Requesting more information: iTunes library on external hard drive

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Requesting more information: iTunes library on external hard drive

I was reading a post concerning the double and triple repetitions of songs in iTunes. A person with the title of "turingtest2" was giving some good advice concerning how to make iTunes always look for the iTunes library on the external hard drive without having to worry about the letter of the drive changing. I get that you press "shift" while iTunes is coming on to create library on the hard drive (did that). But how do I get the music in that folder? Copy and paste all the music files in my "music" folder on my hard drive into the newly created iTunes folder? And in which file? iTunes Media? It seems I need more steps. Could anyone help? Could turingtest2 maybe further discuss the steps involved?

iPod nano (6th generation), Windows 8

Posted on Dec 22, 2015 8:53 PM

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Answer 1

Niel

Level 10

727,757 points

Dec 22, 2015 8:56 PM in response to Yellowstoner

You drag-copy the entire iTunes folder, not just iTunes Media, to that drive, press the Shift key, and choose that library.

(137498)

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Answer 2

hhgttg27

Level 5

5,591 points

Dec 23, 2015 3:18 AM in response to Yellowstoner

It'll help to know where you're starting from - specifically, do you have a working library stored on your system (C:) drive? If so, is that library self-contained and in the default location, i.e., with all media files contained within C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes\iTunes Media? If so, then you can follow the process described in Niel's response - copy the whole iTunes folder (C:\Users\username\Music\iTunes) to your external drive. If the latter is drive X: then the result should be X:\iTunes with layout similar to this:

Once everything's copied over, hold down SHIFT as you start iTunes and when you see this prompt:

click Choose Library... then navigate to and select the iTunes Library.itl file in X:\iTunes (substituting the drive letter for the external drive on your system). iTunes will then use this library every time you run iTunes as long as the external drive is connected and retains the same drive letter. It will not handle the situation where the drive letter changes between sessions; however, it is a simple configuration task in Windows to lock the drive letter assignment to a specific drive so that it will not change.

If your situation is different, in that either you don't have a working library at all or you have a library whose content is not completely within the iTunes Media folder hierarchy, post back here with details. Turingtest2's user tip on Make a split library portable describes the steps that can be used to bring an iTunes library into the "well-formed" layout illustrated above that makes it easy to move between drives or computers, as well as enabling regular backups.

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Answer 3

turingtest2

Level 10

273,033 points

Dec 23, 2015 4:10 AM in response to Yellowstoner

Hi Yellowstoner.

My user tip Make a split library portable should explain a bit more. Its focus is on moving a split library into the portable shape, which is an iTunes folder that contains the library files, the Album Artwork cache and an iTunes Media folder that contains all of the media. This is standard layout for a new iTunes library which is why Niel's suggestion above works when the library hasn't been split yet. If it has then there is some work to do. This can be achieved by resetting the media path to iTunes Media within the moved iTunes folder, and then consolidating all content that is outside of the media folder. There are several other techniques that might be employed if the media is already on the target drive for the library, but in the wrong place, and one wants to avoid the time it would take to temporarily double up all of the media, or there just isn't the room.

If you can give me an overview of which components of your library are stored where I can give specific advice. I also have tools and techniques for repairing any broken links that may have arisen out of unexpected and uncorrected drive letter changes.

tt2

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Answer 4

Yellowstoner Author

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Dec 23, 2015 9:17 AM in response to turingtest2

Hi! Thank you for responding.

I imagine my explanation of my scenario will be simplistic and possibly representative of not the best way to go about things, but...

I only have music (with some artwork) on my external hard drive. I plug it in when I want to listen to iTunes, mess with my ipod, or access any of the other myriad files on it. All that music is in one file on the external hard drive, "Music." Within that, there are all the music files, some under other subfiles like "various," "compilations," and one file also entitled "music" that I don't remember creating that seems to be a copy of all the music again.

I've noticed over the years that sometimes I'll have double, even triple and more, entries of one song. Occasionally I have taken the time to go through iTunes, deleting true doubles. This led me to your posts.

I don't believe I have a "split" library, but maybe I do. I am seeing that there are about 7 albums in my iTunes Media folder on the computer (as opposed to the external hard drive). My inclination would be to copy those files into my existing Music folder on the external hard drive. But that may not be the way to go.

I don't always go about things in the logical way (in the computer sense). At one point in the past, I was messing around with the files themselves to fix things on iTunes until a friend said I should just let iTunes do things. That's what I try to do now, but I just don't think I understand the lexicon and the processes that well.

As of now, most of my music is on the external hard drive. On iTunes, all the music on there (actually a fraction of all I actually have) seems to be "on the cloud," (as evidenced by the little cloud symbol, and the file location when I check out "get info"). Not sure how that happened, but I imagine it's from me messing with things. Again, my inclination (right or wrong) would be to delete everything in iTunes and begin again. As of now, under "Edit" and "Advanced Settings," the "iTunes Media folder location" is "F:\iTunes1\iTunes Media" (it is this way now because I followed the advice of pressing "shift" when iTunes started up). iTunes1 is indeed now on my external hard drive (a file like "Music") but it is empty currently because I didn't know how to proceed.

I'm trying to be clear in my ignorance, but I might just be confusing the matter.

I welcome your help and explanations, and thank you for your time.

Emily

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Answer 5

Yellowstoner Author

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Dec 23, 2015 9:21 AM in response to Niel

Thank you for your response. That is done (I think), but it is currently empty because I wasn't sure how to proceed. All my music is in a "Music" folder that I created on my external hard drive. Should I now copy and paste those music files into the newly created iTunes folder on my external hard drive?

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Answer 6

Niel

Level 10

727,757 points

Dec 23, 2015 9:25 AM in response to Yellowstoner

If it's not currently in the iTunes library, drag it to the iTunes application or the Automatically Add to iTunes folder.

(137522)

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Answer 7

Yellowstoner Author

Level 1

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Dec 23, 2015 9:30 AM in response to hhgttg27

Thank you for the reply. I need a few minutes to read (and re-read) what you've said to absorb it. If I understand things correctly right now, however, the majority of my music files are on my external hard drive in a folder called "music" which I created. I actually just noticed that there are about 7 albums on my computer "c" drive as well. So maybe this is a "split library?"

Usually my drive letter for the external hard drive does change. I would love instruction on how to "lock the letter assignment."

I thank you for your time and assistance, and I will endeavor to comprehend what you are saying!

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Answer 8

turingtest2

Level 10

273,033 points

Nov 5, 2016 3:27 PM in response to Yellowstoner

The library is "split" if the media folder isn't a direct subfolder of the folder that holds the library files.

If you're happy to start over, and not worried about ratings, play counts & playlists that might be connected to the old library sign-out of the iTunes Store, close iTunes, then shift-start again, this time making a new iTunes library at F:\iTunes. Don't scan for media if/when prompted. Move the folder F:\Music inside F:\iTunes\iTunes Media then use File > Library > Add Folder to Library and add the media folder F:\iTunes\iTunes Media. Move any other media items you may have stored elsewhere (e.g. in C:\Users\<User>\iTunes\iTunes Media) into F:\iTunes\iTunes Media\Automatically Add to iTunes.

You can now sign into your store account. Use Music > iTunes Store > Quick Links > Purchased > Music > Not in my Library to check for any items in your account that aren't currently downloaded and download them from here.

I'd recommend you enable the options under Edit > Preferences > Advanced to Keep... & Copy... and when adding content to the library use the Automatically Add to iTunes folder. Make sure not to add the same content twice from other locations.

Backup the entire library to another drive using Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy.

Here is an article on assigning a more permanent drive letter to your external: http://www.howtogeek.com/96298/assign-a-static-drive-letter-to-a-usb-drive-in-wi ndows-7/. If you've succeeded in making the library portable then after changing the drive letter when you start iTunes it will prompt you to choose or create a library. Click choose and browse to the file X:\iTunes\iTunes Library.itl where X:\ is the new drive letter. The backup tip I mention above will work best when both source and target drives maintain their respective drive letters.

tt2

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Answer 9

Yellowstoner Author

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May 27, 2016 11:52 PM in response to turingtest2

Hello turingtest2.

Due to a family emergency, fixing my iTunes moved to a spot way down on my list of things to do. I appreciate the time you took to reply to my posts, and I apologize for re-energizing the conversation months later.

Before reading your reply post beginning with "The library is split...," I deleted the file "F:\Music" from my external hard drive. I don't mind starting over (don't care about ratings, etc.), so I decided to really start it all over. I uninstalled iTunes, even. Probably sounds like a stupid way to go, but clean slates are sometimes the way to go.

Right now, on my external hard drive, I have a "music" folder. Among lots and lots of music folders within it, is another folder called "music." I am, at this moment copying everything from the latter "music" folder into the former "music" folder. I'm pretty sure that will give me duplicates, so I guess after it is all copied in, I'll sort out the files.

My plan, after that, is to install iTunes, then close it, then do the "shift" thing. Then I'll follow your instructions in the aforementioned post.

Referring to this statement of yours, "Backup the entire library to another drive using Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy." : are you saying that in addition to my library on my external hard drive, I should back it up on yet another external hard drive? I can do that. Just want to make sure that is what you are saying. I haven't read those instructions yet, but I will tomorrow.

The article about assigning a static drive letter: refers to users of Windows 7. I am using Windows 10. Many differences?

So there's my story. Not so different from my "I don't really know what I'm doing" tale from December.

Any further thoughts are appreciated. Thank you for your time.

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Answer 10

turingtest2

Level 10

273,033 points

Nov 5, 2016 3:26 PM in response to Yellowstoner

Yes, you should have a backup of your library, and indeed any other important data. Hard drives can and do fail, often without any warning.

See this recent post for advice on removing duplicates.

The article on drive letter assignments should still work for Windows 10.

tt2

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Answer 11

Yellowstoner Author

Level 1

0 points

Nov 5, 2016 2:25 PM in response to turingtest2

Hello turingtest2. Unfortunately life (aging parents) has kept me from doing anything with my iTunes library. I wonder if I might please strike up this conversation with you again.

If you are game, as it stands now, I do not have iTunes on my computer (deleted when we were communicating last, in my effort to just start over). I will download it first thing after we have conversed. All of my music files are on my external hard drive (there is some duplication going on there: songs listed multiple times in same album folder, as well as whole album duplication; I imagine I can use your above mentioned tips for getting rid of duplicates after I have set up iTunes properly, unless you have other suggestions). None on any drive on my computer.

I'd like to have my computer always assign the same letter to the external hard drive, as well as eliminate the possibility of duplicates being created from this point on.

I really appreciate your time and any assistance you can provide. I will do my best to understand your advice.

Emily

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Answer 12

turingtest2

Level 10

273,033 points

Nov 5, 2016 2:34 PM in response to Yellowstoner

Hi, I'm still around. Please feel free to ask questions. The deduping advice still stands although that older post is no longer formatted properly. Have a more recent link: Re: Removal of Duplicate tracks in Itunes,11000 of them. For albums and artists that show up repeatedly in the iTunes interface see Re: Itunes not importing CD tags correctly. And for general advice on installing iTunes should you run into difficulties see Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates.

tt2

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Answer 13

Yellowstoner Author

Level 1

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Nov 5, 2016 3:11 PM in response to Yellowstoner

To further clarify, I did read back thru our earlier correspondence. I thought since I was starting anew, perhaps the above mentioned steps could be avoided by fixing things up at start up. Again, thank you for your help.

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Answer 14

Yellowstoner Author

Level 1

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Nov 5, 2016 3:16 PM in response to turingtest2

Thank you for responding. Very kind. So, when I download iTunes, and it asks me to pick C drive as my destination folder, I should actually choose my external hard drive (currently called F). Should I then go through the steps of making it an X drive (that eliminates future duplication?)?

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Answer 15

Yellowstoner Author

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Nov 5, 2016 3:40 PM in response to Yellowstoner

Respond at your leisure. I asked that last question before delving into the article concerning troubleshooting issues w iTunes and Windows updates. Perhaps my answers lay there. Thank you again.

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