splitting music library?

Posted:
in iPod + iTunes + AppleTV edited January 2014
Hi,



My question is whether I can split my music library between two hard drives. My iBook G4 hard-drive is getting awfully full, and I wouldn't mind having only my most recently acquired music, for example, on it. But I have an external drive with plenty of room which I'm usually connected to, and it would be great if the whole library could be stored on there. Is there a way to to have iTunes choose between two music libraries, one on the start-up volume and one elsewhere? Is it possible to have any music stored for iTunes on something other than the start-up drive? I suppose I could also do something with my iPod and manual updating.



Perhaps I should keep a backup of my whole music library on my external drive, as well as on my iPod. Then I could delete what I didn't crave from the iBook and, I'm assuming, listen to the rest of my library when I dock my iPod in manual update mode. Anyone see a reason this wouldn't work? Or is there a way to do what I suggested initially?



Thanks!



Nick

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    areseearesee Posts: 776member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by nickgb3

    My question is whether I can split my music library between two hard drives. .... But I have an external drive with plenty of room which I'm usually connected to, and it would be great if the whole library could be stored on there. Is there a way to to have iTunes choose between two music libraries, one on the start-up volume and one elsewhere? Is it possible to have any music stored for iTunes on something other than the start-up drive? I suppose I could also do something with my iPod and manual updating.





    You can't split the library. But you can put the library where ever you want. Go to Preferences>Advance and tell iTunes where you want your library.



    Nor do I know of a way to switch between libraries like you can in iPhoto.
  • Reply 2 of 2
    andersanders Posts: 6,523member
    I think you should be able to do so via "alias" folders. But it would involve some manual book keeping. It would all be done in the "Finder" to fool iTunes



    PLEASE DON`T DO THE FOLLOWING BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE HAVE GIVEN THEIR OPINION!!!



    1) Move the iTunes music folder to the larger HD

    2) Remove all but the folders you want to keep from the iBook.

    3) Go into the iTunes music folder on the external hd, select all folders but the ones you kept on the internal HD, make aliases from them and move the aliases into the iTunes Music folder on the internal HD.



    That should work. When you add new music to the library it will still be added to the internal HD.



    To make it run smoothly you would need to make a play list that only contains the music on the internal HD and use that when your external HD is not connected. You could add a comment to all songs on the external hd (like "external") and make a smart play list that only include songs that doesn´t contain that word. Or if you don´t use the rating system in iTunes use a certain setting (like two stars) and make a play list based on that.



    When you move a folder from the internal HD to the external (bacause it isn´t recent music anymore) then just make an alias and move them to the iTunes music folder on the internal HD and flag the music inside iTunes accordingly to keep the "no external HD connected" play list clean.



    Be aware that if this works it will be extremely complicated if you want to keep some music from an certain artist on the internal HD and some on the external. Its duable but you would have to keep track of the aliased folder within the artist folders.



    But again DO NOT DO ANYTHING OF THE ABOVE BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE HAVE GIVEN THEIR OPINION!!!
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