iTunes run from External Hard Drive does not recognize when iPhone is connected, so I cannot back up

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iTunes run from External Hard Drive does not recognize when iPhone is connected, so I cannot back up

Many years ago I moved my iTunes (and Photos) to an external hard drive to save space on my Mac. After updating to Mojave, now when I connect the external hard drive (Seagate), then connect my iPhone, and open iTunes, the iPhone is not showing up on connected. Thus, I cannot backup my iPhone nor update the iTunes libraries.

I have tried to open iTunes via various routes ("command" then iTunes to be sure it's connecting to the correct library; opening iTunes directly from the external drive, etc...) and it iPhone is not showing up anywhere.

Thank you in advance for any assistance!

Posted on Sep 15, 2019 2:34 PM

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Answer 1

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turingtest2

Level 10

278,061 points

Sep 16, 2019 8:45 AM in response to finkr

The location of your library isn't relevant to the issue with device detection. See If iTunes doesn't recognize your iPhone, iPad, or iPod - Apple Support. Use a known good cable, check the docking port for fluff, unlock the device before connecting, trust the computer if prompted.

tt2

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