Duplicate iTunes library entry

Apple support is awful and unhelpful. Do I really have to go to an Apple store (miles away and in areas where parking is expensive) just to find a solution? (Rhetorical question, no need to reply to this.)
I've searched for an solution in support/communities but found nothing for this particular problem.
My iTunes library on MacBook Pro was imported to the MacBook Pro from an older laptop. I still have the older laptop. I do not listen to music on the older laptop and I do not use it for synching devices.
The new laptop now has duplicate music library entries and I can't tell which is the original and which is the duplicate.
Likewise, I've lost a link to a lot of music when I deleted duplicate entries. (Apple, this was a stupid design.) So…anyone got any solutions to help me RID my iTunes library of the duplicates listings WHILE maintaining a link to the original music? And where do I find the index so I can get my deleted files back?
Thanks.

This is what you should have done. You can tell us what you actually did:
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) so you get a prompt to choose a library, then select the copied iTunes folder.
If this is to a new computer and you put the copied iTunes folder in the default location of Macintosh HD > Users > *User Name* > Music then you don't even need to start with the option key held down, iTunes will automatically look for it there. (Make sure there isn't anything already in the iTunes folder there that you want to keep since you will be replacing it with the one you are moving.)

Similar Messages

Want to create a "duplicate" iTunes library.

I currently own 2 external 1TB hard drives. I am running iTunes directly from one since my laptop memory is very small. However, I have no backup in case of failure. I would like to duplicate my iTunes setup on my 2nd drive but I don't just want to do a "backup". I would like to be able to run iTunes from either harddrive so essentially I need to know how to create a duplicate iTunes setup on my 2nd hard drive.
Then, even if one drive entirely failed, I could just run iTunes off the other one seamlessly. Also, I can take one drive home and use it on my home PC. Obviously, over time there would be small changes occurring to either library but I would handle these manually, duplicating on one what I did on the other.

Organize the iTunes library from within iTunes and then create a duplicate of the entire iTunes folder on the second drive. The library can be moved between computers, but iTunes Store authorization won't be moved automatically and rented movies can't be played on other computers.
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Renaming a duplicate iTunes library?, Renaming a duplicate iTunes library?

I've now got myself out of a mess up with iTunes, long story short- I have created a new library on my external LaCie drive and consolidated.
So I should be able to delete the old library?
The new library is titled itunes1 (because there was a iTunes library that already exisisted).
Once I've deleted the old iTunes library can I rename my new library (itunes1) back to ITunes library?

Organize the iTunes library from within iTunes and then create a duplicate of the entire iTunes folder on the second drive. The library can be moved between computers, but iTunes Store authorization won't be moved automatically and rented movies can't be played on other computers.
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Duplicate iTunes Library

I have searched this forum for the answer but the only other person who asked this question did not get it answered but I am sure that someone on here can answer this.
Earlier this year upon changing computers, my entire itunes library was duplicated. Is there a way to remove duplicates as a mass instead of one at a time?

to take care of dupes:
_*How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library*_
or [_*Araxis Find Duplicate Files*_|http://www.araxis.com/find-duplicate-files> (free trial)
JGG

Partial Duplicate iTunes Library onto MacBook Pro for portability?

As many of you, my iTunes library is growing leaps and bounds and as such I've have it on an external 1 TB drive. It is connected to my MacBook Pro while at home and it is the master to which I sync my iPhone and TV.
Now when I want to go portable with my laptop, I lose my iTunes library. I cannot transfer the entire library to the MacBook Pro because it is too large for the laptop's internal drive.
Is there a way to make the MacBook Pro have a secondary library that is a selected portion of your master library like you do with your iPhone or TV?
Surely someone has come across this with the use of laptops and explosive growth of iTunes.
Thanks

you can create a secondary library on your MBP but, personally, i find running multiple libraries cumbersome.
instead, you can have selected content stored on your MBP (while the bulk remains on the external) and still use only one library.
you could use the following script to move your selection from the external to your boot drive:
[_*Re-Locate Selected v1.1*_|http://dougscripts.com/itunes/scripts/ss.php?sp=relocateselected]
This script will re-locate the files of the selected iTunes tracks from their current location to a new user-chosen folder. iTunes will be updated with each track's new location and all of each track's meta-data will be preserved. Option to remove the files from their original location. (I don't advise using this on more than an album's worth of tracks or so at a time; re-locating dozens of tracks' files to a single folder doesn't seem to make much sense to me.)
NOTE: If your "Keep iTunes Media folder organized" preference set, you will not be able to create new folders in or re-locate files within the iTunes Media folder; outside is OK.
or, you can do it manually:
(1) go iTunes > preferences > advanced and temporarily point +*iTunes media folder location+* to your local iTunes folder. on the same tab, ensure +*copy files to ... when adding to library+* is check marked.
(2) select (highlight) the desired content in iTunes, right-click (or ctrl-click) and choose +consolidate files+ from the pop-up menu.
when done you could delete the files you moved from their original location (the external) or just keep them there for backup purposes.
don't forget to point +*iTunes media folder location+* back to the external.
if you insist on a separate library for your MBP, you might want to take a look @ these 3rd party apps:
PowerTunes
[_*iTunes Library Manager*_|http://dougscripts.com/itunes/itinfo/ituneslibrarymanager.php]

How to transfer itunes library to another iTunes library on my external HD

Previously I created a duplicate iTunes library on a external HD that I partitioned.
Recently I redid my music from ACC to AIFF as I got a larger HD with a new iMac.
I created a new library to store the AIFF files and I completed the entries and them merged them into my regular iTunes library.
It went without any problems.
Now I want to transfer the songs to the EXternal HD iTunes library.
I have additional songs on the external HD so I would like to keep that library OR merge the two into a new library on my external HD.
How do I accomplish this.
Sorry if it is a simple question but I just want to make sure I do not lose anything.
MY External HD is a backup to the iMAC so I have the the iTunes main account on a separate partition.
Greg

Let me try and ask this another way as perhaps this is not doable.
Can I transfer the external HD iTunes library to my iMAC library ?
This way I have the full library and then I can transfer the iMAC main library back to the external HD (partitioned side) library.
I just want to ensure that I do not lose my songs from the external HD and not have to reenter them from CD's.
Thanks, Greg

Backing up iTune library

how do I move my iTunes from my eMac's hard drive to an external hard rive and or vis versa.
Thanks

William hello,
to reinforce what you have been told and to help you understand it better... this just happened to me so if you follow my brief story you will pick up the thread okay.
I was working with two computers the other day an iMac and a iBook both had big libraries on and their own playlists etc. and OS X 10.4.3
iMac is streaming iTunes 24/7 ( currently over 500 hours non stop since last iTunes upgrade if any one wants the URL let me know)
I hooked the two together, the iBook has the standard iTunes setup
Home > Music > iTunes folder iTunes Library and xml file, iTunes Music folder 6600 songs. ... The iMac is a test bed and 8900 songs not in any folders, in a shared folder with RW for all .... The Home > Music > iTunes folder iTunes Library and xml file, setup is there plus another 20 libraries all named what they do and stored in a folder and an empty iTunes Music Folder.
I want the iBook to take over the streaming without breaking the connection
1. Open iTunes Folder iMac, Duplicate iTunes Library (iTunes running)
2. Drag dupe to iTunes folder iBook (iTunes NOT running)
3. Put iTunes Library and XML files on desktop.
4. Change name of Dupe to be iTunes Library
5. Double/click on file
all done I'm now listening on the iBook once I sync the end if a song from the playlist currently 'On Air'... I have to be careful to also switch the program that is handling the steam as well... You of course do not have this concern I only mention it to show the stability of the setup
The key is, OS X 10.4.3 has all the power to keep track of it all and if iTunes finds what it expects to find at startup time it all ticks very very well.
Read this post
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=158843
would welcome any questions you may have William.
take care ... TP

Will using an external hard drive cause me to have duplicate files on my itunes library?

I put all my ITUNES MEDIA folder on my external hard drive from my older computer.. I recently bought a new computer and installed Itunes. I synced some of my Itunes purchased songs back on by using my Ipod.. however the songs I ripped from my cds are still not reinstalled in my library.. I will have to use my external hard drive or re rip those.. and there are a lot of them.. since I have already replaced some of the ones I purchased back on using my Ipod will it duplicate them if I use the prefrences method and return them all from my external hard drive? If i delete my files that I have already returned on my new computer before using my external will Itunes remember which are Itunes purchased music and which arent as well>??? also how exactly do you move music from an external? just plug it in and click the prefrences box about syncing files and keeping Itunes library organized?? any other thing to click?

An iTunes library consists of both the media and the database that knows which files are in the library and hold details of ratings, playcounts, playlist membership and other details not stored in each file's metadata.
Depending on how you have moved content to your external drive you may find you are only moved the media, but not the database. If you import this media into a new library it will work, but your library will be seen as "new" with respect to any devices that you have and iTunes will want to erase and reload them, losing you current selections, settings and data on the device.
These are two possible approaches that will normally work to move an existing library to a new computer.
Method 1
Backup the library with this User Tip.
Deauthorize the old computer if you no longer want to access protected content on it.
Restore the backup to your new computer using the same tool used to back it up.
Keep your backup up-to-date in future.
Method 2
Connect the two computers to the same network. Share your <User's Music> folder from the old computer and copy the entire iTunes library folder into the <User's Music> folder on the new one. Again, deauthorize the old computer if no longer required.
Both methods should give the new computer a working clone of the library that was on the old one. As far as iTunes is concerned this is still the "home" library for your devices so you shouldn't have any issues with iTunes wanting to erase and reload.
I'd recommend method 1 since it establishes an ongoing backup for your library.
If you have an iOS device that syncs with contact & calendar data on your computer you should migrate this information too. If that isn't possible create a dummy entry of each type in your new profile and iTunes should offer to merge the existing data from the device into the computer, otherwise the danger is that it will wipe the information from the device.
If your media folder has been split out from the main iTunes folder you may need to do some preparatory work to make it easier to move. See make a split library portable. Alternatively you could copy over the iTunes folder and make sure your external drive has the same drive letter on the new system as the old, however moving the library into a portable form will make every subsequent move that much easier.
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device for advice on how to set up your devices with a new library with the maximum preservation of data.
tt2

ITunes Consolidation: Will it create duplicates of media files if they already exist in the new itunes destination folder but arent being referenced by the itunes library?

I have a macbook pro from fall 2010. I have been using my external HD as my primary itunes folder for the past 7 yrs ( i.e it is organized by itunes default categorization, etc). However, there is some overlap between my external HD itunes folder and my comps original itunes folder (probably 20-30% of my current library's media files were already duplicated there from when i first bought the HD and transferred files to the external, however they are mostly referenced from the external now). Also there are files in the comp's itunes folder that are not on my external (probably due to organizational mishaps and podcast downloads when not connected to the external, etc). I do not know how many files this is the case for.
Recently, i decided that i wanted to consolidate all of my itunes music into one concise folder on my macbook's HD to avoid these issues going forward. I also just bought a new external which i will use to back up my comp's itunes folder once i consolidate everything to the comp. But i plan on using the itunes folder on the comp going forward or at least using the consolidate fcn to avoid these issues.
Here is my dilemma. Prior to learning of the consolidate feature today, I changed the default itunes folder in settings to the original itunes folder on the macbook and then manually dragged all of the media files from my external itunes folder to the macbook's itunes folder. There were a ton of duplicates or overlapping folders with similar artist names, so i opted to have them merge all folders where possible. After doing this, i realized the itunes library still references these files that i dragged and dropped from the external since that is where my default itunes folder used to be. At that point i then read and learned of the consolidate itunes feature which seems like the best way to do this. But i am afraid that if i consolidate my library to my macbook's itunes folder now, will it create duplicates of the 4000 + media files i just dragged to the macbook's itunes folder which are already in the itunes library but being referenced from the old external??
Question: Is there a way that i can make these files i just dragged to the macbook's itunes folder become the ones referenced by the itunes library through the consolidate feature without creating duplicates of these 4000+ files? I want to avoid having three copies of these files (two duplicates in the itunes and the originals on the external). Furthermore, is there a best way to find out which files in the macbook's itunes folder are not being included in the library after consolidating everything to the computer's HD? Then after that, what is the best way to start backing this all up to my new external, so that this overlapping issue doesnt happen again? Im assuming i just need to make sure to consolidate first when changing itunes folders going forward. Thank you. I know that was a lot to read but hopefully someone can help with this issue.

In general:
- The best way to check if files are in a library is to drag the whole media folder to the library. If something was missed it will be added. If it is in the library is won't be added a second time.
- If you have a second copy of a file and iTunes does not currently list that specific file in its database then even if it is identical to one already in the database it will add it a second time. So if you have file xyz on the internal drive and the external drive and add them to iTunes you will end up with two entries for the same thing in iTunes because you really do have to copies of the files. While this can happen with two copies on a single drive, it will almost definitely be the case when you have a copy of a file on two drives because iTunes really sees them as two different things.
-Unless you know how iTunes works, avoid moving files yourself. Let the consolidate feature do all the file moving. Manually moving files can really mess up iTunes unless you know what you are doing and have iTunes set to not try to do it itself.
- There's no clean and easy way to delete duplicates. The best thing is to change practice so you don't create them. Here are references:
How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2905
http://dougscripts.com/itunes/itinfo/dupin.php (commercial)
Posts by turingtest2 about different types of duplicates and techniques- https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3555601 and https://discussions.apple.com/message/16042406 (Note: The DeDuper script is for Windows)
http://www.hardcoded.net/dupeguru_me/

HT2905 No Display Duplicates under File. How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library

I now have iTunes ver 11.0.4.4 under Windows 7. I lost all iTunes stuff when updating to Windows 7. I have loaded thousands amd thousands of music files from backup disks, but there are many duplicates. I am attemping to re-establish my old library. I used to be able to remove duplicates quickly with the old iTunes. The new iTunes doesn't seem to offer the same service. Is there any way to remove duplicates quickly, or must I do it one by one?

When deduping use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin. Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.
(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed)
See also HT2905: How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library
tt2

How can i delete all the duplicates in iTunes library?,

have three copies of each song showing in the library. i am sure there is an easy solution. what is it?

It depends a bit on how they got added and if each duplicate represents a separate file (physical dupes) or if you have multiple entries to the same files (logical dupes). See this article How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. The method given there works fine if the duplicates were all added at the same time and are physical duplicates. If they are logical duplicates then don't delete the underlying files or you lose your only copy of the track. If the dupes are not so easy to isolate by sorting then arrange them in the usual album order and delete all but one of each repeating group.
If that all sounds like too much effort try Dupin/Dupin Lite from http://dougscripts.com/itunes/.
tt2

Lots of Duplicates in Itunes library

I recently bought a Seagate external drive to back up my music, among other things, to using SyncToy. When finished I went to look at the results and found that SyncToy had not backed up all my music and those backed up had a lot of duplicates. Not so concerned about SyncToy here but if anyone knows why it didn't back up everything I would appreciate the help.
The problem is the duplicates in the library.. Some CDs had none. Some had incomplete song titles with a correct title included. Some had duplicates of every title with a (2) at the end. Some were duplicated with no indication of any differences. I did check the file size often enough (by hovering over the title) to generalize they were the same size. Sometimes there are 3 files, two duplicates and one with a (2) at the end.
My library is "organized" in the Music under Itunes Media, I use Itunes 10.7 and do NOT want to "upgrade" to Itunes 11.
Any ideas where they came from? And if I can somehow get rid of them, will they come back? I recently subscribed to Itunes Match to rid my old purchases of copy protection, it worked but those matched songs have no more or less duplicates than those ripped from CDs. I have been using Itunes since about 2003, so the libraries have gone through many upgrades.
Thanks for the help!

Apple's official advice on duplicates is here... HT2905: How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls such as lost ratings and playlist membership.
Use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items to display duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin.
Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background, this post for detailed instructions, and please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping.
(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed.)
The most recent version of the script can tidy dead links as long as there is at least one live duplicate to merge stats and playlist membership to and should cope sensibly when the same file has been added via multiple paths.
tt2

My entire iTunes library has been duplicated. How can I delete all duplicates at once rather than each one individually?

My entire iTunes library has been duplicated. Is there any command that will let me delete all duplicates at once, rather than each individual song?

In particular:
Once you have used the Show Exact Duplicates feature* you can set about deleting all but one copy of each duplicate file. If all the duplicates have recently been added into your library then you could sort the list on the date added column, select a range of tracks with SHIFT-click and delete all the recent entries.
* On a Mac hold down Option, then click File > Show Exact Duplicates.
You could also check out Doug's Scripts for useful tools.
tt2

My itunes library has duplicated all of my music and would take me hours to delete one by one. What is a quick easy way to delete over 2,500 duplicates?

My itunes library has duplicated all of my music and would take me hours to delete one by one. What is a quick easy way to delete over 2,500 duplicates?

Apple's official advice is here... HT2905: How to find and remove duplicate items in your iTunes library. It is a manual process and the article fails to explain some of the potential pitfalls.
Use Shift > View > Show Exact Duplicate Items to display duplicates as this is normally a more useful selection. You need to manually select all but one of each group of identical tracks to remove. Sorting the list by Date Added may make it easier to select the appropriate tracks, however this works best when performed immediately after the dupes have been created. If you have multiple entries in iTunes connected to the same file on the hard drive then don't send to the recycle bin. This can happen, for example, if you start iTunes with a disconnected external drive, then connect it, reimport from your media folder, then restart iTunes.
Use my DeDuper script if you're not sure, don't want to do it by hand, or want to preserve ratings, play counts and playlist membership. See this thread for background. Please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping, whether you do so by hand or using my script, in case something goes wrong.
(If you don't see the menu bar press ALT to show it temporarily or CTRL+B to keep it displayed)
tt2

The previous version of Itunes had a function where I could identify duplicate songs in my iTUNES library. I cannot find this function in the new version of iTUNES.

The previous version of Itunes had a function where I could identify duplicate songs in my iTUNES library. I cannot find this function in the new version of iTUNES.
Please advise where this is in the new version?

The show duplicates/show exact duplicates features have been left out of iTunes 11. Rumor suggests they will be restored in the next build. In the meantime I have written two Windows scripts to make playlists of Duplicates and Exact Duplicates, either from a selection of tracks or the entire library.
If you want to manually remove duplicate tracks use shift-delete to remove selected tracks from the library as well as the playlist. Keep one of each repeated group of files and don't send to the recycle bin unless you are sure that there are multiple files on the disc as opposed to multiple entries to the same file.
There is also my DeDuper script if you don't want to do it by hand. This can preserve ratings, play counts, playlist membership, etc. which are lost in a manual clean up. Please take note of the warning to backup your library before deduping. See this thread for background on deduping and the script.
tt2

Duplicate iTunes library entry

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