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

Similar Messages

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.)

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.
(57695)

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.
(57695)

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]

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

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

Is there a way to put music (mp3) from my PC onto my iPhone (5c) without having to duplicate that music by adding it to the iTunes Library?

Greetings all, I am a brand new iPhone owner (my first smartphone in fact) and am very sad that I don't love my new device as much as I was beginning to. I've come into the Apple family with open eyes and heart, but I am heartbroken and mortified and what I've been learning this morning. I just spent five hours (no exaggeration) reading forums, downloading iTunes (which I don't really think I want, I am used to WMP and much more accustomed to it), downloading and installing an update, learning that certain options which were recommended are now gone unless you use secret commands (want to Add Folder to Library? Well, too bad! Unless you know the secret Ctrl-B handshake. Hope you didn't just spend tons of time adding items file by file before you learned that (by scouring the obscure forums for that information, since it's not common knowledge or readily accessible in iTunes now)!). Apologies for the sarcastic tone, still very frustrated with the whole process. I've seen support messages directing people to support pages with QuickTime videos; QuickTime doesn't install easily or quickly or work properly on my PC (perhaps I need to work with it more, buuuut...), it's all just seeming so....proprietary.
Is it really the way this works that I have to duplicate all of the music that is currently on my hard drive not just once but twice, such that I need to have it 1) on my hard drive in my music folder where it has always been (so that I can play it how I am used to, using WMP), 2) copied to my iTunes Library and then 3) "Synced" (whatever this really means...still learning obviously) / copied onto my iPhone? Thus taking up twice the space on my hard drive that it needs to?
There's really no way to simply have the phone take it from my hard drive? Apple seriously needs it to not only be existent on my pc, but duplicated into the iTunes Library (which is really just another folder, right?) in order to allow it to be put onto my iPhone?
Please please please tell me I am misunderstanding how this works. I really genuinely do want to love my iPhone and get accustomed to how it and the software it needs works, but this has been frankly a nightmare and has had me wishing for brief moments that I had gone with something more PC friendly. Please just tell me that it gets better, that you can have a PC that you use, and have an iPhone that you use and marry the two happily once you get used to the way to do that.

HydroThunder wrote:
Greetings all, I am a brand new iPhone owner (my first smartphone in fact) and am very sad that I don't love my new device as much as I was beginning to. I've come into the Apple family with open eyes and heart, but I am heartbroken and mortified and what I've been learning this morning. I just spent five hours (no exaggeration) reading forums, downloading iTunes (which I don't really think I want, I am used to WMP and much more accustomed to it), downloading and installing an update, learning that certain options which were recommended are now gone unless you use secret commands (want to Add Folder to Library? Well, too bad! Unless you know the secret Ctrl-B handshake. Hope you didn't just spend tons of time adding items file by file before you learned that (by scouring the obscure forums for that information, since it's not common knowledge or readily accessible in iTunes now)!). Apologies for the sarcastic tone, still very frustrated with the whole process. I've seen support messages directing people to support pages with QuickTime videos; QuickTime doesn't install easily or quickly or work properly on my PC (perhaps I need to work with it more, buuuut...), it's all just seeming so....proprietary.
Is it really the way this works that I have to duplicate all of the music that is currently on my hard drive not just once but twice, such that I need to have it 1) on my hard drive in my music folder where it has always been (so that I can play it how I am used to, using WMP), 2) copied to my iTunes Library and then 3) "Synced" (whatever this really means...still learning obviously) / copied onto my iPhone? Thus taking up twice the space on my hard drive that it needs to?
There's really no way to simply have the phone take it from my hard drive? Apple seriously needs it to not only be existent on my pc, but duplicated into the iTunes Library (which is really just another folder, right?) in order to allow it to be put onto my iPhone?
Please please please tell me I am misunderstanding how this works.
Okay.
You are misunderstanding how this works.
When you add songs to your iTunes Library, all you are in fact doing is telling iTunes where (on your computer) to find the music. iTunes does not create additional versions of your music (see * below). iTunes is a database (or catalogue) - it simply lists your music and knows where it is so that it can copy it to your iPod.
Synced - synchronise... to make as one, to make the same as each other. Well, that's what my dictionary tells me anyway. To make iTunes and the iPhone the same, to have the same music etc. on or in each. (Subject to your preferences.)
HydroThunder wrote:
I really genuinely do want to love my iPhone and get accustomed to how it and the software it needs works, but this has been frankly a nightmare and has had me wishing for brief moments that I had gone with something more PC friendly. Please just tell me that it gets better, that you can have a PC that you use, and have an iPhone that you use and marry the two happily once you get used to the way to do that.
Okay, I'l tell you that too.
It gets better. You can have a PC that you use, and have an iPhone that you use - and marry the two together blah blah blah.
Now that you have iTunes installed, at least you've got that far, although I can't quite imagine how it managed to take five hours. (You would have all these same issues if you were moving from iPhone to any non-Apple product.)
Secret menus, (CTRL+B etc.) - yes, there have been some very odd moves with all this "hiding menus" nonsense. But with the help of useful contibutors to these discussions, you will find iTunes easy. There are however, so many ways to configure iTunes, that everyone will tell you that everyone else's method is wrong.
So let's start with basics:
Once iTunes is set the way you want to view it, all you will need to do is add music to your iTunes Library, either by;
putting a CD into your computer's CD drive, and telling iTunes to import the CD. iTunes will make a digital copy, put it in a folder (in the iTunes Media folder) and list the album in your iTunes
buying music from the iTunes Store. The store will download the music to your Library.
Buying music from other sources. For example Amazon. Here in the UK, Amazon have a downloader which will download any purchases, place them in an Amazon folder and add them to your iTunes Library
Add other digital files by using the Add Folder to Library. (I can make sure you can easily find that, if you wish.)
Then - you can add songs to Playlists - if you wish. You do not have to add music to Playlists. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!
Then - connect your iPhone to the computer, and let iTunes perform a Sync.
Your first ever Sync will need a little bit of configuration. A Sync will copy the new songs to your iPhone. It will also transfer back to your iTunes Library:
any songs purchased, on the iPhone, directly from the iTunes Store.
any apps purchased, on the iPhone, from the iTunes Store.
Play Counts. The number of times a song has been played, on the iPhone, since the last Sync.
Last Played date and time. You won't believe how useful this feature can be.
HydroThunder wrote:
There's really no way to simply have the phone take it from my hard drive?
That is precisely what iTunes is for - it's exactly what it does and how is does it. By the way, also don't let anyone tell you that you should use Manual Management to anage your iPhone. No one with any sense would use Manual Management. Why do housework, when iTunes can do it for you?
* There is one tiny issue in all this. If you leave your music where it is now, it may make it slightly harder for you to transfer all your music to another computer anytime in the future because it will be in various different palces on your current computer. There is a setting in iTunes to "copy files to the iTunes Media folder when adding to library", which will duplicate songs, but that's so that you can store all your music in one parent folder for easy transfer to another computer. Your choice. If you take it, once it's done, you could then delete the older copies in the other storage locations.
Of course, if you transfer all your media, files, documents to the new compurer, it shouldn't be any hassle really.
As for WMP. While you are used to it, now that you have an iPhone, why not try playing music in iTunes? It's really not that bad.
So - you tell me what point you have reached and what other information you need to help you with iTunes, what views you want in your iTunes Library. There are lots of ways to vieww your Library! You only need to tell us how you like to look at things, by albums with artwork, by a sonsg list but with the option of looking at albums, or Last played. On and On it goes!
I may be a bit biased in my choice of views, but I can still help you get the best out of iTunes. It really is a fantastic piece of software, despite the little annoying things Apple put into it.

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

How can I delete the duplicates in one go, rather than individually?I consoladated my iTunes library looking for a song I bought...my whole library is now duplicated. Thousands of songs and hundredes of podcasts.

I consolidated my iTunes library and now I have duplicates of everything, podcasts, songs, play lists...everything. How can I delete the whole set of duplicates at once. It is thousands of items I can not do them indiviually.
Thanks

I consolidated my iTunes library and now I have duplicates of everything, podcasts, songs, play lists...everything. How can I delete the whole set of duplicates at once. It is thousands of items I can not do them indiviually.
Thanks

I transferred my iTunes library from one external hard drive to another and added more music on the same day. How do I get rid of my duplicate files without going through them one by one which would take forever?

Please help. I have transferred my iTunes library from one external hard drive to another plus added additional music now I have duplicates of the same music in many albums. How do I delete the duplicates without going through them one by one which would take forever? I understand how to get the "show exact duplicate" feature up on iTunes but, because they were added to the library on the exact day I can't seperate them I'm that manner. So each duplicate is right next to eachother in the exact duplicate screen.

My DeDuper script is designed to help clean up. See this thread for background.
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/

On my itunes library my albums are all sorted but when i put onto my ipod touch (4th Gen) it seems to duplicate i have checked everything and there are no spaces in the information my question is how do isort it because these things drive me mad

on my itunes library my albums are all sorted but when i put onto my ipod touch (4th Gen) it seems to duplicate i have checked everything and there are no spaces in the information my question is how do isort it because these things drive me mad i would be most gratefully if you could find a way to help
thatnks

Never mind, got it to work. I stumbled around on Google for a while and somehow ended up reading things from the 'jailbroken' community. They had easy instructions to get out of Recovery mode. Thanks anyway though!
P.S. For anyone who experiences this, here is the fix: Hold Power and Home in unison for 6 seconds, then power on as normal.

If I've downloaded my music to an itunes library from an external hard drive and I have several duplicate songs, is there an easy way to delete the duplicate songs? Or, do I have to go through my entire library song by song to delete duplicates?

If I've downloaded my music to an itunes library from an external hard drive and I have several duplicate songs, is there an easy way to delete the duplicate songs? Or, do I have to go through my entire library song by song to delete duplicates?

In iTunes, File>Display Duplicates

Duplicates in iTunes Library

I seem to have several thousand duplicates in my iTunes library. Is there a quick efficient method of getting rid of them?
Thanks John

You could take a look at Robert Jacobson's scripts at:
http://home.comcast.net/~teridon73/itunesscripts/
There is a script for removing duplicates and also one for removing dead tracks i.e. the "not found" tracks.
It is best to download the EXE version which has all the scripts in it and you choose the one you want when you run it.

Duplicate iTunes Library

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for