I have a both Synology DiskStation with an iTunes Server and my own iTunes library on my PC. Since it’s too much of a pain to keep the files organized between the two, here’s a way I’ve found to have them kept in sync automatically. Note that once the music files are saved or updated on the DiskStation, the iTunes Server updates its lists automatically.
Microsoft SyncToy is a freeware utility that will keep pairs of folders synchronized across locations, even network drives and UNC paths. I’m going to show how to use Microsoft SyncToy to keep my iTunes library folder synchronized on my Synology DiskStation’s music folder.
First, download and install Microsoft SyncToy from here. SyncToy supports Windows XP, Vista, and 7, both 32 and 64-bit environments.
Assuming this is the first time you’ve run SyncToy, you’ll be greeted with the following screen.
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Click Create new folder pair.
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Next, on the Left Folder side, click Browse then select your My Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music folder.
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Next, on the Right Folder side, browse Network and select your Synology NAS music folder.
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Once that’s done, your setup should be similiar to the following:
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Because iTunes can keep music organized on its own, and doesn’t like when changes are made to the library, we only want to reflect changes made from iTunes library to the external location, not a full sync. Choose Echo to get this behavior.
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After clicking Next, you’ll be prompted to give your sync job a name. After that, you can run the task.
By default, SyncToy requires manual runs to keep things up-to-date. If you’re interested in scheduling SyncToy to run automatically, see this link for instructions on how to set it up.
Do you have other ways of keeping your iTunes library synced externally, or another program that you use instead to accomplish something similar to this? Please feel free to share in the comments below. Thanks!
2 comments
httrg3
March 30, 2013 at 10:06 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
Have you tired this?
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to-a-new-hard-drive/
I also use the Synolgy Disk Station and was trying to figure out how to sync my music. But I think I am going to follow the article and have iTunes just point directly to my NAS and work off there. That way any new music I add will automatically sync
Mike
March 30, 2013 at 10:10 pm (UTC -5) Link to this comment
I have not, though it’s an excellent suggestion. However, the only problem I would see is if you’re away from home (such as on your laptop) and your Synology is unavailable, then you have no library at all.
There are ways to work around this, obviously (offline files comes to mind), but for me, SyncToy seems a cleaner and safer method.