Q: Consolidating itunes once iTunes is moved to an external drive

Use File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate File, just to make sure the library isn't connected to anything outside of /Volumes/MacBook Air Backup Drive/iTunes/iTunes Media. You can rename the top level iTunes Media folder as, say, Not iTunes Media just to make sure that doesn't break anything, but it will be a unneeded copy which you can delete when you are ready.

You can also delete /Volumes/MacBook Air Backup Drive/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml. It is a legacy from when your library was in the standard location.

What you should do is backup the whole of the iTunes folder to another hard drive for security. Might be best to do this before getting rid of Not iTunes Media.

tt2

The key question is whether you have any actual media in //device/iTunes Media that is not in //device/iTunes/iTunes Media, or vice versa.  In other words, are the folders simply duplicates in terms of their content, or is the media in your library split across the two sets of folders.

The actual folders that you'll find under iTunes Media will vary based on the media kinds present in your library.  In my case the subfolders are:

which just shows where you have mobile apps and ringtones (obviously an iPhone user!) I have audiobooks, podcasts and TV shows.  These folders are created automatically by iTunes when you first add media of a particular kind.  A new, "empty" iTunes library only has the Automatically Add to iTunes folder under iTunes Media.

The Downloads folder that you mention is a "holding area" that's used to store podcasts and iTunes Store purchases (I think, its been a while since I bought any!), while they are downloading - once complete, the downloaded files will be moved to the final location based on media type.  Under normal circumstances the Downloads folder will be empty - just like the Automatically Add to iTunes folder which plays a somewhat similar role for adding new media using files already stored on your computer or being downloaded by third-party applications that can be configured to add media to iTunes.

Psych13 wrote:

 

Thanks a million for this: I've checked by going into "Get Info" for both iTunes Media folders, and the iTunes Media folder that is contained within iTunes folder is more up to date in that the "date modified" was more recent; and there are 5-10 more "items" in there.

 

With this knowledge, what does that mean ?

That confirms that one is duplicate of the other, and that you are using the one that is in the correct relationship to the library file.

tt2

Psych13 wrote:

 

Are you sure about:

 

"You can also delete /Volumes/MacBook Air Backup Drive/iTunes/iTunes Music Library.xml. It is a legacy from when your library was in the standard location".

 

This iTunes Music Library.xml file sits on my external hard drive; not on my internal one.

Yes, when the library is in the "standard" location of User's Music/iTunes the xml file is called iTunes Music Library.xml. When the library is anywhere else it takes the same name as the .itl file so normally become iTunes Library.xml. At a guess you copied over the library files to the external including the older one which is now no longer being updated. You can delete both if you like. iTunes will recreate the one it wants to. iTunes doesn't use these .xml files, they are provided for other software to interrogate the library even if iTunes isn't running at the time.

tt2

Psych13 wrote:

 

Turing:

 

When you say:

"You can rename the top level iTunes Media folder as, say, Not iTunes Media just to make sure that doesn't break anything, but it will be a unneeded copy which you can delete when you are ready", are you referring to this one: and if yes, can I just delete it rather than rename it?

You can, I'd just be more cautious. Always better to test your assumptions in a non-destructive fashion if possible, but I think we have estatblish that you library isn't using that folder.

tt2

Simply deleting runs the risk that you could be getting rid of some valid media files that are in the //device/iTunes Media folders.  Renaming, as tt2 suggests, will allow you to confirm that everything's working fine with all media located in //device/iTunes/iTunes Media.  Once you've verified that, you can delete the renamed //device/iTunes Media folder and all its contents.

"This iTunes Music Library.xml file sits on my external hard drive; not on my internal one."

In general it is safe to delete any iTunes Library.xml or iTunes Music Library.xml file, as these are outputs from iTunes and will be recreated when you run it.

Psych13 wrote:

 

Please can you remind me how to backup my iTunes library? I've backed my iPhone up today but I presume that's not the same thing?

No, backing up the library is a separate operation. You should so this in case the entire volume MacBook Air Backup Drive should fail, since this is going to be the only copy of your library.

In essence just copy the folder onto another drive. In practice updating such a backup by hand can be tedious and wastes time. A tool such as Synkron should be able to make a backup copy of the iTunes folder and then efficiently mirror later changes when you want to update your library backup.

tt2