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How do I access my iTunes library from an external hard drive?
Hold down the Shift key (or the Option key on a Mac) as you click the icon to start the iTunes program. The “Choose iTunes Library” box opens. Click the Choose Library button, go through the navigation windows to the external drive and open the iTunes folder you just copied.
How do I move my iTunes library back from an external hard drive to my Mac?
Click on Finder on your new Mac to open a Finder window. Select your new Mac’s hard drive. Click on the Music folder. Drag the iTunes folder from your external hard drive into the Music folder on your new Mac.
Can a time machine back up external files?
Bear in mind that the drive may be slow if you’re reading and writing files while Time Machine is backing up to it. Files you store on the external drive won’t be backed up by Time Machine, so bear that in mind. If the files are important, you’ll want to have redundant backups.
What happens when I move my iTunes library to an external drive?
Your existing iTunes Library will be moved to the new drive and any new music, videos, or whatever you have in iTunes will be backed up to the new drive as well. Please keep in mind that you can go back to step 2 and change where your iTunes Library is stored—to your computer or a different external drive— at any time.
How long does it take to back up a Mac with Time Machine?
The first backup may take a long time, depending on how many files you have, but you can continue using your Mac while a backup is underway. Time Machine backs up only the files that changed since the previous backup, so future backups will be faster.
How to restore your iTunes library from a backup?
Restore your library from a backup. You can restore your iTunes library or iTunes Media folder 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. Quit iTunes. Locate your external drive.