Originally Posted by
Chris
All I want is to become conversant in copying backward and forwards from/to my HD library to my MacBook library to my ipod. At present I have all my music in my external HD as a sort of back-up and would love to know how to "copy" from there to my newly created MacBook library those albums that I wish to sync on to my ipod so that I donīt need to have my HD with me and connected at all times. What pisses me off is that, under windows, you suck it and see and eventually get there after putting your foot in it several times and then retracing your steps to undo said mistakes in a gradual learning process but with itunes/Mac......... it just doesnīt seem to work out that way.
Why doesnīt itunes tell you in which library you are at any one time - it all seems to be mixed up and I just canīt grasp a root>>/sub-directory logic to it at all.
Example: In itunes there is an option under "file" called ADD TO LIBRARY. So I hit it and in my pathetic windows-bred ignorance, the next step should be a question asking "which library do you want to add to" , then "where from..." etc. etc. in logical steps as in any self respecting "assistant" but no, you are expected to know which library you are in īcos if not the shit is going to hit the fan and as far as I can see, there is nothing on-screen to tell you. It then offers you an open button which you hit and all hell breaks loose, copying god-knows what to god knows where. Only yesterday I had to retrieve quite a few albums from the trash and I am certainly not conscious of having sent them there at any time (even though a good few of them might well deserve it).
Any ideas, anyone ?
If I'm understanding your requirement correctly, then this simple procedure should sort it out.
1. Create a folder on the desktop that you want to store music in when your hard drive isn't connected - call it 'Temp Music Folder'.
2. Slide the music from your HD that you want to have available when your HD isn't connected into the 'Temp Music Folder'.
3. Slide the music from your 'Temp Music Folder' into iTunes.
By doing this iTunes will refer to the music on the local drive (i.e. in the 'Temp Music Folder') first, if it's not in that folder (because you haven't copied it) it'll look in any other location specified. Since the iPod gets all its files directly from wherever iTunes refers, there's no more work needed.
If you want to see where your iTunes is looking, simply press '⌘' & ',' simultaneously, click the 'advanced' tab and under general it will show you ANY drive that iTunes is referring to. Should look like this:
Mine just happens to look at one drive only; namely 'Filterdrive320', the folder within I've named iTunes Master. Simple!
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