This will ensure you don’t need to expand the drive size in the near future, and you can always use any unused space for other data, perhaps your photo libraries, or to stream movies from. I suggest going with the largest external drive your budget will tolerate. All of these things will take up additional storage.
Perhaps you’re an avid collector of new music and podcasts, or you like to install lots of mobile apps. To this minimum, add space for expansion. It would be better to go up a size, from 50 GB to 60 GB, as the minimum space needed. It’s unlikely that my 49 GB library would fit on a 50 GB external (if you could still find such a small drive), due to the amount of space the external will reserve for itself during the formatting and partitioning process. As an example, my iTunes library is about 49 GB, not very big as iTunes libraries go. I say “just about” because you’ll need slightly more capacity on the external to ensure the library will fit. The size listed is just about the bare minimum.
In this tip, we’re going to show you how to successfully move your iTunes library from its default location on your startup drive to an external drive connected to your Mac. That’s why one of my recommendations for controlling drive space issues is to consider moving your media libraries to an external hard drive. This allows you to use a large but relatively inexpensive drive to house all the data.Ī new USB 3.0 external drive with a 2 TB hard drive installed can be had for less than $150, possibly even less if you already have an enclosure to use, or a hard drive kicking around.
One of the best ways to increase the amount of free space on your startup drive, and better manage your media libraries, is to move them from their usual home to an external drive. Whether you are running out of space with Mojave or earlier, or want to make a backup before upgrading to Catalina, this Rocket Yard guide can help! In many cases, your iTunes library is one of the main users of drive space. You likely have one or more photo libraries, as well as all the music, videos, podcasts, audiobooks, and mobile apps that are managed by your iTunes app. Space is precious, and one of the largest users of your drive’s space is likely to be your various media libraries.
It may seem like an astronomically difficult problem, trying to keep enough free space on your Mac’s startup drive, especially if you have a Mac with a small SSD.