shahafs

Q: change one folder path in iTunes

Hey,

 

I've got a new computer, and I moved my iTunes folder already.

 

However, I don't have the music saved in my iTunes folder, but on my external hard drives instead.

 

I had some music files saved in my old My Documents folder and I wanted to move these onto one of my external hard drives

 

So I was wondering if I can select some files, and only change their path in bulk, instead of locating each file manually to its new location.

 

Would editing the .xml file help?

 

For example I had some files saved at C:/Documents and Settings/Computer Name/My Documents/xxxx

to D:/C Backup/My Documents/xxx

 

Is this possible?

 

Thanks

Posted on Dec 13, 2015 4:44 PM

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Q: change one folder path in iTunes

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  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Dec 13, 2015 5:17 PM in response to shahafs
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 13, 2015 5:17 PM in response to shahafs

    Ideally, you should go back to your old computer and consolidate your library so that all your media is contained within the iTunes\iTunes Media folder.  Then copy the complete iTunes folder (by default in C:\Users\username\Music) to the external hard drive.  Disconnect the latter, connect to your new computer, hold down SHIFT as you start iTunes, and when you see this prompt:

    Shift-Start Dialog.jpg

    click Choose Library... then navigate to and select the iTunes Library.itl file on the external HDD.

     

    See How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Support for "official guidance", and turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable for more detailed info on how to bring your library into a layout that makes it easy to move between discs or computers.

     

    Once complete, get a second external drive and use it to create and maintain a backup of your iTunes library.

  • by shahafs,

    shahafs shahafs Dec 13, 2015 5:27 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 13, 2015 5:27 PM in response to hhgttg27

    Hi,

     

    Thanks for your answer, but it didn't really answer my question.

     

    I currently don't have enough room on one of my hard drives to move all the files into one big library, so I don't really want to consolidate my files.

     

    About 95% of my music which is on my external hard drives moved properly to the iTunes on the new computer since I copied my old iTunes folder and the paths for those files didn't change.

     

    The issue is with some files that were saved locally on my computer.

    So can you change one folder name path only?

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Dec 13, 2015 5:35 PM in response to shahafs
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 13, 2015 5:35 PM in response to shahafs

    In general my advice would be to get a larger external HDD and use that for your library - it is far easier to manage an iTunes library and to move it between computers if everything is in one place.  How many files are involved?  Editing the XML version of the library and re-importing it is possible, though in some cases you can use iTunes facilities to locate one of the tracks for which the folder path in its database is incorrect and see if it then automatically corrects some or all of the others.

  • by shahafs,

    shahafs shahafs Dec 13, 2015 5:46 PM in response to hhgttg27
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 13, 2015 5:46 PM in response to hhgttg27

    Hey,

     

    I don't plan to move my library again in the next few years

     

    Can you specify on the facilities that can help locate the tracks automatically you mentioned? this is something I am very interested in

     

    Thanks!

  • by hhgttg27,

    hhgttg27 hhgttg27 Dec 13, 2015 5:54 PM in response to shahafs
    Level 5 (5,440 points)
    iTunes
    Dec 13, 2015 5:54 PM in response to shahafs

    "I don't plan to move my library again in the next few years"

     

    Maybe, but you don't want to lose it when your hard drive fails!  If you have a split library (database and media files in different locations) or one in which media files are distributed across different drives/locations it is far harder to create and maintain a backup against that eventuality.  Hard drives always fail - you just can't tell when its going to happen.

     

    iTunes facilities for repairing broken links are a little hit-and-miss.  Start with a song that's in your library that can't be found - symbol next to the song, can't be played.  Right-click and select Get Info.  When you get this prompt:

    Location prompt.jpg

    click on Locate then navigate to and select the media file in its actual location.  This will fix one track.  Now, see if other tracks have their location info update - iTunes has a degree of inferencing capability to automatically update other broken links matching the pattern of the one you've just fixed manually.

  • by turingtest2,

    turingtest2 turingtest2 Dec 13, 2015 6:52 PM in response to shahafs
    Level 10 (87,806 points)
    Apple TV
    Dec 13, 2015 6:52 PM in response to shahafs

    If iTunes own repair mechanism won't work for you try my FindTracks script.

     

    I'd second the recommendation to convert your library into a fully portable shape and make a backup.

     

    tt2