iTunes - Locking the Library Address When using NAS

hmmm very interesting. I have my library on separate drive also but not a Timecapsule and have not ever experienced what you have described. It really should not re-scan your library and should stay pointed to where you left it. Perhaps this may be Timecapsule related, are you using Timecapsule with TimeMachine or just as storage hard-drive ?

odd, I look around and see what I can find

under the "advanced" tab in your iTunes preferences, what does it say under " iTunes music folder location" before and after re-start?

Firstly, repair Permissions on your Mac, you may have a slight bug and this will help...

Next, follow the routine here. If this isn't followed exactly, and if you have content previously imported in the default location, upon restart Itunes will revert to that default location. It's important to 'Consolidate' the library to the new location, which resets all the links etc...

Hope that helps.

On another note, are you sure you want to be keeping your library on the TimeCapsule ? I'm presuming you are using this for your main back-up also ? Personally, for back-up, all my drives are dedicated, and do nothing else apart from that, keeping any reading & writing, hence mechanical wear & tear, to a minimum.....

Steve.

forgot about consolidate, and agree what Steve said about dedicated drives.

so ... what Steve said !

I need more coffee......

LOL !

It's ok, it's just because I'm a few hours ahead...I start going downhill soon...!

Thanks so much for that guys. I'll give it a try.

I am using the TC for both back-up and for my music. I know it isn't optimal. I tried hooking another USB drive through the TC, but it was buggy when trying to transfer large amounts of data between the TC and the other drive. It would kind of just give up after a while. I never really got it to work. My music is too big to fit on the local drive, so short of setting up a proper NAS, I am at a bit of a loss.

How are you connected to the TC, wired or wireless? Does your TC launch when you re-start your Mac or do you need to launch it manually?

I think iTunes defaults to its preferred location in your Home folder and will recreate the music library if it can't find a linked folder. So, I am guessing that if the TC is not launched automatically on restart, this might be what is causing the problem.

My TC is quite prone to self-ejecting, so whilst I appreciate it as storage it is a fiddle for automatic back ups.

TC is wireless. It TC needs to wake up once it hasn't been used for a while, including when I re-start. I don't have to do anything, but it just takes a while to respond when I first want to access it. Yes, the problem seems to be that iTunes sometimes can't find the TC quickly enough and re-sets to the default folder. It only happens when the Mac has been off. It all works fine from the sleep/hibernate mode. Closing and re-opening iTunes doesn't cause the problem.

There's the root of your problems - the wireless connection.

Firstly, as Huwge suggested, they may well be a delay upon start up, as the two devices 'find' each other over the network, plus once they start talking with each another, there will be background work being done by your Mac, establishing what has changed since the last back-up and what needs to be changed on the TC...

Secondly, this will likely also explain the problem you described of connecting another USB drive, via the TC, and the poor performance....the TC will be acting simply as a conduit to that HD (not the best situation anyway), but because you are connecting wirelessly, you are creating a major bottleneck - Your first transfer of the whole iTunes library would be transferred over the airwaves to the TC (very slow), then through the TC USB interface (slow-ish) then the write speed of the said connected HD...All in all, a pretty slow transfer no doubt!

It's the same with the TC itself. It's fine for the incremental back-ups over wireless, but for anything large, really should be connected by wire. I think this is even advised for the first initial back-up, and even then there were reports of 100Gb taking a day or so..!!

Advice - If you can, leave the TC for your dedicated Mac back-up. Get a separate HD, even a small portable one, and connect via USB or Firewire to your Mac. On here, you can have your iTunes library, as well as anything else you have or want on there - also gives you the advantage you can easily pick it up and take it anywhere with you.....

Fun hey !

Steve.

Thanks Steve. I appreciate the time you (and others) have taken to respond.

In no particular order....

It's not exactly as you say.

The TC contains my music files, and they don't move or get lost. It is having to manually update the library that is the problem.

I don't want a USB drive hanging off the side of my Macbook. That's why I bought a laptop in the first place. I take my music on a 160GB iPod when I travel. B.T.W. it syncs fine with the music on the TC.

I don't want/need to move my music files over wireless (other than streaming one at a time as I play them, and as I rip them - but both these work fine over wireless anyway).

The problem with the USB drive attached to the TC occurs when I'm trying to transfer large amounts of data from the TC to the USB drive. The files are already on the TC. It matters not whether the Macbook is wireless or ethernet/cable connected (I've tried both).

Backups are simple and fast over wireless (I used the cable for the first one and it was pretty fast too).

I just want iTunes to remember to look for the folder on my TC (even wait for it to spin up) and not just default to a folder that contains nothing. Speed of data transfer isn't my issue.

Again, thanks for the advice.

Oh, I should add that this is only really an issue when I rip a CD. iTunes finds the music OK to playback, even though/if the iTunes music folder has automatically reset to the default local drive/location (which contains nowt).

It's just that if I forget to reset it, iTunes rips the music to the wrong place.

No problem...

Sorry to be short, I'm just about to dash out the door....But, have you yet followed the routine for moving the default folder location as in that link of Apple's I posted...?

If after this, you still have the problem with iTunes 'forgetting' the location, then we are honing in on the TC as the culprit....

Steve

I think the only way around this is to not have iTunes launch automatically on a re-start, that way the TC should have time to establish itself and remain as your "default" iTunes library. I would also post the question to the Apple Discussions forum as there may be another solution and I am only responding based on personal experience.

My iTunes library is on an external, wired drive which is then backed up to the TC. I never stream directly from the TC.

Hopefully there is a solution for you.

I used to have this issue all the time. itunes 7 and 8 seemed to fix it permenantly now. All that happens is when it cannot find the music it puts exclmations by them.

I would suggest however that wireless N, with a macbook, assuming you are getting a good connection should not be a bottle neck. But it might well still be the route of the issue. If i were you I would attach the macbook with ethernet just to see what happens if you manage to launch itunes before the TC comes on line.

Finally, as a long term solution I would consider very much getting a second hand mini. It can sit near the TC, plug in via the etehrnet and can have multiple cheap USB drives hung off it. This would then become a proper server for music. you simply turn on sharing in itunes and all your music is there. Youc an also control it directly with a touch.

Thanks all. I haven't had time to try all the suggestions yet. I am off motorbike riding in Chile and Argentina for a couple of weeks. I will see what can sort when I get back.

Garyi - The mac mini is a solution I am considering. Lots of advantages and I already have the iPod touch.