Moved iTunes, but doesn't find songs

[oceanjaws]

Hi.
A got a new MacBook Pro. Woo!!
I'm using an external hard drive for iTunes, Final Cut and Photos. I'm a musician - I have a lot of music.
I saved my library from my old MB to an SSD, and then told iTunes to use this as the library.
I dragged the data files -'iTunes Music Library.xml' etc- into my iTunes folder on the MacBook. Now all the songs are shown in iTunes.
The problem is that every time i try to play a song, iTunes asks if I want to locate it.
Is there any easy way around this?

 

[Fishrrman]

Isn't there a preference setting in iTunes to NOT import music into the iTunes music library...?

Look in preferences/advanced ...

 

[ApfelKuchen]

The iTunes Music Library.xml is essentially a catalog list - a text file (that's what XML is). Currently, that catalog list, being in a different location than it was originally (the iTunes folder on the external drive), doesn't know where to find the music. The "locate" request is to locate the actual music files.

If you have the entire iTunes folder from the old MB on that external drive and you've gone into iTunes > Preferences > Advanced to select the external drive as the location of the iTunes Media folder, then that's also where the iTunes Music Library.xml (and iTunes Library.itl) should be. Example:

External drive > iTunes > iTunes Music Library.xml
External drive > iTunes > iTunes Library.itl
External drive > iTunes > iTunes Media folder

If you do a "locate" that may also fix the issue. Sometimes you need to only locate one music file, sometimes you need to locate more music files.

 

[oceanjaws]

Hi.
Well, I deleted all the files from my

The iTunes Music Library.xml is essentially a catalog list - a text file (that's what XML is). Currently, that catalog list, being in a different location than it was originally (the iTunes folder on the external drive), doesn't know where to find the music. The "locate" request is to locate the actual music files.

If you have the entire iTunes folder from the old MB on that external drive and you've gone into iTunes > Preferences > Advanced to select the external drive as the location of the iTunes Media folder, then that's also where the iTunes Music Library.xml (and iTunes Library.itl) should be. Example:

External drive > iTunes > iTunes Music Library.xml
External drive > iTunes > iTunes Library.itl
External drive > iTunes > iTunes Media folder

If you do a "locate" that may also fix the issue. Sometimes you need to only locate one music file, sometimes you need to locate more music files.

Thanks!
That fixed it.
I deleted those files form my MB, and directed iTunes to use the external hard drive.
I'd already directed it to do that, so I'm not sure how it reverted. Perhaps deleting the files helped.
Anyway. Thank you!