How to move your iTunes library to an external hard drive - relocate iTunes

[atomicenergy1]

Great video one question you said to hold the option key for Mac what about for pc what do I do to,get the choosen iTunes library

[thedrummer2k]

GREAT video, thanks. i have to copy 50gb of films =(

[robyonder]

Dude you where awesome. Thanks a lot.

[love2cu2b]

You're a cool teacher. Just the right amount of info without wasting time!

[smilingwriter]

Great help, thank you! Would this same technique/process work for running iPhoto from an external hard drive?

[rghe23237]

HEY BUDY THANKS FOR THE VIDEO IS GREAT YOU HELPED ME A LOT, NOW I HAVE MOVIES AND MUSIC IN MY EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE BUY WHAT IF I WANT TO TRANSFER ONLY MY MUSIC TO MY COMPUTER. PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS ONE, THANKS.

[budder47]

Your video is great but my option key is not doing what your is have mac 10.5.8 please help!

[nickrocks312]

For windows, Go to Edit, Preferences, Advanced and it should be there, then change the output folder

[nursmonccu]

i just love this video. teach us more please... thanks a lot...

[MrJavie323]

I like the tutorial . Just wanna kno how do i reverse the process . How do i put it back , when i sell my mac.

[gerard394]

Found this very usefull thank you

[RoyHessey]

Excellent Tutorial. It would be nice if Itunes software in the MUSIC screen showed the Play List each tune was in.... Thankyou for your Tutorial

[calumistheman]

fucking great vid

[timothypande]

This is great.. But I wanna move all my movies that I haven't downloaded frm iTunes, but I use them with iTunes on my apple tv, can u help plz.... Thanx again

[jabbaxhago]

Life Saver thank you.

[horsberg3]

dmj49! wooooord! you saved my life and i will be forever grateful! thankssssssss:))))

[ericaftw]

Thanks so much! Just bought a portable HD for my media and this was extremely helpful.

[aaasimmons]

i must admit you are very informative and knowledgeable in macs and iTunes, this i greatly appreciate.

[magus5555]

Great tutorial..Thx!

[Shihid282]

I did it a different way..when I 1st time installed I tune , intead on installing path of I tunes into my pc I installed that one to my external HDD , so every thing is in HDD , even your I tunes, because, some times you need to copy something but your friend don't have I tunes in his pc ...

[willtube78]

WILL THIS WORK GOING FROM A PC TO A MAC

[willtube78]

is the process the same getting my music from a pc to a mac

[pezking90]

Great tutorial thanks a lot!!!

[Heibai26]

Thank you spo much, this helped me alot!

[xango04]

Outstanding video...thanks

[thedrummer2k]

very helpful, thanks, does anyone know if i could just store my films on an external drive?

[rasheedaqeel]

How would I do this for a PC with Vista?

[tacoselgordotijuana]

@rasheedaqeel same question

[BBTMONSTER]

thanks, helped a lot.

[Mr2018TV]

hi i wanna play itunes using airplay around my house without having pc on how do i do this

[JCargo6]

Wow, I had lots of typos there. My bad

[JCargo6]

How does this differ for a connection to airport extreme? I want to store my iTunes on a ehd, connect that to my aebs si I can ruin tune on separate os @ computers at the same time. I would imagine everything would stay the same except for the file path, right? There's not a lot about this online. Also, I have 2 apple tv's how will this impact playback?

[SuperBessa19]

how about photos? is it saved or what?

[dmj49]

this video saved my life

[Foxxeelp]

Will all of my play lists remain the same?

[flavor600]

the alt part isn't working for me,

[s349409]

U R a legend! Thanks heaps!

[yungniccajebo]

Blueprint 3 FTW!!

[63Russty]

I have looked at this and i have tried to do this on my twin hard drive mac but i can't find the iTunes library iTunes database file so what am i doing wrong?

[63Russty]

How do you do this on the new twin hard drive mad that has SSD and second hard drive on it also how to move all your picture and documents as well

[AlmightyBungholio9]

is there a way to copy my itunes from one computer to another without having to have the external hard drive plugged in all the time?

[vcg06]

You very clear to help move your ipod music files over to exturnal harddrive but i can't do the first step????? I launched my i tunes ihave no ( itune ) on the upper left side useing windows 7 the home version it just starts as file, there is no itunes to click on??? i do have have the most updated i tune on my laptop. What do i do???? can someone have any idea what to do. Thanks.

[sunshinedw]

Worked perfectly! Thanks!

[fab5sons]

Thanks!



[SeraphimSadie]

Very thorough. Nice work!!!

[paperboy875]

hey i have a WD and i wanted to move my itunes music to it.....i dragged it but it dint let me....Does it have like a lock or something like that...when i bought the Hard Drive it had a little picture of a lock

[hhafty]

u are my hero!!

[steviefranchize21]

Thank you worked great on lion and my lacie external Hardrive!

[76trains]

Thanks a million it's great now I can change up my computer

[tcleland104]

Thank you incredibly much!!!

[Zackstar1231]

Can I put iTunes back onto internal drive? Pls respond fast

[marisolmunoz1984]

I tried this but when I drag to place onto EHD Icon, that green plus sign doesnt show, nor does it transfer! What might it be, help!!

[zzRider]

Great video! I just wish I could go back to burning my old files for extra security; I do not trust the safety in using the "cloud".

[MrDJVERSATILE]

HEY ALSO HOW CAN I REVERSE THIS PROCESS IF I WANT TO TAKE MY MUSIC FROM WD TO MY ITUNE 10.4.

[mastersirus1985]

Very useful-Works Great Twice!!

[planks29]

Top tutorial.

Will my apple tv 2nd gen be able to access my iTunes library?

[thenyceone]

Great!!! thanks !!

[doublebassdrummer30]

it works for windows to just make shure if you use windows to use the shift key to relocate library

[rohits78]

good man!

[MrKami75]

thank you so much for this tutorial !

[bldidway2]

ok, all worked well except the point of repathing itunes. the option key did nothing so went to advanced tab and i cant select the itunes library folder. its "ghosted" out. I am guessing that my external hd is not formatted for a mac. Any help would be appreciated

[iPhone5Hacker]

why just music what about movies

[rhaybans]

Just watched the tutorial. Great video. Question which file format is best for the external hard drive to be set up in? Mac OS extended journaled, fat32, or NTFS, or something else? I am about to do this myself.

[elizabethbennettgirl]

@rhaybans i think fat32

[internetplaneta]

Great tutorial bro! Hey quick question... Do you have a tutorial about how to make videos like this one? where you record your screen and also your webcam shows your face at the same time?

Thanks man!

Cheers.

Mariano

[IIHOGZBREATHII]

Great video!!! I wish I would have seen this before I started my transfer to an external drive. I was able to do this on my own by going to the apple support site, but it was a pain in the ass, as I have tones of music I use for dj'ing and felt nervous about deleting my library after the transfer. This Video Stve put up is exactly what one should be doing!!! No if, whens,or buts about it!!! That's how videos should be on youtube. Most people rush, don't speak clearly, skip steps.etc. Great Job!!

[Talyis84]

I can't find the option button on mine I have windows

[ahigginb1]

Hi Steve. I was following along with your video just fine until I got to the part where we were to "choose" the library. I have a pc so I held the shift button while opening itunes and clicked on the choose library. as i was trying to figure out what to choose (little different than the mac) i accidently double clicked and that was it...I have no idea what I chose and now can't hold the shift key and try to open iTunes. I can't open iTunes at all. Can you help me? please?

[Normerod]

Steve hi

I'm going to buy a new iMac can I use this to transfer from my pc to iTunes on the new iMac

[Snoopy021]

Steve, Name is Todd from Philly.  Thanks for all the great tutorials you put up they are very good. I have a question about this one. If I relocate my itunes library to an external should I turn off the PERMISSIONS on the drive or leave them on and for this directory shat should the permissions be. I know ME should be read-write. What should staff be and then everyone? Let me know if you can. Thanks

Todd

[getsum2000]

I love you Steve :D

[islak1939]

Very clear. Full marks. Even I can do it now. Many thanks.

[happylady999]

Does this work with pc as well?? Like I don't have an options buttons, how would I get the Choose iPod library option?

[Traedawg24]

Thanks Man! Really helpful



[planks29]

Will my apple tv pick up my iTunes library which is located in the external hard drive?

[airsnipe4]

Hey Steve, Im a big fan of your tutorials i used yours to upgrade my internal HD in my macbook. i have one question though how would i copy the items from this external drive to a new computer. I am a DJ, I have 160GB of music (totaling in around the 20 grand category) so as you can tell my music is my way of life. I still want to keep all the music on my old macbook but i need the library on my new one also. If you could PM or respond to me on how to do that i would appreciate it GREATLY!Thanks

[samsimpson11]

ive got all my music, apps, and backups for my two ipads and 3 iphones on my macbook pro itunes and i needa know how i can move it all to a new itunes on my imac? please help

[flavamixx]

Very good and easy to understand. I'm gonna check out your other videos.

[Harryhoodz]

Thanks a lot Steve, keep bumpin those Black Eyed Peas lol

[Beatmixology]

Hey Steve. One of the best and easy to understand tutorials! Helped me out big time.

thanks for posting!

[StephenMessenger]

Thanks for the tips, Steve.

[mash2head]

Very clear and concise tutorial.

[gamergrounds]

I have all my music in My Music folder of my PC, can I move all my music into the iTunes folder manually? I only have 20 gb left and my collection of music is over 120 gb what can you recomend me to do? what I need is to keep my playlists as they are, I will get another computer soon and I need to tanfers all the My Music from one pec to another but I need the libraries to stay the same in the new computer.

[TheNinja4]

should i back up all my songs to a cd before i bring over to the hard drive and i got some songs off of lime wire like 3 years back so will those be moved to the hard drive to? and i have a pc so how to i choose library?

[TheNinja4]

should i back up all my songs to a cd before i bring over to the hard drive and i got some songs off of lime wire like 3 years back so will those be moved to the hard drive to?

[marisolmunoz1984]

I tried this, but when I drag itunes to drop into external HD, it wont transfer, do you know why this might be??

[XToxicRaverx]

Hey whats up! firs of all thank you for this video! It helped me out a lot. I had a question. How do you change your icons?

[djjohnnygroove]

Steve if I got my iTunes library on an external HDD like yours and then If i get another external for Time Machine will it save my music on Time Machine if anything ever happens to my iTunes library on my iTunes external? Can I retrieve it?

[cliffe98]

Thanks, I saw another video like this but they left out key points so I ended up losing everything, thank God I had my music backed up. Thanks for telling everything we need to do. You're a blessing!

[Fairviewparkchiro]

Worked great! For PC, hold down the shift key when opening iTunes from the start menu to force choose library location.

[danno9901]

is this tutorial the same for a pc - Windows XP, obvously the folders n' stuff will be different etc...but the same type of things - drag iTunes folder to external drive, make iTunes choose library on external drive, make sure iTunes library media folder location is in external drive, and that you have all music/apps/videos etc...

then delete the "old" iTunes media folder,

and run iTunes off external drive and everything should be ok

please respond as i am a little nervous about "iTunes moving"

[beansterman1998]

I have the same USB drive but in blue

[qwesada]

Great tutorial. New to mac and the tutorial was easy to follow. Thanks Steve

[ProvidentTools]

WORKED PERFECTLY. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME.

[haider1991]

how did yuu change the icons to black

[Tommo1477]

Hi Steve brill vid,when I upgrade to lion,how do I acces my iTunes music which is on an external.

[wrestleshute]

Am I correct in assuming that this would also work for a MBP with dual drives? Can I set up Aperture photo library in the same way?

[ArmoredSaint848]

ok guys i just got my new 27"iMac , and im trying to copy some of my documents and pics from my desktop to the back up drive, drag and drop isn't doing any good, any help is greatly appreciated

[BrownFlicks]

Steve am itunes works like a charm. Steve, How did you get the change your icon to all black?

[rooboy2008]

Great video. Thank Steve.

[chessdude67]

The man is back! Thank you for coming back, Steve.

Tim 

[xmeerzx]

You're back!

[snb220]

can i do this on my wireless usb hard drive because i have an airport extreme and the usb is connected in the back of it. and is it ok to do if time machine backups my laptop? is this the same steps for itunes 10?

please answer i need help quick!!

[LucioKris]

Hey Stevesmacfix, great vid, question.. I have 2 iTunes libraries and I want put one to external HD and the other keep on my computer, what happened if I use Time Machine? there will be no problems?

[harhtimes]

yes!!! you are back. there is honestly one else out there like you on youtube

[dwashington91]

Perfection. Thank you very much it was easy, clear and simple.

[djkly1]

thanks for reloading this man, this was the best tutorial out there, i almost died when i couldnt find it.

[sachqa]

Hey Steve, is there a way i can drag&drop my movies from an external hard drive to my ipod classic (160GB Latest model) ?

[Takoeye2008]

What format do you use for the external HDD? Thank you.

[joseseily]

CAN YOU PLEASE SHOW US HOW TO MOVE OUR IPHOTO LIBRARY TO EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE PLEASE??????

[supersaintsfan31]

Aww I wish this came out earlier! I spent 3 days trying to figure this out! Haha i got it now though :D

[alster269]

would this work pc as well?

[SkitMan86]

0:40 All the tutorials were deleted!! :O

[koziat66]

I was talk with my friend about this video and great this come back.

can you do this with iPhoto ???

[technoairplaneman]

@koziat66 if I recall correctly, Steve did a tutorial on this as well! He may reupload it soon :).

[endwarler]

Ahhh! Good ol' tutorials! The world is back in order! (iTunes 8...LOL dated!) Can't even open iPhones with iOS4

[alfonso45901]

This was the first video I ever saw of u I really missed it's kool to have u back X)

[alfonso45901]

Kool vid I was woundering if u could show a vid of ur favorite mac apps

[jpgroulx1979]

hey Steeve how to have this beautiful dock and change the icon of each app on dock?

[phoenix6676]

@jpgroulx1979 I second that. This dock is sick!

[SkitMan86]

@jpgroulx1979 Geektool and possibly Candybar.

[carlos53k]

I've been wanting do do this for eeeeeeeeeeeeever even went to the apple store and they couldn't help me.... they were pretty lost they were like yeah do this wait no... go to itunes etc and made no sense... glad ur back... thnx... Ur the ish!!!! lol

[stevensonrf]

A Classic "stevesmacfix" I think this was one of the first videos that I downloaded a year ago' nice to see it again!

[jonnyl94]

Great tutorial Steve, thanks! Just out of interest, how do you get the theme you have? It;s gorgeous! 

[PianoScience]

Did you upload this before? Good times. :)

[0ldSkool27]

thank you so much! i've been wondering for so long how to do this. but what about if you wanna put your itunes data back into your internal hard drive? also, i use time portal. does that save all my itunes data? thanks again steve!!!

[iphonetechman]

Hey man great to see you back. I just recently got a new macbook pro and im trying to transfer my entire itunes library to an external hard drive so i can move it over from the new to old, and ideas?

[JerryDelPozo]

what about if i want to take my music with me to a friend's house and listen my library there (let's say we have a party or something)?? can i open my library from my external HD in his/her iTunes??

does it work with PCs too? (not all my friends have a Mac, you know xD)

too many questions! sorry xD

[setofirons]

great video... again you have out done urself.

[Fsdrak]

you're such a pro man !!

[JDSpiderman3]

yaya! Your rock steve great video :D

[echukgn]

what about playlist ??

[echukgn]

hey i like ur theme.. how you gat it ??

[perishingflames]

Good, easy to follow tutorial steve. Nice to see you back posting videos on youtube!

[echukgn]

itunes 9 ????!!

[pixeltater]

Step 1. Back up your stuff.

[mohamed1shehata]

hey steve welcome back pro... dont disappear agin man :)

[mohamed1shehata]

hey steve welcome back pro... dont disappear agin man :)

[BKx20]

too much work..need to find a better way to save space. maybe deleting cache or whatever

[SpartanHamster]

Great video man. I was wondering, could you use multiple hard drives for one library?

[perishingflames]

@SpartanHamster Yes, I haven't tried this but it should be possible. What you would do is uncheck the option to copy media files to the itunes library folder when importing--allowing you to have some music on an external HD, some on the internal (or another external). Just make sure to import the files from wherever you will be keeping those music files permanently, because if you move the files you will get the exclamation icon (itunes cannot find the files).

[perishingflames]

@SpartanHamster Actually, if you are planning on having it by default using the library on the external HD but sometimes you don't have it plugged in, iTunes will revert by default to the media folder location on the internal drive. Then, you can just have some duplicates of your favorite albums that will still be playable without the external drive. Then when you plug in the external, restart itunes and it will detect the correct library to use. tinyurl (dot) com/a3dke (read the last section)

[MrNuun]

relocated yourself too I see xD Less noise :P

[BrennanWorld]

Can you show us how this would work with imovie! This app also takes up a lot of space.

[MrRoyksopp]

Beautiful.

- And btw, how do you make you computer look like that? Your desktop.

:)

[omarAbduljawad]

Steve FTW !!!

[MattsMacintosh]

Classic Steve. Good times.

[stevesmacfix]

@MattsMacintosh thanks man! Good to hear from ya bro

[mgmaik]

Thanks for this awesome tut!

1 question: I used my old macbook pro as server, it works! but I wan't to put my whole iTunes library on my server and host it on the internet! BUT with a iTunes stylish GUI script. I used to use a flash template and upload the songs on, but that didn't go well for 4000 songs.. :/ I need like a script that takes the Library and move the songs on the right place.

[kevismac]

I swear Ive seen this before lol

This was one of the first things I ever did on my mac... I followed this other video that jacked me up lol... too bad I didnt know of stevesmacfix then!

Glad your back steve upload all that great content

[stevesmacfix]

@kevismac It's the great kevismac! Sorry you followed one of those "other" tutorials. I am gonna upload little by little.

[b00nsmoviesss]

welcome back m8!

[stevesmacfix]

@b00nsmoviesss Ya.. Im gonna upoad some of my fav and useful tutorials i've done, with some new videos in between here in there.

[Fsdrak]

@stevesmacfix if you can upload also the one with instruction how to use google search, that was great !

[JamiesNikNaks]

cool vid dude !! Loving the icons and theme on your mac.. can you do a video on how to do that please?

[stevesmacfix]

@JamiesNikNaks I used candybar. I may do a tutorial in the future my friend.

[MrDaBears21]

Hey Steve! thanks for the re-upload used this on my old computer but forgot how to do it again when I got a new one. Welcome Back!!

[stevesmacfix]

@MrDaBears21 Thanks man!