All songs got exclamation marks next to them after organizing media folder and consolidating

I don't know what to do anymore. After hours of moving things around in my media folder with all my songs in it and then consolidating (which is what I thought I was supposed to do, nearly all of my songs now have "!" marks next to them and I fear that I lost all my music.
Does anybody have any idea what I can do?

Hi there, moving your files about manually tends to get iTunes confused. I have written some scripts which have previously had some success in finding things for some people, while being no help for others. It all depends on how disimilar the structure you've created is from the standard one.
Coincidentally I've been revisiting this topic today and I've uploaded a new script called FindTracks which I'm hoping may do a better job than my previous script for the task. Currently it can make a good stab at finding tracks in both the "new" (iTunes 9 or later) or "old" layouts of the media media folder, misfiled as a compilation or vice-versa, with or without track or disc numbers and when the folder names may have been truncated. I've also got ideas to extend it with a fuzzy matching mechanism to cope better if/when files have been reoganised by say Windows Media Player which generally uses longer file & folder names and has different substitution rules for characters that can't be used in file & folder names.
If you're interested in the script, download it and test it out on a few tracks first. Yse the No option to manually confirm each path that it wants to fix until you're sure it behaves as you want it to. If it can't find your tracks I'd be grateful if you can give me some an example locations so I can tweak up the script to make it work better.
tt2

Similar Messages

When I view "On this iPod" on my iTunes, nearly half my songs have an exclamation mark next to them. Does this mean I have to go back, download these songs again and upload them to my iPod again?

I've never had this problem before but today, when I connected my iPod to my computer and uploaded some new music to it, I finished and ejected the iPod properly but about 6GB of music was missing. So I connected it again and when I went on to "On This iPod", the songs that were missing were named on there but had an exclamation mark next to them. Why is this and how do I fix it?

I posted this in the iPhone forum seeing someone had an issue there about this. I had the exact same issue but with my iPad. It was really annoying. I had to delete all the songs in iTunes that it thought were still on my iPad, but weren't. Then I was able to manually put the songs back onto the iPad. If I didn't delete the songs with the exclamation point, then the syncing was very slow and sometimes would freeze when "waiting for changes to be applied".
About a third of my music was deleted (about 6GB) and so were some of my videos. I updated to the most recent iTunes too. I've never had this issue before and did take a lot of time. I'm running Windows 8.1 (I know - has many issues) and I wondered if that maybe did something?
I don't think you have any option than to delete the songs with the exclamation points and put them back on the device. Hopefully Apple will figure out the issue - ios 7.0.3 or the new iTunes.

My last computer died, but we've been able to transfer my files onto an external hard drive to put onto my new computer.I have now got exclamation marks next to 100 songs which I downloaded from Frostwire years ago. How can I fix this?

After my brother transferred all my files from my old computer to an external hard drive, he then put them onto my new computer. It appears that 100 songs which I downloaded from Frostwire years ago have the exclamation mark next to them. I cannot find the files on my new computer, and cannot remember where they were saved to on my old computer as it was over 3 years ago. I have also tried to consolidate the files as I've found people suggested, but that is not working. I have also read that you should tell itunes that you are moving the music, but my old laptop cannot be read when it is on. Is there any other way tofix this issue? I don't want to have to buy over 100 songs which I already have.

After my brother transferred all my files from my old computer to an external hard drive, he then put them onto my new computer. It appears that 100 songs which I downloaded from Frostwire years ago have the exclamation mark next to them. I cannot find the files on my new computer, and cannot remember where they were saved to on my old computer as it was over 3 years ago. I have also tried to consolidate the files as I've found people suggested, but that is not working. I have also read that you should tell itunes that you are moving the music, but my old laptop cannot be read when it is on. Is there any other way tofix this issue? I don't want to have to buy over 100 songs which I already have.

HT1751 I successfully captured a recent itunes library, but then all the songs have "!" marks next to them and won't play. I have thousands of songs in multi folders of my external hard drive, surely there is a way to auto locate all songs on my hard driv

My desktop PC recently crashed and I'm trying to recapture all of my iTunes library playlist and songs. I was able to successfully capture the library, however when I tried to play a song, all have the exclamation mark "!" on them and ask that I locate the song. I successfully located some, but there has to be an automatic way to do this, rather than finding each one. I have thousands of songs located in multiple folders of my exteernal hard drive and need a way to find all songs automatically. Can someone help? Thanks!

This "original file cannot be found" thing 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

Songs stored in the cloud have a exclamation mark next to them??

I want to cancel my subscription to iTunes Match and need to download all my songs (over 10,000).
The problem is, that there is an exclamation mark next to 90% of the songs stored on iTunes Match.
In order for me to download a song I have to double click the track with the exclamation mark, which gives me this error message:
'The song “SONG NAME” could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?'
and then click cancel. Only then will the song show a cloud icon with an arrow and the song will begin to play and I can choose to download it.
This will take forever to double click every song one at a time and press cancel to the error message. Is there a way to have iTune recognize the songs on iTunes Match only, and not on my computer?
Im using the newest version of iTunes (12). Any help is appreciated.

PERFECT! This is exactly what I was trying to do. Now everything is available for download. Thanks Jimz!
One more thing to mention....I tried updating the tags with the files set in their location on my hard drive, in hopes that it would push those updated tags to the Match library. But in reality, it is the opposite. When you update the ID3 tags this way , it is only updating the locally stored file's information. Once the server syncs with iTunes Match, the local copy you just edited is overwritten with the the songs ID3 it had when originally uploaded to Match.
The only way I found to get around this is to move the local copy (not delete from within iTunes because it will just re-reference the local file once you select or play the song from the Match Library) , and then directly update the ID3 tag which was originally uploaded to iTunes Match.
The iTunes Match server seemingly has a file structuring system as with local iTunes (aka, the same problem I was having) because even if you delete the iTunes Match file/song, edit the local ID tag, then re-upload the same file again with the new tag information that you changed, it still remembers the old version of the file's information that you just deleted. Hence, iTunes Match's one of many Wonkinesses.
I tried every other possible way to update the ID3 tags and that was the only way that nothing was becoming overwritten in the syncing process.
For anyone reading this, your best bet is too 100% have your ID3 tags the way you want them before uploading anything to Match. If not, youre going to have a **** of a fun time changing anything afterwards. Unfortunately, I did not figure this out until after I uploaded 1000s of songs.
Thanks again for all your help!

How do i group all songs with exclamation marks

How can I get all of those songs (that show exclamation marks following consolidating files) to group so that i can delete enmasse

Not easily, use iTunes Folder Watch and set it's option to check for dead tracks on start-up.
tt2

Windows 7 gadgets not displaying properly. Black squares or don't appear at all with blue exclamation marks next to it.

My gadgets on Windows 7 have suddenly stopped working properly since 2 days ago. I have tried:
System restore
UAC is ON
cmd scannow (no results),
tried the registry thing, didn't work either.
How to fix this?
That's how it looks...
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/Katjushka_/fuckedgadgets.jpg

I do not personally recommend the alternate work-around of deleting any registry keys and/or reducing any of your internet security zones. I have found fixes to it in a more secure way below, as I consolidated and cleaned up countless snips from many
forums all over the place (cited sources of where I could remember I found the concepts); Here's my research notes: full disclaimers, hold me harmless, and always backup first!
IE11 BUG:
This bug in the public release version of Internet Explorer 11 (aka IE 11 aka IE11 RTM gold release) causes Windows 7 Gadgets to bug out.
Specifically, with IE11 installed on Windows 7, due to a bug in IE11, increasing DPI past 110% triggers SOME of the Gadgets to glitch, bug out, completely disappear, etc. This bug can be worked-around and "fixed" by modifying its Sidebar gadget.xml
<autoscaleDPI>... described in detail below.
This bug is irrelevant to Windows 8 / 8.1 because Microsoft removed the beloved Gadgets entirely in Win8 due to so many third-party evilware writers embedding malware into their "free" downloaded Gadgets (note to the best of my current knowledge,
using the standard Microsoft Gadgets included with Windows 7 are all perfectly safe).
To reiterate, notice the following Microsoft article is only talking about potential malware in third-party downloaded Gadgets, and specifically I do NOT see where it mentions any problems using any of the official Microsoft build-in Windows 7 gadgets, cited
from: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/dn261332
BUG FIX:
Option 1: Set DPI back to 100% Smaller Fonts (default) or maximum 110% and the Gadgets come back to life and work fine upon relog.
Option 2: If you need greater than 110% DPI, and want Gadgets to work, then... For each broken Gadget, modify its protected file: gadget.xml   (as detailed below).
FIRST, TEMPORARILY CHANGE DPI BACK TO 100% (DEFAULT) JUST SO YOU CAN SEE THE HIDDEN/GLITCHED GADGETS IN ORDER TO FIX THEM.
Note as a side-effect, after the "fixed" Gadgets in question come back they may look smaller in comparison with the ones that were not affected by the DPI bug (because this fix locks their DPI at default 100% whereas your others are dynamically changed).
Located in: C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Gadgets
Inside that folder, find the glitched Gadget you want to fix, go into its specific folder, and edit its gadget.xml, Remove the following tag completely:
<autoscaleDPI>true</autoscaleDPI>
Deleting that tag from the gadget.xml file resolves the issue even if the DPI is set to 125%. Setting the tag to allow autoscale doesn't help. BE CAREFUL not to leave a blank line!
Concepts:
1. Make backup of effected gadget.xml somewhere
2. Task Manager -> End Process of "sidebar.exe" to unlock all Gadget's files
3. Take temporary ownership and give yourself RW permission to modify Gadget's files
4. Put all Gadget file ownership and RW permissions back to "TrustedInstaller" for security
5. Change DPI and relog to relaunch Gadgets
Details:
From Security Tab in Properties of file you want to change >>Click Advanced >>Select Owner >>Click Edit >>Click Other users or Groups >>Click Advanced >>Click Find Now, make yourself owner, then add write access for yourself.
Launch NOTEPAD or similar editor as ADMIN, to modify the gadget.xml file (the folder structure itself is still permissions-protected, but I strongly suggest you leave that alone and just use admin for editing this one file this one time)
Put Ownership and all permissions back to what they were (First, set read-only for everyone EXCEPT leave RW alone for the TrustedInstaller service, and THEN set Owner back to TrustedInstaller).
NOTE: TrustedInstaller does not exist in the "visible" users and groups as it runs as an NT Service. Don't panic. To restore its special ownership:
    Right mouse button click on the file and choose Properties
    Click Security tab
    Click Advanced button
    Click Owner tab
    Click Edit button
    Click Other User or Group and type in: NT SERVICE\TrustedInstaller
    Search and click Ok on all dialogs until all property dialogs are closed etc.
Cited from http://blogs.msdn.com/irenak/archive/2007/01/30/sysk-277-how-to-bring-back-the-trustedinstaller.aspx
Double-confirm you set all regular users and groups permissions are reverted defaults back to what they were (read-only), and the *ONLY* Owner/RW is TrustedInstalled, to lock it back down for security reasons! E.G. to avoid future vulnerability!
To test:
I fixed my Clock gadget.xml but left the Calendar alone. Changed DPI to 125% and relog off/on and notice Clock now works, but yes it looks slightly smaller than the working Calendar Gadget which isn't effected by this bug. Repeat process for Calender
if you want it smaller to match, but it works fine bigger. Repeat this process for all of your favorite broken Gadgets using IE11 on Windows 7.
Notes:
1.) Personally I view this as a work-around not a true fix, but considering Microsoft officially discontinued Gadgets as mentioned earlier, it's possible this bug may take a very long time, if ever, to be officially fixed.
2.) IE11 also bugs out a lot of other things such as Outlook 2003 spellcheck, and other general software compatibility issues, especially in Windows 7, so it's probable that some or all of IE11's bugs should be eventually fixed in the future - thereby as a
side effect may also officially fix Gadgets some day too.
3.) Other concepts cited here: http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/ie/en-US/448f9665-c043-48d2-9049-b74131bab7b1/gadgets-not-working-with-ie11-win7-pro-sp1-not-win81-preview?forum=iewebdevelopment
Good luck!

How-to find all songs with exclamation mark?

Hi,
Is it possible to have iTunes show all songs for which it can't find the file? The external hard disk with all the songs failed and I want to verify that I have restored all of the library.
Regards,
Al Malin
iMac 17 Flat Panel w/Super Dr Mac OS X (10.4.8) iTunes 7.0.1

Here's a few scripts which should help.
Super Remove Dead Tracks v1.5
Bring Out Yer Dead v1.1
Fix Broken Tracks
iTunes Track CPR v1.3
List MIAs v1.2
Remove Dead Tracks v1.1

HT4527 After I transfered my music from my old PC to my MacBook Pro using an external hard drive, all of my songs appear with an exclamation mark next to them saying the song could not be used because the original file could not be found. Help?

These are all the songs that I have purchased. I'm panicing! I feel like I did everything right with the transfer but maybe not. I need help!

Read this post and do the migration again, putting the library in a portable shape first if necessary.
tt2

Songs + adapter + exclamation marks

Hi, a few days ago, I had to move alll of my songs from "My Computer" to an adapter. Well, as I expected, all of my songs had exclamation marks next to them. Today, I took 6+ hours to "restore" all of them. But when I unplugged the adapter, it all became exclamation marks again! Ugh! So then I deleted all of my songs and added them from the adapter. It worked, until I unplugged my adapter again. The problem is, I only have 2 USB plug-ins, one for my mouse, and one for anything else. Well I need to plug in my ipod connector/cord AND the adapter, but it's not possible. Help? Since I have all those exclamation marks, I officially have NO SONGS AT ALL ON MY IPOD. They do show on my iTunes, but since they're "relocated", I can't upload them.
Please help. I feel like I'm going to die, I already wasted a DAY doing this, and it's just.. VERY VERY FRUSTRATING!!!!!!!

I had to move alll of my songs from "My Computer" to an adapter.
By "adaptor" I assume you mean an external hard drive? An "adaptor" is usually defined as +"a device for connecting pieces of equipment that cannot be connected directly."+ It's not a storage device.
Anyhow, if you are storing your music on an ext hard drive you must keep it connected at all times otherwise iTunes loses track of the songs files and hence the ! next to them.
You need a USB hub that will allow you to connect several USB devices into one USB port on your computer.

Exclamation marks next to songs, but I can no longer find them on my harddrive

I have a Win 7 laptop and an old 30GB ipod. Both iTunes and iPod software are up to date. I download songs from CDs that I own and they appear in the proper iTunes folder. However, after I sync my ipod, many of these songs suddenly get an exclamation mark next to them in iTunes and I can no longer find these songs on my hard drive anywhere. In some cases, only a couple songs from a CD get the exclamation mark and disappear and in other cases it is the entire CD. Why is this happening and where are the songs that I downloaded? These is happening over and over. What is the fix?

This means iTunes can't find the location of the files. Try these articles:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1967?viewlocale=en_US
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1408?viewlocale=en_US
Hope these helps my friend.

HELP linking songs to ext HD - moved music folder - got Exclamation marks

I moved my music folder to an ext HD per the Apple article. Songs in my library have exclamation marks next to them & cannot be automatically located by iTunes. I can access them manually, but am looking for a way to correct whatever I did wrong that killed the link to my library & make the exclamation marks go away.
Thanks!
PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.10)

A library is everything in the iTunes folder. Was the whole folder copied? If not, you only transferred media, not the whole library.
You do not tell iTunes where to find media by changing the preferences settings. You tell iTunes where to find media by either adding it to iTunes in the first place or by letting iTunes move the media. Changing preferences settings only tells iTunes where to put media from that point on.
What are the iTunes library files? - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1660
More on iTunes library files and what they do - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITunes#Media_management
What are all those iTunes files? - http://www.macworld.com/article/139974/2009/04/itunes_files.html
Where are my iTunes files located? - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1391
iTunes 9 [and later]: Understanding iTunes Media Organization - http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3847
What do you want on the external drive? The whole library, or only media?
Typically if you break the links to all files by moving the media folder to another drive in Finder iTunes will ask you to find a file. It will then offer to find others (takes some time). If it did not offer to do this or that didn't work then you have a non-standard folder structure and you are best off using your backup to restore everything and go back to the beginning and move it properly (we can help you with that). If you don't have a backup then it will take some effort to rebuild your library file and some data will be lost (ratings, date added, playcounts).

(!) Exclamation marks next to my music (!)

In my iTunes library there are a few songs that have exclamation marks next to them. Does anyone know what these marks mean.

Hi and welcome to the discussions.
The ! mark means iTunes cannot find the file. have you moved or deleted any files from outside of iTunes?
If you double click on the file you get the option to locate it yourself, so if the file is still there then you could do that.
Phil

Exclamation marks next to songs

I have a 33,000 song iTunes library stored on an external 1Tb USB2 drive that is permanently connected to my 20" Intel Core Duo iMac running the latest version of Leopard and iTunes. I keep getting exclamation marks next to songs and when I choose to loacted them thye are in the correct place. Sometimes its whole albums or one or two individual songs. Can anyone reccomend anyway to remdy this situation?
Message was edited by: Scott Ronan

Hi You are not the only one with this problem it seems that there are quite a few similar posts on this subject and no answers rather than going through one by one (no Thanks) or deletimg all files in iTunes and reloading over night (No Thanks!). This also means I will loose all my playlists!
Please Apple answer this or remedy some kind of Playlist save!

I tunes: I have exclamation mark next to songs i can listen to...

Hi everyone.
Well, i read and read and read and got tired of looking.
Itunes shows me an exclamation mark next to song i JUST added to the library and tried to copy into my iphone. The exclamation mark appears next to the song name on my iphone display, but not on the itunes library. So, the result is i can listen to the songs on itunes, but itunes won't copy them into my phone.
Evidently, it's not a problem of "file not found", because if that were the case, itunes would not be able to reproduce the music.
I've been having problems trying to copy music into my iphone 5s.
Please, i do not want to reset my phone to factory settings or whatever, i feel this whole thing is a terrible waste of time. There has to be a solution.
I tried syncronizing music and accepting the reset of my phone's library, but the result was the only songs i have in my phone now are the ones i bought on itunes.
I'm preety upset, i feel like this should be easier, if not, i will eventually switch to android...
Can anyone help me?

Hi melisb3,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
I know issues with iTunes music can be frustrating. In this situation it does sound like there is an issue with the location of your music on your computer. Please use the attached article as a guide for troubleshooting.
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads - Apple Support
Have a great day,
Joe

All songs got exclamation marks next to them after organizing media folder and consolidating

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for