Move iTunes library to external hard drive?

estia wrote:

hi limnos when copying the itunes library and subfolders etc, do I need to move my itunes media folder seperately? the itunes library sits in program files and the itunes media folder sits in documents/music. i'm using windows. thanks.

The application sits inside Program Files, the library is normally sited in <User's Music>\iTunes with the media folder at <User's Music\iTunes\iTunes Media. The library's database file iTunes Library.itl will often display with the extension hidden.as iTunes Library.

As given, copy the entire iTunes folder from <User's Music> to your chosen location, press and hold down shift as you launch iTunes, and choose the iTunes Library.itl file on the new path.

This assumes your library is in the usual structure in the usual place. If not, see make a split library portable.

tt2

I'm getting all confused. Does this mean once I set it up and direct to the new place I can safely delete the library from my HD. My issue is I have an iTunes library sucking up most of my 500gb HD

This procedure worked for me. I did not move the iTunes library or album art files over from the Mac drive to the external drive, as they are small files, just the media files. iTunes restarted fine and found the media files. From the Limnos comment below, I understand that moving the iTunes library files as well as the media files requires one to help iTunes navigate to the new location of the library files.

Clatty wrote:

I'm getting all confused. Does this mean once I set it up and direct to the new place I can safely delete the library from my HD. My issue is I have an iTunes library sucking up most of my 500gb HD

Yes, if you set if up properly both the library and the media stay together on the external drive, as do all new imports and downloads. iOS device backups still default to using space on the system drive. Moving them is a different topic we can go into if needed.

tt2

Pogue Mahone wrote:

This procedure worked for me. I did not move the iTunes library or album art files over from the Mac drive to the external drive, as they are small files, just the media files. iTunes restarted fine and found the media files. From the Limnos comment below, I understand that moving the iTunes library files as well as the media files requires one to help iTunes navigate to the new location of the library files.

While you have to tell iTunes once the location of the moved library it is then possible to move the library as a unit to an even bigger drive, or to a new computer, or even switch operating systems, without breaking the library. If you split out the media by consolidating the library to a new folder in line with the official advice these other tasks then become much harder to achieve. My make a split library portable post can help put a working split library back into a portable form, otherwise Mac users have to rely on iTunes own missing tracks repair feature which doesn't always work.

tt2

I did this but it wouldn't let me click on the library file you advised

Once the entire iTunes folder has been moved to the new drive you press and hold down Option (Mac) or Shift (Win) as you start iTunes and keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. You'll want to pick Choose and open the file iTunes Library or iTunes Library.itl in the relocated iTunes folder. (You may not see the .itl extension in some cases, and it was omitted in older versions of iTunes for Mac.)

tt2

So, following this lone of thought if I change the location of the library it will be changed forever.

But i have a doubt so far, if i change the location to a network HD, will it be changed forever? Even if the network HD is not found?

I ask this due to the fact that when i change the location it will be reseted to the default location.

Cheers

X-Tremo wrote:

So, following this lone of thought if I change the location of the library it will be changed forever.

Until such time as you choose to change it again.

Even if the network HD is not found?

If the network HD or external drive is not found iTunes will issue an error, asking for your to choose or create a library. Cancel, reconnect the drive, start iTunes again. It will work perfectly.

I ask this due to the fact that when i change the location it will be reseted to the default location.

Another drawback with the split library method. If you start a split library with the drive disconnected the media path resets to the default location. If you don't notice and repair immediately you can end up with media on a mix of both paths and in some cases you may accidentally import duplicates of your existing media. Deleting either copy of this type of duplicate can delete the only copy of the file you actually have.

However with a larger library there may be some loss of performance when the library file is stored on a network drive as nearly every action in iTunes causes the entire database to be rewritten to the drive.

tt2

How would I do this if I want to have a copy of my iTunes library and a copy of my kids iTunes library on a NAS drive to use with my Sonos? I don't want to remove the iTunes Library from each of our computers, but instead have them on the NAS so that I can listen to my music and playlists in one room while my kids listen to their music and playlists in another.

I'm afraid I don't have any experience with Sonos so I don't know how it interacts with iTunes libraries. 😕

tt2

Hi there,

Can somebody please help me? I am using an external hard drive. Fairly regularly, iTunes randomly decides to delete and move files. The main problem seemed to be because the iTunes Media Folder was automatically reverting to the internal My Music/iTunes folder. I decided to try to fix it and followed the guidance on the apple guidance page. However, (unhelpfully) the notes didn't explain how to point to the new library. Thanks to this thread, I managed to point to the library and delete the internal folder. So far so good...

However, the consolidation notes in the apple guidance seemed to create a duplicate folder and files in the external hard drive. So now I have an iTunes folder with a library, and another folder in that folder with a duplicate folder of music and another library. I don't know which is the right library/folder/files.

Is it safe to just delete one folder and the contents? Can I be sure that my files won't get deleted?

And how can I find out whether my iTunes library actually contains all of the files in the folder (or indeed, both folders to avoid losing half of my music again? And finally, how can I be sure it won't suddenly revert to My Music and create a new iTunes folder?

Why is iTunes so convoluted and difficult to use? It's so frustrating! Would appreciate any help I can get, thanks!

My make a split library portable post can help put a working split library back into a portable form, all in one location on a single drive big enough for it. Deleting folders at random is probably not the way to go., particularly if you don't have a complete backup of everything!

As to why you may have had problems with the split library see my answers to X-Tremo above.

tt2

Thanks for the quick reply! I've read the split library post and the replies to Ben. I seem to be in a similar situation, but the difference is I managed to delete the iTunes library file and Media folder on the internal harddrive, but in doing so, created two lots of files and library files on the external hard drive.

My file path is: F:/ iTunes/

And within that folder there is:

Album Artwork

Automatically Add to iTunes

Books

Home Videos

iTunes Media

Movies

Music

Previous iTunes libraries.

And the library and xml files.

Then within the Music folder mentioned above, there's lots of music and a library and xml file.

Then within the iTunes Media folder, there's also:

Automatically Add to iTunes

Downloads

Home Videos

Movies

Music

But no books, and no library file.

I double checked and the Movies and Videos had copied so I deleted the duplicates in the main folder.

I consolidated my library, and tried checking the edit>preferences as you described. It keeps letting me consolidate the library. It won't ever copy the books. And I can't check the dupes as it's literally thousands of files so it seems I'm stuck with them. My main question is how can I be sure all the files copied over when I consolidated (and it's therefore ok to delete the duplicate Music folder)?

And my main problem is I can't even figure out which of the two libraries mentioned above is the right one and when I have figured it out, then what do I do with it?

Thanks for your help!

To get a clearer picture of where things are download & run the script iTunesInfo. I'd like to know the output of the first four lines, and also what you see for the media folder under Edit > Preferences > Advanced.

I can talk you through deduping later.

tt2