Some of the songs I have downloaded onto i tunes won't play when I select it to do so.  The error message I get is "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found.  Would you like to locate it?"  How can I get my songs to play?

Some of the songs I have downloaded into i tunes won't play when I select it to do so.  The error message I get is "The song can not be used because the original file can not be found.  Would you like to locate it?"  When I select yes I'm sent to a screen that has my i tunes library listed.  When I select the song in question I'm asked if I would like to open the song.  When I select this option I get nothing.  The songs I have downloaded must be somewhere because they are listed in my i tunes library and on the screen I've been sent to.  I can't the songs to play however.  This is not true of all of my songs but it is true of quite a few of them.  Actually, one song is too many.    How do I get my music to play that seems to be locked up somewhere in the computer?

Presuming they're on your computer, right click on them and then follow the prompts to locate hte file on your computer.

Similar Messages

  • When i try play a song i get this message " the song could not be used because your original file could not be found, would you like to locate.  I tunes works on my iPad

    OSX 10.9.5

    I am getting this same message.  I recently bought a new Macbook Pro and the geeks transferred my files from my mini-mac.  Perhaps they did not transfer something critical?  I follow the "locate" option when it asks to find my files and I get a file folder that has a red circle with a white bar in the middle. 
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    Even more confusing - it seems to allow random songs to play and download on my Macbook and other devices.  But most of my music - whether downloaded from iTunes or my CD collection comes up with that message about the original file. 
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  • I have a new computer that downloaded all of my playlist. but i cannot play all songs. i get a error that say "the song could not be used because the original file could not be found. would you like to locate it? but it does not help to resolve.

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    comes in where i want to play a certain song on a playlist and this error pops up "the song could not be used because the original file could not be found.
    would you like to locate it? which is of no help.
    is there a solution to this problem?

    The file path for these songs IS NOT correct per your iTunes Library file. 
    See: http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=listmias  for an Applescript to locate these files for re-adding.

  • When I try to listen to a song I purchased last week, I get the message, "could not be used because the original file could not be found. would you like to locate it?" What do I do to find it?

    When I try to listen to the songs I purchased from iTunes last week, I get the error message, "could not be used because the original file could not be found. would you like to locate it?"  What do I do to fix this problem or locate the song?
    Thanks!

    I am getting this same message.  I recently bought a new Macbook Pro and the geeks transferred my files from my mini-mac.  Perhaps they did not transfer something critical?  I follow the "locate" option when it asks to find my files and I get a file folder that has a red circle with a white bar in the middle. 
    I have the same issues with my downloaded movies but my apps all seem to be fine.
    Even more confusing - it seems to allow random songs to play and download on my Macbook and other devices.  But most of my music - whether downloaded from iTunes or my CD collection comes up with that message about the original file. 
    Should I get new geeks to locate these files on my old mini-mac?

  • Error code; original file could not be found, would you like to locate it?

    when i try to transfer songs from my library to my ipod shuffle, i get this error message (error code; original file could not be found, would you like to locate it?). Then an exclamation point(!) in the first column it appears next to the song in the library.
    When i go to the folder mymusic/itunes/itunesmusic folder, the song is there, but why is there an exclamation point next to the song in the library? And how do I restore all these songs, and what causes this?

    Sounds like your iTunes .ITL library file got corrupted.
    What are the iTunes library files?
    There are some posts around here by Buegie on how to fix that...

  • "original file could not be found, would you like to locate it." error

    I recently bought my first MAC and imported my Itunes library onto it using my 3G 40GB ipod. When I try to play some songs in Itunes on the MAC I get the "original file could not be found, would you like to locate it." error message. The songs are on my IPOD and able to played from my ipod, yet they will not synch or transfer to the MAC.
    What can I do other than reload the songs from the original cd's?
    Thanks in advance.
    Sean

    Click on this earlier post of mine and read ALL the info listed before trying any fix.
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=5351732#5351732
    DIXIE

  • Error:  Original file cannot be found, would you like to locate it?

    My computer crashed, so I bought a new laptop.  I have everything backed up on an external hard drive.  I tried to transfer everything from the external drive to my new laptop, and now all of my music appears to be listed in itunes.  However, when i try to play a music file I'm getting an error that says the original file cannot be found, would you like to locate it?  Any ideas?

    Select a broken track and press ctrl-i to Get Info. Look on the summary tab for the location where iTunes "thinks" the file should be. Where is it really? Post back the two locations and I can suggest the best approach.
    tt2

  • My partner deleted my itunes (10) library. I use a WD external back-up and retrieved my itunes library, but when i try to play a song i get the message 'could not be used because the original file could not be found Would you like to locate it?'

    My partner deleted, by accident my itunes library. I have an iMac 10.6.7, Itunes 10. I use an WD passport as an external back up and retrieved my itunes library but now get the message "could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" so itunes is not recognised the exclamation marked songs, how do i get the retrieved files recognised. At times I get fed-up with Apple blocking files being used, although I like the product its restrictions are so silly!

    You not only have to retrieve the library file from the backup drive but the actual music files (usually stored within the "iTunes Media" folder) as well.

  • Song could not be used file not found would you like to locate it?

    I receive the following message when I try to play a song from my library in Itunes:
    This song could not be used because the origional file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?
    The songs that were purchased from Itunes play with no problem but all the others have this message. There are thousands of songs stored and it would be impossible to do this for every song. Any reason why this happed and any suggestions on how to get these songs to play without locating every file?

    What worked for me was to delete all the songs from my library (but keep the files!) and then drag & drop the folder containing all the music files into my library: See: http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=6471379#6471379

  • Itunes Error song cannot be found would you like to locate it?

    I downloaded Itunes 10 on windows vista last Saturday, but after I synched my Iphone 3gs I noticed that none of my 1000 songs where on my Iphone as well as my 55 Ringtones bought from myxer.com. When I click on the song/ringtone it comes up with an error stating "The song "such and such" could not be used because the original location file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" I have tried many times to locate and I upload it to my itunes library but as soon as I shut Itunes out it does it again. No matter what type of music it is whether it be downloaded, cds or bought from the store this error appears everytime with every song and ringtone. I have spent over 4 hours on the phone with apple techs with no results. This is very ridiculous to have to import all my cds and songs that are saved onto my computer over and over again. The apple techs have had me uninstall and re-install Itunes twice, and had me search for all different types of files for my Itunes to find them with no luck. Please help!!!!!!

    Select a broken track and press ctrl-i to Get Info. Look on the summary tab for the location where iTunes "thinks" the file should be. Where is it really? Post back the two locations and I can suggest the best approach.
    tt2

  • Error message:song could not be found would you like to locate it

    The music is already in my folder, as this had =s happened with most of my music is there a quick fix?

    You get exclamation marks or dead tracks because iTunes can’t find the file. This can happen for a number of reasons:
    The song file or a folder in its path was renamed
    The song file or the folder it is in has been moved
    The song file has been deleted
    The device containing the song files e.g. external drive is not accessible.
    So did you change anything? If so can you put it back how it was?
    Anyway, if all your tracks have exclamation marks, the quickest fix is to close iTunes, then drag iTunes Library.itl and iTunes Music Library.xml out of your iTunes folder to the desk top.
    Then open iTunes and an empty library is created. Then use File>>Add folder to library to add your iTunes umisc folder to iTunes. If you have music in other folders add those too.
    This fix loses all coutns, ratings and playlists.
    If only a few tracks have exclamation marks, you can just add your iTunes music folder, this will not create duplicates, but will add any missing tracks.
    The entries with exclamation marks will remain and these can be removed, which I can tell you how to do if you choose this route.

  • "song could not be found would you like to locate it? "

    I get this message alot i guess because i keep all my music on an external harddrive. When i got a new harddrive and put my songs on it alot of the "paths" suddenly did not work. if the computer cannot find the song all i have to did is say i would like to locate it and then type the name of the song in and it finds it every time. The problem comes when i have to do this say a hundred times because i have a ton of music. Can i make itunes or automater do that for me? If that doesn't make sense please leave a comment and i'll get back to you thanks again.

    iTUnes isn't like other programs in windows that "Watch" folders and files for changes. What I mean buy this is players like WIndows Media Player (WMP for short) Winamp and others will "Watch" for changes you make. If you go into "My MUsic" folder and chage the name of a song file or move it from one folder to another, these players will catch that change usually and update there library.
    Sadly iTUnes for windows does not do this. If you change ANYTHING, like the name of the file or the folder its in, or move it from one folder to another, iTUnes looses track of its location and puts a ! mark beside the songs.
    The only way to fix it is either put the files and folders back to the way they were OR manually go thru the library and show iTUnes where each file is.

  • My Win7 64 bit got following error message after plug in iPhone: This iPhone cannot be used because the required software is not installed!  It advised me to reinstall 64-bit version of iTunes ( but it is already 64 bit!)

    I just upgraded the iTunes 10.6.1 for Windows (64-bit) yesterday!

    Let's try a standalone Apple Mobile Device Support install. It still might not install, but fingers crossed any error messages will give us a better idea of the underlying cause of why it's not installing under normal conditions.
    Download and save a copy of the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe) installer file to your hard drive:
    http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
    Download and install the free trial version of WinRAR:
    http://www.rarlab.com/
    Right-click the iTunesSetup.exe (or iTunes64setup.exe), and select "Extract to iTunesSetup" (or "Extract to iTunes64Setup"). WinRAR will expand the contents of the file into a folder called "iTunesSetup" (or "iTunes64Setup").
    Go into the folder and doubleclick the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi (or AppleMobileDeviceSupport64.msi) to do a standalone AMDS install.
    (If it offers you the choice to remove or repair, choose "Remove", and if the uninstall goes through successfully, see if you can reinstall by doubleclicking the AppleMobileDeviceSupport.msi again.)
    Does it install (or uninstall and then reinstall) properly for you? If so, can you get a normal iTunes install to go through properly now?
    If instead you get an error message during the install (or uninstall), let us know what it says. (Precise text, please.)

  • TS4062 i cannot sync all the songs/artists i want with i tunes I am getting the message "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found would you like to locate it" but it cant... most of my music on i tunes is now saying this I h

    Help I cannot

    Hello Imelda2
    You would need to locate those songs on your computer. Check out the article below for tips on how to locate the files and relink them.
    iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1408
    Regards,
    -Norm G.

  • Hi all, when i use  itunes , to play  a song this message comes up ,the song could not be used because the original file could not be found would you like to locate it?

    help !

    dwmwood,
    Double click a song with ! mark on side, you will be given an option to locate the file where the song is held. If so select "locate" and direct it to the folder / file where the song is and open it.
    iTunes then will give you the option to use this process to update all of your library.  OK that as this will do it automatically instead of doing them one by one.
    I hope this helps.

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