{"id":43972,"date":"2018-03-20T09:47:31","date_gmt":"2018-03-20T14:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/?p=43972"},"modified":"2020-08-07T12:12:18","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T17:12:18","slug":"how-to-move-your-itunes-library-to-an-external-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eshop.macsales.com\/blog\/43972-how-to-move-your-itunes-library-to-an-external-drive\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Move Your iTunes Library to an External Drive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Space, the final frontier. It may seem like an astronomically difficult problem, trying to keep enough free space on your Mac’s startup drive, especially if you have a Mac<\/a> with a small SSD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Space is precious<\/a>, and one of the largest users of your drive’s space is likely to be your various media libraries. You likely have one or more photo libraries, as well as all the music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and mobile apps that are managed by your iTunes app. In many cases, your iTunes library is one of the main users of drive space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you are running out of space with Mojave or earlier, or want to make a backup before upgrading to Catalina, this Rocket Yard guide can help!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the best ways to increase the amount of free space<\/a> on your startup drive, and better manage your media libraries, is to move them from their usual home to an external drive. This allows you to use a large but relatively inexpensive drive to house all the data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider this: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new USB 3.0 external drive with a 2 TB hard drive installed<\/a> can be had for less than $150, possibly even less if you already have an enclosure to use, or a hard drive kicking around<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why one of my recommendations for controlling drive space issues is to consider moving your media libraries to an external hard drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Move iTunes Library to External Storage<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In this tip, we\u2019re going to show you how to successfully move your iTunes library from its default location on your startup drive to an external drive connected to your Mac. This method will result in a seamless move, with your iTunes app able to pick up right where it left off, with no hiccups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step in the process is to determine how much external storage you need by finding out how big your current iTunes library is. This will help determine a bare minimum size for an external dedicated to iTunes, though I suggest you use this number only as a reference. I recommend choosing a larger size that will accommodate any expected growth in the library, as well as any additional media libraries you may choose to install on the external now or in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
(The Get Info window includes information about the size of the selected folder.)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Find Out How Large the Current iTunes Library is<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The default location for the iTunes library is in your home folder, within the Music folder (~\/User_Name\/Music). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To find out how big the library is, perform the following:<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
  1. Open a Finder window and navigate to: ~\/User_Name\/Music.<\/li>
  2. Right-click or command-click the iTunes folder, and select Get Info from the popup menu.<\/li>
  3. In the Get Info window that opens, make a note of the folder size found near the top left of the window, just under the General: section.<\/li>
  4. The size listed indicates the current size of the iTunes library.<\/li>
  5. You can close the Get Info window.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The size listed is just about the bare minimum. I say “just about” because you\u2019ll need slightly more capacity on the external to ensure the library will fit. As an example, my iTunes library is about 49 GB, not very big as iTunes libraries go. It\u2019s unlikely that my 49 GB library would fit on a 50 GB external (if you could still find such a small drive), due to the amount of space the external will reserve for itself during the formatting and partitioning process. It would be better to go up a size, from 50 GB to 60 GB, as the minimum space needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To this minimum, add space for expansion. Perhaps you\u2019re an avid collector of new music and podcasts, or you like to install lots of mobile apps. All of these things will take up additional storage. I suggest going with the largest external drive your budget will tolerate. This will ensure you don\u2019t need to expand the drive size in the near future, and you can always use any unused space for other data, perhaps your photo libraries, or to stream movies from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"OWC
    (The OWC Mercury Elite Pro Dual mini gives you the faster USB 3.1 Gen 2 interface and an enclosure that can hold two drives, making it easy to upgrade capacity or performance.)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Interface Speed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This is an easy one; a USB 3.0 or better interface should be all that\u2019s needed for an iTunes media library. This should provide sufficient bandwidth to play back any current iTunes content. If you want to future-proof your investment, consider using a USB 3.1 Gen 2 enclosure<\/a>, which provides twice as much bandwidth as USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Gen 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You could also consider moving to a Thunderbolt-based enclosure<\/a> if you plan to use the external drive for even more bandwidth-intensive storage, such as movie\/video\/image editing<\/a> libraries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Making the Move<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Before you begin the actual process of moving the iTunes library files around, it\u2019s a good idea to have a current backup<\/a>. After all, this process includes moving and deleting files; if something goes wrong, you\u2019ll be thankful you have a backup to use for recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The easiest way to move the iTunes library<\/strong> is to ensure that iTunes is in control of managing the library for you. Essentially, iTunes can be set up to use media files scattered anywhere around your Mac, or it can be set up to gather all the media and place them into a folder structure that iTunes manages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s this last configuration that we want to use, since it gathers all needed files under the iTunes folder, allowing us to copy just the content of a single folder to the new external drive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"iTunes
    (Letting iTunes organize your library is the best way to ensure a safe move to a new location.)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n