2 Methods to Change iTunes Backup Location on Mac
Can I change iTunes backup location on Mac to external hard drive?
To move iTunes backup to an external hard drive and change the iTunes backup location on Mac, follow these steps: 1) Connect the external hard drive or USB drive to your Mac. 2) Open iTunes and go to Edit > Preferences (or iTunes > Preferences on a Mac). 3) Click on the "Devices" tab.
"You can change the iTunes backup location by going to iTunes > Preferences > Devices, then click on the 'Advanced' tab and select a different backup location. This will save your backups to a different folder, freeing up space on your Mac."
If you're trying to find a simple way to move and change your iTunes backup location on Mac, there are two reliable methods to help. You can selectively follow either method to change your iTunes backup location and move iTunes backups from Mac to an external storage device.
Method 1. Manually change iTunes backup location on Mac
If you prefer a free way to change iTunes backup location, you can manually do the job by following these steps:
1. Connect your external hard drive to your Mac computer. Then, navigate to the iTunes Media Folder, which is usually located at "Macintosh HD > Users > [Your Username] > Music > iTunes".
- To find the default location of the iTunes folder, go to the Finder, select your username, and click on the "iTunes" folder. This will display the default location of the iTunes folder.
2. If the iTunes folder is not in the default location, follow these steps:
- Open iTunes > Preference > Advanced;
- Note the location listed under iTunes Media folder location and check the box next to "Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library".
- Click OK to close the window.
3. Consolidate iTunes Library
- Open iTunes > File > Library > Organize Library;
- Select Consolidate Files to move all files in iTunes Library into a single location for backing up;
- If it isn't grayed out, check "Reorganize files in the folder iTunes Media"; you won't be able to click and check the box if all files are already organized into the subfolder for Music, Movies, TV Shows etc.
- Click OK after checking the correct box.
Note: Do remember to delete those files when the backup is complete since Consolidate Files makes duplicates of files rather ram moving them.
4. Drag iTunes to the external hard drive
- Close and quit iTunes. Go to Finder and locate the external hard drive.
- To move your iTunes library to an external hard drive, locate the default iTunes folder or the one specified in iTunes Media folder location. Then, drag the entire iTunes folder to the external hard drive, effectively copying your library to the new location.
- When the transfer is done, your backup is complete and you can delete the iTunes backups on your Mac drive to save space.
Now that you've successfully moved iTunes backups to an external hard drive and changed the iTunes backup location on your Mac, you can rest assured that your valuable data is safe and easily accessible in case you need to restore your device. This setup ensures that your backups are stored securely and won't take up valuable space on your Mac's internal storage, freeing up space for other important files and applications.
If you're looking for a simpler way to change the iTunes backup location and move all iTunes backups to an external hard drive on your Mac, you can try using the built-in "Backup" feature in iTunes. This method is straightforward and doesn't require any additional software or configuration.
Method 2. Change iTunes backup location in 3 steps
Let Mac backup software help!
To simplify the process of changing the iTunes backup location, we recommend using a professional Mac backup software offered by Qiling. This software allows you to easily backup all Mac hard drive data, archive and compress precious data, clone Mac hard drive, and sync valuable data to an external hard drive with simple clicks in Mac computers.
If you're using macOS Sierra (10.12), OS X 10.11 ~ 10.9, you can download Qiling Mac backup software to automatically move iTunes backups and change iTunes backup location on Mac to an external hard drive.
1. To connect a new external hard drive or other USB devices to a Mac, start by locating the USB port on your Mac, which is usually found on the sides or back of the computer. Next, take the external hard drive or USB device and insert the USB connector into the Mac's USB port.
Launch Qiling Backup for Mac, click the "+" button in the "Synchronize" section, and create a sync project to move and change the iTunes backup location.
2. Set Sync settings and tick Never delete anything;
3. To move the iTunes folder on your Mac, drag it from the left column to the right column and select the destination, such as an external hard drive or USB, where you want to save the iTunes backups.
Set Sync mode - To sync Mac iTunes backups to an external hard drive, select the external drive as the backup location in iTunes, then click the blue Start button to initiate the syncing process, allowing you to safely store your backups on the external drive.
Wait patiently for the sync process to complete, then you can delete all iTunes backups on your Mac drive after successfully moving them to an external hard drive.
You can change the iTunes backup location from your Mac to an external hard drive by going to iTunes > Preferences > Devices, then clicking on "Change" next to "Back up to" and selecting the external hard drive as the new backup location. This will redirect all future backups to the external hard drive, freeing up space on your Mac.
Related Articles
- How to Backup Mac without Time Machine?
- How to Upgrade, Change and Replace Mac SSD to A Bigger SSD?
- Transfer Files and Applications to New Mac without Migration Assistant
- 3 Ways to Backup Mac Mail