Backing up iTunes movies/music?

[ravenvii]

I've never bought iTunes music/movies before so I never bothered to know this stuff. I only buy iPhone games, and as you know it's no problem to just re-download them after a erase-and-install or whatever.

But with movies+music, you can't do this. I know they are riddled with DRM (the movies, anyway), so I'm wondering how I'd preserve them between reinstalls.

I know I can burn a DVD or CD and do it that way. But to be environmentally friendly (and more hassle-free ) can I just, say, transfer the movies to a folder on my iDisk, then after the reinstall, transfer it back into iTunes? Will it retain all the information, play back fine, and everything despite the DRM?

 

[JCastro]

I usually just copy everything over to an external HDD. It can take a while if you have a lot of music but it is easy. Fire it up over night and it will be done by morning.

 

[angemon89]

I know I can burn a DVD or CD and do it that way. But to be environmentally friendly (and more hassle-free ) can I just, say, transfer the movies to a folder on my iDisk, then after the reinstall, transfer it back into iTunes? Will it retain all the information, play back fine, and everything despite the DRM?

Yes.

If it doesn't recognize your computer because of a re-install, iTunes will ask you to enter the password for the account you used to purchase the song before you can play the file. By doing this, you will use up 1 of the 5 computer authorizations you have available.

 

[ravenvii]

Awesome, thanks guys!

 

[Galley]

The Complete Guide to Backing Up your iTunes Library