Best way to back up iTunes music library?

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Andy_22

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Usually i follow this path to back up
My Docs/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media/ Music, then open file and select all files, copy and paste to file in external HD

Is there a quicker, better way to do this?
 

cjmnews

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What you are doing is not enough. You are getting your music but not getting your library (playlists, play counts, etc.).

The better way to do this is to grab the ...\Music\iTunes folder (and all subfolders) and copy it to an external drive. Copy and Paste is fine, but backup software or file copy software to help reduce the copying of files that didn't change.
 

Andy_22

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What you are doing is not enough. You are getting your music but not getting your library (playlists, play counts, etc.).

The better way to do this is to grab the ...\Music\iTunes folder (and all subfolders) and copy it to an external drive. Copy and Paste is fine, but backup software or file copy software to help reduce the copying of files that didn't change.
Thanks but I don't really understand the final bit.
 

cjmnews

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There are copy utilities to allow you to copy only what changed. Microsoft used to have one called SyncToy, another tool that people like is Robocopy, I am sure there are several more. Try searching for "copy utilities windows" on your favorite search engine.

Anything that will look at the source and destination folders to see what didn't change and only copy what did change. It will speed up the copies significantly.

Any backup software should also do that comparison. So I use my backup software to put a copy onto my external drive.
 

Andy_22

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There are copy utilities to allow you to copy only what changed. Microsoft used to have one called SyncToy, another tool that people like is Robocopy, I am sure there are several more. Try searching for "copy utilities windows" on your favorite search engine.

Anything that will look at the source and destination folders to see what didn't change and only copy what did change. It will speed up the copies significantly.

Any backup software should also do that comparison. So I use my backup software to put a copy onto my external drive.
Ok so am i getting this right. What you are saying is initially copy the iTunes & sub folders into an external HD then for the future use a copy utility to add new or altered things to the folder?
 

cjmnews

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Or use the copy utility all the time. They will see the lack of folders and copy everything the first time.

I used to use SyncToy for backing up multiple laptops to a central desktop that was backed up to a USB drive. It worked for the first sync as well as the incremental copies.
 

Andy_22

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Just tried Teracopy to copy the iTunes and sub folders to my external HD and it was going to take several hours so stopped it. Am i doing something wrong as i expected it to be very quick.
 

cjmnews

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The initial copy will be slow, especially if the files are not there yet. I would expect hours. It has to build a database of files, when they were copied and their signatures to know if they have been altered and need to be copied again.

The next time you back up it should be minutes to an hour depending on how much music you add or update.

My guess is you are using USB 2.0, which is fairly fast but not blazing speeds. If you are on USB 1.1 or using a HUB, it will be slower. USB 3.0 will be faster.
 

Andy_22

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The initial copy will be slow, especially if the files are not there yet. I would expect hours. It has to build a database of files, when they were copied and their signatures to know if they have been altered and need to be copied again.

The next time you back up it should be minutes to an hour depending on how much music you add or update.

My guess is you are using USB 2.0, which is fairly fast but not blazing speeds. If you are on USB 1.1 or using a HUB, it will be slower. USB 3.0 will be faster.
Ok that makes sense.

Thanks
 
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