Deleting iTunes files to clear up HD space

My HD was full, so I deleted 25GB of music by dragging the "itunes" folder and all of its contents into the trash. I then emptied the trash, but no disk space freed up on my HD. Before I deleted the files, I copied them to an external HD. Anyone have any idea what's going on? I'd like to clear up that 25GB....any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Did you delete the correct iTunes folder from your user account?
Restart the computer and see if the HD space gets corrected. You can also direct your iTunes to point the the Library on the external drive through the iTunes preferences/Advanced.

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Deleting Itunes Files

How do you delete video files completely from the "purchased" library?

You can select Manually Manage music and videos on the Summary page. You will then be able to drag and drop files to your iPod and delete them from your computer. Note that ratings, playcounts and last played will not be transferred back to your computer.
But that's not the big problem. What happens if your iPod is lost or broken? Or, if you're having a problem with it and need to restore it? All the music that isn't on your computer will be lost. Do yourself a very big favor and buy an external hard drive for your iTunes library. Amazon has 320gig drives for less than $100 USD. iPods were never intended as primary storage devices.

Deleted itunes files on accident.

i was deleteing files because my 60g of flash was maxed out. in the process, i deleted important itunes files. all my music is there however, it has a ( ! ) next to the song & wont play due to "missing files" is there a way to reverse this? or possibly restore my music from my ipod touch? im a dj so this will end my life if i cant reverse this.
i have osx 10.7.1
i own macbook air 13", ipad2, iphone4, and ipod touch 4th gen. all purchased from apple not second hand. please help me.

Some of the information below has subsequently appeared in a document by turingtest2: Recovering your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3991
Your i-device was not designed for unique storage of your media. It is not a backup device and media transfer was designed for you maintaining a master copy of your media on a computer which is itself properly backed up against loss. Syncing is one way, computer to device, updating the device content to the content on the computer, not updating or restoring content on a computer. The exception is iTunes Store purchased content.
iTunes Store: Transferring purchases from your iOS device or iPod to a computer - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1848 - only media purchased from iTunes Store
For transferring other items from an i-device to a computer you will have to use third party commercial software. Examples (check the web for others; this is not an exhaustive listing, nor do I have any idea if they are any good):
- Senuti - http://www.fadingred.com/senuti/
- Phoneview - http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/
- MusicRescue - http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/products/musicrescue/
- Sharepod (free) - http://download.cnet.com/SharePod/3000-2141_4-10794489.html?tag=mncol;2 - Windows
- Snowfox/iMedia - http://www.mac-videoconverter.com/imedia-transfer-mac.html - Mac & PC
- iexplorer (free) - http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/ - Mac&PC
- Yamipod (free) - http://www.yamipod.com/main/modules/downloads/ - PC, Linux, Mac [Still updated for use on newer devices? No edits to site since 2010.]
- 2010 Post by Zevoneer: iPod media recovery options - https://discussions.apple.com/message/11624224 - this is an older post and many of the links are also for old posts, so bear this in mind when reading them.
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive - https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3141 - dates from 2008 and some outdated information now.
Copying Content from your iPod to your Computer - The Definitive Guide - http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/ - Information about use in disk mode pertains only to older model iPods.
Get Your Music Off of Your iPod - http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Get_Your_Music_Off_of_Your_iPod - I am not sure but this may only work with some models and not newer Touch, iPhone, or iPad.
Additional information here https://discussions.apple.com/message/18324797
I will add that any professional dependent upon a computer should include in their budget the cost of backup drives. Some sort of failure is inevitable and if your livelihood is dependent upon this then you really, really should make sure there is safekeeping.

HT4915 iTunes Match sync and deleted itunes files

Will iTunes match remove songs deleted from iTunes when it syncs?
I cleared all iTunes music on my computer to start over clean but didn't remove them from the cloud.

iTunes Match does not have the ability to remove local files.
The service operates by comparing the selected iTunes Library with the iTunes Store content and 'matching' or 'uploading' - it is very straightforward a 'match' provides equivalent access to iTunes Store content as a recognised 'purchase'; upload simply copies a 256k AAC variant into the cloud. There are no elements of this activity that can erase the local library content.
Would suggest you explore possible alternative causes of file loss. Given the pattern described of selective deletion, leaving many Songs intact - would suggest making at least 2 secure offline Song file backups and starting the library again from a fresh install of iTunes once a thorough sweep of the system has been completed for virus. It is also worth assessing the physical security of the system - who has access & with what privileges.
To access Songs from the cloud, you would have to manually delete the Song from the library or open an empty library - so even when accessing content, iTunes Match provides no local deletion capability.

Deleted video files still take up disk space

Hey guys! I'm using a 13-inch rMBP, late 2013, running OS X 10.10.1. Yesterday I deleted more than 40GB of video files from my "Movies" folder, and emptied the trash can. However, the 40GB of disk space didn't appear as available. I looked online and tried everything like resetting trash can authorization and restarting Time Machine, but they did not seem to work.
Meanwhile, in my disk usage I see more than 100GB of "others". I used Disk Inspector to scan my Macintosh HD and found 109 GB of hidden files. I believe this is much more than it should be.
Only video files seems to have this problem. I also deleted 2GB of documents, and they seemed fine.
So any suggestions or anyone else experiencing the same problem? Thanks a lot!

Sure hope you aren't afraid of Unix...
From the wife's Mac, open Terminal (applications / utilities / Terminal)
For all of these type in's I say to do, do whats inside the quotes and not the quotes themselves. Or do a copy and paste if you aren't sure on a letter... And press Return after you type them in.
Type in "cd /"
Type in "ls -al"
You should see a .Trashes in here at the top of the list.
Type in "cd .Trashes"
Type in "ls" here and see what you get. It will probably be a folder named 501 for the admin account from your Mac.
If so, do an "rm -R /.Trashes/501/"
and watch your disk space.
If it complains to you that you don't have permissions, you will have to type in "sudo rm -R /.Trashes/501/"

Where do my deleted iTunes files go?

I keep my iTunes library on an external hard drive. Today I was deleteing matched low bit rate songs so I could re-download them from iCloud with a higher bit rate version. I select the option to remove the song from my iTunes library and I select the option to delete the song and move it to the trash. The song is then removed from the iTunes interface as well as the hard drive (when I go to the file location on my hard drive it is no longer there). However, when I go to the Trash bin, the file is not there leadng me to believe the file has in fact not been deleted.
I've also noticed that when I sync my iPhone and have all the newly updated apps transfered to my iTunes library, the old deleted files no longer appear in the trash been as they used to.
Any ideas?
FYI - I'm running the newest version of iTunes 10.

Hi,
You can redirect scanned documents to whatever location on your computer or external storage (depending your scanner). By default, scanned files should go to "My Documents" (or Documents).
Regards.
BH
**Click the KUDOS thumb up on the left to say 'Thanks'**
Make it easier for other people to find solutions by marking a Reply 'Accept as Solution' if it solves your problem.

Deleting iTunes files on a Mac when using iTunes Match

When using iTunes Match, how do you go about deleting the music that resides on the Mac HD? With my music being stored on the iCloud, it sure would be good to free up some HD space.

Music is deleted exactly the same way as prior to using iTunes Match.
You should also read this: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3704779

How can I permanently delete itunes files?

I moved my itunes library to an external hard-drive, but it still shows all the albums in my library. If I try to play an album, it says the file has been moved. How can I clean up my library so it doesn't show those files anymore?

When opening itunes keep the option(alt) key pressed on the keyboard.
I dialog box opens and you can choose your external Library on your hard drive. Sounds like iTunes is still trying to access the itunes library on the local drive which you have deleted. That is why you have all the exclammation marks by your content because iTunes can not find the files.
This will then always use the hard drive as your itunes library. Just ensure that the Hard drive is not in a sleep state when you start iTunes otherwise it will default to your local machine.
Just click on it in finder to wake it up

Accidentally deleted iTunes, is there anyway I can download it again and have it just back up my iPod instead of clearing it of all data? All of iTunes files are still on my computer, but the actual program got deleted.

I was trying to clear space on my C drive and decided to delete programs that I didn't use or that I didn't recognize. (Bad idea, I know that now.) Anyways, accidentally deleted a program that iTunes needed to run and the computer said it would undo the uninstall and restart to fix the problem but when it restarted iTunes was gone. So my question is, after I download iTunes again, is there a way I can just backup my iPod to it's last sync (which was coincidentally right before I accidentally deleted iTunes) instead it being cleared of all its data? All of iTunes' files are still on my computer except the actual program itself.

Hi, InsaneCharlie.
Thanks for the question. I see you have uninstalled iTunes and want this program back. Start with completely uninstalling iTunes if present and all of it's components in the order specified in the article below. Once this is done, download and install iTunes. If none of your data was modified in the iTunes media folder, then your data should be present upon installation.
Removing and reinstalling iTunes and other software components for Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
If you receive any errors when uninstalling any components of iTunes, try the steps in the article below for each component that gives you an error.
"The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable" alert appears when removing Apple software in Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3704
If you experience issues during installation, see the article below.
Trouble installing iTunes or QuickTime for Windows
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1926
Regards,
Jason H.

My "other" file is stealing my storage space and my local apple store has no idea how to find out what is in it let alone how to clear it so I can upgrade to iOS 7. He thinks my iPad is not really deleting things but storing it here.

My "other" file is stealing my storage space and my local apple store is aware of the problem but has no idea how to view it's content or how to empty it. He thinks my deleted files are going here instead of being deleted. Raw beginner here! Need help.

How much space is used by your Other? You may be able to reduce.
How Do I Get Rid Of The “Other” Data Stored On My iPad Or iPhone?
http://tinyurl.com/85w6xwn
How to Remove “Other” Data from iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-remove-other-data-from-iphone/
With an iOS device, the “Other” space in iTunes is used to store things like documents, settings, caches, and a few other important items. If you sync lots of documents to apps like GoodReader, DropCopy, or anything else that reads external files, your storage use can skyrocket. With iOS 5/6/7, you can see exactly which applications are taking up the most space. Just head to Settings > General > Usage, and tap the button labeled Show All Apps. The storage section will show you the app and how much storage space it is taking up. Tap on the app name to get a description of the additional storage space being used by the app’s documents and data. You can remove the storage-hogging application and all of its data directly from this screen, or manually remove the data by opening the app. Some applications, especially those designed by Apple, will allow you to remove stored data by swiping from left to right on the item to reveal a Delete button.
What is “Other” and What Can I Do About It?
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142
iPhone or iPad Ran Out of Storage Space? Here’s How to Make Space Available Quickly
http://osxdaily.com/2012/06/02/iphone-ipad-ran-out-of-available-storage-space-ho w-to-fix-quick/
6 Tips to Free Up Tons of Storage Space on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch
http://osxdaily.com/2012/04/24/6-tips-free-up-storage-space-ipad-iphone-ipod-tou ch/
Also,
How to Clear Message/iMessage Cache on iPhone & iPad And Reclaim Lots of Free Space
http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-clear-message-imessage-cache-on-iphone-ipad/
 Cheers, Tom

I deleted all my photos and videos and then delete the deleted files but the photo app is still taking up 12 GB of space and I have no room for new stuff. How can I clear the memory space used by my deleted videos and photos?

I deleted all my photos and videos and then delete the deleted files but the photo app is still taking up 12 GB of space and I have no room for new stuff. How can I clear the memory space used by my deleted videos and photos? I don't know why the photos are still taking up space and if I will have to reset my phone to get rid of the problem.

Hey there TowneJ,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
The article linked below provides troubleshooting tips that’ll likely resolve the issue that you’ve described, where deleted files appear to be taking up space on your iPhone 5.
If you get a "Not enough free space" alert on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
So long,
-Jason

My computer keeps telling me that my start-up disc is full, how do I clear up space without deleting my files?

I really don't have time to go into the Apple Store, does anyone know how to clear up some space on my start-up disc?

You might read through this.....it will mean deleteing some stuff though....
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/freeingspace.html

Disk space is full and I need to move and back up some movies to clear up space--suggestions? I have a time capsule, but am afraid that if I delete the files from my laptop, they will subsequently be deleted from the time capsule.

I also don't want to have a single copy of the movies. Is buying an external hard drive for my movie files the only option? Can I then use the time capsule to back-up the G Drive?
Trish

You can't depend on a Time Machine backup keeping copies of files that you've deleted from your Mac. For one thing, those would be the only place those files were kept. If the disk in the Time Capsule fails, you'd have lost them entirely. For another thing, Time Machine will eventually delete those files. See item 20 of Time Machine FAQs.
A locally-connected external disk would be the best place to move those movies.

Help to restore iTunes files from trash, not deleted.

I need to move 35,000 podcasts, 654 GB, from my trash back to my iTunes library on an external hard drive (EHD). They are NOT deleted from my trash.
I am running on Snow Leopard 10.6.8 until I can clear enough EHD space to backup/upgrade to Mtn Lion.
11.5 iTunes is my current version on my 640 GB early 2009 24” mac.
I have tried:
Undo - command + Z
Selecting all in trash and dragging it to the:
iTunes Music folder on my EHD
Automatically Add to iTunes folder on my EHD
The upper left corner on the iTunes window
The iTunes icon in the dock
There is no restore option when I Right Click on anything in trash, single or more than one file.
In iTunes: File, Add to Library, selecting the recycle bin or the file under it. Nothing happens. I do have checked on iTunes Preferences, Advanced, Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library.
Dragging 40 files from trash to the Automatically Add to iTunes folder on my EHD.
This returned the files but without essential data like the release date/description, which totally messes up my library.
They are no longer listed in date order, and I cannot see if I have the most recent without scrolling down down through sometimes over 200 pods in that album, and even then there is no date order, which orders all podcasts. All the tags/descriptions/comments I spent thousands of hours on are gone.
I just recieved in the mail yesterday my Data Rescue 3 software for an earlier problem,
I do not know if it will help retrieve all the essential data.
I cannot move the files to my desktop because the size, 654 GB, is bigger than my 640 GB mac. Plus, I know from experience this does not preserve the essential data like release date.
My iTunes EHD has 485 GB free out of 1.71 TB.
I can order another 3 TB EHD to arrive in 2 weeks, which I will eventually need, but my husband aint going to be happy. As an old photographer trying to join the digital age, I already have 20 TB storage, mostly for photos, which has put us in debt.
Please, does anyone know how to restore podcasts from trash while retaining metadata?

Thanks for your sympathy, dclkdm.
For anybody else out there,
I have had some luck retaining info such as release date, plays, and rating by
dragging podcasts to a Finder folder in iTunes,
in iTunes Media,
Automatically Add to iTunes.
So far, I have retrieved all my lost podcasts with Data Rescue 3,
but have not tried to consolidate everything into one library yet.

I moved itunes file to external hard drive and want to move the file on my pc to recycle bin. When I move i get an error message that it cannot delete ituneshelper.dll access is denied. Can I move that file to the recycle bin?

I am trying to free up space on my pc and moving itunes files to external hard drive. I have followed instructions and believe I have file copied to new drive, but I am having trouble moving file to recycle bin as the instructions say. I am getting the following error message: cannot delete ituneshelper.dll:access denied, make sure disk is not full or write protected and file not in use. I know the file is not in use when trying to move. Any help would be most appreciated. I am on Windows XP.

Yes. And you should not have moved that folder. Put it back. To move your iTunes library move the folder from User's Music.
tt2

Deleting iTunes files to clear up HD space

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