In this tip, we’re 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. Part 1: How to Transfer iTunes Library from Mac to Mac Often, Mac users will have more than one Mac in their home. It is the nature of the beast, as they may be so pleased with their exclusive Mac environment that there may suddenly be a MacBook or an iMac in the house where there may have been only one Mac computer previously. Jan 30, 2018 Move/Backup iTunes Library to External Hard Drive 1.Quit iTunes and open the iTunes Folder on your computer. 2.Drag the iTunes folder from your computer (Mac or Windows) and drop it on the external drive. All files in iTunes Folder will be copied to the external drive.
Your Photos library holds all your photos, albums, slideshows, and print projects. If your library is large, and you want to free up storage space on your Mac, turn on iCloud Photo Library and use Optimize Mac Storage, or move your library to an external drive.
Before you start, be sure to back up your library.
Prepare your drive
You can store your library on an external storage device, such as a USB or Thunderbolt drive formatted as APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled).1 Find out how to check the format of your external storage device.
To prevent data loss, Apple doesn't recommend storing photo libraries on external storage devices like SD cards and USB flash drives, or drives that are shared on a network.
Move your Photos library to an external storage device
Quit Photos.
In the Finder, go to the external drive where you want to store your library.
In another Finder window, find your library. The default location is Users > [username] > Pictures, and it's named Photos Library.
Drag your library to its new location on the external drive. If you see an error, select your external drive's icon in the Finder, then choose File > Get Info. If the information under Sharing & Permissions isn't visible, click , then make sure the 'Ignore ownership on this volume' checkbox is selected. If it's not selected, click to unlock it, enter an administrator name and password, then select the checkbox.2
After the move is finished, double-click Photos Library in its new location to open it.
If you use iCloud Photo Library, designate this library as the System Photo Library.
Delete original library to save space
After you open your library from its new location and make sure that it works as expected, you can delete the library from its original location.
In a Finder window, go back to your Pictures folder (or whichever folder you copied your library from) and move Photos Library to the trash. Then choose Finder > Empty Trash to delete the library and reclaim disk space.
Open another Photos library
If you have multiple libraries, here's how to open a different one:
Quit Photos.
Press and hold the Option key while you open Photos.
Select the library that you want to open, then click Choose Library.
Photos uses this library until you open a different one.
Learn more
If you have a permissions issue with your library, you might be able to resolve the issue by using the Photos library repair tool.
1. You can't move your library to a disk that's used for Time Machine backups.
2. If the volume isn't formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), or has been used for Time Machine backups but hasn't been erased, this checkbox will either not be present, or won't be selectable after unlocking. Erase and reformat the drive for this option to be available.
Tips
By Stephen Robles Tuesday, February 03, 2015, 09:17 am PT (12:17 pm ET)
When trying to free up drive space on your Mac, one of the first things you can do is move the iTunes Library to a portable hard drive. Here's a detailed guide on how to back up your music, movies and more to reclaim your hard drive.
All the music, podcasts, movies and TV shows you've downloaded to iTunes are most likely taking up a good amount of hard drive space and can easily be moved. Before starting the process, we suggest making an up to date Time Machine backup of your computer to an external hard drive or Time Capsule. Be sure the external hard drive you use to perform this backup is different than where you will move the iTunes Library should anything happen.
To begin moving your library, open iTunes, click File in the Menu Bar and select Library > Organize Library
Check the box that says Consolidate files and click OK. This will make sure all the music, movies and other files are actually located in the iTunes Media folder that will be moving to your external drive.
If you moved your iTunes Media folder in the past, it is best to double check the folder iTunes is actually accessing for your library files. To do this, go to iTunes in the Menu Bar > Preferences and click the Advanced tab. Under the iTunes Media folder location you will see a path to the files you are about to move. By default, this should be located in the Music folder of your Home directory.
Quit iTunes by going to iTunes in the Menu Bar > Quit iTunes or press Cmd + Q. Connect the external hard drive that you will use to copy the iTunes library. You should see it appear on your desktop.
Open a new Finder window and click Music in the left sidebar. Click and drag the iTunes folder onto the external hard drive icon on your Desktop.
Depending on how large your library is and the connection speed of the external drive, it may take several minutes or longer to complete the copy process. Once the copy is completed, hold the Option key on your keyboard and open iTunes from the Dock or Applications folder again. A new window will pop up asking you to Create Library or Choose Library. Click on Choose Library.
In the browser window that appears, navigate to your external hard drive, click the iTunes folder there and choose the iTunes Library file.
iTunes will then open and as long as the external hard drive is connected, iTunes will reference the library on the external drive and not on your computer's drive. Quit iTunes once again and eject the external hard drive holding your new iTunes Library. Open a new Finder window and navigate to the Music folder in the left sidebar again. Right click or Ctrl+click on the iTunes folder and move it to the Trash.
Transferring Itunes Library From Mac To Mac External Hard Drive 2 Tb
Finally, to free up the space on your internal hard drive, open the Trash from the Dock or Finder window and click Empty Trash in the upper right corner.
Transferring Itunes Library From Mac To Mac External Hard Drive 500 Gb
Your iTunes Library has officially been removed from the internal drive. You can now reconnect the external hard drive you used to copy the iTunes Library, open iTunes and use it as normal.
If you open iTunes without your external hard drive connected, iTunes will give you an error message saying the 'Library cannot be found.' Quit iTunes, connect the external hard drive and reopen iTunes to fix. You may want to copy your iTunes folder onto a second external hard drive as a backup as well. iTunes Match for $25 per year will also backup all your music to Apple's cloud service.
Where to buy an external drive at discount
Choosing a high-quality Mac-formatted external hard drive instead of an Apple-branded Time Capsule will often save you hundreds of dollars. Of all the Apple Authorized Resellers who deal heavily in storage devices, B&H Photo, Adorama, and Amazon offer the best mix of brand options, discounted pricing, availability, and cost-free shipping. Below are some quick links that jump to the available Mac-formatted storage options currently available from these resellers: 1TB to 6TB External Hard Drives (Mac Formatted) from $95.99 @ B&H 1TB to 6TB External Hard Drives (Mac Formatted) from $119.00 @ Adorama 750GB to 6TB External Hard Drives (Mac Formatted) from $65.00 @ Amazon 500GB to 6TB Portable Hard Drives (Mac Formatted) from $99.00 @ B&H 500GB to 6TB Portable Hard Drives (Mac Formatted) from $56.99 @Adorama 500GB to 6TB Portable Hard Drives (Mac Formatted) from $58.00 @ Amazon