Backed Up iTunes Library Data File. Am I Safe?

Amie

Amie

Mac Convert for Life
Some of you might remember a post that I started a few days ago concerning backing up iTunes music files (MP3s) on my jump drive--which didn't work because the jump drive is only 512 MB. This post isn't about that.

New question: If I back up my iTunes Library data file (drag it to my jump drive, which I have done--and it does fit), am I safe? That is, if (Mac OS forbid) something happens and I lose my songs, can I just reload the songs/library to my iTunes from that library data file?
 
The Home/Music/iTunes folder holds the iTunes 4 Music Library database file,
the iTunes Music Library.xml file, and the blue iTunes music folder.

If you want to back up just the songs, back up the
Home/Music/iTunes/iTunes Music folder - which
contains the actual song files. (this will not fit on a
512 mb jump drive unless the folder is < 512 mb)
 
g/re/p said:
The Home/Music/iTunes folder holds the iTunes 4 Music Library database file,
the iTunes Music Library.xml file, and the blue iTunes music folder.

If you want to back up just the songs, back up the
Home/MusiciTunes/iTunes Music folder - which
contains the actual song files. (this will not fit on a
512 mb jump drive unless the folder is < 512 mb)
Click to expand...
Well, darn. Back to square one. Guess I'll back up all my songs on CDs. I don't want to create an actual CD to listen to it, I just want to back up my MP3 files of each song on CDs. So, for this, I would choose "Create Data CD" (not "Create Audio CD"), correct?
 
Yep, that's correct.

In addition to backing up the music files, it would also help to back up that iTunes Database file as well -- this database file holds all your song ratings, playlists and master song list, so if you've got some custom playlists you'd like to keep, or you prefer not to rebuild your whole music library when and if your computer crashes, back this up as well.

I recommend backing up the entire "iTunes" folder inside of your Music folder in your home directory, provided you kept the default iTunes setting of keeping all your songs there and not on some external drive or something. In backing up this whole folder, you'll back up all the actual song files themselves (MP3, AAC files) as well as the database iTunes uses to keep track of the songs.
 
Keep in mind that the Library file tracks files based on the their absolute location. If you move or rename the files, then you can't expect an old Library to work. You'll get all your playlists, and everything will look right, but when you actually try to play a file, it won't be able to find it. For this reason, I consider it vital to maintain your exact directory structure when making backups.

This is less important if you let iTunes sort your files for you. Personally, I can't stand the way iTunes does its sorting, though.
 
If you've invested a fair amount of money/time in your music library, it should make sense to buy an external hard drive, which is after all the most stable means of data storage, and back up the entire iTunes directory.

Better yet, back up your entire home directory -- or your entire computer. It's good to get in the habit, and the best way to get in the habit is to have a big fat hard drive that makes it easy to back up everything at once.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/ has some nice, reliable external drives. Some or all of them also come with backup software (such as Retrospect Express) gratis.
 
billbaloney said:
If you've invested a fair amount of money/time in your music library, it should make sense to buy an external hard drive, which is after all the most stable means of data storage, and back up the entire iTunes directory.

Better yet, back up your entire home directory -- or your entire computer. It's good to get in the habit, and the best way to get in the habit is to have a big fat hard drive that makes it easy to back up everything at once.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/ has some nice, reliable external drives. Some or all of them also come with backup software (such as Retrospect Express) gratis.
Click to expand...
All I really have on my computer that I would like to recover, if something did happen, is my writing and my music. That's pretty much it. And I can back up copies of those things on CDs. Plus, it's a lot cheaper than buying an external HD. ;)
 
ElDiabloConCaca said:
Yep, that's correct.

In addition to backing up the music files, it would also help to back up that iTunes Database file as well -- this database file holds all your song ratings, playlists and master song list, so if you've got some custom playlists you'd like to keep, or you prefer not to rebuild your whole music library when and if your computer crashes, back this up as well.

I recommend backing up the entire "iTunes" folder inside of your Music folder in your home directory, provided you kept the default iTunes setting of keeping all your songs there and not on some external drive or something. In backing up this whole folder, you'll back up all the actual song files themselves (MP3, AAC files) as well as the database iTunes uses to keep track of the songs.
Click to expand...
Thanks very much! I will definitely do that.
 
Just wanted to extend my thanks to those of you who replied and offered me helpful suggestions/advice. I went ahead and backed up my music on CDs (it took two of them), since all my music wouldn't fit on my jump drive (I have about 200 songs in my iTunes library). I learned something, though: You can't back up your songs directly from the iTunes library. You have to create a playlist, highlight all the songs in your library, drag them over to the new playlist, THEN you can back up the songs up from the playlist and put them on CD. (Most of you probably already know that. LOL) Anyway, I did it, and I did right and successfully. I checked the CDs when they were finished and, yep, all my songs are there in MP3 format. I'm so proud of me! :D

Thanks again, folks.
 
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