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How to Back Up Your iTunes to an External Hard Drive

Save an extra copy of your music library

By Sam Costello Sam Costello Writer Ithaca College Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on February 20, 2021 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email iPhone & iOS Switching from Android

What to Know

Back up iTunes: Close iTunes. Go to the iTunes folder. Drag the iTunes folder to the external hard drive.Find an iTunes folder: In iTunes, go to Preferences > Advanced. In the iTunes Media folder section, note the location of the iTunes folder.Consolidate the iTunes library: In iTunes, select File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate files > OK. This article explains how to locate, consolidate, and back up your iTunes media folder in iTunes 12 and later.

Back Up iTunes to the External Hard Drive

Create backups of important files so that you're prepared when a crash or hardware failure strikes your computer. A backup is especially important when you consider the time and money invested in an iTunes library. To back up your iTunes library, you need an external drive with enough free space to contain the library. If your iTunes library files are in one place and organized, backing up the files to an external hard drive is easy. If not, you'll want to locate your iTunes media folder and consolidate it before backing up. To back up your iTunes music to an external hard drive: Close iTunes. Find your iTunes folder based on the location provided in iTunes. Drag the iTunes folder to the external hard drive to copy the iTunes library to the hard drive. The size of your library and the speed of the drive determine how long the transfer will take. Make new backups regularly. If you frequently add content to your iTunes library, back up the library weekly or monthly. Use this backup to restore your iTunes library from the hard drive.

How to Find Your iTunes Library

You need the location of your iTunes library before you can back it up. Here's how to find it: Download any music from Apple Music (if you subscribe) that you want to back up. You can re-download songs from Apple Music later, but it's easier to have a full backup than to download those tracks again. Connect the hard drive to the computer containing your iTunes library. By default, the iTunes folder contains an iTunes Media folder, which holds your music. The default location for the iTunes folder differs by computer and operating system: On a Mac, go to the Finder, select your username, then click Music.On Windows Vista or later, go to the \Users\username\Music\ folder.On Windows XP, go to the \Documents and Settings\Username\My Documents\My Music folder. In all of these locations, you'll see a folder called iTunes.

Find an iTunes Folder That Isn' t in the Default Location

If you don't see your iTunes folder in the default location, find it by following these steps: Open iTunes. Open the Preferences window. On a Mac, go to iTunes > Preferences. In Windows, go to Edit > Preferences. Select the Advanced tab. Go to the iTunes Media folder location section to find the location of the iTunes folder. Select the Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library check box to ensure that the songs you add to your library go into this folder. Select OK to close the window.

Consolidate Your iTunes Library

The music, movies, and other items in your iTunes Library may not be in the same folder. Depending on where you got your files and how you manage them, these files could be in different places throughout your computer. Consolidate every iTunes into the iTunes Media folder before you back it up to ensure you don't lose anything. To consolidate your iTunes library: In iTunes, select File > Library > Organize Library. In the Organize Library window, select Consolidate files to move the files in your iTunes Library to a single location. If available, select the Reorganize files in the folder iTunes Media check box. If your files are organized into subfolders for Music, Movies, TV Shows, Podcasts, Audiobooks, and other media, this option isn't available. Select OK. iTunes consolidates and organizes your library. Consolidate Files copies items rather than moving files, so you'll end up with duplicates of any files that were outside the iTunes Media folder. Delete those files to save space after you perform the backup.

Other Options for Backing Up iTunes

An external hard drive isn't the only option to create a backup of your iTunes library. Other options include: Back up the hard drive using Time Machine (Mac) or other backup software. Back up to the cloud. Use iTunes Match to backup your music. If your hard drive crashed, and you don't have a backup, find out how to use an iPhone to save your music after a hard drive crash. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire How to Move Your iTunes Library to a New Location Can You Install iTunes on a Mac? How to Back up Your Mac to an External Hard Drive With Time Machine What Is a Mirror Image Backup? How to Choose an External Hard Drive How to Back Up a Computer to an External Hard Drive How to Back Up Your iPhone to an External Hard Drive How to Downgrade From iTunes 12 to iTunes 11 How to Transfer Music from Computer to iPhone How to Back Up Your Photoshop Elements Organizer Catalog The 8 Best Commercial Backup Software Programs of 2022 How to Manually Add Music to Your iPhone 31 Best Free Backup Software Tools (October 2022) Find and Delete Duplicate Files in iTunes and Apple Music Complete Guide to Using iTunes and the iTunes Store How to Set Up and Use Home Sharing in iTunes Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies