ALL my MPEG files have DISSAPEARED! Exclamation Point appears instead.

so, today i pressed play on a song and instead of hearing it i got an alert saying that the song cannot be found. and now theres an exclemation point next to the track number. It's doing this with ALL my mp3's! Even the songs that i wrote myself!
any ideas?

I have this problem too. What I found is that some process has gone out and literally rearranged the files on my hard drive. Where they used to be arranged by album, now there are hundreds of new folders with one or two songs in each.
I know that Windows Media Player can rearrange files, but I have that preference turned off, and this isn't the way WMP rearranges them in any case.
This is really kind of a disaster. iTunes has lost half of my collection, and many of the folders have custom IDtags. If I find out that iTunes is what rearranged them, and that it can't even keep track of its own shuffling, I'll be most annoyed.
Otherwise, what else is actually moving files around on my hard drive?

Similar Messages

After downloading itunes on my new computer all of my songs have an exclamation point in front of them and it says the song could not be used because the original file could not be found. How do I fix this?

After downloading itunes on my new computer all of my songs have an exclamation point in front of them and it says the song could not be used because the orginal file could not be found. How do I fix this?

Hey waltee911,
It sounds like you're seeing something similar to this picture:
If that's the case, the following article has troubleshooting steps to solve the issue:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
Sincerely,
Delgadoh

Hi, All my music files have an exclamation mark on the left and when I tunes asks me to locate a window opens with I Tunes folders but I still cant see my music library . What can i do? Thanks

Hi, All my music files have an exclamation mark on the left and when I tunes asks me to locate a window opens with I Tunes folders but I still cant see my music library . What can i do? Thanks

The red exclamation mark indicates that itunes cannot find your files.
Are the music files still on your harddrive. Look n Finder
Username/Music/iTunes/iTunes Media
If the files are there then keep the option key pressed and open iTunes. A dialog box will open asking you to choose your library. Select Choose and then navigate to the Music/iTunes Folder and click OK

My entire iTunes library is deleted, all of my songs have the exclamation point next to them, and the original library file is gone, what can I do to get my music back?

So while trying to make extra room on my hard drive, I accidently put my iTunes library in the trash, and emptied it, every song in my library can not be located, and I don't have Time Machine.

Take a look at this link, https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141

HT1199 My iTunes music list all have the exclamation point. I do not know how to find the files to restore the music. Any advice?

All the songs in my iTunes have the exclamation point. I do not know how to find location of the music...any suggestions?

Ok, your music could be in one of a coupel formats, MP3 or, more likely, Apples AAC format, which has a m4a prefix. Open Finder. Hold Command and press F, this will open a search window in the top of Finder. Type mp3 here, let it search. If it finds your music files, double tap on one and "open Enclosing Folder" That should show you where they are at. If nothing is found, try searching m4a instead. One of the two should show you where your music is.

I accidently click on ''Import the list'' but now all the music have an exclamation point I think they are all in Musique.txt on the desk... How can i take back these music on my library? I tried : Import the list and take Music.txt , but it do not work

I accidently click on ''Import the list'' but now all the music have an exclamation point I think they are all in Musique.txt on the desk... How can i take back these music on my library? I tried : Import the list and take Music.txt , but it do not work

Ok, I had a glitch, forced to restart, and lost my train of thought.
Reinstalling iTunes should fix the major issue that might have gone wrong, perhaps your explaination points will disappear and everything will be peachy again.
But if they don't, you can open the XML file in iTunes Folder using a Text edit program to see what the common pathname is to the iTunes Music folder or where your content is located.
If you moved the itunes folder, it needs to go back.
I can't download iTunes to my Vista virtual machine to test it out right now because iTunes is down, so I can't verify the pathname, perhaps your issue and the iTunes being down are related somehow?
You don't want to import all your music again, but it's a option, but you lose all your playlists, that's what I'm trying to recover.
If oyu don't have a whole lot of playlists, then simply select all the explaimation point music and delete, select File from the menu and import your itunes folder again.

When I look at my I tunes library on the computer I have a exclamation point next to a bunch of my songs and apps when I click on them it says that the original file couldnt be found. How do I go about finding out where the original file is and correct th

when I look at my I tunes library on my computer I have an exclamation point next to some of the songs and apps. when I click on this it tells me the original file couldnt be found. How do I go about finding the original file to correct this?

See this article: iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
B-rock

I purchased songs and they now have and exclamation point next to them and says it can't find the file.

Many, many songs won't play that I have previously purchased from Itunes...They have an exclamation point and says the file is corrupt or has been moved, Ican locate the files, but they won't play...Will Itunes let me redownload at no charge or am I expected to pay again. Why is this happening?

I'm not sure if your account actually has to be connected to iCloud, but you can redownload previous purchases through it.
This page details how to do that.
If it turns out an iCloud account is required and yours isn't one, I'm sure you could connect your account to iCloud now and it'd work just fine. I know I had a few songs appear on my purchase list from long before I connected mine.

HT1589 problems with itunes after updating..can't locate some of my songs..some have an exclamation point beside them how do i get these songs back in my itunes

I'm having problems with itunes after updating. I've lost all my playlists,,finally played around with it and got the songs back but some have an exclamation point beside them and can't be located. they are songs i've purchased. I'm not very computer literate so this is a major problem. I have spent hours with this. I just want all my songs to play even though I'm not happy that I have to recreate my playlists. It would be so much easier if I knew and understood how to correct this. Has anyone else had this problem and if so..is there an easy way to correct it?

Not sure how this is an ipod touch question.
Perhaps you should post in the itunes forum.

I was reviewing my list of songs in my library "on my I-Pod". I noticed that a few of the songs on the list have an Exclamation Point in front of the track, and the track won't play. How do I get rid of the Exclamation Point so that the track will play.

I was reviewing my list of songs in my library "on my I-Pod". I noticed that a few of those tracks on the list have an Exclamation Point in front of the track and will not play. How do I get rid of the Exclamation Point so that the track will play.

Hello enrique a.
Instead of trying to re-invent the wheel on this one, take a look at an article such as this one to help you take care of these exclamations. Basically, it means iTunes is unable to locate the file on your computer anymore.
http://ipod.about.com/od/itunesproblems/qt/Fixing-The-Itunes-Exclamation-Point.h tm
B-rock

Big problem..files have dissapeared.. and itunes libary damaged!

hey every one. this is my first Mac and im not too good at using it to start with.
but it seems that my files, mainly pictures and music files, have dissapeared. also my itunes libary went, and when i go to click on the libary file, it makes a new one called "damaged 1" 2.. 3.. and so on.
its pretty annoying when i dont know how to fix these computers, and when all your music from years of collecting it has gone..
so if any one had any ideas, i would be really greatful, as im so lost and im missing listening to my music.. justgot a new iopd.. and cant use it! doh!
thanks!

bump

Why do some of my songs have an exclamation point in Itunes? When I try to play it gives an error message that it can be located?

Why do some of my songs have an exclamation point in Itunes? When I try to play it gives an error message that it can be located?

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 am using Photoshop Elements 11. Do all .jpg formatted file have to be retangular in shape? I want to create an oval .jpg picture to insert into a book. Haven't been able to do so. It would work if I could make the area outside the oval completely tr

I am using Photoshop Elements 11. Do all .jpg formatted file have to be retangular in shape? I want to create an oval .jpg picture to insert into a book. Haven't been able to do so. It would work if I could make the area outside the oval completely transparent. Can anyone help me here?

JPG does not support transparency, so even if you create an oval with transparent background, the saved JPG will have white background. Instead, save it as a PNG, TIFF, or GIF which preserve the transparency.
Here is one of many ways to create your oval:
Create a new file the approximate size of the oval. Add the oval with the Custom Shape Ellipse tool, and simplify the shape layer.
In the Layers Palette, Ctrl-click the oval to select it and copy the selection to the clipboard (Edit > Copy).
Then do File > New from Clipboard. This creates the oval with transparent background cropped to the oval size.
Then save it as one of the file types that support transparency (and also supported by the application where you are sending the picture to).
Note: Is is not even necessary to do step 2. That is only if some reason you want the oval to be tightly cropped. It is sufficient to delete the Background layer in step 1 (or turn off its visibility) and save the file. The oval will appear correctly in the book with either version.

Exclamation mark appears instead of photo. Recently upgraded from i mac to Macbook air and all was transferred over. I have run all the repair and rebuild functions in iphoto. Any other solution?

Exclamation mark appears instead of photo. Recently upgraded from i mac to Macbook air and all was transferred over. I have run all the repair and rebuild functions in iphoto. Any other solution?

Since iPLM failed to help try the following:
Starting over from scratch with new library
Start over with a new library and import the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from your original library as follows:
1. Open the library package like this.
2. Launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and, when asked, select the option to create a new library.
3. Drag the subfolders of the Originals (iPhoto 09 and earlier) or the Masters (iPhoto 11) folder from the open iPhoto Library package into the open iPhoto window a few at a time.
This will create a new library with the same Events (but not necessarily the same Event names) as the original library but will not keep the metadata, albums, books slideshows and other projects.
Note: your current library will be left untouched for further attempts at a fix if so desired.
OT

TS3212 over 100 of my songs stored in my library have an exclamation point next to them. When I click on the song it says that the song will not be downloaded to my phone because the original song cannot be found, and would I like to locate it? I need h

Over 100 of my songs in my itunes library have an exclamation point next to them. When I attempt to sync them with my phone it says that the song cannot be synced because it cannot locate the original song? Do I want to locate it? Can anyone help me figure out where my music is on my computer and where to locate it and how to send it back to itunes?

See this article: iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
B-rock

ALL my MPEG files have DISSAPEARED! Exclamation Point appears instead.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for