Old folders still in iTunes Music Folder

I have iTunes set to automatically create file/folder names, but since the update (I can't remember the exact one) which changed how storage was determined (i.e. it's now by Album Artist rather than Artist), I've noticed that empty folders have been left behind. For example, I previously had the files for the album +Band On The Run+ (obviously in a folder of the same name) stored as a sub-directory of Paul McCartney. Now, due to albums being listed by Album Artist, that folder is empty and a folder was created for Paul McCartney & Wings, in which +Band On The Run+ was placed. I don't mind the albums being filed by Album Artist (although if there's a way to overide this I'd be interested), I just want to know the proper way of dealing with the empty folders in the iTunes Music Folder. Surely I can't just manually delete them as it would be picked up by and cause errors in iTunes.

I have a similar problem, but in particular with podcasts. When I delete a podcast, even if I tell it to move the files to the trash, I often find old podcasts in my podcast folder. And as for those old empty folders, do I really have to go through and manually delete them, or is there some shortcut I can use?

Similar Messages

ITunes Music Folder Location changed, but iTunes still uses old location

Okay - I'm getting a bit frustrated here. Because I had no room on c:, I moved all my iTunes preferences -- applications I downloaded for the iPod Touch, file settings, and all that stuff -- to my D:\ drive. Then I went to Preferences > Advanced and changed the iTunes Music Folder location to my D: drive.
Everything SEEMED to have looked good. Or so I hoped.
The 40+ applications I bought are no longer listed on the Applications purchased list. Further, all my files are STILL saving to the c: drive.
How do I FORCE iTunes to acknowledge that the D:\ drive is storing my iTunes preferences and files?!

OK, now I get what you're trying to do. I think!
I run my ITL file off my exHD, so all my Artwork & Applications are stored there. I think if you try running your ITL file from the D: drive it will do what you want.
Try this
1) close itunes & wait for the library ITL file to save ( I assume it's still on C: hence that's why artwork/apps are DLing there)
2) copy that ITL file over to the D: drive
3) press and hold the shift key while starting itunes and choose the ITL file on D:
Now all your future artwork/apps shoudl download to D:, try it by getting a free app.

Missing folders in iTunes music folder.

There are several artist folders missing in my iTunes music folder, but in the song info in iTunes it says the songs are located in the missing folders. What could the problem be??

Try playing the songs and see if iTunes has the location correct. If they play then select Get Info on those songs and iTunes will show you where they are located. If iTunes can't find the songs then they have been moved or deleted. Have you been moving your music around manually?

There are two folders in the My Music folder dedicated to iTunes music: •My Music AppleReceive and •My Music iTunes iTunes Media Music They share many of the same titles, although some duplicates may be mp3 and m4a. Confusingly, neither for

There are two folders in the My Music folder dedicated to iTunes music:
•My Music > AppleReceive
and
•My Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music
They share many of the same titles, although some duplicates may be mp3 and m4a. Confusingly, neither format seems to be exclusive to the AppleReceive or iTunes Media folder.
I'm reluctant to playing the "delete one and see what happens" game.
Any theories/suggestions?

BCHeller wrote:
There are two folders in the My Music folder dedicated to iTunes music:
•My Music > AppleReceive
No idea what this folder is. Sounds like it is something you created & named.
•My Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music
This is the default folder iTunes uses for music.

ITunes Music Folder Missing on external hard drive after changing iTunes Media Folder Location from MacBook Hard Drive. Not deleted...just missing?

I store my iTunes media folder on my external hard drive and can no longer find it there. It seemed to becomd lost after I re-designated the default iTunes media location. I had downloaded some things from iTunes without my external hard drive plugged in and when they downloaded they downloaded to the default location on my Macbook Pro. In recognizing that, I wanted to move those files from the hard drive on my MacBook Pro to the external hard drive. When I re-selected the location as the external hard drive a copy process began. I cancelled the copy process fearing the small number of files from my Macbook Pro would over-write all of the files on my external hard drive so I quit the copy process. Now I do not see my "iTunes Music" folder on my external hard drive. I fear that I have somehow lost the path but I believe the content is still on my external hard drive although I no longer see the "iTunes Music" folder on my external hard drive. I know I didn't delete it, but it isn't there. Is there a way to make it re-appear? I would really appreciate any guideance anyone has.
Thank you.
Best,
Matt

When you change the location in preferences it tells iTunes to start, from this point on, storing new media files in the new location. It then presents you with the option to move any old files in their current locations to the new location. It doesn't move the library files which are not media files. Read the links below to understand how iTunes works because you are the one with the computer in front of you and are in the better position to understand how it stands as regards to iTunes files.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
Now, did you keep the whole library on the external drive, or did you keep just media? From your description of the situation it sounds as if you kept the whole library there and when the external was not attached it returned to default location on the internal drive. What you should have done then was plug in the external drive, hold down the option key, and guide iTunes to the library file on the external. At this stage you could have dealt with the mislocated new files on an individual basis.
I guess the key question is, did your trying to move the couple of new media files to the external drive overwrite the iTunes folder there, which because you then canceled may have also just resulted in it being deleted. I am not going to test the theory on my system.
How big was your library on the external? If it was 40GB do you now suddenly have 40 GB free?
Look for any iTunes folders on the external drive. In view options turn on "calculate all folders sizes" and see if there are any big ones.

Is there a way to have iTunes show what is in the iTunes music folder?

I have several folders that I moved from an old iTunes music folder into a newer one on a different HD. I just put the music into the folder, but not into iTunes. So now, I have a huge folder of music that doesn't show up in my iTunes library. I was cleaning off the HD to make room for something else, so I deleted the "old" iTunes folder with all the music in it. The music is in my new iTunes folder, but not in my iTunes program. Sorry this is so convoluted!
What I want to know is this: Is there a way to have iTunes recognize and check for music in the iTunes folder that is not already in the iTunes program? Exactly what does consolidate library do? Could that solve the issue? I am a little intimidated because it says that it cannot be undone.
Thanks,
Jim

Chris,
You're a GENIUS!! Thank you!! That's exactly what I was looking for. I am in the process of doing it right now. Hopefully, everything goes well. You just made my day!
Happy 2009,
Jim

Itunes cannot see the itunes music folder on my external hard drive

I recently put all of my music on an external hard drive to free up space on my computer,
However, when I am in itunes and trying to point the library to the music folder, itunes still cannot see it. Instead all it can see is the E drive WD Passport, and folders named autorun, WD Sync Data Wd Windows Tools.
Can anyone tell me how I can see my itunes music folder on my external hard drive while I am in preferences, advanced, library location, change??

I don't know enough about iTunes for Windows to help you with this. But if you post your question in the Using iTunes for Windows forum you will get help from people who know more about this.
(This is the forum for Apple's Mac OS X web browser, Safari.)

Best practice for iTunes' music folder

i keep my music on an external drive, but want itunes to be able to play the songs.
currently, the itunes music folder is set to its default location. i changed the preference to prevent iTunes from copying music to this location. i added music to iTunes using File | 'Add folder to Library' menu.
my friend, who also has his music on an external drive, set his itunes music folder to the Music folder on his external drive.
what are the differences between these two approaches? what are the issues?
is there a best practice for using iTunes w/ music stored on an external drive?
thanks for your time.
craig

Thanks Paul for helping
I am getting the symbol and can locate the song but it is very time consuming and I can't do whole albums .
I tried dragging the entire music folder into iTunes . Is this it , iTunes Music Library.xml ? These are all the files and folders I found
iTunes 3 Music Library Data file
iTunes 4 Music Library Data File
iTunes 4 Music Library (Old) Data File
iTunes Music folder
iTunes Music Library.xml document
Temp File Document
I unchecked the "Copy files to iTunes Music folder "
before I dragged the xml. doc into the iTunes symbol in the dock .
This seems to have made matters worse . Now I can't find the file at all except through the finder .
Remember this is 10.3.9 with v4.7
Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.6) Panther eMac

ITunes Music Folder Issue: Won't Read External Folder?

Hi There. Just bought a new Mac Mini and installed a time machine backup on to it to mirror it with my latest laptop settings. So far, everything has been breezy, except for iTunes. I have an external drive with about 200GB of music/movies that I want to use with the Mini. When in advanced iTunes preferences, I change the iTunes Music Folder location to that of the external drive and click "Change".
I get no errors or anything, then iTunes tells me it is updating the library, but it is still the same old (internal) library. For the life of me, I cannot get it to change it to see my external. Any advice? I thought it might be an XML issue, so I moved the XML file but it didn't change anything. Is the "Add to Library" option my next best bet? I'm ok with that as long as it doesn't actually add the files to my internal hard drive and keeps all of the items sorted correctly. Is the last case scenario to reset iTunes? How would one do that? Any advice appreciated!

When in advanced iTunes preferences, I change the iTunes Music Folder location to that of the external drive and click "Change".
Okay. iTunes will use that folder for everything in the future. Anything added to iTunes will put into that folder if you have *Copy to iTunes music folder when adding to library* ticked.
If there is any previous items in iTunes, it will continue to look for them where they were.
I thought it might be an XML issue, so I moved the XML file but it didn't change anything.
The .xml is generated by iTunes simply for other applications. iTunes does not use it at all.
Is the "Add to Library" option my next best bet?
It's the only option since this is how you add files to iTunes (along with Import when RIPping from CD).
If you want to have the items in the new location in iTunes, you need to File -> Add to library and select the location on the external.
I'm ok with that as long as it doesn't actually add the files to my internal hard drive
See 1st comment in this response.
and keeps all of the items sorted correctly
Depends.
The sort in iTunes is whaichever column you are selected on.
If you are talking about the "sort" in the Finder/on the HD, then iTunes sorts by Artist/Album/Song name. If you do not want this, you need to to uncheck *Copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library* and uncheck *Keep iTunes music folder organized*.

Copying iTunes music folder but keepin' MY music organized MY way!!

The questions been asked a hundred times: how do I move my iTunes library to an external hard drive?
Yeah, I have the same question, but with a few differences. Basically, I keep my music folder organized as I like it. Consolidating the Library screws it all up. If "James Brown" is on the soundtrack to "Rocky IV," I want to have a "Rocky IV" folder with James Brown in there-- not a "James Brown" folder with another folder called "Rocky IV!" Why should I have to search the entire hard drive for all the separate tracks that make up "Rocky IV?!"
All I'd like to be able to do is copy my current music folder (and its hierarchy) to my new drive and link the library to it without screwing up playlists, etc.. Again, the key for me is keeping my music folder organized the way I've organized it.
C'mon, there's gotta be a simple way to do this!

I think you can do it this way: drag and drop the "iTunes" folder (under the 'Macintosh HD'/'Users'/-username-/'Music' folder) onto the external harddrive.
That works if the music is in the iTunes folder.
If it's not, it will still work but all the music will still be in the original location.
Are you saying that holding down the Option/Alt key will then automatically ask for the location of the new music folder?
No, it won't. It will ask you Create a new library or Choose existing library. it is asking for a iTunes library file, not a music folder.
If an artist appears on a soundtrack, I want to keep that file in the soundtrack's folder, not the artists' folder.
Set the album as a compilation. It will be stored in iTunes music folder -> Compilations -> {Album name}.
All I'd like to be able to do is copy my current music folder (and its hierarchy) to my new drive and link the library to it without screwing up playlists, etc..
Since you are managing the music yourself, not any easy way to do it.
You could export your playlists, delete the music from iTunes, move the music folder, re-add the music and import the playlists.
Just curious. Why do you care what folders iTunes uses? Just use iTunes to do everything instead of going into the Finder.

Songs in itunes music folder not showing

Hello all:
Songs in user/music/itunes music folder are not showing up in itunes 7.6.1 are not showing in the itunes application. Recently upgraded from previous version. TIA for any advice.

Maybe I need to expand and clarify a bit.
In my "user/music/itunes music" folder there are songs located in folders listed by artist/album. Some of these songs show up in the iTunes browser. I'm assuming this is due to my recent migration from my old Powerbook to my new Macbook Pro.
Any help would be very welcome.

ITunes Music folder is dated 1/24/84 and will not open

iMac, Late 2009
OS X Yosemite 10.10.1
16 GB 1067 MHz
iTunes 12.0.1
I cannot see inside my iTunes Music folder (home/iTunes/iTunes Music) or iTunesU or Mobile Applications. The folders are pale and dated (created and modified) 1/24/84, 2 A.M.
iTunes app seems to find music and movies fine tho. When I first noticed this, the Music/iTunes folder had created a 'iTunes Music 2' folder and all the music/movies folders would show up in there. I tried to 'move' those into the original iTunes Music folder (and it acted like it moved) - deleted the '2' folder and renamed '2' to plain iTunes Music. Still the same pale folder, inaccessible.
I tried repairing privileges (twice), resetting PRAM (twice) deleting any apple.com preferences referencing iTunes and even the Finder plist. Nothing is helping these sick folders. - But, as I said the iTunes app seems to work fine. I just need to see inside the music folder.
I use home sharing and whether another machine is on or not makes no difference. I have a new MBP and it's iTunes seems fine. I have tried an app called Files Property Editor to change the date on the folder, but it doesn't seem to work.
Thank you for any help!

Back up all data before proceeding.
Select the text on the line below by dragging across it. Don't include the blank space at the end of the line. Only the text should be highlighted.
touch -t 198001010000
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V, then press the space bar.
Now switch to the Finder and and select the item(s) in question. Drag into the Terminal window. More text will be added to what you entered.
Click in the Terminal window to activate it, then press return.
Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign ($) to appear. You can then quit Terminal.
Relaunch the Finder.

Itunes 7.02 messed up my Itunes Music folder

Hello all, I love iTunes 7.02 and I'm overjoyed that I haven't had stability issues (fingers crossed). HOWEVER - I noticed that iTunes 7 really took an axe to my iTunes 4 Music folder. I was very cautious about upgrading - so before I upgraded, I uninstalled iTunes 4 completely to try and avoid upgrade issues. However, my iTunes music folder is now a complete mess - CDs have become compilations, some folders are now empty, and music is just not where it's supposed to be! What's especially bad is that if some CD's have songs with multiple artists...instead of grouping those songs with the album, it has created separate folders for new artists! This has had the obvious effect of really taking a dent out of my poor harddrive and I was wondering if there is anyway I could fix it??? Otherwise - I'm guessing that I"m going to have to just delete my music and start over??? Much thanks!

Essentially, the problem is that if you uninstall an old version of iTunes and then install the new iTunes 7, it will completely re-arrange (aka totally mess up) your library and how it is stored on your computer and use up tons of your hard disk. Consider this and maybe choose simply upgrading instead!

Multiple itunes music folder locations

Guys,
Does anyone know if it is possible to have multiple itunes music folder locations for itunes?
I am quickly running out of space on my macbook pro and would like to move my less used music and movies to a separate external drive whilst leaving my most popular stuff on the macbook pro.
Cheers
Kegan

I have these exact same questions as the user above, but for a different reason. I want to have two different locations for my iTunes Music folder. One on my laptop for recent music (so I have it when I travel) and another "archive library" on the Time Capsule for the remainder of my music (accessible only over my wireless LAN when at home).
I have gone through the "hold the option key" process to create a second "library" on the Time Capsule, but it still references the same iTunes folder location. Of course, I could relocate the entire iTunes Music folder to the Time Capsule and re-reference it in Preferences->Advanced, but then I wouldn't have access to my recent songs when traveling.
Then, there's the whole question of how to transfer songs between folders (when my "recent" folder gets to large and I need to archive), but maybe I'm getting ahead of myself.
Thanks,
John Mac

I need to find my iTunes Music folder!

I'm a Final Cut Express user, recently upgraded from Tiger to Mountain Lion and then partway back to Snow Leopard, which is working with my FCE 3.5. Now I need access to my music, which I manually imported from my CDs five years ago, and use for soundtracks (these are underwater videos.)
I thought I had backup - I use Carbon Copy Cloner and have bootable clones of both Tiger and Mountain Lion, which should contain the iTunes Music Folder. But the folders I can find don't seem to contain any tracks.
Before I make the (probably correct) assumption that I somehow never did have the music backed up, I'd appreciate any ideas about where to look besides Library & Users folders. I do still have all the CDs - probably wouldn't take more than a few weeks...
Thanks for any ideas.
Sharron

Well, I did find the iTunes Music folder on the Tiger clone (MBP had to be booted up from the clone to access the folder) and figured out where Snow Leopard's iTunes wanted its music imported (the Automatically Move to iTunes folder). Couldn't move the whole Music Folder at once, though it's only about 11GB, but I could move whole albums over in bunches & got about 1/3 of the music transferred in a couple of hours, alternating startup drives to shovel it along.
The transferred music worked OK - I converted tracks to AIFF for a FCE soundtrack, inserted them in a sequence, fiddled around with simple fades etc. Began to feel confident. But then Snow Leopard started crashing - can't imagine it has anything to do with iTunes.
I've had about as much of this as I can enjoy, as the fox said...
But I do appreciate your clarification of the storage habits of iTunes.

Old folders still in iTunes Music Folder

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