How do I transfer my iTunes music to a different hard drive?

How do I transfer my iTunes music from my external hard drive to my new computer?

• Answer:

  A good music collection can take years to build and thousands of dollars to own. Thus it is a good idea for you to make regular backup copies of your music in case something happens to your hard drive. External hard drives are well-suited to this purpose, but eventually you may find yourself in the position of wondering how to transfer your music back from the external hard drive and into iTunes. Thankfully, it's pretty easy.Understanding External Hard DrivesIt's always a good idea to make a full backup copy of your hard drive from time to time. It's best to store this backup in a separate location, so that if your computer is ever stolen or damaged your files won't be irrevocably lost. This is one excellent and common use for external hard drives. An "external" hard drive simply means that the hard drive is not mounted inside the computer tower, and that instead it is a standalone peripheral device that plugs into the computer through a data port such as USB---similar to other portable storage devices, but much larger in capacity and physically larger as well. The similarities between external and internal hard drives means that you will find it quite easy to transfer data between the two. So, if you want to move backup copies of iTunes music from your external hard drive to the internal one now running inside your computer, most of the time it's as simple as plugging in the external drive, copying the music to your internal hard drive, and then telling iTunes to recognize the music.Transferring Files from an External Hard Drive to iTunesOnce you've plugged in your external hard to a data port on your computer, hooked it up to electrical power, and turned it on, your operating system will assign the drive a letter and display it in your file management utility---such as Windows Explorer, where it will show up under "My Computer." To access the music after you've unplugged your external hard drive, you will have to make copies of it on your internal drive. In Windows Explorer (or whichever file management utility you use), simply copy and paste the music from your external drive to a desired folder on your internal drive. Then, in iTunes, click on "File" in the Menu Bar, and choose "Add Folder to Library." You will be presented with a window to specify which folder you'd like to import. If you moved the music to a folder which iTunes already recognizes, then this step is unnecessary: The music will show up automatically.Source:http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1473#2http://www.tuaw.com/2006/09/19/how-to-keep-your-itunes-library-on-an-external-hard-drive/