After transfer to new IMac "original file could not be found" (more)

The music transfers into iTunes, plays once or twice and then eventually gives me this "original file could not be found" message and takes me to finder.
Now all my music does this though. Some of it transfers and stays.
What am I doing wrong?
Thanks in advance!

I have the same problem except almost every song I bought from Itunes has this problem. Not only that, but somehow some of the music, about $125 worth has been deleted form my 3 back up discs. This is only happening with my purchases and not any songs I uploaded from cd. How on earth did this happen, and how did it wipe clean 3 different back ups? I have found some of the music where it belongs, but like I said some of them are gone, gone, gone. I run three different back ups and they are on 24/7. Where is all of this music? I still have it on my ipod, but it will not load back into itunes the way purchases used to. Some of the music is purchased straight to my ipod touch, but shouldn't i be able to reload them into itunes? I spent 3 hours going 1 song at a time reloading them from their original location. But I cannot locate about $125 worth of music that I purchased from itunes. I have 6 macs in my family and preach the good news to all who will listen about hows macs are flawless. Now I have egg all over my face and have thrown away a nice sum of money on missing music. Please help!

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After upgrade, iTunes complaints with "original file could not be found"

After upgrading to 8.2.0.23, a large number of songs now have a ! in them and if I try to play them, iTunes will say with "The song xxx could not be used because the original file could not be found." This has happened to me before but never to this large number of files.
If it were only a handful of songs it wouldn't be an issue because iTunes allows me to locate it manually, which for first time, iTunes opens the dialog in the directory where the file is. I can click on the mp3 file and that's it. Problem is that from the on, the dialog opens in the same directory as the first song, which makes it very hard to navigate to the directory where the second song is (unless it's the same album of course). Multiply that by 1000 and it's an impossible task.
I've found that the problem is neither the itl file nor the xml file. I already tried the previous itl file and the problem persists.
After comparing the files that are OK with those missing in the .xml file, I found that iTunes is somehow messing up the location tag for files with underscores in the filename. For example, 01_mysong.mp3 gets replaced to 01%20-%20mysong.mp3 in the location tag in the xml file. If use iTunes to locate the file, which as I mentioned above fixes the issue, the location tag gets updated to the correct filename and a bunch of hex numbers get added to the comments tag.
Now, if I exit iTunes and change the location tag to the correct filename in the xml file with a text editor, iTunes magically messes up the tag again when it comes up.
I tried unchecking the "Keep iTunes Music folder organized" but that didn't help.
At first I thought it was an issue with the comments tag and that only mp3 files downloaded from Amazon had the problems. It seems that ALL those songs have the problem but there are a few other songs I got from the iTunes store that are also messed up.
I have not moved any songs at all, this just happened all by itself after upgrading.
I also tried re-adding the folders where all the Amazon mp3 files are, but this created duplicate entries in the library. Unfortunately, even though the new entries do play, they don't have ratings or play count.
Is there any way I could fix this without losing my ratings and play counts and without having to manually fix every song one by one?
I'll appreciate any hint you can provide.
Thanks

I have the same problem except almost every song I bought from Itunes has this problem. Not only that, but somehow some of the music, about $125 worth has been deleted form my 3 back up discs. This is only happening with my purchases and not any songs I uploaded from cd. How on earth did this happen, and how did it wipe clean 3 different back ups? I have found some of the music where it belongs, but like I said some of them are gone, gone, gone. I run three different back ups and they are on 24/7. Where is all of this music? I still have it on my ipod, but it will not load back into itunes the way purchases used to. Some of the music is purchased straight to my ipod touch, but shouldn't i be able to reload them into itunes? I spent 3 hours going 1 song at a time reloading them from their original location. But I cannot locate about $125 worth of music that I purchased from itunes. I have 6 macs in my family and preach the good news to all who will listen about hows macs are flawless. Now I have egg all over my face and have thrown away a nice sum of money on missing music. Please help!

I have a new hard drive as my old one crashed. Everything seemed to transfer fine except for my entire iTunes library. It shows all of my old songs, but when I click on one it states "the song could not be used as the original file could not be found

I have a new hard drive as my old one crashed. Everything seemed to transfer fine except for my entire iTunes library. It shows all of my old songs, but when I click on one it states "the song could not be used as the original file could not be found.would you like to locate it".
Either how do I locate it, and I've tried every trick I know, or how do I restore all of my songs from one of two sources. I have my old hard drive backedup on an external drive which should have all of my songs, and I have most of my songs on my old iPhone 3S which I'm using as a backup iPod.

The "missing file" error happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, one of its parent folders, or the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. 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. In the case of a library moved from one system to another there are also potential permissions issues. See Repair security permissions for iTunes for Windows.
Select a track with an exclamation mark, use Ctrl-I to Get Info, then click No when asked to try to locate the track. (Due to a bug in iTunes 12 you currently have to say No twice!) 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, a folder renamed, or a drive letter has changed, it should be possible to reverse the actions. If the difference between the two paths is an additional Music folder in one path then this is a layout issue. I can explain further if that is the case.
In some cases iTunes may be able to repair itself if you go through the same steps with Get Info but this time click Locate and browse to the lost track. It may then offer to attempt to automatically fix other broken links.
If another application like Windows Media Player has moved/renamed the files then the chances are that subtle differences in naming strategies will make it hard to restore the media to the precise path that iTunes is expecting. In such cases, as long as the missing files can be found somewhere, you should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes. See this post for an explanation of how it works.
See also Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

This is a new notification coming up with iTunes, why and how do I fix it? The song "Penny Lane" could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?

This is a new notification coming up with iTunes, why and how do I fix it?
The song “Penny Lane” could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?
Max

Hey xxCreepyFiaxx,
First, I would try the following suggested steps for when you don't see content in iTunes after updating:
Quit iTunes.
Download and install the latest version of iTunes.
Use the Finder (Mac) or Windows Explorer (Windows) to go to the iTunes folder that contains the iTunes library files:
Mac OS X
/Users/username/Music/iTunes/
Microsoft Windows Windows XP and Windows 2000
\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Music\iTunes\
Microsoft Windows Windows Vista and Windows 7
\Users\username\Music\iTunes\
Drag the iTunes Library file from the above location to the Desktop.
Open the Previous iTunes Libraries folder in the iTunes folder.
Locate the file named iTunes Library YYYY-MM-DD where YYYY-MM-DD is the date you upgraded iTunes (Year-Month-Day).
Drag this file to the iTunes folder (the enclosing folder).
Rename this file to iTunes Library.
Open iTunes.
You should now see your missing content in iTunes.
via: No content shows up in iTunes after updating
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1967
If that doesn't resolve the issue, then I'd go through the steps in here:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Have a good one,
Delgadoh

Recently bought a new computer and all my music appears in iTunes as well as on my computer in a saved folder. When I try to play the music in iTunes I get an error that reads"the song could not be used because the original file could not be found."

Recently bought a new computer and all my music appears in iTunes as well as on my computer in a saved folder. When I try to play the music in iTunes I get an error that reads"the song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" Hope you can help me solve this issue.
Thanks,
Shellyboo

This happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. 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 should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

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.

i installed itunes to my new computer and transfered all my playlist from the older computer. the software came with the new computer hp link up. the problem
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.

I downloaded the new version of iTunes and now over 100 songs have an exclamation mark beside them and won't play. The message says: "The song ... could not be used because the original file could not be found." How do I get these songs back?

I downloaded the new version of iTunes and now over 100 songs have an exclamation mark beside them and won't play. The message says: "The song ... could not be used because the original file could not be found." How do I get these songs back?

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

Got a new computer now I'm getting a new error "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"

So i got a new computer and before i did i backed up al my music onto an external hard drive. I downloaded itunes and went to put my music back on and when I unplug my hard drive i get this message "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?". I have close to 3500 songs so its a little annoying that i cant update or sync my ipod/iphone. Are there any tips or tricks you could help me with in order to fix this problem

Here is the folder hierarchy of my /Home/Music/folder:
Music folder
iTunes folder
iTunes Media folder
Music folder
Note that the contents of this last folder in the hierarchy will be different on your computer.

Recently got a new computer and installed itunes from external drive - all music shows up in the library, however when i click on a song i receive this message "the song could not be used because the original file could not be found". What do i do?

I recently got a new computer and installed itunes from which had been saved onto an external drive - all music shows up in the library, however when I click on a song I receive this message "the song "abc" could not be used because the original file could not be found". What can I do?

I was given the 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.
Martin

After my last itunes update, I get an "Original file could not be found" message. Does anyone else have this problem?

After my last itunes update, I cannot play my music on my PC. I get an "original file could not be found message." Has anyone else had this problem?

If you post back the two paths I may be able to suggest an easy fix
(that would not have created duplicates).
Oh well...
Apple's official advice is here... HT2905 - How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls, such as lost ratings and playlist membership.
Use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items to display duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.
Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.
(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed)
tt2

"DSCF0019.RAF" could not be used because the original file could not be found. Why is this occuring on my iMac with Lightroom 5?

“DSCF0019.RAF” could not be used because the original file could not be found.
Why is this occuring on my iMac with Lightroom 5?
Is there something I've done that causes some images to go missing?

Why is this occuring
The usual reason is because you moved the file to another location using Finder. No way for LR to know that unless you tell it by clicking on the exclamation mark icon in the grid view and then clicking "Locate".

Since i download the new version of i tunes i canot play the songs of my library...it say that "the song could not be used because the original file could not be found" what i do to just play the songs directly? please someone help

since i download the new version of i tunes i canot play the songs of my library....it say "the song could not be used because the original file could not be found".
would you like to locate it.i just want to play directly..what i do? please help thanks

This happens if the file is no longer where iTunes expects to find it. Possible causes are that you or some third party tool has moved, renamed or deleted the file, or that the drive it lives on has had a change of drive letter. 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 should be able to use my FindTracks script to reconnect them to iTunes .
tt2

After installing iTunes 10.5 update i get the following message when trying to play any song in my Library "The song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" how do i fix this??

I have an iPod Classic and work on Windows 7.
i recently installed iTunes 10.5 update and since then i cannot play any of the songs in the Library - i get the following message
"The song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?"
what happened to all my songs (almost 2000) How can i get them back into my music library?
Please help - i do not want to spend another week downloading all my cd's onto my computer !!!!!

Try my script FindTracks. Select a few of the missing files to start with then run the script. Choose No at the first prompt so that you can check how it works track by track, then confirm or edit the location of the media folder where your files are. Once you are happy with how it behaves let it process larger numbers of tracks automatically.
tt2

Can someone please tell me the cause of the msg-The song could not be used because the original file could not be found- and how I might correct that problem?

Can anyone please tell me the cause of the msg-The song" " could no be used
because the original file could not be found-and how I might correct that problem? Lou

I stupidly tried to copy my music files to an external drive so I could transfer them to my new iMac (old Macbook Pro is being retired). I now know I should've tried home sharing or something to transfer the music.
Anyway, the situation I am in is that I have not managed to transfer anything and I now cannot access the music on my old Macbook Pro either! I have the message "the song 'xyz' could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?". I understand that this is because iTunes cannot locate the files. When I try to locate the files I find nothing.
I have tried searching my whole Macbook Pro for mp3 files and m4a files and Spotlight cant find any! The tracks are all still listed in iTunes. I also searched the external hard drive. I definitely haven't deleted anything. So where could they have gone and is there anything else I can do to search for them? I have a feeling I am just not searching for them in the right way because I have not deleted anything.
Old computer is Macbook Pro OS X 10.6.8 with iTunes 10.4.1
New computer is iMac OS X 10.7.2 with iTunes 10.5
All I want to do is to set everything back to how it was so I can try the transfer a better way.
Please help. Thanks, Dashford.

"The song could not be used because the original file could not be found"

Hello,
I purchased the new iPhone 3G 16gb White on friday afternoon at the local AT&T store(they were all sold out,of course),so i went ahead and ordered it for gauranteed delivery within 7 to 10 days.It says to be sure and sync you're old iPhone once more before coming back to AT&T to have the iPhone 3G set up to be installed and turned on.
So i figured i would upgrade my iTunes to 7.7 and upgrade the software to 2.0 before i get my new phone,that way i will be ready when it comes in.
I was just doing what the apple website said to do and went ahead and tried to upgrade to iTunes 7.7,which worked out good,EXCEPT that now all the music has an exclamation point next to it and nothing will play because the original file could not be found.I know i'm not the first here to have this problem,but i cant find a post that explains what procedure i need to do to fix it so i can play my music on iTunes again.
I have my iTunes music folder located on an external hard drive (Drive i ). It used to be Drive H,but i plugged in an SD Memory card into the front panel of my computer tower and now my external hard drive is recognized as being on Drive i. How could that have changed?
I have it on a 500 gb external drive,because my C & D drives are both almost filled up and i wouldn't have enough room to put all my cd's into iTunes if they were on those drives.
I have an iPod Classic 160gb that i want to fill once i get all my cd's into itunes.
Anyways,when it asked me what drive to put iTunes under when i was installing it,i chose the "i" drive.That is where my iTunes music folder is located with almost 10 gigs of music in it.
But now when i go to play anything it wont play as it can't locate the music.
Sorry for rambling on so much.Just trying to explain,in detail,what my setup is so someone with knowledge can instruct me as to what to do to fix it.
Thank's for the help ahead of time,
Dan

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?

After transfer to new IMac "original file could not be found" (more)

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