Too many MP3s, too little space. Help!

gibagiba
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Since the HD on my iBook is no longer big enough to fit all my MP3s, I've been pondering the possibilities of:



1. Purchase an external HD and store my entire iTunes library there. The problem is I like to still be able to listen to my music on my notebook when I'm away, and I certainly can't bring the ext HD with me everywhere I go. I thought about keeping part of my library on my iBook and the rest in the external HD, but the thought of managing two iTunes library makes me sick to the stomach (or should I?)



2. Buy an iPod (if I can afford it) and keep all the songs on my iPod but NOT on my iBook, so I can listen to songs on my iPod and from iTunes when I have iPod plugged in, and be able to manage songs on my iPod directly in iTunes. Can this be done?



3. Upgrade my iBook's HD either by myself or use upgrade service provided by companies like MCE. Has anyone tried this? Any known issues?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 9
    k_munick_munic Posts: 357member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giba

    Since the HD on my iBook is no longer big enough to fit all my MP3s, I've been pondering the possibilities of:



    1. Purchase an external HD and store my entire iTunes library there. The problem is I like to still be able to listen to my music on my notebook when I'm away, and I certainly can't bring the ext HD with me everywhere I go. I thought about keeping part of my library on my iBook and the rest in the external HD, but the thought of managing two iTunes library makes me sick to the stomach (or should I?)



    2. Buy an iPod (if I can afford it) and keep all the songs on my iPod but NOT on my iBook, so I can listen to songs on my iPod and from iTunes when I have iPod plugged in, and be able to manage songs on my iPod directly in iTunes. Can this be done?



    3. Upgrade my iBook's HD either by myself or use upgrade service provided by companies like MCE. Has anyone tried this? Any known issues?



    4. ? exporting a part of your collection (btw: how many?! hd full?!?) to a dvd - 4 Gigs of mp3 is not bad, hmmm? do you really need access to ALL your titles without "discjockeying"?
  • Reply 2 of 9
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by k_munic

    4. ? exporting a part of your collection (btw: how many?! hd full?!?) to a dvd



    The iBook has never shipped with a SuperDrive for burning DVDs.
  • Reply 3 of 9
    gibagiba Posts: 99member
    Thanks for the help guys.... I've decided to get an external HD and put my entire iTunes library there, and burn songs I want to listen to on my notebook as MP3 CDRs. So now, do any of you guys know a good deal for external firewire HD? Right now the best deal I've found is SmartDisk 80GB Firewire HD for $122.94 after rebate on Buy.com. Has anyone used this drive from SmartDisk and find it reliable or problematic? I'd like to find some good deal for LaCie drives since I've had good experience with the company's product.



    I also heard something about building your own ext HD using internal HD, by using a hard disk enclosure kit. Is that an viable option too?



    Thanks again
  • Reply 4 of 9
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giba



    I also heard something about building your own ext HD using internal HD, by using a hard disk enclosure kit. Is that an viable option too?



    Thanks again



    Building your own is a pain. Check macmall.com too, they usually have good deals on external HDs. That way you can also be 100% sure it will work for your Mac.
  • Reply 5 of 9
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Building your own really isn't a pain. I got a 40 GB portable external hard drive by just buying the case and drive separately. It saved me about $50 off other portable hard drives.



    1. Open hard drive case

    2. Put in hard drive

    3. Close hard drive case



    Sup-R EZ
  • Reply 6 of 9
    gibagiba Posts: 99member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    Building your own really isn't a pain. I got a 40 GB portable external hard drive by just buying the case and drive separately. It saved me about $50 off other portable hard drives.



    1. Open hard drive case

    2. Put in hard drive

    3. Close hard drive case



    Sup-R EZ



    Do you have some pointers to good DIY ext HD kit? Do they use firewire interface? Thanx
  • Reply 7 of 9
    timuscatimusca Posts: 123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by giba

    Do you have some pointers to good DIY ext HD kit? Do they use firewire interface? Thanx



    I've searched for these things for a long time... the best deal is right here. If it is not the best deal, there isn't much out there any cheaper.
  • Reply 8 of 9
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    Why not consider buying a low-end eMac. There's more space and its definately faster than e iBook
  • Reply 9 of 9
    timuscatimusca Posts: 123member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by stunned

    Why not consider buying a low-end eMac. There's more space and its definately faster than e iBook



    laptop vs. desktop... he wants it to be mobile!
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