Copy Itunes Library To External Drive Mac Rating: 6,2/10 9096 votes
  • iPhone to Mac
  • iPhone to PC
  • iPhone to iPhone/iPad

“My iTunes is too large and I plan moving iTunes library to an external drive to free up space on computer. Any suggestions or warnings for this?”

With macOS, take advantage of built-in backup for your music, videos, movies, and eBooks. If you have hundreds or even thousands of songs, videos, movies, and eBooks in your iTunes. library, you may find that the original hard drive you used to download all this content is now starting to fill up. Step 17: Drag and drop or copy and paste the iTunes from the parent folder to your external hard drive to backup your library. Backup iTunes to External Hard Drive on Mac. Having used your Mac for some time, you are likely to have several music files on your computer backing up your data is advisable. Below are the steps to take to backup. In this tip, we’re going to show you how to successfully move your iTunes library from its default location on your startup drive to an external drive connected to your Mac. This method will result in a seamless move, with your iTunes app able to pick up right where it left off, with no hiccups.

iTunes is an useful tool for iPhone users to manage media files like music, playlist, videos and ringtones. Every time you connect your device to computer, it will automatically scan and backup your data, all the media items will be saved in iTunes library. However, sometimes you may need to transfer iTunes library from PC to external hard drive when your computer meets hardware failure or you just want to free up storage space. This article will offer you 2 ways to copy iTunes library to external disk easily.

Part 1: Transfer iTunes Library to USB Stick from iTunes Media Folder

Normally you can move iTunes library to another drive on Windows 10/8/7 and Mac directly, here are the detailed steps:

Step 1: Open iTunes and click Edit -> Preference. Then choose “Advanced” on the upper right corner. Now you can see three options, check “Keep iTunes Media folder organized” and “Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library”.

Step 2: Click File -> Library -> Organize Library and then check 'Consolidate files”, press OK to copy all iTunes library into iTunes Media folder.

Step 3: Now open computer, click Music and find iTunes folder. Choose the folder named “iTunes Media and open it, all your iTunes songs and other files are saved here. Connect an USB disk to computer and export entire iTunes library to external hard drive.

Part 2: Copy Music from iTunes to Flash Drive with Free Tenorshare iCareFone

Copy Itunes Library To External Drive Mac

An alternative way for copying iTunes music and videos to an USB flash drive is to use Tenorshare iCareFone-the professional data transferring software and an iPhone/iPad/iPod. Free download this program and follow the steps below:

Step 1: Connect iPhone to computer and run the software. Choose “Files Manager” on the interface and then select data type, take music for an example.

Find deleted folder. Access Hidden Library Menu Option On Mac. Left-click your mouse anywhere on the screen of your Mac. This will reveal the Go Option in the top menu bar of your Mac. Next, click on the Go option in the top menu-bar of your Mac. While you are still on the Go option, press and hold the Option.

Step 2: Click “Add” and find iTunes music from C:UserMusiciTunes Music, choose all the songs and press “Open” to add them to your phone.

Step 3: Connect USB drive to computer and then choose all the music and click “Export to”, a pop-up window will ask you to choose a location to save the data, find your external disc on computer and click “Choose” to move all the files into it.

Part 3: Tips for Moving Data from iTunes Library to Hard Drive

  • Your library might not fit onto a flash drive if you have a large collection of music or apps, which could cause an error during copying process. Create a subfolder in iTunes Media folder and move individual items one by one.
  • Many people will notice a 'Export Library” on iTunes when trying to transfer iTunes library to another disk, actually it’s just a list of your music and metadata other than the audio files.
  • If you’re planning to put iTunes data to a new computer, we can tell you it’s definitely not that necessary. Just log in your iTunes Store to download them again on your new computer.
  • Using the Consolidate Files option creates new copies in your iTunes library; remember to delete the duplicated ones to reclaim the storage space.
Copy Itunes Library To External Drive Mac

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.

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.

Mac library webserver documents. Just to be clear, leave the original file index.html.en where it is, untouched and unharmed throughout this step.Not sure why I had to take this mysterious detour - probably something local to my machine, but if you're having trouble after following the guide above, see if it helps.

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.

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.

Move Itunes Library To External Drive

  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.