How To Move Itunes Library To Another Drive Mac

Select where you want to move your iTunes data then click OK. From the File menu, go to Library Organize Library. Check Consolidate FilesOK. Your existing iTunes Library will be moved to the new drive and any new music, videos, or whatever you have in iTunes will be backed up to the new drive as well. Jan 04, 2020 How to Move Your iTunes Library You can move your iTunes library to a different folder, computer, or drive. Here's how to do it, even in macOS Catalina, which ditches iTunes for the Music app. Step 11: Connect an external drive to your Mac and wait until it pops up on the desktop. Step 12: Drag the iTunes folder from your Mac and drop it on the external drive on the desktop. Now’s the right time to fix yourself a cup of coffee because copying a multi-gigabyte iTunes library is going to take a while. Do not use an external Time Machine drive to store the iTunes library. It’s not a good idea to have both the original files, and the backup of those files, on the same drive. Choose an external drive large enough to accommodate your iTunes library as well as any other media storage needs, such as your Photos library.

Here are some things to know

Your iTunes library, a database that's made up of all of the music and other media that you add to iTunes for Windows, is organized into two iTunes library files and an iTunes Media folder.

Dec 31, 2016 How to transfer full iTunes music library without losing playlists, play counts, likes or ratings! I transferred my entire library from a 2011 MacBook Pro to the new 2016 MacBook Pro with touch bar. Jan 30, 2018  Some of them want to move the intact iTunes Library to external drive in order to free up space on computer or make a backup, while others just want to move some iTunes media files (music and movies for example) to an external hard drive so that they can connect the drive to another computer to enjoy the songs or movies. Apr 18, 2017 See Make a split library portable for background on the typical layout of an iTunes library. When the library is in the standard shape it can be easily moved from one drive to another. Once the media folder has been split out to a separate path it becomes harder.

Before you back up your media:

  • Consolidate your iTunes library.
  • Redownload any previous purchases, like music, movies, TV shows, and more. The only way to back up your purchased media is to download your purchases to your computer.

iTunes and Store availability and features might vary by country or region. Learn what's available in your country or region.

If you have a Mac

In macOS Catalina, your previous iTunes media library is now available in the Apple Music app, Apple TV app, Apple Podcasts app, and Apple Books app. And when you back up your Mac, your media library is automatically included in that backup.

Consolidate your iTunes library

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. From the menu bar at the top of your computer screen or at the top of the iTunes window, choose File > Library > Organize Library.
  3. Select Consolidate files.
  4. Click OK.

When you consolidate, copies of any files that were outside of your iTunes Media folder are added to your iTunes Media folder. To save space on your hard drive, you might want to delete the original files after you make sure that the copies are in your iTunes Media Folder.

Find the iTunes Media folder

By default, your iTunes Media folder is in your iTunes folder. To find it, go to User > Music > iTunes > iTunes Media.

If you don't see your iTunes Media folder in the above location, here's how to find it:

  1. Open iTunes.
  2. From the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window, choose Edit > Preferences.
  3. Click the Advanced tab.
  4. Look in the box under 'iTunes Media folder location' for the location of your iTunes Media folder.

Back up your library and media files

After you consolidate your media files, you can back up your library and media files to an external drive.

  1. Quit iTunes.
  2. Find your iTunes folder.
  3. Right-click on your iTunes folder, then choose Copy.
  4. Go to your external hard drive, then right-click and choose Paste.

Transfering Itunes Library To Windows 10

Restore your library from a backup

You can restore your iTunes library from your external drive to your computer. If you're restoring an iTunes Library from a different computer, make sure that your new computer has the latest version of iTunes.

  1. Quit iTunes.
  2. Go to 'This Computer,' then click your external drive.
  3. Select your iTunes folder, then right-click and choose Copy.
  4. Go to the location on your computer where you want your iTunes library, then right-click and choose Paste.
  5. Hold down the Shift key while opening iTunes.
  6. When you see a message that asks you to Choose iTunes Library, click Choose Library.
  7. Choose the location where you copied your iTunes folder.
  8. Click Open.
  9. Choose the iTunes Library.itl file inside.

Run out of storage on your computer? Thinking about removing iTunes library and sending it to the external hard drive? Well, this article can help you out with two simple solutions on how to move iTunes library to external hard drive.

By iMobie Posted on: Nov. 22, 2018, Last Updated: Nov. 22, 2018
Home > AnyTrans for iOS > iTunes Manager >How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive

When we get a large collection of music in our iTunes library, it would be not easy for us to delete certain songs from the whole collection. However, when you are confronting that there is not enough space on your computer, it would be a better option for you to move it to an external hard drive. Besides, for these beloved songs, you may just like the question above want to transfer your iTunes library from one device to another.

Then here comes the problem: how to move iTunes library to external hard drive? This post can render you two possible ways to achieve it. Read on to learn more.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with iTunes

Step 1To find the location of your iTunes media folder, launch iTunes on your computer > Then click “Edit” (PC) or “iTunes”(Mac) on the menu bar > Preferences > Advanced > Here you will see the “iTunes Media folder location” in your computer.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with iTunes – Step 1

Step 2Then click File > Library > Organize Library > Check the box named as “Consolidate files” > Click OK.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Drive with iTunes – Step 2

Step 3Quit iTunes > Connect your external hard drive to the computer > Open the iTunes media folder from the location in step 1 > Drag the folder to the external hard drive.

If you intend to delete the original iTunes media content in your computer, to make iTunes still work with this iTunes library, you have to open iTunes > then click “Choose Library” in the pop-up window > select the iTunes library folder in your external hard drive.

Remember you have to connect your external hard drive to your computer every time you want to use iTunes with this iTunes library.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with AnyTrans for iOS

Besides using iTunes to move the music from your iTunes library to external hard drive, there is an easier way for you to achieve it – AnyTrans for iOS. It is a professional iOS data manager that allows you to simply transfer your iOS data from one device to another.

  • Transfer music directly from iTunes to your hard drive or another iDevice without hassle.
  • Transferring music speedily. AnyTrans for Android supports you transfer more than 1000 songs in minutes.
  • Manage and transfer almost all your iOS data like contacts, photos, ringtones, music, calendar, from one iDevice to another or from iDevice to computer and vice versa.
  • No leak or loss of data. AnyTrans for iOS assures that all the data in the process of transferring would not be leaked or lost.
AnyTrans for iOS – iTunes Library Manager

Thinking about a good way to transfer your iTunes library to an external hard drive? AnyTrans for iOS can be your perfect helper. You can easily move iTunes Library to external hard drive or computer or another iDevice without any trouble.

Download AnyTrans for iOS now on your PC/Mac and follow the below steps to know how to move iTunes library to external hard drive.

Step 1Launch AnyTrans for iOS > Click the button in the middle of the top bar > Choose iTunes Library in the drop-down menu.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 1

Step 2Select all the items at once or some of them > Click on Send to PC/Mac button.

How to find library on mac yosemite. How to view the /Library folder in Mavericks and Yosemite. Today's Best Tech Deals. Perhaps you wanted to tweak something using a tip from Macworld, Mac OS X Hints, or elsewhere on the Web. OS X Yosemite was announced and released to developers on June 2, 2014, at WWDC 2014 and released to public beta testers on July 24, 2014. Yosemite was released to consumers on October 16, 2014. Following the Northern California landmark-based naming scheme introduced with OS X Mavericks, Yosemite is named after the national park. Origin of the Place Name Yosemite. The following article explains of the meaning of the word Yosemite in more detail. It is from “Yosemite and Tamalpais,” Names (Journal of the American Name Society) 3(3):185-186 (Sept. Madison Scott Beeler, Professor of Linguistics, University of California Berkeley (1910-1989). Beeler was an authority on California names of Indian origin. If you don’t know why you’re doing something to a folder (other than the Fonts folder) in your Home/Library, don’t do it. There must be some good reasons why Apple decided to hide the Home/Library folder in OS X Yosemite, and one of them is to keep you from accidentally screwing something up.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 2

Step 3Click “view files” to find the exported files in your computer > Then connect your external hard drive to the computer > Drag the folder to your external hard drive.

How to Move iTunes Library to External Hard Drive Windows with AnyTrans for iOS – Step 3

How To Move Itunes Library

The Bottom Line

That’s the two methods on how to move iTunes library to external hard drive. As you can see, with the help of AnyTrans for iOS, you can manage your iTunes library or iPhone data easier than ever. You can also back up your iOS app and restore them to your iDevices at any time. Download it now and enjoy your free trial!

How To Move Itunes Library To Another Drive Mac Computer

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