I have just got a new mac book pro, I went into iTunes, changed the location of where the music is stored under preferences, it accepted this changed, but iTunes doesn't seem to load the music from my external hard drive? Why is this, what have I missed?
MacBook Pro
I'm glad, I thought I was going mad
Changing that setting in Preferences > Advanced only affects where iTunes will now store files when you add them to the library. All the links to the tracks already in your library are contained in the file called iTunes Library.itl (or on some systems, just iTunes Library) in the main Music > iTunes folder. The key trick with relocating an iTunes library to a new computer is to keep the original path from the .itl file to the media files absolutely intact.
Normally this is done by having the iTunes library in a "portable" condition -- i.e., with iTunes Library.itl and the iTunes Media folder both contained in a folder called iTunes on either an internal or an external drive. Is that how your library was set up before? Or was it (like mine) set up with iTunes Library.itl on the internal drive, and the iTunes Media folder on the external drive?
If it was the first case, then you should be able to load your library by holding the Option key down while opening iTunes, and navigating to the library file on the external drive. If it's the second case, then you'll need to copy the iTunes Library.itl file from the older computer to the new one -- replacing the file that's currently there, if there is one. Make sure the external drive is mounted on the new computer, and open iTunes. If all goes well, the links to your library should work. If not, please post a follow-up.
Changing preferences only tells iTunes where to store new media from that point on. It does not "pull in" old files. The only thing telling iTunes where files are located is the iTunes Library.itl file. If you have your entire iTunes folder on the external drive you can start iTunes while holding down the option/alt key and select this file in the iTunes folder on the external. If you do not then your old computer had a split library and essentially the organization part of it is lost (unless it is on a backup and you really need to provide more information since I am working with little information). In that case you will have to rebuild your library. Start iTunes as instructed above (presumably you want this to continue to reside on the external drive) and create a library. Drag the media files to the Automatically Add To iTunes folder in the new library so it ends up moving them not copying them.
why does iTunes not pull in my music from external hard drive
