How to Back Up and Restore iTunes
A single iTunes library can hold hundreds, if not thousands, of songs and can represent a sizable investment. That music (and your investment) can be gone from your computer in seconds if the computer crashes or meets some other unfortunate fate. Backing up your iTunes library to disc or an external hard drive keeps those songs in a safe place to be restored later and saves you from losing out on all the money you've invested to build your collection.
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Instructions
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Back Up and Restore from Discs
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Insert a blank DVD or CD into your computer's disc drive.
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Launch iTunes and click "File" from the main toolbar. Select "Library," then "Back Up to Disc." A new dialog box will open.
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Choose how you want to back up your library. You can choose to back up everything in the library or only the items you have purchased through the iTunes store. Once you select an option, click "Next." iTunes will assess the amount of media you have chosen to back up and produce a new message telling you how many discs you will need. Click "Continue" to start the back up. When the backup is complete, click "OK."
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Restore your library when needed by installing iTunes on your computer. Once installed, leave iTunes open and insert one of the backup discs you created into your computer. A new dialog box will appear asking if you want to restore iTunes from the disc. Click "Restore." Continue for as many backup discs as you have.
Back Up and Restore from an External Hard Drive
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Launch iTunes. If using a Mac, select "Preferences" from the toolbar. If using a Windows PC, select "Edit" from the toolbar, then "Preferences." A new dialog box will open. Click the "Advanced" tab. Ensure that the box next to "Copy files to iTunes media folder when adding to library" is checked. This allows your external hard drive to stay updated as you add songs to iTunes. Click "OK."
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Click "File" from the toolbar, then "Library," and "Organize Library." In the new dialog box, make sure the box next to "Consolidate Files" is checked. Click "OK."
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Quit iTunes and browse to your external hard drive on your computer. Open the hard drive, then locate the iTunes folder on your computer's internal hard drive. Drag the folder to the external hard drive. This may take some time if you have a lot of items in your iTunes library.
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Restore your library when needed by installing iTunes to your computer. Once installed, quit the application. Find the external hard drive on your computer and open it. Select a location on your internal hard drive to house the backup file. Drag the file from the external hard drive to the new location.
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Launch iTunes while also clicking the "Option" key (on a Mac) or the "Shift" key (on a PC). A new dialog box will open. Click "Choose Library," then select the new folder you created on your computer. Click "Choose" (if on a Mac) or "Open" (if on a PC) and select the "iTunes" file.
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References
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