Hello Neal, If your iTunes Library is small enough or, that is to say, your drive is large enough, by all means, create a copy of the iTunes folder in a different location, if you like if for no other reason than to practice different filing techniques or to learn how to use Smart Playlists without risking the integrity of your original Library.
I used a similar technique a while ago when I decided to use Smart Playlists in order to prune all of the broken links from my iTunes Library. I made a copy of the Library just in case things went wrong during the pruning process. As for copying your Library from your old PC to a new one, generally speaking, I think it best to copy the original Library to an alternative location on the new computer. Then, after installing iTunes on the new PC, use the modifier key when opening iTunes in order to select the newly copied Library. Your original supposition should work, however, I think iTunes is happiest, especially when installing/upgrading to a new version, when it sees an iTunes folder in the My Music folder on the C drive, even if that is not the folder to which it will subsequently point, when launched. Mark -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Neal Ewers Sent: Friday, July 17, 2015 3:39 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: What are the merits and risks of putting iTunes Media Folder on a USB Hard Drive? Mark, Many, many thanks for wonderful instructions. I first have to determine if iTunes is going to work in Windows 10 where I currently have things setup, all, that is, except iTunes. I asked my question about moving to an external drive for a friend, but, I wonder if I can assume something from your instructions, or if I have to do something else. I have iTunes on my old computer. I need to move the library or the iTunes folder as you say, to my new computer. Unlike my friend, I don't need to have that folder on a different drive, but I wonder if I should put it someplace else on my C drive in order to carry out your instructions. That way, I will have them both and will be able to tell iTunes where the new location is. Or, do I delete the new iTunes folder in Windows 10 and simply move the one from my old computer there? Will that work. Suggestions will be most helpful. By the way, I am not asking you to tell me if this will work in Windows 10. That is my responsibility. However, I do want to do what I need to do correctly. Thanks very much for your clear instructions. My apologies for asking yet more questions. Neal -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of M. Taylor Sent: Friday, July 17, 2015 4:01 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: What are the merits and risks of putting iTunes Media Folder on a USB Hard Drive? Hello Neal and thank you for the kind compliment. I'm not absolutely certain I understand your question as it was stated because, when it comes to iTunes, the word "backup" has several connotations; However, I will try to provide a general answer: 1. All things being equal, for the average Windows user, in my opinion of course, changing the location of backup files is an all or nothing proposition. That is to say, you cannot configure where iTunes saves the, quote, backup, quote files that are made from your iOS device, from within iTunes. All one can do is change the location of the Media Folder, which, personally, I do not recommend. 2. So, the easiest way to change the location of your entire iTunes Library, assuming that you have not customized the Media Folder location, is to simply locate the iTunes Folder from within the My Music Folder, and copy it, along with all of its subfolders of course, to a new drive. Do not delete the original folder until you have confirmed the new folder by accessing it, successfully, from within iTunes. 3. There are two basic methods to getting iTunes to open a different Library from that which was last opened. The first way is to hold down a modifier key, I believe it is the Shift key on a PC, while launching iTunes. This will cause a dialog box to appear asking if you want to either create a new Library or open one in a different location from that which was previously opened. The second way, which is the one I always use, is to simply change the file name of the original Library. Doing this will cause the same dialog box to appear when opening iTunes but in this scenario, it is not necessary to hold down any modifier keys when launching the program. Assuming you do not have your file extensions hidden in Windows, from within the iTunes folder, described in step 2, you will see a file named iTunes.itl. Simply rename this file to something else before launching iTunes. I typically change this to iTunes.old. Finally, keep in mind that the above represents merely the broad strokes in accomplishing your goal. Good Luck, Mark -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Neal Ewers Sent: Friday, July 17, 2015 12:05 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: What are the merits and risks of putting iTunes Media Folder on a USB Hard Drive? Mark, nicely done. I have two questions. I don't store much music in iTunes, so I am not all that concerned about my music library. However, I would like to know how to cause iTunes to use a different drive than I C drive when doing a backup of whatever it finds, apps, a little music per chance, Etc. Thanks for any answers. Neal -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of M. Taylor Sent: Friday, July 17, 2015 1:14 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: What are the merits and risks of putting iTunes Media Folder on a USB Hard Drive? Hello Keith, I think a comprehensive answer to your question can best be discussed via telephone as the answer will very much depend upon your level of comfort with network drives, file paths, the current configuration of your iTunes Library, etc. I have my entire iTunes Library located on a network drive. Not only does this allow me to access the same Library from multiple computers but also the ability to sync my iOS devices with any of my PCs/Macs currently accessing the Library. Finally, the ability to quickly backup my entire iTunes Library without tying up any one computer is another advantage of a network-drive based iTunes Library. All things being equal and assuming that you have a basic understanding of how the Windows file system works and know the difference between relative and absolute file references, moving your entire Library to an external USB drive is relatively uncomplicated. Mark -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Kramlinger, Keith G., M.D. Sent: Thursday, July 16, 2015 5:52 PM To: [email protected] Subject: What are the merits and risks of putting iTunes Media Folder on a USB Hard Drive? HI, I'm quickly running out of space on my PC's hard drive, and an encrypted iphone backup tonight was limited by hard disk space. I have a 2 TB My Passport that's not being used, and I'm thinking about putting my iTuens Media Folder on that. The only time I use my iTunes on my PC is for backup purposes. What are the merits and risks of putting the iTunes Media folder on an external hard drive? Any advice on how to best do this, if at all, would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, Keith -- The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. All new members to the this list are moderated by default. 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