How to find ALL media files in Big Sur (Books, AudioBooks, Music, etc)

Question

Level 2

164 points

How to find ALL media files in Big Sur (Books, AudioBooks, Music, etc)

I plan to do a true Clean Install of Monterey, and want to manually store ALL my data files on an external HD. A backup of the Documents folder is easy. But for the media files only Pictures/Photos is well organised. The other files are seemingly hidden at "exploded" locations in the file system.

Is there a list available somewhere that collects all file locations to consider?

Ideally, together with hints for reimport into Monterey ...

iMac 24″, macOS 11.6

Posted on Oct 30, 2021 2:41 PM

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Answer 1

Old Toad

Level 10

215,894 points

Nov 1, 2021 10:11 AM in response to bwadma

If you have an external HD that you can use you should copy your Photos Library, Music Library and other Documents and make sure they are working OK before proceeding with the erasure.

Also if you have any audiobooks or ebooks in your Books folder those are stored in you Library folder, specifically here:

I'd copy the com.apple.BIAgentService file to the EHD and then back to the new Library/Containers folder when you're done.

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Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

215,894 points

Oct 31, 2021 4:27 PM in response to bwadma

As you've already been told the easiest way to do what you want is to use Time Machine to make a backup of your Mac HD - Data volume.

When you erase and reinstall the system you'll be asked to use Migration Assistant to bring over your data file, apps, settings etc.

Select those you want to bring over and continue.

Doing it the way you propose will destroy your iTunes/Music library, iPhoto/Photos library among other things.

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Answer 3

Rob_H1

Community Specialist

Oct 31, 2021 2:33 PM in response to bwadma

Hey there bwadma,

Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities. We understand that you're wanting to backup your Mac to an external hard drive. We're happy to provide some assistance.

Check out this helpful resource:

Back up your Mac with Time Machine

Have a great day!

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Answer 4

bwadma Author

Level 2

164 points

Nov 1, 2021 12:34 AM in response to Rob_H1

Hi Rob_H1, thanks for your reply.

I have TimeMachine up and running.

But I do not want to restore the settings from a full TM backup, I ONLY want to transfer the media files (like it is easily possible with fotos with Photos Library.photoslibrary.

For the other media files, either I need to save these files before the clean install, or I need to find them in TimeMachine for import. In both cases, I need to know how to locate them.

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Answer 5

bwadma Author

Level 2

164 points

Nov 1, 2021 3:08 AM in response to Old Toad

Dear Old Toad,

many thanks!

I know "Migration Assistant", but the tool is not transparent to me.

As far as I understand, a true "Clean Install" does not make much sense when I take over the settings files with Migration Assistant after the clean installation of a new system on a wiped SSD. If the interface would allow to individually select the different media types (e.g. as sorted in the iPhone interface/Finder window for sync between Mac and iPhone, I would use that tool. But, as your screenshot nicely shows, this is not offered. If I would do that, I could (almost) directly use the 12.0.1 installer for the upgrade.

With regard to my Photos library, at least the move from Catalina to BigSur worked nicely with transferring the (large) file "Photos Library.photoslibrary".

Thanks again!

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