Thomas0909

Q: How can I move my iTunes media folder from users/shared back to one user account?

I shared my music with multiple users on one macbook pro.

Like on the Apple support discussions described I changed the iTunes media folder to users/shared. My question is how to reverse that action? Once I reset the media folder location it tells me /users/name/music/itunes/itunes media, that would be right but the files remain in users/shared?

Posted on Mar 19, 2014 3:48 PM

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Q: How can I move my iTunes media folder from users/shared back to one user account?

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  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Mar 19, 2014 4:52 PM in response to Thomas0909
    Level 9 (54,543 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 19, 2014 4:52 PM in response to Thomas0909

    You don't want to just change the location, you also want to organize/consolidate items to that location:

     

    iTunes 11 for Mac: Change where your iTunes files are stored - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12165 - more information at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/22026652 - and steps 5-8 in https://discussions.apple.com/message/24491967

     

    iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Media folder - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449

  • by Thomas0909,

    Thomas0909 Thomas0909 Mar 20, 2014 4:51 AM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 20, 2014 4:51 AM in response to Limnos

    Thank you Limnos for your fast and helpful answer. I moved the media folder now to an external harddrive,  consolidate the files and than I can repeat the same action again to get the files back to it's original place, since my library is quite big and there isn't enough space on the computers harddrive. That solves my problem to get it back where I want it too.

     

    If I understand the tips right, I can delete the files in the shared folder before I move them back onto the original place, right? But now my second user account itunes. How to deal with the missing library files? Would it be the best to unistall and reinstall itunes, or is it even necessary to delete the user and open a new one completely?

     

    Thanks a lot for your help

  • by Limnos,

    Limnos Limnos Mar 20, 2014 8:22 AM in response to Thomas0909
    Level 9 (54,543 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 20, 2014 8:22 AM in response to Thomas0909

    Tell us what the underlying objective is in all this.  You came here asking how to move a media folder but now we're getting into user libraries and moving things back and forth to their original locations. Why move it in the first place if you are just putting it back?  Maybe you don't need to move things.

     

    Read these to learn more about how iTunes works.  If you move the wrong things you can end up breaking links.  This goes double for moving things to other drives.

     

    What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660

     

    More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management

     

    What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html

     

    Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391

     

    It is almost certain that nothing you are doing will require removing the iTunes application itself.  Asking that tells me you are doing something relatively complicated with insufficient background  -- kind of like somebody asking me how to use a power saw.  I can tell them, but when it sounds like their project is painting a room one begins to wonder if they are going about things correctly.   That said, organizing/consolidating copies files.  Open iTunes, get info on a track, look at summary and see where the file is now located iTunes uses to play the track.  It should be in the moved location and it is okay to delete the others.

  • by Thomas0909,

    Thomas0909 Thomas0909 Mar 21, 2014 1:46 PM in response to Limnos
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 21, 2014 1:46 PM in response to Limnos

    Thank you Limnos, that solved my problem. The underlying objective was to

    Use one library on different user accounts and I was hoping if I change metadata,make playlists and delete some songs or change information that it would be updated on all user accounts.

    This was a lesson for me, so, first get information and than do some actions.