Back Up iTunes to the External Hard Drive
Create backups of important files so that you’re prepared when a crash or hardware failure strikes your computer. A backup is especially important when you consider the time and money invested in an iTunes library. To back up your iTunes library, you need an external drive with enough free space to contain the library. If your iTunes library files are in one place and organized, backing up the files to an external hard drive is easy. If not, you’ll want to locate your iTunes media folder and consolidate it before backing up. To back up your iTunes music to an external hard drive: Make new backups regularly. If you frequently add content to your iTunes library, back up the library weekly or monthly. Use this backup to restore your iTunes library from the hard drive.
How to Find Your iTunes Library
You need the location of your iTunes library before you can back it up. Here’s how to find it:
Find an iTunes Folder That Isn’t in the Default Location
If you don’t see your iTunes folder in the default location, find it by following these steps:
On a Mac, go to the Finder, select your username, then click Music.On Windows Vista or later, go to the \Users\username\Music\ folder.On Windows XP, go to the \Documents and Settings\Username\My Documents\My Music folder.
Consolidate Your iTunes Library
The music, movies, and other items in your iTunes Library may not be in the same folder. Depending on where you got your files and how you manage them, these files could be in different places throughout your computer. Consolidate every iTunes into the iTunes Media folder before you back it up to ensure you don’t lose anything. To consolidate your iTunes library:
Other Options for Backing Up iTunes
An external hard drive isn’t the only option to create a backup of your iTunes library. Other options include:
Back up the hard drive using Time Machine (Mac) or other backup software. Back up to the cloud. Use iTunes Match to backup your music.
