How to reinstall mac OS X when iTunes is on an external drive

[macintosh1097]

hello, recently my powerbook G4 has been having kernal panics where the message that says "You need to restart your computer" appears in like 5 different languages. I've figured out that it's a software, not a hardware problem, so I decided that I'm going to reinstall mac OS X. I have an itunes library of about 90,000 songs all sorted into smart playlists by artist. Since my iTunes library is so big, I have it installed on an external drive. So my question is how do I reinstall mac OS X and keep all of my iTunes playlists and songs?
Thanks!
I have Mac OS 10.5.8, 12 inch PowerBook G4

 

[SplicedBanjo]

Just reinstall it and then go to iTunes preferences and point the music folder at your external drive.

However, I would encourage you to try to some other troubleshooting steps (e.g., boot in safe mode, run Disk Utility) before you reinstall the OS. It seems like some people reinstall Mac OS X anytime something happens that they don't like. This is not necessarily a great troubleshooting strategy.

 

[jackrv]

If the library file itself is on the external drive along with your media, you should be able to hold down the option key when starting iTunes and select the library file. It should hold all of your preferences, file locations, etc.

 

[GGJstudios]

hello, recently my powerbook G4 has been having kernal panics where the message that says "You need to restart your computer" appears in like 5 different languages. I've figured out that it's a software, not a hardware problem, so I decided that I'm going to reinstall mac OS X. I have an itunes library of about 90,000 songs all sorted into smart playlists by artist. Since my iTunes library is so big, I have it installed on an external drive. So my question is how do I reinstall mac OS X and keep all of my iTunes playlists and songs?
Thanks!
I have Mac OS 10.5.8, 12 inch PowerBook G4

Make sure that your iTunes Library files, and not just your iTunes Media folder, is located on your external drive. By default, iTunes will store your library files in a folder such as

/Users/yourusername/Music/iTunes Libraries/iTunes Mac/​

even if your iTunes Media folder (specified in iTunes > Preferences > Advanced) points to a different location.