iTunes? I idiot!

[anala]

So have this huge music library that is choking the life out of my note book. If If I place all my files onto an external hard drive, can I let the files "live" there and ask itunes go play the file from there and not import them into the internal hard drive?

[Callistaangel]

yes and no. i have an older version so it might be diff and im lazy to change settings

but most of my music is on an external. when its plugged in i can play them from itunes. (u have to redo yer library so i knows your there)

when i d/l new music from cds into it i have to move them to the external from the itunes come folder..but i get lazzy lol

[steffib]

Preferences - Advanced lets you choose which iTunes Media Folder you want to use.

[anala]

Wow...that was helpful!

[CalgaryBibi]

Spam reported.

[*Shira*]

So have this huge music library that is choking the life out of my note book. If If I place all my files onto an external hard drive, can I let the files "live" there and ask itunes go play the file from there and not import them into the internal hard drive?

You can definitely do this. This would work on a Windows machine:

1. Copy your iTunes folder from your internal hard disk to your external one.
2. Delete the part of the iTunes folder that contains all the music files. (Ie, don't delete the entire iTunes folder, just the music sub-folders. Do NOT empty the recycle bin yet!
3. Open iTunes.
4. With your external drive still plugged into the computer, double click on a song title within iTunes, as if you wanted to play it. iTunes will tell you that it can't find the song, and it will ask you if you want to locate it. Click on the Locate button, and follow the Windows Explorer navigation sequence to find the folder on your external hard disk that contains this particular song.
5. Click on OK.
6. iTunes will ask you if you want to use this as an example to try locating other missing files. Choose "yes".
7. It will try to find the other files, and then (hopefully) come back and say it found them all on the external drive.
8. Make a backup of your external drive, just in case!
9. Empty your recycle bin to free up space on the internal drive.

[anala]

Does it matter what version of IE you may be running?

[anala]

Is it me?

[*Shira*]

Does it matter what version of IE you may be running?

Argh, I intended to type "Windows" Explorer, not "Internet" Explorer. I apologize. I have edited my post to correct that problem.

In other words, just use the normal Windows navigation through your folders to identify the location of the file.

[anala]

Thanks Shira...this sorta feels like a heart transplant.

[*Shira*]

Thanks Shira...this sorta feels like a heart transplant.

The good news is that it went quite smoothly for me! I know it's intimidating, but it's not so bad once you actually do it!

[anala]

It is me!

[anala]

14,000 files on an external have been imported back into the itunes window...I trust they reside on the external drive, as I pointed the software to the external drive. In my zeal to make sure I had every last file saved, I now have many duplicates. How does one remove them, or at least not show in the itunes window? I am too anal to see them more than once.