Duplicate songs in iTunes after switching to new computer

I recently changed from an old Win XP computer to a new Win 8.1 computer. While it seems that Microsoft attempted to simplify file management and make a lot of it automatic, I honestly don't understand how it all works.
I'm sure it was probably user error, but somehow now many of my songs - mostly my MP3s - are in iTunes twice.
When I right-click on the duplicate songs, I can see that they're in two locations. But what I don't know is if they're in two "different" physical locations on the hard drive or if they're in two different "virtual" locations that Win 8.1 sees as two different places, though they may be the same. I hope that made sense.
To make it more clear (hopefully), these are the 2 locations:
C:\users\anthony\music\mp3\songname (song name here)
C:\documents and settings\anthony\mydocuments\mymusic\mp3\songname (same song name here)
Are the songs actually on my hard drive twice or does iTunes just see them that way. And how do I fix it so I have only one instance of each song onmy hard drive and one instance of each song in iTunes?
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

It turns out that the problem was that I had reached my limit of five authorized systems on my iTunes user, and had to de-authorize my old system and authorize the new one. The error message could be a lot more helpful....

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HT4914 how to upload songs from itunes match onto a new computer

Hey Folks , just wanted to get clarity on something , when i have iTunes Match & my library in the cloud ... would i be able to upload the library to a new computer? i want to start itunes match on my laptop , which holds the library , but want to uplaod the library to the computer , would i be able to with itunes match ?

Hello dolladp
If you enable iTunes Match on the old computer, it will match and upload all the files. When that process is complete then all you have to do is enable iTunes Match on the new computer and download if you choose to the new computer.
iTunes: How to add a computer or iOS device to iTunes Match
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4913
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
-Norm G.

Duplicate songs in Itunes after Icloud setup.

Once I subscribed to Itunes Match and it did a sync in Icloud, I found many duplicates in Itunes after that. They are identical. It even loaded two song files on the drive. If I try to delete one, it asks if I want to delete the song from Icloud too. If I say no, it just grays out the song but leaves it in Itunes. If I say yes then it will perminatlly delete them from Icloud too. Maybe just another way Apple gets you to keep puchasing the same songs over and over.
Anybody know of a way to get rid of duplicates and retian what I purchased in Icloud?

There is my DeDuper script for automatically removing duplicate copies but keeping one remaining copy of each set. This can preserve ratings, play counts, playlist membership, etc. which are lost in a manual clean up. Please take note of the warning tobackup your library before deduping. See this thread for background on deduping and the script.
Depending on how you created the duplictates it may be possible to sort the exact duplicates display on date added and remove the duplicates added today, but there is a danger that you could have logical duplicates, in which case deleting the files could also remove your originals, or physical duplicates, in which case not deleting the files leaves the hard drive cluttered with copies. Read a bit of the thread before you decide.
tt2

Cannot sync ipod with itunes after setting up new computer with newest version of itunes

Cannot sync ipod with itunes after setting up on new computer, only songs which tansferred were songs bought on new computer after set up, tried to sync songs and it deleted old songs from ipod. How can I get them back on ipod?? They are showing in music library on itunes still.

If the iPod database gets corrupted, it will add files to "Other" instead of where they really belong.
Restoring the iPod will erase this database and recreate it.
And if I do this, won't I just have the same issue when my iPod is re-updated to the most recent version again?
No, it shouldn't. This is why you Restore the iPod. It erases the corrupt database.

Some purchased songs not playing after moving to new computer

I migrated my music library to a new computer by moving the entire iTunes folder from the old computer to an external hard drive then to the new computer. When I synced my iPhone using the new computer, everything synced fine the first time except for an error saying three songs could not be converted properly. When I try to play the songs in iTunes, it tells me they are not authorized to play on the new computer then asks me to login to authorize (even though I already had logged in beforehand). Even after logging in again they won't play. The tracks won't play on the iPhone either.
The three tracks are part of a full album which I purchased via the music store on my iPhone. They synced to my old computer with no problem. They show up in my purchases section in iTunes. And the other 8 tracks from the same album work just fine. And I just double checked, and the tracks no longer play on the old machine either. The only weird thing was that when I synced it appeared as though iTunes downloaded the songs again even though they were already in the existing library. Any idea what's going on here and how to fix it?

Assuming you are in a region where you are allowed to redownload your past music purchases, delete the broken tracks from your iTunes library (but do not hide from iCloud), close and then reopen iTunes, go to the iTunes Store home page, click the Purchased link from the Quick Links section in the right-hand column, then select Music and Not in My Library. You should find download links for your tracks there.
While downloading click the small download activity widget near the search box and make sure Allow Simultaneous Downloads is unticked. This may improve the reliability of subsequent downloads.
If the problem persists, or that facility is not yet available in your region, contact the iTunes Store support staff through the "Report a problem" links in your account history, or via Contact Support.
See also:
Backup your iTunes for Windows library with SyncToy
HT5085: iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match Availability
HT2519: Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
tt2

ITunes store errors after switching to new computer

I am in process of moving everything from one Mac to another. I'm doing it by hand so I don't carry along all the old cruft left behind by programs that I deleted long ago. I've done this before without problems, but this time iTunes is giving me some trouble.
I can log in to the Store and access my profile, and I can play music that is already in my library. But when I try to download updates to some of my iPhone apps, or an album I pre-ordered that is now ready for pickup, I get one of two messages:
We could not completely your iTunes Store request. An unknown error occurred (-4).
Could not purchase "". An unknown error occurred (3027).
Google has failed me completely on figuring out what those errors really are. Does anyone know how to fix this? I am assuming the problem is with me and that the store really isn't having issues today.
Thanks in advance,
janine

It turns out that the problem was that I had reached my limit of five authorized systems on my iTunes user, and had to de-authorize my old system and authorize the new one. The error message could be a lot more helpful....

Should I remove duplicate songs from itunes before connecting new ipad2

Bought new iPad2. New to Apple. Have to connect to iTunes. Should I remove all duplicate songs from iTunes first, before connecting new iPad 2?

Download the zip, and run the program you find: http://ottodestruct.com/blog/2006/01/31/easier-to-use-itunes-scripts/
If you're leery and want more references, do a search for "Quickscripts" and you'll see what people have to say about it!
Good luck!

Recently I have switched out computers and had copied/ transferred my I ITunes library to the new computer and encountered problem. Many of the songs in the library were purchased from my old email address of that I no longer use nor did I remember the o

Recently I have switched out computers and had copied/ transferred my I ITunes library to the new computer and encountered problem. Many of the songs in the library were purchased from my old email address of that I no longer use nor did I remember the old password in order to authorize playing from the new computer. Request advice/assistance to where I am able to play songs acquired through lost password?

This is a user to user tech support forum. Posting questions and getting responses here is the extent of the support.
If you want phone support, call Apple and pay for it.
Posting your phone number of a public forum is not smart, I have asked the moderators to remove it.

After downloading Itunes on a new computer the number of songs in my library is smaller than the count on my old computer. How do I restore the missing songs and my playlists on the new computer?

I have downloaded Itunes on to a new computer. The number of songs listed in the library is less than the number of songs on my old computer.
How do I restore the entire library to the new computer? I do I restore the playlists that I created on my old computer?

Copy everything from your old computer, or your backup copy of your old computer.

Hello, I'm trying to transfer my old itunes library to a new computer using home sharing. It's switched on in both computers, but I can't see the old library in the new computer. But I can see tracks from the new computer on the old one. Please help.

Apologies for poor syntax, my arm's a little sore. Yes, one computer (old) is vista, new is Windows 8. Shouldn't I be able to import the whole library using home sharing? Am I doing something wrong? Thank you in advance

I am having the same issue. I recently purchased a new laptop and I have spent the last 3 days using the home share to slowly transfer all 22,000 songs. However yesterday morning when I turned on both computers to continue the process I am having the following issue:
both computers are running the same windows OS (8)
both computers are running the same version of itunes
both computers are logged in with the same apple ID
both computers have home sharing turned on
Now however I can see the NEW computers itunes library in the drop down box on the OLD computer, however I can not see the OLD computers itunes library on the NEW computer. I can no longer see "HOME SHARES" on the drop down LIBRARY list on the new computer. I've taken the following steps to correct the error:
reset the router
completely shut down BOTH computers and brought them back up
reopened itunes
re-logged in on both PC's
re-activated both PC's with home share
The articles and help from the apple sites are worthless and it says if you can't see a library just turn home sharing off then back on - I've completed the above steps NUMEROUS times. After spending 4 days on transferring my music I really do not want to have to start over by using an external hard drive and then importing that way. I would like some help on discovering why the new laptop is no longer seeing my old library. (When it has been working up to this point)
Thanks in advance.

I have copied my iTunes library onto a new computer, but when I play back the songs there seems to be random "miss" or "drop out". No probs with old computer, just the new one. I'm onto my third new computer - same problem. Any suggestions please?

I have copied my iTunes library onto a new computer, but when I play back the songs using the new computer, there seems to be random "miss" or "drop out" during play back, similar to a small scratch on a vinyl record. Although when I play the same song over again, the "miss" occurs in a different location during the song. No probs with old computer, just the new one. I'm onto my third new computer - same problem. Any suggestions please?

You don't say which version of iTunes you are using, but the symptoms you describe have been encountered by some users with the 64-bit version of iTunes 12.1.
There is an alternative version for 64-bit editions of Windows here:
iTunes 12.1 for Windows (64-bit — for older video cards)
that seems to address the most of the playback issues that some users have been reporting with the full 64-bit version of 12.1.0.77 - including problems with Bluetooth speakers where either sound is degraded or completely absent. The alternative installer here is the same architecture as most previous "64-bit" versions of iTunes, i.e., a 32-bit application with a 64-bit installer. The "for older video cards" label appears to be something of a misnomer as some people have reported that this corrects problems found on current / high-spec systems.
Some users have reported that after installing this alternative version it is necessary to adjust the "Play audio using" selection (normally to "Direct Sound" rather than "Windows Audio Session", though this may vary based on your audio hardware/drivers) in Edit > Preferences > Playback to restore glitch-free audio (one part of the reported symptoms is that the "Direct Sound" choice isn't available, usually in Windows 8). It may also be necessary to ensure that your Bluetooth speakers are active and selected as the default audio device before you run iTunes.
If this doesn't address the issue, you may want to think about reverting to iTunes 12.0 - see Turingtest2's notes on Troubleshooting issues with iTunes for Windows updates for steps needed to completely remove all installed iTunes components, and for links to the 12.0 installers.

How to delete all duplicate songs in Itunes in one step?

How to delete all duplicate songs in Itunes in one step?

Apple's official advice on duplicates is here: 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, or that sometimes the same file can be represented by multiple entries in the library and that deleting one and recycling the file will break the other.
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

I cant access my itunes account on my new computer. None of my songs are showing up.

I cant access my itunes account on my new computer. None of my songs from my playlists are showing up.

Authorization
Macs: iTunes Store- About authorization and deauthorization.
Windows: How to Authorize or Deauthorize iTunes | PCWorld.
In iTunes you use the Authorize This Computer or De-authorize This Computer option under the Store menu in iTunes' menubar. For Windows use the ALT-S keys to access it. Or turn on Windows 7 and 8 iTunes menus: iTunes- Turning on iTunes menus in Windows 8 and 7.
To deauthorize a computer you don't have:
De-authorizing Computers (contributed by user John Galt)
You can de-authorize individual computers, but only by using those computers. The only other option is to "de-authorize all" from your iTunes account.
1. Open iTunes on a computer
2. From the Store menu, select "View my Account..."
3. Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
4. Under "Computer Authorizations" select "De-authorize All".
5. Authorize each computer you still have, as you may require.
You may only do this once per year.
After you "de-authorize all" your authorized computers, re-authorize each one as required.
If you have de-authorized all computers and need to do it again, but your year has not elapsed, then contact: Apple - Support - iTunes - Contact Us.
For more information on authorization and de-authorization: iTunes Store- About authorization and deauthorization.

After getting a new desktop I downloaded iTunes and authorized my new computer and then de-authorized my old one, When I try to update my 5S it says my phone is not authorized and list my wifes email address as the account holder and not mine. How

After getting a new desktop I downloaded iTunes and authorized my new computer and then de-authorized my old one, When I try to update my 5S it says my phone is not authorized and list my wifes email address as the account holder and not mine. How do I correct this. I am using Windows 8.1 . My wife has never had an iTuunes account

Hello Lakesidetom,
It sounds as though you are experiencing an issue with an Apple ID and authorizations. Based on your post, it sounds like you are familiar with the authorizing and deauthorizing process. The Apple ID in question (your wife's email) may be originating from the iPhone you are attempting to update. Is it possible that your wife created an Apple ID or iCloud account which is signed in on that iPhone? Below, I have included links to some resources that may help you determine if your wife has created an Apple ID:
How to find your Apple ID - Apple Support
Use these steps if you forgot your Apple ID or aren't sure that you have one.
Apple - My Apple ID
If you can't remember your Apple ID, just provide us with some information and we'll find it for you. Then we'll help you reset your password.
Thank you for contributing to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Bobby_D

How do I open my itunes account on a new computer without having to buy all new songs? It doesn't seem fair to have to buy all the same songs a second time if they are already purchased by me and I just want them on my new computer!

How do I open my itunes account on a new computer without having to buy all new songs? It doesn't seem fair to have to buy all the same songs a second time if they are already purchased by me and I just want them on my new computer!

There's a few different ways. The following document is worth checking through:
iTunes: How to move your music to a new computer

Duplicate songs in iTunes after switching to new computer

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