putting itunes on an external hdd

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harry18

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basicly i have itunes on my pc, but i also want to install it on an external hard drie, with the hope of being able to play my music on a differnt computer, but when i downloaded it it just gave me the option of removing or modifying my existing itunes, and not to install a new one, i also tried just selecting all the music in itunes and dragging it to the hdd, but it copied it over in a really wierd way, like if you looked at it in list form it kind of altered the names of all the bands and tracks back to what they were when i fist downloaded them or copied them form cd, like adding 'the' when there wasnt one in itunes, if you see what i mean? basicly what i want is an exact replica of the itunes on my computer, to be on my external hdd, which i can play at any other pc
 
Well there is no way to have the itunes program installed on an external HD..there are simply to many factors..mainly when you plug this into another computer it will not be the same drive letter...so running itunes off the external hard drive isnt an option per say...it is and it isnt..if you want me to get technical I can..lol.

I would simply copy over your library from the "My Documents\My Music\itunes" folder...or would this not work from you? I think you can also export the playlist and choose an option to move the tracks with it I thought..maybe not..I avoid itunes cause its evil.
 
ok, i tired to export the libry and it just made this tiny 1.4mb file called libry, i clicked on it and it was a web page with a ton of code.

if i go to my music i have the same problem cos it has loads of folders of all the differnt artists, but then theres all the ones ive downlaoded which have random file names and if i just copy that it will be really annoying to get them to all be the ame and in an order, thats why i want to get it staight from itunes cos its already in the right order.

what if i dont use itunes, i tired using windows media player but i didnt understand it, and all my music files are in itunes anyway i think?
 
You cant move the itunes program to an external drive, but you sure can have all the music on another drive.

I've done this on a Mac plenty of times, and I imagine it's the same process on Windows. Because iTunes will let you move your music from one drive to another with ease.

Here's all you do.
First, tell iTunes to start storing music on a new drive (Preferences > General and clicking the Change button under iTunes Music folder location. All music you import from now on will go to the new folder location, but iTunes will continue to recognize and list all of your music from your old folder as well.

Now you just have to move some of your music over to the new folder. Go to your old iTunes drive (usually [home] > Library > Music > iTunes Music Folder). Open the folder and you'll see more folders, labeled by artist.
Select some artist folders from the old folder location and drag them into iTunes or over the iTunes logo in your dock,
That's it! iTunes will begin copying the folders and song files inside them to the new iMusic folder. It automatically detects the duplicates and updates your iTunes index so that the copied songs play from the new folder, not the old one. When it's done copying, you can go back to the Finder and delete the duplicate folders stored in your old music folder (the ones you originally dragged into iTunes).

Of course you'll want to test this out before deleting your old music folders. Highlight a song from an artist whose folder you moved and select Show in Finder from the pop-up menu. A Finder window should open with the song file located deep inside your new iTunes Music folder. (Or, just open your new iTunes Music folder and navigate until you see the copies of the folders you dragged into iTunes.)

When you're satisfied, you can start moving your iTunes folders off your hard drive and free up some valuable space
 
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