itunes with external hard drive instead of internal hard drive

[drater]

In effort to save hard drive space, can I run itunes via an external hard drive (considering i have a HUGE amount of music) instead of using my internal hard drive? Anyone know? I was thinking of upgrading my internal hard drive, but I would rather not void my apple warrenty. Any suggestions? Does apple upgrade hard drives if you send it to them? ((this is what I get for not being able to order online and wait for a new ibook with a bigger hard drive and just impulse buying at the apple store...my own fault))

[PlaceofDis]

just change the location of your library within the iTunes Advanced Prefs and you will be all good to go.

you will have to keep the library files on your internal drive, but they are so small its negligable.

the only downside is that the external will have to be hooked up to be able to listen to your music, if you have a portable, this can be frustrating

[mad jew]

Go to the iTunes preferences and under the Advanced tab (assuming you've checked Keep iTunes Folder Organised, click on the Change button and select somewhere on your external drive you'd like to keep the music (obviously while the external is plugged in :p ). Click okay and if it doesn't automatically copy across your library then select Consolidate Library from the Advanced menu. :)

Upgrading the internal drive of an iBook can be expensive and is probably not the best option if you already have an external.

...Beaten by PlaceofDis. :o

[w_parietti22]

In effort to save hard drive space, can I run itunes via an external hard drive (considering i have a HUGE amount of music) instead of using my internal hard drive? Anyone know? I was thinking of upgrading my internal hard drive, but I would rather not void my apple warrenty. Any suggestions? Does apple upgrade hard drives if you send it to them? ((this is what I get for not being able to order online and wait for a new ibook with a bigger hard drive and just impulse buying at the apple store...my own fault))

Create a folder on External HD> Open iTunes> iTunes> Preferences> Advanced> iTunes Music Folder Location> Change... > Select folder

edit- Damn, beaten to it. ;)

[drater]

god damn you guys are fast...who the **** needs a mac guy when you have this ****...hahahahaha, thanks everyone for their 5 responses in 5 seconds. i really do appreciate it all. mad jew, nice words in white....has anyone noticed them yet?

[kugino]

god damn you guys are fast...who the **** needs a mac guy when you have this ****...hahahahaha, thanks everyone for their 5 responses in 5 seconds. i really do appreciate it all. mad jew, nice words in white....has anyone noticed them yet?
lol, just noticed his sig as well...

[jonat8]

I keep my music libary on my external hard drive, just remember to make sure it's turned on when you start iTunes or the default music import folder will default back to HD:Users:yourusername:Music, but if it does that, if you quit and restart iTunes with the drive turned on it will go back to the external HDD again.

[phelpslogic]

drater-
let me expand on what jonat8 said:
"I keep my music libary on my external hard drive, just remember to make sure it's turned on when you start iTunes or the default music import folder will default back to HD:Users:yourusername:Music, but if it does that, if you quit and restart iTunes with the drive turned on it will go back to the external HDD again."

To answer your initial question accurately, no you can't ( i have not been able to find a way yet) run itunes COMPLETLY outside of your initial system, only the library will point to it. Itunes is "hardwired into your system **ayone reading this please let me know if you know otherwise-thanks!**

you might want to know these key details before you kill yourself (all the previous info is technically correct). Allthough, here are a few good reasons why you should not use itunes, before i list them, i'll just say i am in the middle of consolidating my meager library of 150 gigs and have been reamed many times--ohh it feels good!:

1) itunes will invariably "reset" the library in advanced prefs to your internal after you do everthing everyone else has aforementioned.
1.a. But also, sometimes it has reverted to the old library location: when you add new music to the library from anywhere else on your system(even from your external if you have them in a different folder for some reason); possibly when you add new hard/software OR upgrade OR even sometimes from simply restarting both, with and without the external turned on.
now, since you now have the old library location (sweet!), you get to experience the wonderful process of redirecting and organizing your library (unless you can get it to work by resarting which sometimes works (not always). You will need to readd/import the tracks again and delete off your internal if the cause was from a previous add.


that being said, here's what apple says to do-don't forget step 12:

Open iTunes.
From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences (In Windows, from the Edit menu,choose Preferences).
Click the Advanced button in the Preferences window.
Click the Change button in the Advanced pane.
In the Change Music Folder Location window that appears, navigate to the location where you would like your new Music folder to be created. Note: By default, your iTunes Music folder is a folder named "iTunes Music" in ~/Music/iTunes/ where the tilde "~" represents your home directory. In Windows, the default location is:
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
Click the New Folder button in the Change Music Folder Location window.
In the New Folder window that appears, enter the name of the new iTunes Music folder.
Click Create.
Click Choose in the Change Music Folder Location window.
Click OK in the Advanced window. A message appears that says: "Changing the location of the iTunes Music Folder requires updating the location of each of the songs in your music library. This update will not move or delete any of your song files."
Click OK.
...12....From the Advanced menu, choose Consolidate Library. A message appears that says: "Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes Music folder. This cannot be undone."
Click Consolidate. Important: This action copies all of your music files to the new location. There must be enough hard disk space available to copy all of your music files.
After the folder has been copied, locate your original iTunes Music folder, and drag it to the Trash or Recycle Bin. Note: Don't remove the iTunes 4 Music Library files that may be in the same location as the iTunes Music folder.
Empty the Trash or Recycle Bin.

if you have a pc, save yourself the headache and get this:
http://www.jrmediacenter.com/

lata

[adk]

The only thing I would be worried about would be connection speed. Make sure to use firewire. it's too bad the imacs don't come with firewire 800 ports. My firewire 800 drive was (pretty much) good enough to run imovie off of.

[dsipod]

Great instructions. I consolidated the library into the external hard drive but I am not sure what you mean when you specify Itunes Music Folder. I am sure this is not the Itunes Application window. Can you elaborate?


QUOTE=phelpslogic]drater-
let me expand on what jonat8 said:
"I keep my music libary on my external hard drive, just remember to make sure it's turned on when you start iTunes or the default music import folder will default back to HD:Users:yourusername:Music, but if it does that, if you quit and restart iTunes with the drive turned on it will go back to the external HDD again."

To answer your initial question accurately, no you can't ( i have not been able to find a way yet) run itunes COMPLETLY outside of your initial system, only the library will point to it. Itunes is "hardwired into your system **ayone reading this please let me know if you know otherwise-thanks!**

you might want to know these key details before you kill yourself (all the previous info is technically correct). Allthough, here are a few good reasons why you should not use itunes, before i list them, i'll just say i am in the middle of consolidating my meager library of 150 gigs and have been reamed many times--ohh it feels good!:

1) itunes will invariably "reset" the library in advanced prefs to your internal after you do everthing everyone else has aforementioned.
1.a. But also, sometimes it has reverted to the old library location: when you add new music to the library from anywhere else on your system(even from your external if you have them in a different folder for some reason); possibly when you add new hard/software OR upgrade OR even sometimes from simply restarting both, with and without the external turned on.
now, since you now have the old library location (sweet!), you get to experience the wonderful process of redirecting and organizing your library (unless you can get it to work by resarting which sometimes works (not always). You will need to readd/import the tracks again and delete off your internal if the cause was from a previous add.


that being said, here's what apple says to do-don't forget step 12:

Open iTunes.
From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences (In Windows, from the Edit menu,choose Preferences).
Click the Advanced button in the Preferences window.
Click the Change button in the Advanced pane.
In the Change Music Folder Location window that appears, navigate to the location where you would like your new Music folder to be created. Note: By default, your iTunes Music folder is a folder named "iTunes Music" in ~/Music/iTunes/ where the tilde "~" represents your home directory. In Windows, the default location is:
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
Click the New Folder button in the Change Music Folder Location window.
In the New Folder window that appears, enter the name of the new iTunes Music folder.
Click Create.
Click Choose in the Change Music Folder Location window.
Click OK in the Advanced window. A message appears that says: "Changing the location of the iTunes Music Folder requires updating the location of each of the songs in your music library. This update will not move or delete any of your song files."
Click OK.
...12....From the Advanced menu, choose Consolidate Library. A message appears that says: "Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes Music folder. This cannot be undone."
Click Consolidate. Important: This action copies all of your music files to the new location. There must be enough hard disk space available to copy all of your music files.
After the folder has been copied, locate your original iTunes Music folder, and drag it to the Trash or Recycle Bin. Note: Don't remove the iTunes 4 Music Library files that may be in the same location as the iTunes Music folder.
Empty the Trash or Recycle Bin.

if you have a pc, save yourself the headache and get this:
http://www.jrmediacenter.com/

lata[/QUOTE]

[dsipod]

Can you elaborate as to what exactly is the Itunes Music Folder? An where I can find it to delete it?

Thanks.

[mad jew]

iTunes Music folder is where your tunes are kept by default. It will be either in your iTunes folder within your My Music folder (on a PC) or simply within the iTunes folder in Music on a Mac. It'll have two data files next to it, one of which contains all your playlists, playcounts and the music location information. These files probably shouldn't be deleted. Having said that, you probably wouldn't want to delete your music folder either. :)

[gallivant]

Connection speed's no problem at all; I've had my music exclusively on a USB2 HD for the past two and a half years without any problems. MP3/AAC files aren't exactly gigantic.

[Joey1806]

Go to the iTunes preferences and under the Advanced tab (assuming you've checked Keep iTunes Folder Organised, click on the Change button and select somewhere on your external drive you'd like to keep the music (obviously while the external is plugged in :p ). Click okay and if it doesn't automatically copy across your library then select Consolidate Library from the Advanced menu. :)

Upgrading the internal drive of an iBook can be expensive and is probably not the best option if you already have an external.

...Beaten by PlaceofDis. :o

Hi, do I have to back up my songs to the external BEFORE changing the location of the iTunes library?

[munkees]

I have nearly 500GB of itunes on an external drive, I would recommend that you buy another external drive, bigger than both you internal and the itunes drive. Then use time machine on the new drive to back them both up. I have had 3 external drives fail, 1 with power, 1 with interface (firewire fried), and the other with a failed HD. You don't want to loose you content and it will give you peace of mind.

[munkees]

Hi, do I have to back up my songs to the external BEFORE changing the location of the iTunes library?

copy you music folder over to the external then make the changes mentioned here in the itunes preferences of the locations, and your itunes will be non the wiser.

is you external firewire, I found USB cannot stream video across a network, because USB is too slow.

[GinaJ.]

I'm trying to do the same thing as the original poster. My question is; if I download Itunes to an external hard drive how will I sync my Iphone?
Please bare with me I'm new to all of this,
Thanks.
Gina

[jecapaga]

I'm trying to do the same thing as the original poster. My question is; if I download Itunes to an external hard drive how will I sync my Iphone?
Please bare with me I'm new to all of this,
Thanks.
Gina

Keep your iTunes music folder on the external and in iTunes>preferences>advanced..point the iTunes directory to your external mounted on your desktop and drill down till you locate the Music folder.

No need to move anything else. You're not moving iTunes anywhere off your computer so sync with your iPhone won't change anything.

[GinaJ.]

I'm sorry to be a pain but could you give me a step by step because I am having a bad spell doing this. It just dont work for me.Please!!!

Thanks for your time,
G

[Jethrotoe]

copy you music folder over to the external then make the changes mentioned here in the itunes preferences of the locations, and your itunes will be non the wiser.

is you external firewire, I found USB cannot stream video across a network, because USB is too slow.

I copied my itunes music folders (itunes, album artwork, ipod games, itunes music) over to my time cap. and then pointed itunes to that folder. I got nothing in itunes. I'm going from my pc to the time cap. Not my MBP by the way. I see the folders and files on the external ok, but I have nothing in itunes. I know I'm doing something wrong. It's always user error.
Help?

[LJfromGOAT]

So I've have been trying to change my setup for a while now and could really use some help. I have tried to look online but 3 of the sites and forums i've read have only led to disaster.

I have a macbook that i have been syncing my iPhone with and I have a PC which I cannot sync with my iPhone. I recently bought an external drive and have moved all of my music over. I would like to be able to run one version of itunes from either the macbook and the PC so that the same play lists are called and saving new ones will show up on the other. I would also like to be able to plug my iphone into either computer and be able to sync apps and backups.

I've tried a number of times and have kept screwing myself. Karma decided to blow my phone up too, so while i've been messing with itunes and junk my phone died and now that i have a new one, i've lost some apps and other items. with all that said can anyone guide me through the follow:

1) run itunes from my external drive for a macbook and a pc desktop
2) transfer iphone items from macbook to pc without losing them
3) be able to plug my iphone into either computer and be able to sync from both.

if i have to i would like to set my iphone syncing with my pc rather than the macbook so if there is a way to do that without losing anything that would be acceptable.

If anyone can help guide me it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[incendiaryblond]

Ok. I am moving to another country. I already had moved my itunes to an external drive and I am shipping my main PC and wont have it for like three months. So I want to run my library on my laptop in the mean time. Is this possible? When I try to run direct from the drive it says that I have to change the format to fit vista; but since I'm not running from vista I cant change the format from within vista. Also tried just downloading itunes onto laptop and authorizing account; but still cant access my library.

Any ideas? :confused:

[kelwrenn]

HI All!
So I get how to use the external HD to store music, etc. But how do I update my ipod & add or manage my itunes/ipod each time i want to add music, or whatever? just like I normally would if it was on my internal HD? I am running Snow Leopard (love it...) and have also heard good things about an app called "Libra"...any thoughts? :D
Kel

[IsobelC]

I use a pc so it might be a little different, but I followed all the instructions y9ou guys gave on how to use your external hard drive to hold itunes. but my music is not syncing or transfering onto my itunes from the hard drive. So now I have music on my hard drive but no way to play it/use it on my empty itunes on my computer. Any tips on why it isnt instantly transferring?

[Jeramiel]

I have some qwestions too... I have a PC and want to get a external HHD for iTunes. I had to reinstall Vista and lost all my music. I want to bye a external HHD and run iTunes off it, store all my music and stuff. Will it work??

[Vyruz Reaper]

So I got everything to work as staed earlier in this thread. BUT

I want to do something a little different. I want to keep one or 2 playlist local on my internal HDD so i will always have those songs on me when I travel without my external HDD and have all of my musc on the external. How do I do this? I dont want duplicates, just to tell itunes, for these playlists, keep them on the local HDD

thanks!

[fungii]

drater-
let me expand on what jonat8 said:
"I keep my music libary on my external hard drive, just remember to make sure it's turned on when you start iTunes or the default music import folder will default back to HD:Users:yourusername:Music, but if it does that, if you quit and restart iTunes with the drive turned on it will go back to the external HDD again."

To answer your initial question accurately, no you can't ( i have not been able to find a way yet) run itunes COMPLETLY outside of your initial system, only the library will point to it. Itunes is "hardwired into your system **ayone reading this please let me know if you know otherwise-thanks!**

you might want to know these key details before you kill yourself (all the previous info is technically correct). Allthough, here are a few good reasons why you should not use itunes, before i list them, i'll just say i am in the middle of consolidating my meager library of 150 gigs and have been reamed many times--ohh it feels good!:

1) itunes will invariably "reset" the library in advanced prefs to your internal after you do everthing everyone else has aforementioned.
1.a. But also, sometimes it has reverted to the old library location: when you add new music to the library from anywhere else on your system(even from your external if you have them in a different folder for some reason); possibly when you add new hard/software OR upgrade OR even sometimes from simply restarting both, with and without the external turned on.
now, since you now have the old library location (sweet!), you get to experience the wonderful process of redirecting and organizing your library (unless you can get it to work by resarting which sometimes works (not always). You will need to readd/import the tracks again and delete off your internal if the cause was from a previous add.


that being said, here's what apple says to do-don't forget step 12:

Open iTunes.
From the iTunes menu, choose Preferences (In Windows, from the Edit menu,choose Preferences).
Click the Advanced button in the Preferences window.
Click the Change button in the Advanced pane.
In the Change Music Folder Location window that appears, navigate to the location where you would like your new Music folder to be created. Note: By default, your iTunes Music folder is a folder named "iTunes Music" in ~/Music/iTunes/ where the tilde "~" represents your home directory. In Windows, the default location is:
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes
Click the New Folder button in the Change Music Folder Location window.
In the New Folder window that appears, enter the name of the new iTunes Music folder.
Click Create.
Click Choose in the Change Music Folder Location window.
Click OK in the Advanced window. A message appears that says: "Changing the location of the iTunes Music Folder requires updating the location of each of the songs in your music library. This update will not move or delete any of your song files."
Click OK.
...12....From the Advanced menu, choose Consolidate Library. A message appears that says: "Consolidating your library will copy all of your music into the iTunes Music folder. This cannot be undone."
Click Consolidate. Important: This action copies all of your music files to the new location. There must be enough hard disk space available to copy all of your music files.
After the folder has been copied, locate your original iTunes Music folder, and drag it to the Trash or Recycle Bin. Note: Don't remove the iTunes 4 Music Library files that may be in the same location as the iTunes Music folder.
Empty the Trash or Recycle Bin.

if you have a pc, save yourself the headache and get this:
http://www.jrmediacenter.com/

lata


I have found a way this can be done, first you need a computer of some sort ( laptop or pc) that has not got itunes already on it, plug in the external hard drive, change the name of this hard drive to Z I changed mine to External drive (Z:)
Next download itunes and when it prompts where to download it to, choose the external hard drive.
After it has loaded, open the hard drive and add new folder..ie: ipodmusic

Then remove safely from that computer and connect to original, Then when it is ready, open original itunes and then as says in these posts export library etc to the new hard drive folder you created.

I have just done this and am listening to my music now on my laptop with the external hard drive. All seems ok to me !!

Hopefully this will work for others too !!

Good luck !!

[Kahina]

i got an external hd to run my itunes and iphoto from i ran time machine and changed my itunes folder in advanced but when i go to the external hd i'm not able to get itunes to run it looks empty what next
kahina

[stathisaska]

I believe if you are running on a laptop, it is a little stupid to have a hard disk plugged 24/7... I have plenty of GBs of music and I also play dj for a hobby. So the best solution I came up with was to buy an external hard disk of 400GB and plug it to my time capsule... The external hard disk is available through wireless 24/7. When I play dj or I want to be mobile, I unplug the hard disk and keep it with me. That way I keep my macbook pro light and I don't carry with me the hard disk all the time...

[jchamberland]

I have found the way to set the external library to be the default. The way i achieved this on my mac (OSX Snow Leopard) is:
1) Copy your iTunes library to the external hard drive from your music folder. It took approx. 30 minutes for 80 GB.
2) Open iTunes while holding the option key, you will be prompted with a screen asking you to create a new Library or Choose a library. Click on Choose Library, then navigate to the iTunes library on your External hard drive and select it. the iTunes library will automatically be selected as default and iTunes will open with the external hard drive's library unless it is not connected.
3) This can also be used to create a small library to stay on your hard drive, just hold option when starting iTunes and select create new library.
4) You can now move your iTunes on the computer to the recycle bin but i would recommend not emptying it for a few days to insure everything will work smoothly before loosing the original.
(P.S. if you have a mac then you may need to reformat the external hard drive will accept libraries from applications. I found this out with Aperture, this can be easily achieved by using disk utility, select the drive then use the erase feature and choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled).)

[jagsv]

Hey guys, i had been looking for this for a long time, many of the process i read on this article are working and some others just worked on old versions of iTunes. I found a solution by Apple for it, take a look at: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1449

I have tried to use this and it's working just fine.

Hope it works out for you guys!

Cheers,

JAGSV

[sayhitokyle]

I've got a couple more questions to throw in the mix, does this method work with an iPhoto library too? And does it also work if the hard drive is over a wireless network? (e.g hooked up to an Airport Extreme?)

[mr.shatters]

Hi all, new guy here,

I have an external 80G and its full. I bought a larger one today and I'd like to start it off, but how do I transfer everything over? It was a very long time ago when I adopted this first one, it has the library copied over but I had to read this post to remember how I did it.

Thanks so much.

[skorpien]

Connect both hard drives to your computer. If the new hard drive hasn't been initialized yet, do so. Make sure it is formatted HFS+ using Disk Utility. Open both drives in Finder, select all files on the old drive, copy and paste onto the new drive.

[mr.shatters]

And then just tell iTunes that the new hard drive is the library location?

Awesome. Thanks so much.

[c0l3a5h3r]

Thank you SO much!!!!!

[mr.shatters]

Success. For some reason well over 1000 songs were missing, and over the course of a few hours I convinced iTunes that they were, in fact, right where they were supposed to be. 12K+ tunes later, and only one song is truly missing. Strange.

Thanks everybody for the help.

[kukloeed]

Once I have transferred my itunes and music to my external hard drive, how can i access this from iphone via the web without having to down load onto my iphone? Any ideas??

[laurenr]

Once I have transferred my itunes and music to my external hard drive, how can i access this from iphone via the web without having to down load onto my iphone? Any ideas??
I've been using an App called Zumocast, which does a great job, but unfortunately it is no longer available since the company was taken over by Motorola. I did find a great alternative that looks promising, and will allow you to access your Music from your iPhone/iPad:
Quote:"Tonido is a software and service that once installed on any computer (Windows, Linux or Mac), can make files and media in that computer available anywhere through a web browser or from mobile phones (iPhone, Android or Blackberry). It is a new way to share your files, media and other information with anyone around the world without having to upload to third-party sites first."


http://www.tonido.com/software_what.html

[michaelsaxon]

My setup normally includes my iMac connected to my Drobo that has my iTunes media folder. I'm traveling with my Macbook and my Drobo and I'd like the Macbook iTunes to be able to use my Drobo files (I need to be able to move my music library to an iPod from the Macbook).

I've pointed iTunes to the folder on the Drobo in the preferences and nothing happens. I've tried to do the "consolidate library" part as well and nothing happens.

When I open iTunes, it just has the screens that indicate that I have no content. Please help! Thanks.

[skorpien]

Have you tried creating an alias in place of the default iTunes folder pointing to the folder on the Drobo?

[FuriousD]

My setup normally includes my iMac connected to my Drobo that has my iTunes media folder. I'm traveling with my Macbook and my Drobo and I'd like the Macbook iTunes to be able to use my Drobo files (I need to be able to move my music library to an iPod from the Macbook).

I've pointed iTunes to the folder on the Drobo in the preferences and nothing happens. I've tried to do the "consolidate library" part as well and nothing happens.

When I open iTunes, it just has the screens that indicate that I have no content. Please help! Thanks.

I have just done this: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1449
Is there any way to have just tunes and movies on the NAS? By following the instructions it has copies everything across, all apps etc. Is this becaue my 'whole' itunes library is copied across and i have to run it like this?
Cheers
D

[krassomatic]

I had the same question and it's now answered, thank you. But I'm curious if I can put my music on multiple external hard drives to keep at different locations (home, work, etc) and easily access each of them with my mac book pro?

[bruleke]

I have nearly 500GB of itunes on an external drive, I would recommend that you buy another external drive, bigger than both you internal and the itunes drive. Then use time machine on the new drive to back them both up. I have had 3 external drives fail, 1 with power, 1 with interface (firewire fried), and the other with a failed HD. You don't want to loose you content and it will give you peace of mind.

Oh my God! I just bought a My Book 1tb FW800 to use with Time Machine and now I am scared!
1. It uses external power
2. Its FW
3. (failed HD) Its an used My Book!

[Ezy1980]

Due to the size of my music library and the fact that my only computer is my pc laptop I have all my music stored on an external hard drive. All music was installed through windows media player.

Now the inevitable time has come and i am setting up my itunes library for the 1st time.

I understand how to copy my itunes library to an external hard drive but what about from an external hard drive to itunes? Do i really have to transfer all my library into itunes than back out onto the external drive again?

I read the post about creating the "Z" drive and creating a new itunes account on the external drive but i already have an itunes account installed on my laptop and many apps with my iphone that i dont want to loose.

Can i just somehow make itunes source my music direct from the external hard drive without having to copy my 1000Gb library firstly into itunes. Can i install another itunes account onto onto the external, possibly create a network then link in my iphone and apps into this account? Please help!!!

Note: my main priority with the music is to put it onto an i pod for the car, stereo etc but ti would be a shame not to be able to also link in my phone

[TazManila]

just change the location of your library within the iTunes Advanced Prefs and you will be all good to go.

you will have to keep the library files on your internal drive, but they are so small its negligable.

the only downside is that the external will have to be hooked up to be able to listen to your music, if you have a portable, this can be frustrating

can you also do this with your pictures and documents as I have the new iMac twin hard drives a 256SSD and a 2TB drives and the SSD is full as I have a lot of Picture and documents and pictures

[hawnfawn]

Hi, I have tried doing everything you guys have suggested, including consolidating the files, but it still does not work. Is there a problem with my external drive, or is there any other way to go about this? Thank you.

[GGJstudios]

Hi, I have tried doing everything you guys have suggested, including consolidating the files, but it still does not work. Is there a problem with my external drive, or is there any other way to go about this? Thank you.
Considering the fact that you have given absolutely no information about what computer hardware or software you're running, what you're trying to do, what you've tried or what doesn't work, it's going to be tough to offer any help.

How to maximise your MacRumors troubleshooting experience (http://forums.macrumors.com/showpost.php?p=2463916&postcount=1)

[hawnfawn]

I have a MacBook Pro with Lion 10.7.2 installed.
I plugged in my external hard drive, opened iTunes on my laptop, changed the location of my library, and nothing happened. So I closed iTunes and opened it again; still, nothing. So I consolidated my library. Nothing. Quit iTunes, repeated those steps again, and nothing. I did this about three or four times.

[GGJstudios]

I have a MacBook Pro with Lion 10.7.2 installed.
I plugged in my external hard drive, opened iTunes on my laptop, changed the location of my library, and nothing happened. So I closed iTunes and opened it again; still, nothing. So I consolidated my library. Nothing. Quit iTunes, repeated those steps again, and nothing. I did this about three or four times.
There are two pieces to your music working on iTunes. One is your media folder, which contains your music files. That is selected in iTunes > Preferences > Advanced. The other is your library itself, which is typically stored in a location like ~/Music/iTunes Libraries, in a folder containing your library.xml file, as well as folders for your playlists, album art, etc. Make sure you have the right library and the right media folder location specified.