Backing up iTunes playcounts and ratings

I have a fairly large library (just under 80GB) and have had some previous experiences with iTunes data loss. I'm getting dizzy going in circles looking for a way to save the information of my music (play counts, ratings, etc) in case of losing them, so I thought I'd try asking here.
Thanks very much for any responses.

Yes, just put it back to where it was before.
For example, I run my ITL file from my drive K: so that's where I put mine back.
Keep in mind, itunes uses absolute paths. Your music files still need to be in the same place itunes expects them.
I could change my drive letter to M: and shift-start itunes to use that the same ITL file, but I'd get ! next to all the songs. The ! means itunes can't find them.
The content would show in my library because I have the ITL file, but the itunes would still think the music was on K: (and not know about M:) and not be able to play the content.

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Playcounts and Ratings did not transfer over

I did a clean reinstall (HIGHLY recommended every new OS) and imported my iTunes files and preferences. However, my playcounts and ratings are missing. Anyone know which folder those are kept in? Thanks...

Tux hello,
I'm not sure what you did when you say you imported your iTunes files and preferences...
The playcounts and ratings etc. are stored in the iTunes Library file in your iTunes folder... if you replace the current iTunes Library file with your backup and check that the name of the file is the same as one you are replacing... restart iTunes with a double/click on the backup copy of the iTunes Library file you put in the iTunes folder...
come back if you need to know more Tux .... TP

Restore playcounts and ratings from discs

I made playlists on itunes and backed up all my music to dvd disc's in this way instead of the backup to disc, because i was ignorant of it unitl i have lost everything and was reinstalling music but my playcounts and ratings will not trasfer. I can see them on the discs when i click on it in itunes they will not however transfer. There is a xml document which says ContentsDB is there a way to transfer the ratings and playcounts off this or must i start over. Thanks for your time!

I just put ipod on manually manage and then dropped songs onto ipod from playlist to restore playcounts and ratings.

I removed an app from my iPhone, but when syncing, it keeps trying to copy that app back to iTunes. And then it sits, trying to copy it back but it never finishes.

I downloaded Battery Doc Free to my iPhone. Liked it, so I downloaded Battery Doc Pro. I then removed Battery Doc Free from my iPhone. Now when I sync, it keeps trying to copy Battery Doc Free back to iTunes. And just sits there in that state. Any ideas as to how to remedy this? The app doesn't show under Apps either on my device or Apps under Library in iTunes, but it keeps trying to copy it back!
Thanks in advance.

Delete all the Battery apps from your phone, also delete all Battery apps from your iTunes library(if any are shown in your library), when prompted, move all files to trash, empty your trash, then restart iTunes. Go up to iTunes>Preferences(under the edit menu if using Windows)>Devices>Prevent iPods/iPhones from syncing automatically...put a check in that box. Connect your phone, iTunes running, right-click in the left device pane & select "Reset Warnings". Hit the sync button...if you get a popup that iTunes has detected purchased content on your phone not in your iTunes library, asking if you want to transfer, DECLINE. You should get a warning that this content will be erased from your phone, click OK. Eject your phone when finished. Re-download the Battery Pro app to your iTunes library(you can re-download purchased apps for free). Once complete, sync it to your phone.

Backing Up iTunes with Song Ratings

Is there any way to backup and restore iTunes library with song ratings?

My canned response on how to back up a library to an external hard drive. You didn't specify onto what you wanted to backup.
PT
Assuming you use the iTunes default settings where iTunes copied added items to your iTunes folder and organizes your library (meaning - everything is all self contained in the iTunes folder), then all you have to do is drag & drop your iTunes folder (not just the iTunes Music folder you find inside the iTunes folder) to the external drive and copy the entire thing.
If you want to test that it worked or would like to actually start using it from that location instead, use these instructions when you start iTunes to point it to the new location...
How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1589
If you are just testing to make sure a backup copy works and still want to use the internal location, then close iTunes after you verify it works, and restart iTunes again with the same instructions and point it back to your internal drive (original) location. Otherwise you are all set to use the library from the external location.
Additional info...
Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1751?viewlocale=en_US
Cheers,
Patrick

Get playcount and ratings from ipod when pc library doesn't match ipod

After updating iTunes, the library on my PC was erased.
So I imported an exportfile 15 months old to the new library and added all songs in my "recently added" (of past 15 mths) on my iPod.
So far so good.
The problem is that this new library doesn't match the one on my iPod, though they are the same. The only difference: all ratings and stats that are on my iPod but aren't on my PC.
Is there any way to get the "library identifier" on my PC and iPod to match again, so my stats and ratings are updated to my PC?
Cheers,

Which model of iPod do you have? I have a 160GB Classic (this forum) which _does not_ show Podcasts under the Music folder, and apparently does not have an option to do so. However, I also have a 5th generation 30GB video iPod, which does show Podcasts under the Music folder. Straight away, you'll notice that different modles behave differently, so we need to know.
So, that's the first thing to sort out.
Then, on your manual recordings, did you add all the relevant artist information to the file (i.e. the MP3 tags) when you created them? If not, that will be why they only show up in songs, (but there may be another cause too!). You can fill in any missing information by highlighting the song and clicking on *File/Get Info* and adding the info then.
In the long term, the probably answer to your manual files is to give them their own genre and then search for them that way.

Lost Playlists, Playcount and ratings

Hi recently loaded I tunes and no songs were linked to the library. All files were fine, but had to add my music folder again then redo all my playlists ratings and playcount. Is there an index file which can be backed up in the event of this happening again?
Many thanks for your help in advance

Close iTunes and wait for 30 secs or so then copy the two library files somewhere safe.
To restore, close itunes, drag the bad iTunes Library.itl from the iTunes folder to the desktop and copy in the backup.
Note: the xml file is not required for this but it can come in handy so it is worth backing up with the itl file.

HELPPP please, i had to refresh my computer due to a virus so lost all of my itunes music (the ones I'd uploaded by hand) they are still on my iphone5, how can I put all the music from the iphone back onto itunes? And why is this so difficult ??

New to all this upload stuff so pls excuse me ! So my computer had to be refreshed, I had ripped my CD's to iTunes and also purchased some, the purchased ones are still on iTunes but all of the ones that I had ripped have gone. I have them on my iphone 5, is there a way to put all of the music from the iphone back on to itunes? Have tried "Googling" without success have tried a converter app but still no joy. PLS HELP !!!

Justine8888 wrote:
New to all this upload stuff so pls excuse me ! So my computer had to be refreshed, I had ripped my CD's to iTunes and also purchased some, the purchased ones are still on iTunes but all of the ones that I had ripped have gone.
Restore them from the backup of yoru computer...
I have them on my iphone 5, is there a way to put all of the music from the iphone back on to itunes?
See this -> Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device
then regularly backup your computer.

Backing up iTunes purchases and other music

How do I backup all my purchases from iTunes? I know there is an option to back up your music to either a cd or dvd but I would prefer to backup to my external hard drive. Is it possible to backup to my external hard drive?

This is just my own opinion, but personally since iTunes does not support whats called Multible session DVD/CD Disc, I find it MUCH better to backup to an external harddrive so you can constantly update your backup as changes are made.
Basicly all you need to do is goto My Music in Windows XP and Copy the "iTUnes" folder. THen goto My Computer, select your external harddrive rightclick and hit "Paste"
Doing this will copy your "iTunes Library.xml" file and the "iTUnes Music" folder which contains all purchased items from the itunes store.

Retaining iTunes database and ratings when buying new computer

Is it possible to retain the iTunes database of names/ratings if you buy a new computer?
I assume that iTunes keeps the database in the library but I'm not sure whether the ratings will remain in tact by just copying the database. Scared to try it at the moment - don't want to lose all the song details! :'-(
Cheers
Alan

"Is it possible to retain the iTunes database of names/ratings if you buy a new computer?"
Yes. Just use the Migration Assistant application.

Lost ratings playcounts and playlists from itunes

Itunes would not open, is said, the path itunes had an invalid character and came up with an error, so I reinstalled itunes using the disk clean up utility for windows, and finally was able to get rid of the itunes itself, so reinstalled itunes from apple.com/itunes/download and all my music was there but greyed out, including playlists and playcounts and ratings, so I changed my preferences to make sure my itunes was reading from the correct itunes folder location, which I had on another hard drive. When I reinstalled itunes I had put the program files in the same hard drive as my music was stored on so that Itunes is being read from and playing from on the same hard drive. Now how would I go about getting my ratings back?

Hi Polydorus,
thanks for your help. But unfortunally it did not work. I will write down my setup, maybe you still could help me to solve the problem.
At home I am using a PC with the latest version of iTunes. All the music is not stored on that PC, but on a seperated server in my house. The path is //NAMEOFTHESERVER/music
On my PC I have a iTunes folder in MyDocuments with a folder artwork, iTunes libary, and iTunes Music libary.xml
Following you instructions; I copied those three files to the EHD. Then I started iTunes on my laptop (at this time not connected to the network) with the shift key and there was eveything there. But when I clicked on a mucis file in iTunes it would not start. Instead it asked me "could not be used because the original could not be found ... do you want to search for it ?"
Do you have any clue ?
Thank you very much for your help !
Best regards,
Olli

Play counts and ratings aren't saving

So far I've been using iTunes for a year and I haven't had any problems until now. So here goes:
As far as I know this has started since I've updated to iTunes 8.2. My play counts and ratings aren't saving when I exit iTunes and start it up again. When I plug in my iPod Classic it syncs up to the old setup and doesn't update playcounts either. At first this happened when I added a new CD and started rating the songs and playing it. Then last night I bought 3 tracks off iTunes Store and all of a sudden it started saving my playcounts and ratings for that past CD. Now today when I started rating and adding playcounts to those new tracks I bought it won't save anything again. It's like it saves the file when I add something new but always reverts to that spot whenever I open iTunes again. I hope this makes sense, haha.

Ok, I found out that when I added another new CD it seems to stop saving all information once I try to rate the new files, or something like that. For example, I started changing the 'Sort Artist' category for the songs and afterwards started to rate them. This was before I clicked 'Get Album Artwork' as well so then when I closed out and opened iTunes again it had the 'Sort Artist' info right but in the wrong spot and the artwork wasn't there. One song was missing too. Is this a corrupted Library file then? It won't save any changes for any of the other songs either. It always reverts back to the old info. I'm really not sure what to do.

How can I get back my itunes library settings?

My dad recently created a new profile and my library got lost with the old profile. I was able to move all my music from the old profile to my new library but i lost all my settings. I have the music but it doesn't show any of my ratings for any songs, no play counts, the date added is wrong, no playlists, and I had selected specific songs I wanted on my ipod but now it has all of them selected again. I still have all my old settings on my nano if I can get them off there somehow. If anyone knows how i can get my settings back please help.

It sounds to me like the original iTunes Library file got replaced. If so, transferring from the nano will be your only possibility. If you search VersionTracker for "iPod", you'll find a number of utilities that can transfer your playlists from your iPod back to your Mac. One or more of those utilities might also be able to transfer playcounts and ratings.

Itunes library and files on iphone

i had all my music on my laptop and then put it on my iphone then a few months later my laptop crashed and had to be restarted wiping everything off of it along with my music and i dont have any copys of the music backed up anywhere and i got most of my music off of the internet not off itunes and i cant add any more music to my iphone because it will delete all my music off of my iphone is there anyway to recover the music off my iphone and save it so i can put it back on itunes so i dont lose anything? if anyone could help me out i would much apreciate it.

To begin with, open iTunes first and go to Edit>Preferences>Devices and check the box "Prevent iPods and iPhones from syncing automatically" and choose Ok before connecting your device.
iTunes will only give you the option to copy your iTunes Store purchases directly from an iPod to the computer, you'll find details in this article: Copying iTunes Store purchases from your iPod or iPhone to a computer
Purchased applications can be downloaded over again, see this article for details: How to redownload purchased applications from the App Store
For everything else (music from CDs etc.) there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod Touch or iPhone. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer data (such as playcounts and ratings), movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well.
A selection of iPod/iPhone to iTunes utilities:
Senuti Mac Only (iPod Touch & iPhone compatible)
SharePod Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TuneJack Windows Only (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPodRip Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
Music Rescue Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Music Liberator Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iGadget Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up, relying on an iPhone as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days, you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay: Back up your iTunes library by copying to an external hard drive

How can I recover my play counts and ratings?

I recently moved my iTunes librabry to an external hd, and lost all my preferences. I have recoverd my playlists (at least the ones my wife uses) but can't figure out how to restore my ratings/ play counts etc. I have time machine but cannot locate the data i'm looking for.

iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
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. Start iTunes with the option (shift on Windows) key held down and guide it to the new location of the library.
The above is how you should do it. Your playcounts and ratings are stored along with all other information about your iTunes collection in the library.itl file. If this wasn't part of the move then they got left behind.
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

Backing up iTunes playcounts and ratings

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