Apologies if this turns into a long post, or if it doesn't make sense, but I'll try and be as clear as possible.

I had to re-install Windows today, so moved the whole of the 'My Music' folder onto my external hard drive, this included the iTunes folder. Once I had re-installed Windows, from a very old disk, I had to download SP2 from Microsoft and then install it, and I then downloaded iTunes again.

I had previously changed my iPod from automatically syncing to manually syncing, to prevent me losing the music from it if anything went wrong (even though the music itself was on my external hard drive). Once I had downloaded iTunes again, I replaced the new 'My Music' with the 'My Music' from my external hard drive. I then opened iTunes and found that everything was back, the songs showed, my play counts and ratings were still in tact, but the songs wouldn't play because they couldn't be found and I was being asked to locate them again on my PC.

So, I then went into 'My Computer' and 'Documents and Settings' and my old user account is there (e.g. ''C:\Documents and Settings\Old Account'') where the music was originally restored, but I was putting it in the new directory (e.g. ''C:\Documents and Settings\New Account''). I copied the music back to the old user account (which I can't log onto I don't think but still exists) and then opened my iTunes again and I can now access the songs again and automatically sync my iPod again.

Now, even though that's all good. I won't have this laptop forever, and will hopefully be getting a new one in the next few months, but then I'll have the same problem but won't have the old user account on my new laptop, but, if on my new laptop I was to create a user account with the same name as my account on here, it'd be (e.g. ''C:\Documents and Settings\Old Account'') on my old laptop and on my new laptop I would make sure the user account had the same name as the user account on my old laptop so therefore if I copied my 'My Music' folder onto the new laptop and made sure that the location of the music was the same on the new laptop as the old

e.g.

C:\Documents and Settings\Old Account - old
and
C:\Documents and Settings\Old Account - new*

then would my music play or would I have to add it all again? I know this might not make sense, but it's late and that's the best way I can explain it.

I use Last.fm, so all my plays counts etc are on there. And I've only got an 8GB nano because even though I've got 30+GB of music, I only ever need about 4GB because I don't want my whole music collection on an iPod, so if the worst did happen it wouldn't be a *huge* problem to just add the folders back into iTunes and then get the artwork all over again and then have my ratings and play counts reset. But if that did happen, and I replaced my iTunes library with the EXACT same music that was already on the iPod, it'd just sync the iPod with that music and 'replace' it with exactly the same stuff?

Aghhhhhhhh.

* For example only, my user account name obviously isn't 'Old Account'.

Mis-read your post sorry

Why don't you buy an external hard drive, I just brought a 160gb for £50 to store all mine and my daughters music on.

If anything happens to your computer or when you get a new one, all your music is safely stored onto something that will plug into another computer.

I've got an external hard drive. But I can't seem to set iTunes up so it uses music stored on the external hard drive, and I can't make it so the iTunes folder is stored on the external hard drive, so iTunes must make it so you have to store your music on your proper hard drive and not an external, which is stupid.

That's what I thought you meant but as my brain isn't in proper gear due to lack of sleep I thought I'd misread your post.

You want to store all your itunes music on your external hard drive, not by default on your pc's hard drive. You need to tell itunes the path you want the music stored.

In itunes window click Edit - Preferences - Advanced

You'll then see a square with some writing saying itunes music folder location and a button that says change. Click change and a window with all whats on your computer will pop up, click the path you want, then ok and it will appear in the box as your chosen path.

Hope I've explained that ok.

Edit - Worst case scenario you may have to import some of your files. This happened to me when I set my itunes library to store on my external hard drive as I didn't follow the instructions properly. I just found this article, the one I didn't read properly, it will explain the procedure better than I can.

http://xunlinkx.blogspot.com/2008/05...libraries.html

I have a similar problem. I recentlly transfered all my music to a External Hardrive. The next time I opened iTunes all my music had gone? (But sill on the external Hardrive)

I downloaded some new music, though when I connected my iPod I got the message this iPod is not matched with this itunes (which it was/is ?)

Someone told me I had to put all music back in iTunes which i have now done. But my ipod is still not registered with this ituneswhich it always was. I don't understand what has happened.
I have also lost all my playlists I had in iTunes since transferring all music to Ex hardrive

Okay, another question. If I was to go onto iTunes now and delete the entire library off my iPod and went out and bought a new PC tomorrow, and then downloaded iTunes onto it, what would happen when I plugged the iPod into the new PC and the new iTunes picked it up?

Even though my music collection is 30+GB, I've only got a Nano and I only ever have around 4GB on my iPod, this means it wouldn't be a huge problem for me to move the music onto the new PC and then add it all back to the library again, as I only have about 400-500 songs. However, would there be a problem with deleting the music from my iPod and then plugging it into a whole new PC and a whole new iTunes? Even though the iTunes will still be the same version on the new PC as the old.

Have you tried uninstalling itunes then reinstalling it?

Might be worth a try, you won't lose any of your music itunes will save it. Don't forget to also remove all ipod updater applications too, to get a fresh install.

Can't think of anything else, other than perhaps a system restore back to a date when you know everything was ok.

itunes should automatically recognise your iPod when plugged into any computer and will do an auto sync unless you chose to manually manage your music.

If you're keeping your music library path set to your external hard drive when you get a new computer and download itunes just change the path to your external hard drive again.

Thanks. I can't seem to change the path from anything other than a place on the C: drive, iTunes won't show the E: drive (external hard drive), even though it's definitely plugged in and working. So I'll just keep the music on my normal hard drive and move it over if/when I get a new PC.