and folders in the iTunes folder working together.  In particular it is the iTunes Library.itl file that ties it all together.  You have what is known as a split library (parts on different drives) which is less than optimal. You need to copy the iTunes folder from the old computer to the new one so the new iTunes starts using the same .itl file and knows where everything is.  Right now you have the equivalent of a city library where somebody has taken away the building and infrastructure and left a pile of books on the sidewalk.

  • by turingtest2,Apple recommended

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Dec 9, 2015 5:21 PM in response to ddt460
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 9, 2015 5:21 PM in response to ddt460
  • by ddt460,

    ddt460 ddt460 Dec 9, 2015 8:43 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 9, 2015 8:43 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    Thanks, this helps, and I am trying to do this right now.  I went to the Apple link you provided and it is a little confusing.  I started to use the external drive to save space on my internal, of course, having an older computer.  However, I thought that whole thing was on the external.  Now, when I look at the itunes folder in my user Music folder, I see that that it is about 9 GB in size.  Inside of this folder is another itunes media folder about 6 GB in size.  When I look at the media folder on my external drive it is about 83 GB in size.  (which I had always assumed was all my actual music files)  What constitutes the 9 GB in the Music folder of my internal drive?

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Dec 9, 2015 8:47 AM in response to ddt460
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 9, 2015 8:47 AM in response to ddt460

    When you have a split library if you should ever launch iTunes with the external drive offline iTunes will automatically and silently reset the path to the media folder to the default internal path. Unless you notice and change the media folder again in preferences it stays that way. The 9 Gb is likely to be your most recent additions to the library, plus the database, album artwork and other supporting files of the library.

     

    tt2

  • by ddt460,

    ddt460 ddt460 Dec 9, 2015 8:54 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 9, 2015 8:54 AM in response to turingtest2

    This is food for thought.  Yes, it has happened that I have launched iTunes without the external drive, and got things confused.  Since this is my desktop, and doesn't move, it is not a big problem, but making the library portable is something I'll definitely look into.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Dec 9, 2015 9:20 AM in response to ddt460
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 9, 2015 9:20 AM in response to ddt460

    The benefits of a "portable" library are that it is easily moved from one folder/drive/computer to another, easy to backup, and easy to restore a backup to a working state when needed. Putting a portable library on a portable external drive just makes it even more portable, but it isn't the primary concern.

     

    tt2

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Dec 9, 2015 2:13 PM in response to ddt460
    Level 8 (39,917 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 9, 2015 2:13 PM in response to ddt460

    When you change the setting for the iTunes Media folder location to the external drive, that is for new media going forward.  Existing media remains stored in the iTunes media folder wherever it was before the change.  So, my guess is that the 6GB iTunes Media folder has your earlier media (before you changed location to the external drive) and the 83GB iTunes Media folder has your later media.

     

    You can still perform the transfer as I described...  Replace the iTunes folder (in the user account Music folder) on the new Mac with the iTunes folder from the old Mac, and connect the external drive (named the same way as before) with iTunes media folder.  On the new Mac, iTunes now uses your old iTunes folder.  iTunes continues to access media files from BOTH iTunes Media folders. 

     

    Once you have things working with iTunes and confirm everything is there, you can use the Consolidate Library command (if you want everything to be store in the external drive iTunes Media folder).  Make sure the setting for iTunes Media folder in iTunes preferences Advanced pane is currently set to the external drive location.  You should also checkmark the box for Keep iTunes Media folder organized, if it's not already.  Then, from the menu bar

     

    File -> Library -> Organize Library -> Consolidate files (check box)

     

    This command copies iTunes media files that are stored elsewhere, into the designated iTunes Media folder.  NOTE:  iTunes does not erase the existing files; after you have confirmed iTunes is now accessing media from the external drive iTunes Media folder, you can delete the other iTunes Media folder using Finder.

  • by ddt460,

    ddt460 ddt460 Dec 13, 2015 4:47 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 13, 2015 4:47 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    Okay, so I followed your instructions and am now able to connect to my External Drives Media and see all my music.  I also consolidated the library, and dragged the old iTunes folder that was in the home location to the desktop.  Now iTunes runs and locates the iTunes folder on my external drive; does that mean like tt2 says that my library is portable?

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Dec 13, 2015 5:53 PM in response to ddt460
    Level 8 (39,917 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 13, 2015 5:53 PM in response to ddt460

    The drive itself is obviously "portable." For iTunes, it is portable in the sense that you can more easily change to a new Mac going forward.  All of your iTunes media files are on the external drive, so there is no need to copy your iTunes media files from internal drive of old computer to internal drive of new computer (which can take a bit of time).  Just copy the iTunes folder (in the user account Music folder), which will be fairly small without the iTunes Media folder, from old computer to new computer.  Then, attach the same external drive with your iTunes Media folder.  Run iTunes; it sees the same external drive and uses it like before.  (For Windows users, make sure the external drive uses the same "drive letter" as before.)

     

    A disadvantage is that you always need to have this external drive connected and turned on when you run iTunes.  So although the external drive is "portable," you should not be constantly connecting it and disconnecting it.  It should usually be connected to your current Mac, until you buy a new Mac.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Dec 13, 2015 6:09 PM in response to ddt460
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 13, 2015 6:09 PM in response to ddt460

    A library is portable (in the sense used in Make a split library portable) if the database (normally called iTunes Library.itl) is housed in a library folder (normally called iTunes) which also contains the designated media folder (normally called iTunes Media) which in turn contains all the media that is connected to the library.

     

    The names aren't set in stone, it is the the relationship between the components that really matters, however using the standard name for the media folder cuts down on some additional housekeeping that might otherwise be required when switching between multiple libraries on the same computer or moving a library to a new computer.

     

    The user tip should explain how to manipulate a working but split library into a portable shape, but I can give further advice should you be interested if you let me know where the components are.

     

    tt2

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Dec 13, 2015 8:59 PM in response to turingtest2
    Level 8 (39,917 points)
    Mac OS X
    Dec 13, 2015 8:59 PM in response to turingtest2

    To be clear, what tt2 describes is a different setup.  What I described (and what I believe you use) is the more "mainstream" approach.  Your iTunes library database file (which defines your iTunes library) remains in the iTunes folder, which is in your user account Music folder.  That's the default setup.  You are only using a setting in iTunes preferences to change location of the iTunes Media folder.  Later, if you want to move your iTunes Media folder to a different location like a larger external drive (or you want to put it back in the default location), you would just change that setting.  Then, you use that consolidate library command to have iTunes copy your media files to that new location.  Make sure you let iTunes do it instead of copying the files manually using Finder (because iTunes will lose track of where the files are located if you move the files outside of iTunes).

     

    The other (different) setup puts the iTunes library file itself on the external drive, along with the iTunes media files.  I would consider it more advanced, requiring a greater understanding of how iTunes works.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Dec 14, 2015 4:08 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 14, 2015 4:08 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    Converting a split library into a portable one is certainly advanced iTunes library management, but the shape of a portable library is the one that iTunes creates when it is first installed. If you always move the library as a whole instead of changing the media folder and consolidating then it is a much simpler way to move things around. In addition a clone of a portable library folder is a fully functioning library, whereas things may get overlooked in a split scenario, and reconstruction after a disaster may be more complicated. I've seen many posts where the user thought that their library was safe on the external drive because they had consolidated the media there, only to discover their mistake after reformatting the system drive or disposing of their old computer.

     

    tt2

  • by ddt460,

    ddt460 ddt460 Dec 14, 2015 6:51 AM in response to turingtest2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 14, 2015 6:51 AM in response to turingtest2

    I have configured my iTunes library according to how Kenichi has described, and it works, all the media is consolidated on the external drive. Thanks!  I was mistaken and confused because I thought that by removing my iTunes folder from the user account Music folder that it would use the iTunes folder on the external drive like tt2 described, but I found out that iTunes simply put a new iTunes folder in my user account Music folder and that the database iTunes Library.itl still resides in the user account Music folder.  So, also now understand what tt2 is saying.  So, it is somewhat of a personal choice if I want to try and make it portable like tt2 describes.  The way it it is now, my external drive sits on my desktop always connected, so that is not a problem.  I am going to reread your tutorial on how to make the library portable, and think about the pros and cons again, I might come back with more questions and clarifications.  One question, is the folder Previous iTunes Libraries of any practical importance if the current Library is complete and running?  I know it contains many old .itl databases.  Thanks for all your comments.

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