OT: iTunes new backup feature, reliable???

Hey everyone I need to backup my music ASAP. Is the new backup feature in itunes reliable? Obviously reliability is number one. I also like that it does incremental backups thats way important I would hate doing that manually.


Thanks for any help/advice


Sean

You want reliability? Start managing your iTunes library by hand. I have about 50,000 MP3s in my system. If I were to let iTunes do its b.s. Username - Music - iTunes - iTunes Library - Artist - Album file management, I'd go insane.


www.derekmok.com

Ok well thanks, but as far as reliablity for me goes at this point i'm talking backup only. Is the backup feature in itunes reliable?


Thanks

Sean

i don't get it... that's a reliable system.


nm

Ok Nick thats what I was asking is wether or not it's a reliable system.

Sorry for any confusion.

My next question is if i use the iTunes backup feature would it be possible at some point down the road to restore the backups to a different directory? Right now the directory is "K:\Stuff\Music" (it's a windows based computer) could I restore it to to a MAC for instance without problems remember i'm using the itunes backup feature.

Thanks

Sean

ok, well i cant answer that.

i hadn't heard of this back up feature till now.
looking at it, though, it;s a "back-up to CD or DVD" process.
not really very good for a whole library.

why cant you just copy your iTunes Music folder (or wherever you keep your files) to a FW drive?


nick

Hey Sean,

I think I can answer your question - at least in mac world.

In OSX, you can move the iTunes Music Folder wherever you want - it contains all the music (duh), but also an XML and library file. then simply set the music location directory in preferences and away you go.

Having said that, I'm sure XP based iTunes is a different beast. I'm sure a quick Google will sort you out.

Yea Nick I have my music on an external Seagate 300 GB as my main music storage then everything except the videos fit on my 60 GB video ipod. I have the DVD's (Sony DVD-RW's) for it.

I want to put my music on DVD's as kind of a failsafe. Incase worst case scenerio the external hard drive and the ipod fails. Incase you can't tell i'm really obsessive about protecting my music i've seen too many people lately loose ALL their itunes music.

So thats why i'm doing it the iTunes way.

Thanks

Sean

Depending on the size of your library -- and it sounds like its large -- I would consider another external HD and do what jursrus has suggested and copy over the entire iTunes folder. iTunes on Windows follows the same file storing protocol as on OS X.

You can do DVD backup but time consuming and then you have version control issues. Hard drives are so cheap now. Buy a *naked* drive and an external case, put it together and you have a cheap backup solution. This is also becoming a common way to backup video projects as well.