Can't Load Music From External Hard Drive

Changing the path to the media folder in preferences tells iTunes where to store new media. It does not change which library database is opened. If you still have the old computer connect the external drive to it and see Make a split library portable for instructions. If that is no longer possible press and hold down shift as you launch iTunes and keep holding until prompted to choose or create a library. Click choose if you copied the iTunes Library.itl file to your external drive, otherwise click create and make a new library at X:\iTunes, where X: is the drive letter, then move and if necessary rename the media folder so it becomes X:\iTunes\iTunes Media, then use File > Add Folder to Library to import your media. (Use Alt or Ctrl+B to reveal the menu bar.)

If you cannot retrieve your old library but have any iPods or iOS devices I have tools for recovering playlists, ratings and stats.

tt2

What is wise is to have two independent copies of the library, each stored in a portable form, and a method for synchronizing them.

Do you still have the old computer?

Do you have any iPods or iOS devices. Adding media in the way that you have done to a new library means that iTunes will want to erase and reload them.

Do you have playlists, ratings, play counts and other stats you want to recover from the old computer?

If the answer to all of the above is no then we can discuss how to optimize the backup of your library on C: otherwise let us try and rescue the lost data first.

tt2

The point of this bit:

... otherwise click create and make a new library at X:\iTunes, where X: is the drive letter, then move and if necessary rename the media folder so it becomes X:\iTunes\iTunes Media, then use File > Add Folder to Library to import your media. (Use Alt or Ctrl+B to reveal the menu bar.)

in my first post was to get you to create your new library on the external drive from the outset, and put it in the right (drive letter independent) shape for backupand transfer in the future.

You can still go through those steps now if you like. Alternatively you can simply read the backup tip and create a new backup of the library on C: into G:\iTunes.

You can't simply delete the current content on C: as iTunes is looking there for the media, not G: even though you have updated the media folder location. Again we're back to the definition of what changing that preference actually does. If you don't want to store the library on the internal drive then you really need another external as a backup to the primary copy of the library, and you want the entire library stored on the external drive rather than having a split library where the database is on C: and the content is on another drive which is what you're currently proposing.

tt2

As I understand it you don't have anything other than the media that you mind losing, and you'd like your library to be on your external drive.

I'm assuming there isn't a folder called G:\iTunes - If there is rename it to G:\iTunes OLD before you start.

With iTunes closed, press and hold down shift as you click the icon to launch iTunes. Keep holding until asked to choose or create a library. Click create. Browse to G:\ and create a library called iTunes. This will create and open a new empty library for you at G:\iTunes whose media folder should be G:\iTunes\iTunes Media. Use Edit > Preferences > Advanced to double-check and correct if needed.

Using Windows Explorer move the media that is currently stored on drive G: into G:\iTunes\iTunes Media then in iTunes use File > Add Folder to Library to add the folder G:\iTunes\iTunes Media.to the library.

You now have a self-contained portable library in G:\iTunes. 🙂

You can delete all of the content at C:\Users\<User>\iTunes to recover space on your internal drive.

You really should backup G:iTunes to another external drive at the earliest opportunity. See the user tip Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a backup strategy. Copying by hand is error prone and time consuming.

If you want to use the library on a different computer, or the drive letter changes for some reason, you can shift-start-iTunes and choose the library file at X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl where X: is the drive letter currently assigned to the drive.

tt2

The usual reason for people moving their library or media folder out to an external drive is that their internal drive no longer has room for all their media. If you have room on the internal drive then you are better off keeping the library there and mirroring it to an external as backup. If you need to store the library on an external drive then you ought to mirror that to a second drive. Personally I use SyncToy as my backup mechanism as I am both familiar with it, and I can check what it is going to do. Automatic backup systems are great until they mirror a change that you didn't want them to, and you find out after the damage is done.

See my Make a split library portable tip for why I think you should keep the library and media files together as a unit.

In the end you need to work out what suits you best.

tt2

Take a (further) look at mybackup tip. SyncToy is one tool but there are others. If the active library is in a portable iTunes folder then a clone of that folder is a fully functioning backup of the library. I review the list of proposed updates when I update the backup. When one of the builds of iTunes decided to throw way some 1,700 archived podcast episodes I was able to cancel and restore the missing data back to the source. If the automatic backup is able to alert you in a similar way then it may well be fine for the task.

For completeness, there are a couple of settings that aren't stored within the library (which is a shame) but these are easy enough to reset by hand. iOS device backups are not included, but as long as your devices are functioning properly then if you move the library to a new computer they will be backed up on first connection and continue to sync with the library. My library is cloned between my home and work computers by way of a portable drive giving three copies of my library any of which can be used to update my devices.

tt2

Look at the image in the split library tip. The correct location for music in an iTunes library is <Media Folder>\Music\<Album Artist>\Album. The deeper folder nesting suggests that you've declared the media folder to be C:\Users\myCPUname\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music instead of C:\Users\myCPUname\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media.

tt2

Uninstalling and reinstalling iTunes doesn't affect the library.

The Make a split library portable user tip goes into detail about which manipulations of files, folders, and settings should be viable.

What exactly did you do?

What was the state of play before you started?

I.e. Location of active .itl and location of media folder?

What exactly is being synced from where to where?

Assuming the library file was

C:\Users\myCPUname\Music\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl

and the media folder was

C:\Users\myCPUname\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media\Music

then changing the media folder to

C:\Users\myCPUname\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media

should have corrected the logical issue with library, turning keep organized off and then back on again would have moved the media into the correct locations.

tt2