Accidently replaced folders in itunes library

For some reason I had certain songs by certain artists outside of my itunes folder, and not on my itunes player. So I highlighted these songs, which were all in folders with the respective band names on them, and dragged them to my iTunes folder (I know this was not the correct way to do it now). It asked if I wanted to replace and I, thinking it was the song I was replacing and not the whole iTunes folder named for the same band, said yes. I realized what I did, but I can't find the songs that were previously in the folders anywhere and iTunes comes up with a "can't find the file" error whenever I click on those songs that used to be in the replaced folders. Did I just irreplaceably lose thousands of songs in the course of a few dimwitted keystrokes? Is there any type of backup system to retrieve those files? They aren't in the trash and I can't find them anywhere.

Did I just irreplaceably lose thousands of songs in the course of a few dimwitted keystrokes?
Sounds like it.
When it asked to Replace the folder with the new one, it deleted the old ones.
When replacing like this, the files are deleted immediately. They are not moved to the trash.
Is there any type of backup system to retrieve those files?
I'd suggest you restore from your backup but you probably don't have anything on your computer (including the iTunes library) backed up, correct?
There are programs you can use to search your disks for deleted/erased files.
Here's one -> http://www.prosofteng.com/products/datarescueinfo.php

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Accidently deleted both my itunes library files

I accidently deleted both my itunes library files and because I restored them back from my recycle bin I seem to have managed to overwrite them with empty files, I still have all my music files that i can import back in to my itunes but how do i get my playlists back? The only place they are stored is on my ipod. I have never been able to do a backup becuse you have to do one to disk and don't seem to have the option to back up to a hard drive and since havn't found any disks that store 160gb i haven't ever been able to backup itunes. I have a portable hard drive and have all my music backed up to it but not a backup that contains the playlists, does anyone know how to get them back

Each time you restart iTunes it assumes that all the tracks are where it thinks they are. The exclamation marks only show up if iTunes attempts to do something with the files and cannot find them.
Possible causes are that you or some third party tool like WIndows Media Player have moved, renamed or deleted the files, or that the drive they live on has changed drive letters. It is also possible that iTunes has changed from expecting the files to be in the pre-iTunes 9 layout to post-iTunes 9 layout,or vice-versa, and so is looking in slightly the wrong place.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to get info, then cancel when asked to try to locate the track. Look on the summary tab for the location that iTunes thinks the file should be. Now take a look around your hard drive(s). Hopefully you can locate the track in question. If a section of your library has simply been moved, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions.
Alternatively, as long as you can find a location holding the missing files, then you might be able to reconnect iTunes to them using my FindTracks script. To start with test it out on a handful of tracks that show up as missing in action. If it can find & repair the links to those throw larger selections at it until everything is connected.
tt2

When trying to manually manage my music and videos on itunes its telling me that im already signed up to one itunes library and if i apply these setings it will replace my current itunes library. is this safe and would i be able too retrieve my deleted mu

when trying to manually manage my music and videos on itunes its telling me i am already connected to another itunes library and that if i apply these settings it will delete all of my data and replace it with the current itunes library. will this just delete from the i tunes library or from my i tunes account all together?

Thanks for your reply. I don't keep all of my music in the iTunes' designated music folder. I don't like the way iTunes reorganizes my songs and I keep all my music in my own self organized music folders as I don't use iTunes as my primary media application. Not to mention allot of my files come from all different corners of my computer's hard drive. It would literally take months to go through over 20 gigs of media files to pick out the songs I have in my iPhone library to rebuild an iTunes library. Like i said, I don't even use iTunes other than to transfer files to my iPhone. I thought the purpose of manually managing the files was so you don't have to sync it with the iTunes library but now it won't give my that option without requiring me to delete everything on my phone I worked so hard on.
What I don't understand is logically or technically why iTunes HAS to delete all the content off of my iphone. Who's decision in the Apple's software engineering department was to require the one's iPhone to be erased if someone loses their iTunes library? Its frustrating because it makes no sense and I feel as if the software is punishing me for reasons I don't understand by threatening to delete all my content off my phone. Is there absolutely no way to transfer my music to my iPhone without deleting everything currently on and completely rebuilding my music library from scratch?

Adding Windows folders to iTunes library

Having some trouble figuring out how to add preexisting mp3's into the iTunes library. The mp3's are ripped from my own CD collection using Windows Media Player. For discussion let's say I have 50 mp3's in a folder I created called iPod1. I go to iTunes and under the File menu click on "Add a folder to library" - no problem iTunes recognizes the folder and adds them to the library. Adding additional songs to the library is where the trouble starts. If I add songs to the the original Windows folder (as I'd prefer to) when I attempt to add the folder with the additional songs to the iTunes library - all of the songs are imported including the originals giving me doubles of the originals. If I choose to create a new folder - let's say iPod2 - the song titles seem to be imported but sometimes iTunes can't find the new folder and they appear in the library with an explanation point in front of them. By reimporting that folder sometimes iTunes can find the song. I prefer not to have my mp3's scattered in a bunch of folders in Windows. Seems like I'm missing something here. Suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Rich
Dell Windows XP

Thanks - that makes sense. Ultimately the goal would be to have all of one's mp3 files in one folder in Windows and all of them in the iTunes library ... right? Right now I only have a portion of them in the library. There are a lot of them so it might be best to start all over - get them all in one folder and "Add that folder" to the library. Then any new files can be added individually (sorted by date as you suggest). I understand that I would lose current playlists etc. All above correct?? Rich
Dell Windows XP

Can i search and replace in the itunes library database file?

Hi --
I need to update the file location in the itunes database for a few thousand songs. These songs are just part of my full collection. A few hundred of these songs are referenced in playlists. Rebuilding the libarary, consolidating the library, adding the new folder to library -- none of these suggested solutions to similar problems will work for me. (My collection is too large for one drive and is spread over several drives, and I have many playlists with hundreds of songs, and the playlists would be ruined with any of these approaches.)
I thought I had an easy solution by doing a search and replace in "itunes library.xml," replacing the old file path with the new one. But then I learned (as you probably already know) that the real information is stored in "itunes library," and the xml file is just a downstream copy of that information. All my edits were overwritten as soon as I opened itunes.
The solution to my problem is completely straight-forward if I can just do a search and replace in "itunes libray." Is it possible to edit that file directly? The only database program I have is MS Access, on windows, and it couldn't open the file.
Thanks very much
- Mark

How to Move Your Music to a New Computer.

Recreating folders in Itunes library

I installed Itunes version 8 this past summer and found that my entire music library had been converted to HTML. I did a search on the web and found out how to get rid of the HTML and get my folders back in my library (ironically it was on the Apple web site). The instrucions were clear and concise and it did exactly what I wanted. I just built a new computer and transferred my music library (in the form of folders)on to my new computer and again it was converted to HTML. I have done a search for that same information to convert my library back to folders and I can't find it. Can anyone help?

Your post makes no sense at all.
entire music library had been converted to HTML
What was converted to html? The iTunes library consists of the iTunes library file, the iTunes folder and the music. It's not one thing than can be converted to html.

Adding Windows folders to iTunes library - 2 copies of song

Having some trouble figuring out how to import preexisting mp3's into the iTunes library. The mp3's are ripped from my own CD collection using Windows Media Player. For discussion let's say I have 50 mp3's in a folder I created called iPod1. I go to iTunes and under the File menu click on "Add a folder to library" - no problem iTunes recognizes the folder and adds them to the library. Adding additional songs to the library is where the trouble starts. If I add songs to the the original Windows folder (as I'd prefer to) when I attempt to add the folder with the additional songs to the iTunes library - all of the songs are imported including the originals giving me doubles of the originals. Any suggestions appreciated. Rich
Dell Windows XP

Thanks - that makes sense. Ultimately the goal would be to have all of one's mp3 files in one folder in Windows and all of them in the iTunes library ... right? Right now I only have a portion of them in the library. There are a lot of them so it might be best to start all over - get them all in one folder and "Add that folder" to the library. Then any new files can be added individually (sorted by date as you suggest). I understand that I would lose current playlists etc. All above correct?? Rich
Dell Windows XP

How do i delete one of my folders in Itunes Library

Hi im having a problem with my itunes library. I was messing around on Itunes and i found the "Add file to library" button and I clicked it because I wanted to move my music from my file folder to itunes and i went to sync the music and a pop up comes up and says "are you sure you want to remove exsisting music, movies, tv shows, books, and tones from this Iphone and sync with this Itunes library", I don't want to click ok because im scared its going to delete everything.
Bottom line I just want to delete the folder I made thats it nothing more nothing less. Any helpful answers and tips are appreciated. Thanks!
p.s: I have a Windows 8

You should post in the itunes forum as this has nothing to do with the iphone.

External hard drives, media folders and iTunes Library folder

Hello All,
I have an external hard drive with all of my iTunes media files and am wondering if I should also have the iTunes Library folder and related iTunes files on this same drive. Is this the preferred arrangement? It seems that backups would be greatly simplified.
If it is a preferred solution that all these files reside on one drive location, how do I set these files to the external drive?
Thanks in advance for any assistance?
Warren

Warren Willows wrote:
you specifically back up the "iTunes Library" to your thumb drive on an hourly basis
no, i back up my iTunes folder (which is devoid of media content as my music files etc. are on the external).
the +apple of my eye+ is the +*iTunes library file+*
which is the heart (database) of the iTunes library (which is the whole thing: media files, support files, artwork folder)
while your media files are on an external drive which you mirror to a second drive.
exactly.
Do you use Chronosync to mirror your externals?
yes.
Have you consider a NAS?
well, i have a test library on an external USB drive hanging off my TC. it's not a NAS exactly but pretty similar.
i found that a firewire 800 external HD @ 7200 rpm provides superior speed to any networked library which is important (to me) if you e.g. stream HD movies to an TV and don't want to experience a lot of buffering.
JGG

HELP! QUICK! how to RESTORE accidently deleted folders in ITUNES??

how do i restore a folder that i accidently deleted that i created in itunes? ***** because all of those playlists were deleted too!

nope didnt work. i just luckily had a backup copy of the library before i started making the folders. deleted the current library (after backing it up), copied the older backup library into the folder, loaded itunes, exported the playlists that were accidently deleted, closed itunes. I then deleted current library, copied later library into folder (second backup) and then imported the playlists, thus creating them again and adding them to the newly created folder.

After adding folders to iTunes library, now have duplicates of each song

I store all my music on a separate drive, M:\
I have a specific file structure setup that has worked for me for years, M:\Artist\Album
I recently received an iPod for my birthday, and started using iTunes. After adding my music drive (M:\) for inclusion into the library (without "keep..." and "copy..." selected, as to keep my current file structure intact), when selecting "File->Display Duplicates" just about every song in the library has a duplicate, one in the original folder "M:\Artist\Album", and another in "M:\Playlists\..\Artist\Album". I understand that basically somehow iTunes glitched and started in the "M:\Playlist" directory when adding to the library at some point, however I am at a loss as to how. In my actual folders I only have 1 copy of each song, so basically iTunes is making a symbolic link to each song and adding it into the library as a separate song.
I have over 9000 (must...resist...meme...) songs in my library, and removing and restoring takes quite a while. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to do this at least once now, but any ideas as to why or advice on how to avoid this particular problem in the future?
I am pretty set in my ways of my current file structure, since I don't use iTunes as my primary media software, so I would prefer to not have to resort to succumbing to just letting iTunes handle everything the way it wants (I pretty much hate that).
Thank you for any suggestions you may have.
EDIT: Is there a way to have iTunes rename/move files when adding to its library to specific folders via custom rules based on ID3 information (i.e. WMP rip settings)?
Message was edited by: kaziekama

If you have "Keep..." and "Copy..." unchecked, iTunes will simply reference the existing file, and will not change your file structure, as you correctly note.
I'm fairly sure that some other program is operating on your files. The "Playlists" folder that you mention has nothing to do with iTunes. On my PC, only Windows Media and Roxio use it.
To your question +"Is there a way to have iTunes rename/move files when adding to its library to specific folders via custom rules based on ID3 information (i.e. WMP rip settings)?"+ the answer is no. When iTunes rips a CD, it names the files as track number and title, with no option to do differently. And as far as placing the ripped files, they go in Artist/Album, with no option to do differently. As full-featured ripping programs go, iTunes is not even in the race.

Only see folders in itunes library file

My imac's hard drive failed but before that, I made a backup. However, the backup has all the folders but nothing is inside -- none of the music. Could it be somewhere else? Why would it only copy folder playlists?

boscobilly wrote:
I do have this folder (external HD) as my music Library in Spotify. Is that where it's coming from?
Possibly. I don't use Spotify.

I accidently deleted my whole itunes library. help?

it's all still in the trash but there is no restore option and I can't drag the files.
what do I do?

Why can't you drag the files out of the Trash? What happens when you try?

Using External Hard Drive as storage for iTunes Library - Problems

I currently use an external hard drive to store my iTunes music, does anyone know why when I copy folders to iTunes library, duplicates appear - sometimes 2 or 3 copies of same song, same artist, album everything. A trud copy. Also, when you are setting up your music folder on the External Hard drive, would you copy from C: the entire iTunes tree - ie. iTunes/iTunes music/iTunes library or just have one folder called iTunes library? Also, when specifying location for finding music in preferences, again would you use entire tree of just iTunes music library.

See Dave Sawyer's post here - it's the easiest way
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1866272&tstart=0
Also, make sure Windows assigns a drive letter that won't change
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307844

How do I remove music from itunes library but keep them in a separate folder on my mac?

I also wouldn't mind understanding which specific folders the itunes library imports my music from. Does it search my whole computer and automatically add any music files or does it search only a specific folder? Is there a way to tell it which folder to use? Basically I'd like to keep two folders, one that itunes imports and one that is just on my computer and doesn't go to itunes. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

You can't. The reason is because the actual photos are all in the camera roll. The albums only contain links to these photos, not duplicate photos. (Albums work like music playlists. Music playlists also don't contain duplicate songs either; they only contain links to the songs in your music library.)

Accidently replaced folders in itunes library

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