Hello:
I need the iTunes media folder to be located on a USB external hard drive rather than the "C" drive because it takes up too much space but each time I set the location of the library, iTunes moves it back to the default "C" drive location on restart. I can't install iTunes on this pc unless I can keep this from happening. I'm running Windows 11 64-bit.
Thank you,
Bill Ferguson
There is a bug that appears to affect some users running anything later than iTunes 12.9.3.3 (I think) where a change to the media folder location isn't captured properly and the path will reset next time the app is launched. See Make a split library portable - Apple Community to put your library in a shape which uses the default media path with respect to the library file (i.e. a folder called iTunes Media in the folder with the .itl file) so that this particular bug doesn't impact your library any more.
Exactly which steps need to be taken to reach the end point depends on the starting conditions. Assuming you want to use drive D: for your library then it may be best to copy your library files into D:\iTunes, access them there, reset the media folder to D:\iTunes\iTunes Media, then consolidate, and finally clean up the originals stored elsewhere. It depends if there is temporarily enough space to duplicate the entire media folder.
tt2
There is a bug that appears to affect some users running anything later than iTunes 12.9.3.3 (I think) where a change to the media folder location isn't captured properly and the path will reset next time the app is launched. See Make a split library portable - Apple Community to put your library in a shape which uses the default media path with respect to the library file (i.e. a folder called iTunes Media in the folder with the .itl file) so that this particular bug doesn't impact your library any more.
Exactly which steps need to be taken to reach the end point depends on the starting conditions. Assuming you want to use drive D: for your library then it may be best to copy your library files into D:\iTunes, access them there, reset the media folder to D:\iTunes\iTunes Media, then consolidate, and finally clean up the originals stored elsewhere. It depends if there is temporarily enough space to duplicate the entire media folder.
tt2
The first thing to ensure is that your external drive is on, and ready to read before you start iTunes. This is because when you start iTunes, the very first thing it does is look for the library (on the external drive), but if the drive isn't ready, the drive can't be found so iTunes will default to the C drive.
Thank you. The hard drive is on and running and this is occurring on 2 pcs's. It happens whether the Microsoft Store app is used or downloading from iTunes website. I see where a couple of folks posted the same problem here and google returns a lot of people asking the same thing.
I appreciate your response. Any other ideas?
Your description of the problem is correct. iTunes copies the entire media folder that I have on an external drive, to the C: drive before allowing the iTunes media folder to be moved from default location C. The bottom line result: no iTunes on new pc with 256 SSD with 4TB internal HD and 4TB USB EXT HD. I have been loyal to iTunes and have a large iTunes media folder. Why wouldn't they fix this?
I don't know why Apple don't make this easier, but that notwithstanding it is possible to get the entire library stored on your preferred drive. It is also possible to shift backup data to a drive with more free space if required. The user should give you all the tools you need, but if you let me know what data is stored where I can walk you through the process.
tt2
iTunes resets to the default library location
