My iTunes library has got quite large (~300Gb), so I'm moving it to an external USB drive. I've followed the instructions here: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449, but it is taking a long time to move the files. It's been running for a week now and is nearly half way through the transfer. My Mac (iMac 27") is set to not sleep.
Is this normal? If it is, what exactly is iTunes doing that is taking so long?
Cheers
Steve
27" iMac i7, Mac OS X (10.6.4)
Um, it would have been easier if you hadn't done it that way, but just a straight copy in Finder:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
do not confuse moving your whole folder and library with moving just media files as in
iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Quick answer if you let iTunes manage your music: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Start iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
Still, even with 300GB it shouldn't take a week (I don't think -- I can't speak from experience).
Thanks, that's what I would have thought to have been the way to do it, but I was under the impression that iTunes wouldn't find the files unless it moved them itself. Thanks for the option key info!
Steve
If you move it all as a complete parcel iTunes will keep track of them. If you start dragging bits and pieces to different location across drives iTunes will lose track. If you keep just media on the external but have the rest of the library (namely the library files and artwork folder) on the internal then you have to do it the way you were. There's no real advantage in keeping them split up, and there's big advantages in keeping them together.
If the drive is taking that long to copy I would suggest checking the drive with Disk Utility. Sometimes taking a long time is a sign of a drive going bad. DU doesn't check that as such but it tells you if there is directory corruption which can also be a sign of a bad drive. USB2 is slower than Firewire but it shouldn't take a week to copy 300GB.
iTunes library move is taking a LONG time!
