Good and bad. Don’t ever lose that VM, since it’s the one your music is tied to - or keep a playlist or folder or something so you can reload your iPad from scratch if you have a fresh install of iTunes. (Assuming you aren’t just dumping the entire music folder onto the iPad.)
Why not install iTunes, then just kill all the iTunes processes unless you need to update the iPad?
Oo. I dunno about a VM easier to back up than iTunes. I “backed up” iTunes by just making a copy of the entire iTunes folder. That copy of the iTunes folder will even work cross platform - I copied the entire folder from a Windows XP laptop to a Mac Mini and it just worked.
“just worked” as in itunes plays music? (I know it does)
Or can you also sync your ipod/iphone/ipad? (I would need to see strong evidence to believe that and would be very interested to know how you pulled it off)
Yup. Synced my 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, no hitch. All my playlists intact, etc.
It’s actually in the official apple support docs (look under “external drive”). Of course, my intention was to transfer my stuff to my new computer, but I don’t see how you can’t use it as a backup too.
Done. Well, if you bought stuff from iTunes before that you’d have to authorise the new computer too, but I don’t see that being an issue.
Of course, you have to let iTunes handle all your stuff for you to begin with (i.e. consolidate music), but after that, wow. I can just imagine how annoying it would have been otherwise. At the time, I was like HOLY SHIT the last time I transferred a program by copying its directory was in, what, 1995? I thought the registry and programs files folders and all meant that that time was past.. but no. I was pretty astounded too.
You can even just keep your iTunes library on the external drive. I’ve done that for 3-4 years now. Moving it to a different computer is as easy as moving the external drive. You can even go back and forth if you have two that you use regularly.