Go ahead and quit iTunes at this point and connect your external hard drive. Now that we have completed these two tasks, we can move on to the actual process of moving the library. You should do this just to make sure everything is stored there before we make the move.Ĭheck the Consolidate files box and click OK. When you do this, it will bring up another dialog where you’ll see a checkbox for consolidating all your media files. In Windows, you have to press CTRL + B or press the ALT key to see the navigation menu appear first. Next, on a Mac, click on File from the navigation bar, then Library and choose Organize Library. If the location is different, make a note of it because that is where you will need to go when we have to move the data. Now click on the Advanced tab and check to make sure that the iTunes Media folder location is set to the default path, which should be Users/Username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media. Open iTunes and click on iTunes – Preferences in the navigation bar in OS X or on the small icon at the top left in Windows.
WHERE IS ITUNES MUSIC STORED WINDOWS INSTALL
Previous iTunes Libraries: Each time you install a new major version of iTunes, a backup copy of your iTunes library file is created in this folder by iTunes, in case you have problems and need to revert to a previous version of your library.Before we do any moving of data, we first have to check to make sure everything is properly stored locally. Note: as of iTunes 9, this folder is now stored by default inside the iTunes Media folder Mobile Applications: Contains iPhone and iPad applications downloaded from the iTunes App Store. In locations other than the default music library, this file is named "iTunes Library.xml" instead of "iTunes Music Library.xml" Editing this file has no effect on the contents of the iTunes library, and any changes will be overwritten the next time iTunes saves its library file. ITunes Music Library.xml: This XML file is written out by iTunes so that other programs, such as iPhoto and iMovie, can easily read the contents of the iTunes library. (iTunes 8 and earlier names the folder "iTunes Music" instead of "iTunes Media") ITunes Media: The default folder that iTunes uses to store music for an iTunes library, alongside the iTunes library file. ITunes Library db: A database file iTunes uses to store information for generating Genius playlists ITunes Library db: A database file iTunes uses to store information from CDDB ITunes Library: This is the main iTunes library file, as described above. IPod Games Library: Earlier versions of iTunes also keep a separate library file for keeping track of iPod games. IPod Games: If you purchase games for your iPod on the iTunes store, iTunes saves them to this folder, rather than in the main iTunes Media folder. PowerTunes keeps a separate set of preferences for each of your libraries, and stores the saved prefs for a library in these files alongside the library file. These items include:Īlbum Artwork: This is where iTunes stored downloaded and cached versions of album artwork for your library.Ĭom., : These files are actually put there by PowerTunes, not iTunes. Typically, each iTunes library is kept in a separate folder, along with several auxiliary files/folders that iTunes creates alongside the main library file. Each library refers to a single media folder, and multiple libraries can use the same media folder if you wish. With PowerTunes, you can create any number of separate libraries, as well as any number of different media folders. By default, the media folder is located at ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music. There can be files in the media folder that aren't in the library, and you can also add files to the library which aren't in the media folder. It's important to know that the contents of the media folder don't necessarily match the contents of the library itself. The iTunes media folder is a folder that contains the actual music and video files that iTunes refers to. For simplicity, PowerTunes creates new libraries by default in ~/Music/PowerTunes, but you can also create a library file in any location you choose, including on an external drive or a network drive. By default, this file is located at ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes Library (where ~ represents your home folder). The library file also contains various information you assign to your tracks in iTunes, such as ratings, equalizers, volume adjustments, and more.
This includes the list of all the music and video tracks you have in the library, as well as any playlists and smart playlists you have created. The iTunes library file is a data file that keeps track of the contents of your iTunes library. There are two main components you deal with when organizing your music with iTunes: the iTunes library file, and the iTunes media folder.