I understand Apples tutorial on transferring iTunes files to an external hard drive, however I can't find any information on transferring them back. Here is what I've done so far...
I am doing a fresh install of Snow Leopard, so I needed to save my iTunes files to my external hard drive. I followed Apples instructions, and this is what they told me to do...
1. From the iTunes menu, choose preferences
2. Click the advanced button in the preferences window
3. Click the Change button in the iTunes Music folder location pane.
4. 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.
5. Click the New Folder button in the Change Music Folder Location window.
6. In the New Folder window that appears, enter the name of the new iTunes Music folder.
7. Click Create.
8. Click Open in the Change Music Folder Location window.
9. Click OK in the Advanced window.
10. From the File menu, choose Library and then 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."
11. Click Consolidate. Important: This action copies all of your music and media files to the new location. There must be enough hard disk space available to copy all of your music and media files.
12. 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 library files that may be in the same location as the iTunes Music folder.
13. Empty the Trash.
Now that I have done that, I'm ready to do a complete wipe and install of Snow Leopard. Once that is done, how do I get the iTunes files back into my computer?
I am doing a fresh install of Snow Leopard, so I needed to save my iTunes files to my external hard drive. I followed Apples instructions, and this is what they told me to do...
1. From the iTunes menu, choose preferences
2. Click the advanced button in the preferences window
3. Click the Change button in the iTunes Music folder location pane.
4. 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.
5. Click the New Folder button in the Change Music Folder Location window.
6. In the New Folder window that appears, enter the name of the new iTunes Music folder.
7. Click Create.
8. Click Open in the Change Music Folder Location window.
9. Click OK in the Advanced window.
10. From the File menu, choose Library and then 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."
11. Click Consolidate. Important: This action copies all of your music and media files to the new location. There must be enough hard disk space available to copy all of your music and media files.
12. 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 library files that may be in the same location as the iTunes Music folder.
13. Empty the Trash.
Now that I have done that, I'm ready to do a complete wipe and install of Snow Leopard. Once that is done, how do I get the iTunes files back into my computer?