Traktor collection on external drive, questions!

[Lilja]

So here's the thing: my computer and Vestax VCI-400 EGE got stolen, but luckily I made a time machine backup before the incident. So now I'll be borrowing a Macbook Air while I'm waiting for my retina Macbook Pro, but my issue now is storage, so now I see no other option but to store my iTunes and Traktor collection on a external drive!

So tell me:

1. If i rellocate my iTunes library to an external drive, will I be forced to rellocate all my tracks one by one if my external drive would somehow dissconnect or can you select an entire folder to rellocate an entire collection?

2. Will my stripes and ID3 tags from my previous computer (which I will import to my new one) still apply to my traktor collection even if they are now going to be located on an external drive instead of an internal?

3. Does it suffice to "DJ" live from an external drive (stability? reliability?) and IF your drive got disconnected, did you have to go through the procedure as asked on question 1.

4. Should I go for powered or non-powered Hdd's when performing live and what brand is most widely used among performing DJ's?

Thanks in advance!

[MaxOne]

This could be tricky but if possible restore iTunes to a computer with enough storage (maybe set up a temporary new user id for a fresh iTunes install) then use that to restore from time machine then consolidate to an external drive.

Then copy the library files to air and plug in ext hd.

Because they're all pointing to the same location it should work.

Defo google consolidating iTunes library.

Ext Hd should be fine to Dj off. How many USB ports does an air have?

[Truckie]

I have always used an external hard drive as my collection is too big for my laptop.
Infact recently I have done the opposite from you and been moving tracks from the external onto the laptop hard drive, just for ease of use.

To answer your questions
1) No you can point iTunes to where all the new tracks are and that smart wee gem will figure it out.

2) I think this should all be ok, my ID3 tags were fine but I am unsire what stripes are? Sorry.

3) Yes! my external drive is 2-3 years old and it has had no issues whatsoever with speed (I think it is USB2) but I have used it in USB1 ports with no probelms what so ever. Infact once the USB jack was pulled out and the tracks were fine (buffered within Traktor) until I managed to reconnect it.

4) I have o expereince to compare, however mine is powered and as I said I have had no problems!

Hope this helps a little.
Very jealous of the new Mac Book!

[shr3dder]

I've used a Western Digital 1TB non powered drive with no issues quite a few times, so I don't think powered matters if it's not running off a USB Hub. However, it's always going to be faster and more reliable on an internal drive.

I use an older Macbook Air myself with only a 120gig SSD, how big is your library if you need more then that???

My solution would be to use the hard drive as a hub for all your tunes, then just have stuff you actually play on the internal drive copying in and out stuff you don't need, unless your a wedding DJ I can't see how you'd ever use that many tunes?

Such a waste of a USB port using an external drive imo.