Advanced, Consolidate Library

I have my music files in an external hard drive (HD). My music library file is in the mac HD. IF I select "consolidate Library", where does the consolidation takes place? In the iTunes Music folder in the external HD or in the Mac HD?

Using that command will place the music in the iTunes Music folder specified in the iTunes preferences.
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How to Consolidate library + Keep Playlists

Hi
I've unsuccessfully searched for a solution to my problem and could find it in this forum. Would really appreciate any help!
I've collected a large amount of MP3s (over 300 Gigs) from different sources and got spread out in different hard drives and folders...My itunes library was linked to all these separate folders and then I bought this new hard drive to consolidate all of them into one place. When doing that I made a stupid mistake and renamed an older hard drive... therefore thousands of Itunes tracks got unlinked to their original files (the annoying ! sign).
I'd like to be able to do a "mass relink" to the all the files now consolidated into a single hard drive, but I'd like to keep all my library and playlists intact (since I worked on them for years). Any ideas on how to do that easily? Obviously I won't manually relink song by song, that would take an eternity... so if any of you know the solution to this you'll be my life savior!
Thanks to all in advance, an help will be greatly appreciated!

It has been moved, Som2k7.
In iTunes 8, go to the iTunes File menu > Library > Consolidate Library.

Consolidate Library command doesn't work--how can I import my library?

I've transferred my music from a back-up disk and want to import it into iTunes on my new machine, but the Consolidate Library command does nothing. Import Folder only works one folder at a time and I have hundreds of folders (40+gb of music). Anybody have any ideas how I can import it all into iTunes without having to spend a weekend tediously importing one folder at a time? Thanks in advance!

Consolidate only works on music already in your library.
What it does is to copy any music in the library database but not in the iTunes Music folder into the iTunes Music folder.
It cannot be used to add music to your library.
File>>Add folder to library ought to be able to add a music folder containing multiple folders in one go.

Consolidate Library - why is this bad?

Article 1751 says to consolidate library, to back up library to an ext hard drive. Why is this step bad? I see that it copies to another file and in the future new music goes to the new file. So what? When i click on library will it go to that new file?
Thanks for the clarification.

It's always advisable to keep a back of of your songs and library files before you make any irreversible change to iTunes. Consolidating cannot be undone which is why Apple advise you to back everything up in case you need to manually revert.
When you consolidate, any songs in the iTunes Library that are not in the iTunes Music Folder are copied to the Music Folder and the Library is updated to point to those new files. Files already in the iTunes Music Folder have no changes made to them: Consolidating your library - Windows
Once you have consolidated your library, if you want to make sure anything you add to your library is always copied to your iTunes Music folder in future the go to Edit>Preferences>Advanced and check the box "Copy files to Tunes Music folder when adding to library.

Duplicate files created after library consolidate library

I have been trying to clean up everything. I have several iTunes libraries. The one I have selected in preferences is on an external HD, it was up and running. I went to library>consolidate library. When I went to look at the actual files in my selected ext. HD iTunes folder, nearly EVER song (several 1000's) had a duplicate, tune.mp3 and now tune 1.mp3. ***??? Where did they come from? Did iTunes gather all of the files up from other itunes folders & copy them???
How do I get rid of the duplicates?
What a mess...
They don't show in the iTunes window. Just in the file folder.

Hi,
Then you may need to monitor the behavior to see if you can find out the cause.
First you can enable Audit on that folder to get the account who create the /1 file. You need to set Audit in 2 settings:
1. Configure "audit object access" in AD Group Policy or on the server's local GPO. This setting is located under Computer Configuration-->Windows Settings-->Security Settings-->Local Policies-->Audit Policies. Enable success/failure auditing
for "Audit object access."
2. Configure an audit entry on the specific folder(s) that you wish to audit. Right-click on the folder-->Properties-->Advanced. From the Auditing tab, click Add, then enter the users/groups whom you wish to audit and what actions you wish to audit
- auditing Full Control will create an audit entry every time anyone opens/changes/closes/deletes a file, or you can just audit for Delete operations.
Also you can try Process Monitor to see if you can capture the exact process when the file is created. However as the issue occurs randomly it may take your time to get an accurate trace.
Troubleshooting with Process Monitor
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2007/06/01/troubleshooting-with-process-monitor.aspx
If you have any feedback on our support, please send to [email protected]

Where has 'consolidate library' option gone?

I have just purchased a huge external drive to (finally!) store all my music on. I have set the path for a new media folder on it in advanced preferences, but when I go to where the 'consolidate' option used to be - file, library, consolidate library - I now get 'back up to disc' or 'organize library' or 'export library' options instead.
I simply want to copy all my music (and some is on other external drives) to the new external drive, and iTunes 9 seems to have lost that option! Help!

I was confused at first too...why change the name? Does organize make more sense than consolidate? Whatever...just make it work!

Will 'Consolidate Library' merge multiple libraries?

I would like to use 'Consolidate Library' in order to move the location of my music folder. However, I have two libraries set up that use that folder. I am wary of using Consolidate Library if there is a chance that the songs from both libaries will be copied into the same library. Can anyone shed any light on this?
Thanks in advance.

Consolidating doesn't merge libraries. When you consolidate, any songs in the iTunes Library you are consolidating that are not in the iTunes Music Folder are copied to the Music Folder and the Library is updated to point to those new files. Files already in the iTunes Music Folder have no changes made to them: Consolidating your library - Mac

Consolidate library does nothing

I want to consolidate my library under iTunes. I select Consolidate Library (under Advanced) but it appears to do nothing. If I delete the file from the original location iTunes can no longer find it. If I go to the iTunes folder I can't see the consolidated (copied) mp3 files. What am I doing wrong?
Windows XP

I spoke too soon. While the music I thought I copied appears in iTunes, when I click on a song to play it, I get a message that says it can't find the song? What the heck gives?
Thanks.
Sheldon

Better to Consolidate Library or Import all songs again?

I can't Consolidate my iTunes Library on my internal HD because there is not enough HD space to copy all files again.
I believe I have two main choices.
1) Delete all music files on the internal HD (I have multiple backup copies of everything) and create a new iTune Library (hold down Option key when launching iTunes) and copy all music files from the multiple HD locations, (this music is in iTunes Media folders) into the new iTunes Library ( home > Music > iTunes > iTunes Media > Music ) by opening the newly created iTunes and use File > "Add to Library" command.
OR
2) Delete all music files on the internal HD ( I have multiple backup copies of everything) and go to File > Library > Organize Library > Consolidate Library
Questions:
A) Will using method #1 produce different results than using method #2?
B) How do I manage or in some way control the way iTunes will operate if I choose to Consolidate Library?
I like the concept of method #1 because it feels like a clean install, something I try to do as much as possible when I'm having problems or want to make significant changes.
The reason I want to do this in the first place is my iTunes has become sluggish, taking many seconds to respond to click commands. I was told I should Consolidate Library and this will improve my iTunes performance by better organizing the music in the iTunes Library.
Concerns:
#1 I assume if I use method #1 I will loose all my Playlists, Plays and Ratings type of data. This is the downside. I can export my Playlist as XML files and reimport them to the new iTunes Library yes? That doesn't take care of my ratings info, which is probably my second most important concern.
#2 I'm leary of leaving iTunes to "Consolidate Libray" because I'm not sure exactly how iTunes will handle the 80k songs I have taken so long to load, organize, classify, re-name, add lyrics and countless other info presumably contained in the meta data. What could go missing or get mixed up?
Thanks for any advice.

You are trying to get all your music into one location on external?
Do this...
Quit iTunes.
Copy the entire /Music/iTunes folder to external drive.
Hold Option and launch iTunes.
Select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder on the external.
Go to iTunes prefs > Advanced. Make sure iTunes media folder location is set to the current iTunes folder you are using on the external.
Tick Keep iTunes media folder organized.
Tick Copy files ot iTunes media folder when adding to libary.
iTunes menu File > LIbrary > Organize library. Tick Consolidate.
Let it finishand everything in iTunes is on in the iTunes folder on the external.
You can delete Music/iTunes/ on the interanl.

Consolidate Library Error

Hi,
I'm looking to migrate my iTunes library to another hard disk on my laptop. I have followed steps on Apple's website where I reset the library location to the new drive and am now using the consolidate library function.
I'll highlight 20GB of files and select consolidate library however it trucks along for a while until it seemingly finds a file it doesn't like and iTunes hangs for 20 minutes then gives me an error message "Copying files failed. The disk could not be read from or written to.". While it's hung the copying progress bar shows the file it was supposed to be copying so I can identify the problematic song and skip that artist however I then find it hits same issue with another file along the way.
I've got about 170GB of media so it's not really practical to go through this process of bypassing files it doesn't like so I wondered if anyone has any idea why these files are causing problems for iTunes?
I have run chkdsk on both the source and destination drives and no errors came back and I don't think it's an issue with the drives as I copied a load of other stuff to the new drive without issue. The source drive is my Windows drive and I don't see any errors there.
So, I have my original library files on C: and some copied files on D:, which is now set as the library location. Can I potentially have my 'old' library as is on C: and have any new files running from D: concurrently so I've got it in two locations simulataneously? This way I can 'consolidate' what iTunes will let me copy to D: and leave anything else on C: and have any new files imported into D:, would this work?
Any help would be much appreciated.

I assume you ran chkdsk with the "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" option? One failure would be annoying to transfer would be annoying. Repeated failures suggest there may be an underlying problem with one of the disks. I'd be keen to get another drive and start backing up to it.
iTunes will work OK with the files in the split locations, but you have to manually check what can be safely deleted from drive C. Normally I'd recommend that you move the entire iTunes folder as a unit and then hold down shift as you launch iTunes to choose the library in the new location. Given that you are part way through consolidating this isn't so simple now, but see my post make a split library portable for more information.
tt2

My itunes library was on my PC. About two years ago I switched it to my Seagate server/hardrive. (itunes-preferences-advanced-change library). Last summer (2012) I bought a macbook, which seems to access the seagate server hard drive fine for word docs,

My itunes library was on my PC. About two years ago I switched it to my Seagate server/hardrive. (itunes-preferences-advanced-change library). Last summer (2012) I bought a macbook, which seems to access the seagate server hard drive fine for word docs, excel spreadsheets,etc. It also seems to have started its own library which is not complete. My PC died this summer (I still have it though).
Now when syncing any of the multiple devices (ipods,ipads, iphones) that we have with my mac book, itunes states that "an error occurred" or the "app cannot be found". Itunes wants me to erase the device and sync with my macbook. The message "The iPhone “Renee’s iPhone” is synced with another iTunes library on “Renee PC”. Do you want to erase this iPhone and sync with this iTunes library? An iPhone can be synced with only one iTunes library at a time. Erasing and syncing replaces the contents of this iPhone with the contents of this iTunes library."appears.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Renee

u can give try to using external enclosre and backup ur files. I hope u will get files back. or using external enclosre with ur hdd boot into Linux and try to mount ur harddisk.
there are multiple no of tutorial to mount apple partion in Linux.

How to consolidate library in new iTunes

Since the new iTunes with the Genius, I don't know where the option to consolidate the library is. It's really annoying, anyone know?

It has been moved, Som2k7.
In iTunes 8, go to the iTunes File menu > Library > Consolidate Library.

Consolidate Library, Not enough Space, itl files, genuius, external drive,

In the interest of putting something back, thought I would post this
Objective
To have a single iTunes Library, on a Server PC, (Windows Home Server) so that if a change is made while on PC (a) or PC (b) we see the change.
Setup
PC (a) living room
PC (b) kitchen
Windows home server, on 24 x 7
In doing this I made a number of errors, and hope you learn from this, and also found a couple of 'features' that made life harder.
Standard approach
1) in iTune preferences, alter the position where you want to store your data, so this could be
//Server/Music/iTunes/Alison/Library
You need the subdirectory as the Library is where your itunes will reside, and your internal itunes file one directory up.
This process will change pointers in te internal itunes files, but still references the music in the various locations it is stored.
2) Now go to the File Menu/ Library / Consolidate Library
This will move all your music to teh location you specified above.
At this point I ran into my first problem, despite having adequate space on the Windows Home Server (WHS) I would get the error 'not enough space to copy files'
I believe the reason I was getting this error message was that some of the files paths were over 256 chat in length. There is also a limitation in WHS on this, but I believe the issue in this case was with iTunes, not WHS.
To get around this issue, I changed the location of where I was going to consolidate all the files to, to an internal disk on the PC where my itunes library was. so Instead of;
//Server/Music/iTunes/Alison/Library
I used m:/iTunes/Alison/Library
This worked, so I had all my data (now duplicated effectively, but consolidated) on the same PC.
The reason people say use consolidate is that it makes the move easy and changes all the internal files, but as I couldn't consolidate to the location I required due to the error, I now have to move all the rest of the data manually.
3) Copy the Library file on the local PC drive to the WHS Library Directory;
Copy m:/iTunes/Alison/Library => //Server/Music/iTunes/Alison/Library
4) I then edited the internal itunes files, so that it pointed to the WHS server location. I edited the itunes internal file;
Settings\Alison\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\iTunes Music Library.xml
I did this in notepad, with a find and replace command,
Find 'm:/'
Replace '/Server/Music/
The above bit does require some thought and if you have made it this far, have a look at the xml file structure, and you will be able to figure out how to alter the path.
This has the effect of pointing the iTunes file at where the music is now stored, you can confirm this by starting iTunes and getting it to show the track it is playing in Explorer. If it is pointing at your new location you are good to go.
Remember I only had to do this, as I was unable to consolidate to the location I really wanted to go to, due to the space error.
Also note that I had 2gb memory on the machine I did the find and replace on, as Notepad is not memory friendly.
5) Apple has some other internal files that need to be corrected as well;
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Library Genius.itdb (if running genius)
iTunes Library Extras.itdb (believe is genius related)
sentinel (no idea, but saw this file !)
To get these all corrected to the new WHS (or external drive) I created a iTunes Library.itl file with zero bytes in the directory Settings\Alison\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\, did this in notepad. I then started iTunes, and it created all of the above files with the new file locations. You can't edit the above files, apple encrypts them
6) you now move all of the corrected internal files to the WHS home server location;
//Server/Music/iTunes/Alison
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Music Library.xml
iTunes Library Genius.itdb
iTunes Library Extras.itdb
sentinel
7) Now you repoint the itunes to the new location for the internal files, specifically the correct itunes library, there are a number of references on the net to do this that you press the shift key(PC) or the option key (Mac)
I am running a PC, and pressing the shift key while clicking on the itunes icon on the desktop does not work. You have to hold the shift key while starting itunes from the Start Menu, Programs, Itunes. This will then give you an option of which library to look at, and look at the library on the WHS drive (or external drive)
Thats it
Hope this helps someone who has to battle with iTunes like I did. Due to the variosu errors, size of the library (200gb) and other issues, whole process took 2 days, if doing this again would have taken a couple of hours.
DGW

Hiya, that's sweet to post what you went through!
I have a question, though - are you able to have both PCs running itunes at the same time?
When I try this, I get an error message that the ITL file is locked on the 2nd instance I try to open. I'm using an exHD, not a server.
Also - all that editng of the XML file doesn't save ratings, date added, and some other metadata. If you'd just moved the ITL file, that metadata would be intact.

Exporting iTunes library to external hd. No 'consolidate library' option?

I'm trying to move my music to an external hard drive and I'm a the step where I'm supposed to go to File - Library - Consolidate Library and I don't have a consolidate library option. All I have is: Back Up to Disk, Organize Library, and Export Library. I'm using iTunes 9. Is Export the same?

"I'm a the step where I'm supposed to go to File - Library - Consolidate Library and I don't have a consolidate library option"
It doesn't say that.
This article -> http://support.apple.com/kb/hT1751
says,
"5 Choose File > Library > Organize Library.
6 Select the option to "Consolidate files." Note: If you recently updated to iTunes 9, you might want to consider selecting the option to "Upgrade to iTunes Media organization." This updates the file organization of your iTunes Media folder."

Can't consolidate library (it disappeared in iTunes 8)

I recently download iTunes 8 and I am completely satisfied with Genius.
Thing is, now I can't consolidate my library to my external hard drive.
Anybody know what happened?
I would usually go to the top taskbar and use the consolidate library option in iTunes 7, but now, no more of that.

It's been moved to a slightly different location: File menu > Library > Consolidate Library.

Advanced, Consolidate Library

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