Run iTunes library from external flash drive or HDD

[Cubilas]

Hello!

What a great community you all have here. Your forums have helped me quite a bit! 🙂

I would like to use a USB flash drive or external HDD as my iTunes music library on my iPad, in order to save space on the iPad. I use the Apple CCK currently to copy files using iFile.

Is there a way to accomplish this?

Can I somehow use a Symbolic Link to 'trick' the iPad into looking in a different place for the iTunes library?
Let's say;
1. Copy iTunes library from iPad to USB flash drive
(/var/mobile/Media/iTunes_Control/Music -->> /var/mnt/mount1/Music)
2. Delete the iPad's "Music" folder in /iTunes_Control
3. Create a Symbolic Link folder named "Music" in /iTunes_Control that points to /var/mnt/mount1/Music

Does this seem feasible or is iOS totally going to ignore Symbolic Links when it comes to iTunes music? 😕

Again, I'm trying to do this for my iPad, not for my PC or Mac.

Any help would be great, thanks in advance!!

 

[Tyler23]

Hello!

What a great community you all have here. Your forums have helped me quite a bit! 🙂

I would like to use a USB flash drive or external HDD as my iTunes music library on my iPad, in order to save space on the iPad. I use the Apple CCK currently to copy files using iFile.

Is there a way to accomplish this?

Can I somehow use a Symbolic Link to 'trick' the iPad into looking in a different place for the iTunes library?
Let's say;
1. Copy iTunes library from iPad to USB flash drive
(/var/mobile/Media/iTunes_Control/Music -->> /var/mnt/mount1/Music)
2. Delete the iPad's "Music" folder in /iTunes_Control
3. Create a Symbolic Link folder named "Music" in /iTunes_Control that points to /var/mnt/mount1/Music

Does this seem feasible or is iOS totally going to ignore Symbolic Links when it comes to iTunes music? 😕

Again, I'm trying to do this for my iPad, not for my PC or Mac.

Any help would be great, thanks in advance!!

Why don't you just use iTunes Match? $24.99 per year and solves your problem with no wires or external hard drives needed. Have all of your music that's in your iTunes library anytime, anywhere accessible to all of your Apple devices.

 

[Night Spring]

Are you just looking to stream music when at home? Then you can use iTunes library share feature, where you run iTunes on your computer, and your iPad can see the music on your computer.

But things like symbolic links are meaningless to an iPad. It doesn't interact with file systems the way your Mac does.

 

[scapegoat81]

If you're not looking to share at home, use Plex ! I'm currently using it for my music collection

 

[Cubilas]

Tyler23 & scapegoat81: Good ideas, but I will be using this setup where there is no data or WiFi access.

Night Spring: I am trying to access my iTunes library in DJ apps, for performing on-the-go. As far as symbolic links go, I have complete success when it comes to using iFile to create symbolic links from one App's documents folder to another, using the Copy/Link, then Paste Link option in iFile. For what reason will a symbolic link to a folder using the same method not work in this case?

Thanks guys🙂

 

[Night Spring]

Night Spring: I am trying to access my iTunes library in DJ apps, for performing on-the-go. As far as symbolic links go, I have complete success when it comes to using iFile to create symbolic links from one App's documents folder to another, using the Copy/Link, then Paste Link option in iFile. For what reason will a symbolic link to a folder using the same method not work in this case?

Is your iPad jailbroken? If so, and you're looking for a solution that relies on the jailbreak, then you might have better luck asking in the jailbreaks forum.
https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/105/

But even if the symbolic links work, how would an iPad communicate with an external drive? It's not like you can hook up a drive.

 

[Cubilas]

Night Spring: Thanks for your reply, I will try there. I plan on using my 64GB USB flash drive that I currently use with my iPad using iFile to transfer music and photos. Works great! As far as a HDD, I haven't had any luck (although they have been formatted NTFS or HFS+, not FAT)