Backing up iTunes from 2 internal hard drives

1. Connect external HDD - I'll assume this is drive E:
2. Create E:\iTunes and within this E:\iTunes\iTunes Media
3. In iTunes, select Edit > Preferences > Advanced and set the iTunes Media folder location to E:\iTunes\iTunes Media
4. Select File > Library > Organize Library:
   • if the Reorganize files ... option is not greyed out, check it
   • check Consolidate files
   • click OK
5. iTunes will then copy all files referenced by your iTunes library (i.e., those on both your internal HDDs) to the external drive
6. Once this has completed, make sure that everything's working as it should do - you can then delete the iTunes Media folders on your internal HDDs.

You may also want to move your iTunes database, artwork folders, etc. to the external drive, so that the structure on E: looks like this:

This puts all the data that comprises the iTunes library in a common location (easier to backup, easier to move between systems) - see turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable for more details. You should also get a second external drive and use this to create and maintain a backup of your library - see Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy for a suitable/recommended method.

The steps 1-6 above will consolidate all of your media into one media folder. If you're thinking of migrating systems then you also need to make the library portable as shown in Make a split library portable. Consolidating to \iTunes\iTunes Media as suggested leaves space for the library files to be copied into \iTunes.

Macs can read NTFS drives natively but cannot write to them without an additional driver. You can either buy one of these, or transfer the portable version of the library over to an HFS+ formatted drive using the Mac.

tt2

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2

Just getting back to this. I just want to back up my 2 internal hard drives in case something happened my 8 year old Dell Studio 1735 laptop and continue using the laptop.

So if I do the back up like you detailed above can I change the media folder location back to what is currently is after or is the process above just for moving drives?

There are two separate but related suggestions in this thread. One is about putting the iTunes library into a portable layout so that it is easy to move around without breaking the links from the database to the media. If your library is currently split and you do this then any changes you make to the media folder will become permanent. Putting or keeping your library in this layout makes it easier to back up as there is only one source folder to worry about, and the backup copy is ready to use as a standalone library in the event of an issue with the source copy. The backup process is efficient, backing up only changes each time you run it. The tool I suggest can be used to backup any set of folders in Windows, not just an iTunes library. You can use it to backup the two internal drives to two folders on a larger external drive or, more usually, any subset of folders on those drives that contain your documents and data, since the OS and programs are probably better off being reinstalled from scratch. The main limitation is that it cannot backup files that are actively in use.

tt2

I suppose what am I really wondering now is if I consolidate my library like is described above to an external hard drive and change the iTunes media folder location back to the original internal drive location will iTunes work as it had before?

Consolidating is a one-time process that makes a new copy of any track that is outside of the designated media folder inside the media folder and reconnects the iTunes database to that new copy. iTunes ignores the original thereafter. If you attempt to add it again iTunes will do so, since it doesn't match (by filepath) anything already in the library. You only need to consolidate media if you add it to iTunes when it is stored on paths outside of the designated media folder, and you have the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" turned off. Anything ripped, purchased, converted or transferred from a device already ends up inside the media folder.

Changing the media folder tells iTunes where to store newly added content in future. iTunes will also ask if you want to consolidate the existing content to the newly selected media folder. You should not need to change the media folder as part of any backup process, unless we're talking about making a split library portable to simplify things in future. Again if you do this then you're looking at a one time change that you won't need to revisit. Changing the media folder path is not the way to switch between libraries, that is achieved by holding down shift (Windows) or alt/option (macOS) as you launch iTunes and then choosing a different .itl file. The advice on making a library portable can be applied equally well to data that is on internal drives as external ones.

tt2

Thanks. What would you recommend as how I go a backing up the 2 internal drives to a single external drive?

It depends on what data you've got on them and how they are organized already. Why not start by following Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy and put the iTunes backup in the root of the new backup drive. See Make a split library portable if your library is currently split first. Once you've played with the software once you should be able to explore its features and decide how to choose and arrange other data that you want to backup. You can then preview and update individual folder pairs when you've changed data or run the All Folder Pairs option to update everything in one hit.

tt2

Great. Thanks again for your help.

You're welcome. 🙂

tt2