Switching from MacBook Pro to Mac Mini Dedicated as a Music Server - Last Minute Tips?

[cg27288]

Hello,

 

I just ordered a Mac Mini (a refurbished new one) which I am going to use as a 'Headless' Mac Mini.My plan is to use it exclusively for music and store my music collection on an external Firewire drive. So my setup will be:

 

FireWire Hard Drive (store the music) -> MacMini -> Audirvana + -> USB to Musical Fidelity V-LINK 192 -> Coaxial Cable to PS Audio Digital Link III -> Analog Out to my Onkyo Receiver

 

Any last minute tips from this most excellent forum group? My main concerns at this point are:

 

1) Getting my iTunes library from my MacBook Pro to the External Firewire Drive. I want to make sure I keep all the iTunes information (Play Count, Ratings, Playlists, etc.). Do I need any special software or is it as simply as copying and pasting to the hard drive? Does that degrade the music in any way?

 

2) Looking for advice on the type of external Firewire drive to get. I selected Firewire since my music will be sent to my bridge/DAC with a UBS connection and my understanding is it's beneficial to use different ports in this setup.

 

Any other advice, tips, etc. for running the Headless Mac Mini would be so very appreciated. Thanks!

[Audio_ELF]

Biggest advice ... make a backup of your iTunes library, then make another backup to be paranoid!

 

Eloise

[wgscott]

Get one of these: MiniPro FireWire 800, USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive w/ Oxford Chipset

 

Plug it into your laptop, and format the drive for OS X (HFS+ journaled).

 

Drag and drop your "Music" folder onto the external drive. Let it copy. (Now you have one of the backups Eloise rightly suggested making.)

 

Eject the drive.

 

Plug the drive into your mac mini.

 

Open iTunes while holding down the option key, and navigate to the external drive, and find the iTunes library, and open it.

 

You are done.

[Larryken]

As Mr. Scott said, the MiniPro is a good HDD to store your library.

[wgscott]

Recommended by Chris: Computer Audiophile - Music Server Enhancement Ideas

[cg27288]

If I copy only the 'Music' folder won't I lose my album artwork, playlists, play counts, ratings, etc.? I really need to keep those as I've worked years on getting them to my satisfaction.

 

Will copying the iTunes Folder (Music --> iTunes) ensure that I don't lose all this important metadata and artwork?

 

I did get the MiniPro and am impressed with the sturdy design. Thanks to all for that tip.

[Esprit]

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[brucknerdoc]

I have maintained this article in my bookmarks to refer to every time this comes up on my system to make sure I don't make a mistake:

 

Transferring your iTunes Library

 

or, this one from Apples site:

 

iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer

 

I don't think simply copying the music folder is the recommended solution to maintain the metadata, artwork, ratings, playlists, etc. you desire. The Music folder just contains your music files. The entire iTunes folder need to be moved over to maintain this information.

 

So, I would consolidate your iTunes library on your MBP by changing the default media location the MBP uses to your new ext HD - making sure copy files is selected during this change in preferences, then selecting Consolidate from Organize Library from the menu. Once everything is on your ext HD, connect that drive to you mini, launch iTunes holding the option key, and select choose library to direct iTunes to you library on the ext HD.

 

BTW, I have use an Other World Computing Qx2 external drive with my mini which works well.They allow RAID setup and are expandable to 16TB.