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Newbie help how to store and backup iTunes library

It must be an age thing--pushing sixty and I can't make heads or tails out of the advice on the Computer Audiophile site. I just want to move my iTunes library from the internal hard drive on my Sony Vaio laptop to an external hard drive, and simultaneously back it up on another hard drive. I would like for the external drives each to have at least 3 TB of storage. I would like for them to be linked so that the backup drive regularly and automatically updates. And I'd like the drives to work with a Mac Mini, which I'm thinking about buying to use as a music server. If you can recommend specific hardware, I'd appreciate it. Or if I'm going about the storage-and-backup the wrong way, please set me straight. Thanks.
jhold

Showing 2 responses by tobias

tobias
1,534 posts
 
I did much as Kbarkamian. I bought two external 2TB drives from Other World Computing. I copied my iTunes folder to one of them using a FireWire 800 connection. I then daisy-chained the second drive to the first and made an exact copy using SuperDuper.

Then I opened iTunes with the Option (alt) key held down. iTunes asked me to choose an iTunes library and I directed it to the one on the first 2TB drive. From then on iTunes has opened automatically with this library.

Whenever I add new music to my iTunes library, I back up the changes to the second external drive using SuperDuper.
tobias
1,534 posts
 
Rdavwhitaker's warning about the different formats required for MAC and PC is useful and his advice is good. If the OP wants to understand why it matters and what to do if he takes it on himself, there is a clear and easy-to-read explanation on this page by Matt Neuberg.
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