Apparent file miscounts after moving itunes library

prior to moving my itunes library from my Imac to an external - Itunes registered that I had 24,000 music files. After the move it says i have only 16000. When I check properties in the new folder it says I have 24000 files too. The size is off by 12 GB also - itunes says 105 GB. Folder says 116GB

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After moving itunes library paths are still set to old drive

I have moved my itunes library from my hard drive to a network connected NAS drive. The problem I'm finding is that itunes now can't find the songs in the library as they still show (when looking at 'Get info') the path to the old location).
I have done the following:
1 copied all song files in the 'itunes music' folder as well as the files in the folder above (including 'itunes library.itl' and 'itunes library.xml') to the new location
2 Checked the boxes in Edit > Preferences > Advanced that read 'Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized' and 'Copy Files to ITunes Media folder when adding to library'.
3 Changed the iTunes Media Folder location to the new location (the same folder as the 'itunes library.itl' file is held.
4 Re-started iTunes while holding the shift button so that I can 'choose' the library, then browsed to the new location and selected the 'itunes library.itl' file in the new location.
None of this has any effect. This is what I've noticed:
a - The individual files cannot be found and when I right click and choose 'get info' it shows that the path is still set to the old location
b - The 'itunes library.xml' file still shows links to the old path for each of the individual songs.
c - I can manually 'point' the songs individually to the new location so that they can be found - although this is not an option for the whole library which is several thousand. I do this when I get the error message 'The song 'xxxx' cound not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?'.
d - I import a new CD or buy a new song from iTunes, the songs are correctly located on the new drive and play with no problems.
Can anyone tell me if I've missed a step? If I was to guess, I'd say that the 'itunes library.itl' still has all the old paths for the individual songs, but I don't know how to get iTunes to re-create or update that file and can't edit it myself.
Regards, Steve.

Thanks for that R. I'd seen a few of those posts but none of them seemed to match my query exactly.
However, I seem to have found a solution to my own problem. Whether it will help with yours I don't know (looks like you're a Mac user) but here's what I've found:
* The basic problem was with the file itunes music.itl' which was still pointing iTunes to the old location of the music files. I don't know why it didn't update this file when all the 'consolidating files' was done but there you go. This is not in a format editable by ordinary mortals, but you can re-create it if it gets corrupted by editing another file called 'itunes music.xml', which is in an editable format.
* It seems the .xml file basically contains all the .itl file information and is used essentially as a backup (my guess, don't know if it's correct). So deleting the .itl file and then re-creating it by telling the system to import the information from the .xml file is the thing to do. Here's how I did it:
* Go to the new drive and path where you've copied your itunes library to. I copied both the two files above first just in case to my desktop (doesn't really matter where). They're in the 'Music' folder above the folder where all your music files are kept (music files are kept in 'iTunes Music' in my setup).
* Edit the 'itunes music.xml' file. You'll need a good text editor with search and replace functions to do this as you'll have to do the same number of replacements as you have song files - in my case a number of thousand. Even better than a standard text editor would be an XML editor as that will make the text file easier to read (I used Dreamweaver just because I already have it on my system).
* If you look through your xml file you'll see all your songs listed with lots of other information such as track id. At the end you'll see a line that says something like:
<key>Location</key><string>file://localhost//EDNET01/Users/Steve/My%20Documents/My%20Music/iTunes/iTunes%20 Music/Bob%20Dylan/Modern%20Times/01%20Thunder%20On%20the%20Mountain.m4p</string>
If you're in the same position as me you'll notice that the path name is wrong (it's still showing the old path and drive). So the job is basically to edit and replace each of the paths to show the new drive and path.
*To do this with a single search and replace you don't need to change the album and file name, nor should you need to change the folder containing all the song files. This is the search and replace change I made then:
Search (all instances, hopefully if your text editor will allow it):
//localhost//EDNET01/Users/Steve/My%20Documents/My%20Music/iTunes/
Replace with:
//localhost/X:/FamilyMusic/
which is the drive and path where I've moved my itunes music to. The song folders are in the folder below that called 'itunes music'.
* Once you've saved this file (and having a backup copy of the old .itl and .xml files saved somewhere just in case) delete the two old files from the new folder where you've copied your music
* Open iTunes. Go to File > Library > Import playlist.
* Navigate to your newly edited version of 'itunes music.xml'. Select it and you should find that itunes begins rebuilding your library with the new paths and creates a new 'itunes music.itl' file in the process.
Once that's done you should have your music, podcasts and playlists back.
** Disclaimer ** I'm no iTunes expert so I don't know if this is the 'proper' way to do things. If it doesn't work you should be ok to replace the copied files back into your music folder and no damage done, but in any event I'm not responsible for any problems. Make sure you've got backups is my advice!

Dealing with Shared Libraries after moving iTunes library to new Computer

I have recently purchased a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch) with 2.8 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory. Previously, I had my iTunes on a Dell PC computer. Using an external hard drive, I transferred my iTunes library over to the Mac. After trying to sync my iPhone 4 (iOS 7.1.2), I discovered that I wasn't able to sync my music. In my attempt to fix this, I tried several things. I actually purchased iTunes Match, hoping that this would somehow fix this problem, but it didn't work. I tried restoring my iPhone to factory settings after completely a backup. Again, this did not work. I have tried to delete my library and add it back following the specific instructions found on the Apple Support site (How to move your iTunes library to a new computer - Apple Support).
When my iPhone is plugged in and I click under iPhone settings Music, the only option I have to work with is iTunes Match is On and syncing voice memos. There is not the option to sync music library.
I feel that somehow I have created multiple libraries or messed smoothing up because I can't even transfer music on to my iPhone manually. It's like my iPhone won't recognize the library on my iTunes. I am using the 12.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Cozmic66 wrote:
I have recently purchased a MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch) with 2.8 GHz Intel Core i5 processor and 8 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory. Previously, I had my iTunes on a Dell PC computer. Using an external hard drive, I transferred my iTunes library over to the Mac.
Copy the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder from old computer to /Music/ on new computer.
Then launch iTunes.
This is all you need to do.
You do not need to add anything or import anything to iTunes.
When you have iTunes Match turned on, you do not sync music via the computer or iTunes.
You sync via iTunes Match.

After moving the library, itunes shows less songs than music folder in finder does

hi all.
after moving my library manually, i have this situation:
1220 songs in music folder;
1091 songs in itunes.
all the songs in itunes are regularly matched with the original file in the finder.
now. how to find the 29 files which are not in itunes? i don't care why this happened !!
thanks to all in advance

in my itunes media folder there are not audio files! they are stored in music folder of the macintosh hd, as you can see from these screenshots. do you have any suggestion?

Moved iTunes library to Vista PC but iTunes 'can't find music files'. Help!

I'm running iTunes 7.1.1 on a new Vista PC and I followed the instructions on this support site for transferring the library using an iPod.
All songs (with artwork) are showing in the new PC's iTunes library, BUT all have a '!' symbol to the left and refuse to play. It offers to let me find them, but this would take hours for the thousands of tracks. I've tried consolidating but to no effect. All the music files are in the iTunes library folder, so why can't iTunes access them?
Can anyone help?

I'm running iTunes 7.1.1 on a new Vista PC and I
followed the instructions on this support site for
transferring the library using an iPod.
All songs (with artwork) are showing in the new PC's
iTunes library, BUT all have a '!' symbol to the left
and refuse to play. It offers to let me find them,
but this would take hours for the thousands of
tracks. I've tried consolidating but to no effect.
All the music files are in the iTunes library folder,
so why can't iTunes access them?
Can anyone help?
hi i to have a similar problem, i moved my music file for another problem i had and now it has removed all my files from itunes, albums and playlists as well, they are still on the pc and i have moved them back but i seem to have to start again, this will take weeks to do, i hope someone can help us.

Moved iTunes library to an ext hard drive to make space on my int drive... Followed steps from apple. Now I cannot access my music... It says: "File could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?"

Moved iTunes library to an ext hard drive to make space on my int drive... Followed steps from apple. Now I cannot access my music... It says: "File could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?"
I moved my iTunes library to my external hard drive some time ago and I followed the directions listed here on the apple support page. It did copy my library and now is on my hard drive... I can open iTunes and use it to sync all of my devices but I would like to play my music... I can see all of my music files but can not play them if I click on an album or song it says the following: "(file name) could not be used because the original file cannot be found. Would you like to locate it?" I click locate but do not know where to go from there? I need a way to access all files and not to hunt down one at a time on my hard drive... I am pretty sure I deleted the original library to make space on my internal drive which was the reason for moving it. I have tried and tried to fix it and do not have a lot of time to do so with a one and two year old at my house who do not like it whenI sit down at my computer. What to do??? Any help is much appreciated!!!

See Make a split library portable. Move all of the bits of the library together in the the correct shape and it should work. Or undo exactly what you did and then start over.
If you're a former Windows user don't try merging two folders together that have the same name by dropping one into the same folders as the other, as that goes badly on a Mac.
tt2

All of a sudden (video) files added to my iTunes library after a certain date aren't playable on other devices.

hello!
All of a sudden I have a weird issue with playing video-files added to my iTunes library after a specific date.
This is the situation so far:
I encode the video for iTunes with the same settings for the last 3 years. I know these vids play on all my devices. AppleTV & iPad. All of a sudden videos added to my library after the 8th of september aren't playable on my AppleTV and iPad. I can play them directly in iTunes and by accessing them directly via the finder and quicktime.
The following errors occur:
When I pull the video from iTunes on my AppleTV.. the video simply doesn't play.
When I pull the video from iTunes on my iPad I get a message that the file can't be found.
When I push the video from iTunes to the AppleTV using airplay I get a message that there has occured an error while connecting to the AirPlay-device "Apple TV". The necesary file could not be found. In addition when the AppleTV is switched off it doesn't turn on doing this, suggesting that there is something missing on my mac itself.
All the above errors aren't popping up when I choose a video that has been put in my library before the 9th of september. Then everything works as expected.
This is what I tried:
Turning off and on home sharing on all devices including the mac.
Logging in wiht a different apple ID though using the same ID as before.
I created a new iTunes library and populated with a video that was added after the 8th of september and one that was added before the 9th of september. Surprisingly the older one played and not the newer one.. while they both used the same encoding settings. The new library was locally on my mac as my original library is on a NAS.
I encode my videos with Quicktime 7 Pro using the following settings:
H.264 (current frame rate, key-frames:automatic, re-order frames, automatic bitsize)
Medium Quality
Multi-pass
current resolution (which is always 1280 X 720)
AAC sound
44.100 kHz
128kbps
I'm using the Mountain lion 10.8.2 and iTunes 10.7 Mountain lion got updated a few days after 19th of september and iTunes i think as well. Both versions were released after this issue seemed to pop up.
I also have two video-files encoded on the same day with the same settings that dragged into the iTunes library on the 9th of september. One works.. the other doesn't.
So I wonder if there is somebody out there that can tell me what might have happened here and how I could fix this issue.
Thank you in advance.

Hi Seraphiel07.
I have a very similar issue. Hardware involved:
Apple MacMini (Mid 2011) - OSX 10.8.2. iTunes 10.7. Home Sharing enabled.
Apple TV (3rd Generation). Home Sharing (access) enabled.
Apple MacBook Pro (15" Mid-2009). OSX 10.8.2. iTunes 10.7. Home Sharing enabled.
Apple iPad 2 (Wifi only). iOS 6
Apple iPhone 4S. iOS 6
All connected through:
Apple Time Capsule 8.0211n (4th Gen)
I have an iTunes library on the MacBook Pro, shared over "Home Sharing" and another (duplicate content, different library name) iTunes library on my MacMini, which is also accessed through the Apple TV.
All software is current (as of Sep 26th).
All movies are iTunes purchases. 80 in total.
All files are purchased (and home shared) under one account.
My last two iTunes purchases both HD movies on 09/17/2012 and 09/05/2012 refuse to appear on any device accessing either of the two Libraries over Home Sharing. It should be noted that every other movie (the other 78) all show up and play correctly. I therefore know it is not an issue with connectivity, otherwise I would see zero movies available.
I have:
1. Removed all content from each Library and re-added
2. Upgraded the OS on the MacMini 10.8.2
3. Tested viewing the two missing movies on other Apple devices and no luck.
4. Turn home sharing on and off within iTunes and also on each device.
It would appear to me that the issue is with the files themselves, rather than the devices as different devices and different versions have been tested.
All comments welcome.

HT1751 After "Restoring iTunes Library Backup" it wont link to the files in the iTunes folder. I've followed the correct procedure, and iTunes lists all my music correctly (but with no artwork), but can't locate any of the files. Using Windows 7. Help ple

After "Restoring iTunes Library backup" it wont link to the files in the iTunes folder. I've followed the procedure as described, and the iTunes folder is in the correct location. iTunes lists all my music correctly (albeit with no artwork), but can't locate any of the files.
I've been restoring my iTunes folder from a backup hard drive to a new computer on which I've downloaded the latest iTunes (10.7). If this is a newer version than the one I backed up with could this be the problem? (I had the latest (to my knowledge) iTunes when I backed up the folder about 3 weeks ago, was this version 10.7?)
Or is the version of iTunes (within recent updates) not an issue when restoring a library?
Using Windows 7.
Any help please?

From the top of the page where the scripts live...
The general method of use is to download the script to a folder of your choice, e.g. your Desktop, Downloads folder or create a folder at ...\iTunes\Scripts. Select a playlist or highlight some tracks in iTunes and then double-click on the script to execute it. If no specific tracks are selected the script will try to work with all tracks in the current playlist. Some scripts offer a choice of track by track confirmation of changes or fully automatic processing of the selection. Many of the scripts can optionally display a progress bar while running.
You are strongly advised to backup your entire library, or at the very least the iTunes Library.itl file, before use. Test the behaviour of your chosen script on a small group of files first to make sure it does what you want before applying it to large numbers of files.
Most builds of Windows will execute *.vbs scripts when you double-click them. If that doesn't happen then you might need to visit the Add/Remove Programs or Programs & Features control panel to enable the Windows Scripting Host. I can track down details if you have issues.
Backing up and restoring data is an area that is often glossed over. Most people don't try to learn much about it until they've lost something important. (Me too )
If your iTunes library was in the usual layout then normally copying the whole iTunes folder from the User's Music folder in the old computer to the User's Music folder in the new one will usually work fine. Ideally this is done before iTunes is installed so that there is no empty library to replace, and all settings are picked up from the old library. This post contains more details.
tt2

HT203167 Moved iTunes library from one computer to another using external hard drive. Cannot play many files. Says they are missing but locates them in an archive file but still won't play them. Are the files themselves part of the .itl files?

Moved iTunes library from old computer (PC Windows 7) to new (PC Window 8) using external hard drive. Library listing shows all music but can only play a fraction of it. On the ones it cannot play it asks to locate, then refers to an archived version (an .itl file), and still cannot play them. Do I just need to copy the archived .itl over, or is that not where the actual media are (do the actual media files even exist on the new computer?)? Any advice or information on this would be helpful.

*Also...is there any way I can filter out all the tracks with the ! so I can delete the unplaying copies as they're taking up room in my iTunes? I know how to find duplicates, but then I have to go and delete each one individually...*
*Thank you!*

Moving iTunes library from external HD to MacBook Pro

Ok, so a while ago, my iTunes library had grown so large I was running out of space on my Mac, so I moved all the files to an external HD. Of course, I could only listen to my music (as well as sync my iPhone and iPod) with the external device plugged in.
Fast forward to today, and I've decided that I'd like to reverse this process, as it's far too big a pain in the rear to continue, not to mention the fact that I'm a little sick and tired of entire albums disappearing for no apparent reason.
That said, if I simply go to Files>Add to Library and click on the iTunes Music file on my external HD, will I end up with duplicates of all 2300 of my albums? This is what I'm dreading, as I have nightmarish visions of my sitting here all weekend deleting duplicate files.
Sorry if this is a ridiculous question, but there it is...
Danke schoen!

Did you move the whole library or just media (there is a big difference)?
Whole library:
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music [library] to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527 - a somewhat bewildering and not always easily understandable set of options.
Quick answer if you use iTunes' default preferences settings: Copy the entire iTunes folder (and in doing so all its subfolders and files) intact to the other drive. Open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option (alt) key (shift on Windows), then guide it to the new location of the iTunes Library.itl file in the moved iTunes folder.
For the record there's this reference for iTunes 11 but it really doesn't strike me as having the specifics you need. iTunes 11 for Mac: Move your library to another computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12168
Just media:
Consolidate is how you move your iTunes media files to a new location. Consolidate simply looks at everything you have in iTunes and copies them to the iTunes media folder location specified in iTunes prefs -> Advanced.
iTunes 11 for Mac: Change where your iTunes files are stored - http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12165 - more information at: https://discussions.apple.com/message/22026652

Moved Itunes library now imovie cannot find the audio in my project

I just moved itunes library from my external drive to an internal drive on my Mac laptop. Now iMovie cannot find the music tracks for my project. How do I tell iMovie where to look for the new location of iTunes library

I'm the same as you with this one.
I had to move my itunes library to a new hard drive because it was taking up too much space. Now my imovie projects can't find my itunes library. One sound track when I right clicked in imovie I had the option to find media so I just located the same file but in a new location. This, however, doesn't work for all audio in my many projects.
I'm feeling very disheartened with the whole thing.
Any help would be appreciated.
Poppet

How to sync ipod touch to new computer itunes library after old itunes library computer crash without wiping out "library" on ipod touch

how to sync ipod touch to new computer itunes library after old itunes library lost in computer crash, without erasing ipod touch

Sync is only oneway, from PC to your device. Unless you have the music on your PC, iTunes is going to wipe out what you have on your device if you are syncing to a new library.
You can only transfer Purchased music over to Itunes on your PC.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848
As for you own music, you may have to use a third party software. A good Free one is called Sharepod which you can download from Download.com here:
http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2

After moving files out of the iTunes library they still show in the iTunes list

I am archiving movies out of my iTunes library. I have moved the files from the iTunes media folder and into another folder but the movies still show up in the iTunes movie list in the main iTunes window. I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?

Geoffrey Kleinman wrote:
I am archiving movies out of my iTunes library. I have moved the files from the iTunes media folder and into another folder but the movies still show up in the iTunes movie list in the main iTunes window. I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?
An easier way is to simply drag movies/songs from the iTunes window to where you want.
Then delete it in iTunes.
I am sure there is some kind of link to the file but do I need to break that somehow or can I refresh the iTunes list so it will see that the files are no longer in the media folder?
When you add files to iTunes, it adds them to the iTunes library database file and this is what is displayed in iTunes.
I f you remove the file from its location, iTunes will not know until you try to access it in iTunes. It will then show an exclamation mark if it cannot find that file.

File Vault: Moving iTunes library to external HD

I am using File Vault (ouch!) but I would like - for space reasons - to move my iTunes library to two external HDs (preferably copy first, then test, then delete original from internal HD).
Firstly, I tried while logged in as Administrator (with File Vault active).
When I tried to follow the steps in the procedure "iTunes for Mac: Moving your iTunes Music Folder" I reached Step 5 (the Change Music Folder Location window) but the New Folder button was greyed out.
Next I tried again while logged in as a different user - again Administrator but without File Vault - but this time I could not seem to get access to my real iTunes (instead I got the actually empty default iTunes for that second non-File Vault Adminstrator user).
What am I missing ? My apologies if it is terribly obvious! - Thanks

Hi Chuck,
Ya know, I've never heard of anyone using Filevault AND moving the iTunes folder... I wonder if it would even work, since Filevault is designed to keep everything within... just a thought should we not succeed here!
First thing I'd try is just making that "New Folder" outside of iTunes first, then in that procedure see if the "Choose" button works inside that folder.

Question re: moving iTunes library to new computer where files have different file path?

Hi everyone-
I just got a new laptop and need to transfer my iTunes library to the new computer.
On my old computer, the hard drive was partitioned into a "C" drive and an "F" drive. The new laptop is just "C."
Since my iTunes library was on the "F" partition on the old laptop, the file path for all the files is going to change when I transfer to the new laptop.
I can find dozens and dozens of articles online about how to move iTunes to a new computer, but none of them seem to address the file path issue.
Does anyone know where I can find detailed instructions on how to make this work?
Thanks in advance.

Quit iTunes.
Move the entire /Music/iTunes/ folder to the F: drive.
Hold Shift & launch iTunes.
Select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder you moved to the F: drive.
Everything should still work fine.
Now go to iTunes prefs > Advanced.
Set the iTunes media folder location to the iTunes folder you just moved to the F: drive.
iTunes menu File > Library > Consolidate library.
This will copy all your media into the iTunes folder (F:\iTunes\iTunes media\ folder)
Let it finsh.
Quit iTunes.
Then you can copy the F:\iTunes\ folder to the new computer.
If you copy it to /Music/ folder, just start iTunes and it'll work.
If you copy it elswhere (such as another drive) hold Shift, launch iTunes, select Choose library... and select the iTunes folder.

Apparent file miscounts after moving itunes library

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