I had about 40GB of iTunes data.
After, installing the new SSD, my music folder is currently empty.
How best can I move my iTunes essentials to the SSD and leave most of the music on the external drive where the original cloned HDD sits?
Thank you!
Mac OS X (10.7.2)
If your library is on an external drive leave it there. While you can put your library file on the internal drive and leave just the media on the external drive there isn't any real advantage to doing that, and several disadvantages.
By library I mean your whole complete iTunes folder with library files, artwork, media files, etc.
Hmm.
The way I have my system setup is when I connect my iPhone etc to the machine, iTunes launches automatically and then synchronizes with the phone.
So what I was hoping I can do is a scenario where I iTunes can launch alright, but not play music until I connect the drive with the music. So when I need the music, I will have to attach the USB drive.
Say, if I keep everything on the external drive, then two questions:
1. If iPhone connects, will iTunes launch? How should I make it behave?
2. And 2, if I keep everything related to iTunes on the external drive, should I simply make symbolic links to the folders for everything to be invisble to iTunes? But if I do this, and if iTunes launches without the USB drive attached, then I do not know what will happen.
Confused... 😟
I don't have iTunes11. I am assuming it behaves similarly to earlier versions as regards to library behavior.
So what I was hoping I can do is a scenario where I iTunes can launch alright, but not play music until I connect the drive with the music. So when I need the music, I will have to attach the USB drive.
I am confused by what you are trying to accomplish here. Your phone can't sync if your music is on another drive and that drive isn't attached. There would be few reasons to have your media on one drive and still start iTunes. You can do it but anything requiring that media won't work, such as syncing.
Responses to:
1) If iTunes will automatically launch when the phone is attached then it should continue to do so, but you will need to make sure the drive is attached first.
2) No need for symbolic links and those don't fool iTunes anyway. If your whole library is on an external drive, start iTunes with the option key held down and guide it to the iTunes Library.itl file in the itunes folder on that drive. It will automatically use that library whenever iTunes starts. However, should you forget to attach the drive before starting iTunes it will probably make or revert to any copy on the internal drive and you will have to restart it with the option key held down, etc. Yes, this is annoying but unfortunately Apple is heading two different directions with their computers and drives getting smaller while marketing multimedia which requires larger drives than previously. Of course their solution is Match but personally if I don't have a copy on a drive totally under my control I am not comfortable.
Moved to smaller SSD - how best to handle iTunes situation
