User profile for user: A07570
A07570 Author
User level: Level 1
63 points

Moving App Data Back and Forth

I’m sure this is not a new topic, but haven’t found the right thread to give me the guidance I’m looking for. If you can point me to the right place I’d appreciate it.


I have three Macs:

  1. Mac Mini is my primary desktop, dual monitors, outboard DAC w/ Powered Speakers, USB ADC for mixer and guitar interface. Primary iTunes location, ripping music, syncing iPhone & iPad.
  2. Mac Mini is hooked to my home theatre and is basically an HTPC, used mostly for playing my iTunes music library, but also for browsing, and an occasional game.
  3. Macbook Pro w/Bootcamp OS X / Windows 10 is used for travel and work away from the desktop (more below)

As described above everything is fine, I copy my iTunes library from mini 1 to mini 2 for playback on the HT. The issue is that I spend almost half the year at a second home, and take only the Macbook, and speakers with me (and some traveling accessories to have a remote studio). My primary apps are iTunes, GarageBand, Photos and iMovie. Following a thread or blog I successfully moved the data for these from the mini to the Macbook last fall, and all worked fine this winter. Now I’m home and want to move back to the Mini, but feel there must be a better solution for moving this data twice a year (like not moving it). A couple solutions I see are:

  1. Dump the main mini and do everything on the Macbook. Kind of a pain to hook things back up, but more that I’d like to have the Macbook in my backpack and have a desktop to work on, or have Windows running on the Macbook and OS X on the desktop.
  2. Get a fast external drive and move the drive with the data between machines - primarily only when I move to my winter home and back. This seems the best option but I want to keep the other machine functioning when the drive is gone (though it doesn’t have to run the above Apps).
  3. iCloud … too slow, poor connectivity at home, files too big (I do use Photo Stream mostly on my iPad and iPhone).

I’m looking for safe and efficient ways of making this twice yearly move, I’d love suggestions, or just point me to an existing solution. I posted this in OS X because it seemed better than hardware, but if it belongs somewhere else let me know. Thanks for your help.

Mac mini, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), 2012 i7 16GB

Posted on May 19, 2016 1:55 PM

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6 replies
User profile for user: Gino_Cerullo
Gino_Cerullo
User level: Level 3
780 points

May 20, 2016 3:06 PM in response to A07570

Option 2 is definitely the way I would go. Invest in the fasted drive you can afford or you think is a reasonable investment and go for it. I would also get a drive with a very fast interface, Thunderbolt if your computers support it, USB 3 would be my second choice. I would also get something that had redundancy. A dual drive setup that could be configured as a RAID 1 Mirror so if one drive fails you don't lose all your data.


Some thing like this http://www.lacie.com/ca/en/products/raid/2big-thunderbolt-2/

or this https://eshop.macsales.com/shop/Thunderbolt/External-Drive/OWC/Elite-Dual-RAID


Remember, RAID is not a backup. Always backup your files!

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User profile for user: A07570
A07570 Author
User level: Level 1
63 points

May 20, 2016 3:08 PM in response to Gino_Cerullo

Thanks for your reply, the external drive makes sense to me too. The drives you link are a bit large (physically) for my travel purposes, but I understand the need for reliability and backup, I would still keep my backup drives and TimeMachine schedule. I've done some research on Thunderbolt, the problem I have is that on the Mac mini I only have one Thunderbolt port and I'm using that for a DisplayPort monitor (and the HDMI for the other). I have seen drives with both USB 3 and Thunderbolt, which would let me use the 'best available' (though I don't see that Thunderbolt always wins the speed tests).


In any case choosing a drive is the easy part, I still need help implementing the solution. Where can I find procedures for moving all the data for my Apps (GarageBand, iMovie, iTunes, & Photos) to a new location - and not break the machine when the drive is not there? I'd like to be sure I include files I may not be considering, like loops in GarageBand, or something extra I might purchase?

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User profile for user: Gino_Cerullo
Gino_Cerullo
User level: Level 3
780 points

May 31, 2016 8:33 PM in response to A07570

Most, if not all, Thunderbolt drives have two ports so you can daisy chain devices. That way you can plug the computer into one drive port and then plug the display into the other drive port. The video signal will pass though. The advantage of Thunderbolt over USB is not just speed but latency. As you noticed, many Thunderbolt drives also include USB 3 so you can choose what works best for you. Although, you can save money if you choose a USB 3 only drive.


As for the data. If you check the "Advanced" preferences for iTunes you will notice that there is a setting for where the media library is stored. Just set it to the external drive. As for Photos, if you launch it holding down the "Option" key you will notice that it allows you to choose a library location. In this case you move your existing library to the external drive and then use this startup technique to point to the new destination for the Photos library. The same technique can be used for the iMovie Library. As for Garageband, you'll have to do some research (a web search) on how best to work from files on an external drive.

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User profile for user: A07570
A07570 Author
User level: Level 1
63 points

Jun 22, 2016 11:07 PM in response to Gino_Cerullo

You pretty much put me on my solution. I ended up with a G-Tech 1TB w/Thunderbolt & USB 3.0, 7200 RPM, faster than the 1TB drives in my Mac mini (though USB 3 and Thunderbolt are about the same). Here's the rest of what I did, taking notes as I went along:


Sharing Apple App Data between Macs – iTunes, iMovie, Photos, GarageBand


Here’s what I’ve done to make this work on an external drive.

  • First, attach the external drive to the “Master Mac” and (if necessary) format it, I used OS X Extended.
  • Name the volume something that will make sense regardless of which machine it’s mounted on, I used <username-ext>
  • Next, create a directory structure on the external drive, I used the same one as the Home directory – even though I don’t plan on moving the Home directory itself. So:

    /ext-volume/users/username/

To share iTunes between multiple computers using an external drive/volume (no network)

  • Open iTunes on the computer with the most recent library
  • File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Files
  • Close iTunes
  • Create a directory for iTunes, I followed the standard

    /ext-volume/users/username/

  • Copy /Music/iTunes directory to the new location
  • Open iTunes while holding Option Key
  • Select new location of iTunes library
  • Confirm iTunes contains latest library
  • If desired delete the old ~/Music/iTunes folder to save space
  • The above doesn’t move iOS backups, to do that:
  • Create a folder/structure for the backups on the external drive, I again followed the standard:

    /ext-volume/users/username/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/

  • Copy ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup to the location above
  • Rename ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup (I used Backup.delete, it may soon be deleted)
  • Open the Terminal App and create a Symbolic Link to the new iOS backup location

    ln -s /Volumes/ext-volume/Users/username/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/ ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync

  • Open iTunes and confirm that you backups are available

To share iMovie between multiple computers using an external drive/volume (no network)

  • On the computer with the most recent iMovie files, Close iMovie
  • Copy ~/Movies to new directory structure on external volume /ext-volume/users/username/
  • Open iMovie while holding the Option Key
  • Select or navigate to the iMovie Library file in the new location /ext-volume/users/username/Movies/iMovie Library
  • Ensure all content is available as it was in the previous location
  • If desired delete the old ~/Movies folder to save space

To share Photos between multiple computers using an external drive/volume (no network)

  • On the computer with the most recent Photos library, Close Photos
  • Copy ~/Pictures to new directory structure on external volume /ext-volume/users/username/
  • Open Photos while holding the Option Key
  • Select or navigate to the iMovie Library file in the new location /ext-volume/users/username/Pictures/Photos Library
  • Ensure all content is available as it was in the previous location
  • If desired delete the old ~/Pictures folder to save space
To share GarageBand between multiple computers using an external drive/volume (no network)
  • On the computer with the most recent GarageBand files, close GarageBand
  • Copy ~/Music/Garageband to new directory structure on external volume /ext-volume/users/username/Music/
  • Open GarageBand, there is no “Option Key” function
  • File > Open

    Navigate to the external drive GarageBand location and open a GB song (confirm it looks correct)

  • File > Save As

    Navigate to the external drive GarageBand location and save with a new name (like Test, or Delete Me)

  • Garageband should now remember the location of your data
To Move your drive to the other machine and configure the Apps
  • Close any Apps you’ve configured on the external drive, in my case: iTunes, iMovie, Photos, Garageband. Do this on both computers.
  • Dismount the external drive
  • Disconnect the drive and connect it into the other computer
  • Rename ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup (I used Backup.delete, it may soon be deleted)
  • Open the Terminal App and create a Symbolic Link to the new iOS backup location
    • ln -s /Volumes/ext-volume/Users/username/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup/ ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync
    • Close Terminal
  • Hold down the Option Key and launch Photos

    Confirm Photos are current

  • Hold down the Option Key and launch iTunes

    Confirm Music is Current

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Moving App Data Back and Forth

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