iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive

var enableAppleInstant = 'yes';var modelValue = 'SupportApple';var akamaiUrl = "http://km.support.apple.com";iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard driveOne way to back up your iTunes library is to consolidate your library into one folder and then copy that folder to an external hard drive. This is a painless process that only takes a few moments to accomplish.

"> ACUtil.setPOD('us~en'); var articleId = "HT1751"; var ACStaticText = { 'more': '…more', 'less': 'less' };KmLoader.akamaiUrl = 'http://km.support.apple.com';//function sendRead()var locale = 'en_US';Event.observe(window, 'load', function() {ACHistory.addKbView('HT1751', 'iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive', 'en_US', 'unknown');ACUtil.getMultipleOffers('PF4', 'HOWTO_ARTICLES', 'en_US', 'false');ACUtil.reportView('HT1751', 'en_US');// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats');if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true'){var time = new Date();setReadTimer = setTimeout(function(){var feedStats = new ACFeedStatistics();feedStats.updateRead('HT1751', store.get('position'));store.remove('HT1751');store.remove('position');}, 3000);store.set('HT1751', time.getTime());}} });Event.observe(window, 'beforeunload', function(){// Apple Instant Feed statistics code if(locale.indexOf("en")!=-1 && (enableAppleInstant == "yes")){ var store = new Persist.Store('FeedStats'); if (store.get('resultActivity')=='true' && store.get('HT1751') !== null){ var time = new Date();var timeDiff = time.getTime() - store.get('HT1751');if (timeDiff iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive Summary

One way to back up your iTunes library is to consolidate your library into one folder and then copy that folder to an external hard drive. This is a painless process that only takes a few moments to accomplish.

Products Affected

iTunes

Collapse All Sections | Expand All Sections

Consolidating Your iTunes library

To make the move as easy as possible, it's important to make sure all of the items in your library are in one place.

Open iTunes Preferences:
Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences. Click Advanced. Make sure the option to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library" is selected.

Click OK.

Note: After you click OK, iTunes copies any files that are added that weren't already in the iTunes Media folder and places the copies in the folder. The original files are left in their original locations. To save space on your hard disk, you might want to delete the original files after confirming import. Choose File > Library > Organize Library. Select the option to "Consolidate files."  Note: If you recently updated to iTunes 9, you might want to consider selecting the option to "Upgrade to iTunes Media organization." This updates the file organization of your iTunes Media folder.
Click OK.Copy iTunes folder to your external hard drive

To copy all the items in your iTunes library (including the iTunes Library file that holds all your playlists, playcounts, ratings, and other data) to your external hard drive, follow these steps:

Quit iTunes. Locate your external hard drive.
Mac: On the desktop or Finder sidebar.
Windows: In My Computer Locate your iTunes folder:
By default, the iTunes folder is located in:
Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Windows Vista or Windows 7: \Users\username\My Music\

If the iTunes folder is not in the default location listed above then you can find where the iTunes folder is located by following these instructions:

Open your iTunes Preferences:
Mac: Choose iTunes > Preferences.
Windows: Choose Edit > Preferences. Click Advanced. The location of your iTunes folder will be listed in iTunes Media folder location box, as pictured below.

Drag the iTunes folder to your external hard drive. This can take a while if you have a lot of items.

When the transfer is complete, your iTunes Library will have been successfully copied to your external hard drive.Restoring your iTunes Library backup

When you need to restore your backed up iTunes Library from your external hard drive to your computer, follow these steps:

Quit iTunes. Locate your external hard drive. 
Mac: On the Desktop or Finder sidebar. 
Windows: In My Computer Drag the iTunes folder (backed up earlier) from your external hard drive to whatever location you desire on your internal hard drive. It is recommended that you choose the default location for the iTunes folder, which is:
Mac OS X: /Users/username/Music 
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\
Windows Vista or Windows 7: \Users\username\My Music\ Open iTunes while holding down the Option key (Mac) or Shift key (Windows). In the resulting dialog, click the Choose Library button.
Select the iTunes folder you just moved to the internal hard drive. Click Choose (Mac OS X) or Open (Windows) and then choose the iTunes Library file inside .

After following these steps, iTunes will open and your iTunes Library will be restored.

 

Additional Information

If you would prefer to back up your iTunes library by burning your library to CD or DVD click here.

If you were looking into moving the iTunes Media folder, view this article for Windows and this article for Mac.

$('articlecontent').select('img').each(function(element) { if(element.width > 640 ){ var imageDiv = document.createElement('div'); imageDiv.setStyle({ 'display':'block', 'width':'660px', 'overflow':'auto', 'border':'1px solid #dedede','margin-right': '15px'}); element.parentNode.replaceChild(imageDiv, element); imageDiv.appendChild(element); } }); Rate this article:Not helpfulSomewhat helpfulHelpfulVery helpfulSolved my problemOne Moment PleaseThanks for rating this article Not helpful Somewhat helpful Helpful Very helpful Solved my problem Share this article Twitter Facebook Last Modified: October 05, 2010 Article: HT1751 Views: 6330442 Rating: 4.0/5 Stars
(18722 Responses) LanguagesDanskDeutschEnglishEspañolSuomiFrançaisItaliano??????NederlandsNorsk BokmålPolskiPortuguês (Brasil)PortuguêsP??????Svenska???????? Event.observe(window, 'load', function() { new KmLoader('2', 0, 0, 'iTunes: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive', 0, 0, 'en_US', 0, 0, 'support_site.related_articles.HT1751',undefined,undefined,'HT1751');}); Related Articles Still need help?

View the original article here