I installed a lot of music files from CDs in iTunes on my Mac but had to move this collection to an external hard disk when my computer started to run out of space. I thought I had done everything correctly, but now nothing works. Can you help?
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DQ: There is nothing wrong with moving music files from one hard disk to another. Many people do this when they run out of space. Unfortunately, doing so is not as straightforward as one would expect.
Let us assume your Mac's hard disk is called 'Mac1' and your external hard disk is 'Mac2'. You must now navigate to your music folder at: Users/username/Music. (The 'username' will be whatever you entered when you first set up the machine.) In that folder, you will need to find two files: 'iTunes Music Library.xml' and 'iTunes Library'. Open the xml file with TextEdit and do a search and replace for all occurrences of Mac1. (All references to Mac1 must be changed to Mac2. If you have named one of these hard disks something common like 'Beatles' you will be in trouble. You must ensure the names of the disks are unique and unambiguous.) Once you have done that, drag the 'iTunes Library' file into the trash. Restart iTunes, go to 'Import' under the File menu and choose the xml file you just edited. It should now work.
Warning: playing around with these files is not a good idea if you are unsure of what you are doing.
In any case, make backup copies of both the files mentioned above. In case it all goes terribly wrong, just return the backup copies to where they once were.