Empty music folders!

I just moved a hard drive with my iTunes music folder on it into my 'new' G4 tower.
I pointed iTunes to that music folder but nothing showed.
I made a new music folder and tried to Add the old folder to Library but nothing.
I poked around and found a music folder in users/me/ etc on the moved hard drive (I had partitioned it into a boot volume and a storage volume) and Added that to Library but that omitted everything I ripped in the last month or so.
The music folder I added from didn't have folders for the music I ripped lately.
The music folder I thought I was using does have folders for all the music I ripped right up until I moved the hard drive but those folders and all the others actually, are empty.
I'm very confused....
G4/1.2Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.8) iTunes 7

If it's the last file in the folder then iTunes should delete the folder too, and if that's the last folder in the parent folder then the parent should go as well. I.e. if you delete the last track by a given album artist then the album & the artist folders should both be removed.
It doesn't always work that way on a PC where Windows Media Player has had access to the same media, as WMP creates thumnail artwork in the folders, so when the last track is deleted there can still be orphaned artwork in the folder. I have written a windows script called CleanDearArt for just this purpose. If for some reason iTunes can't/won't clean up on a Mac then there is almost certainly a tool to do it at Doug's AppleScripts for iTunes
tt2

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How can I delete my empty music folders?

Using a Mac with OS X Mavericks: I recently deleted many songs from my iTunes library and simultaneously from my iTunes music folder. My iTunes music is stored in this order: Music > Artists > Albums > Songs. Now, I am left with many Album folders that are empty because there are no song files in them. I am trying to delete all of these empty Album folders.
I already tried doing an advanced search (below) in my general Music folder, but no results came up.
Is there a way to search for all empty folders within my general music folder and delete them? I don't want to go into each individual artist folder to see which of their albums folder is empty and then delete those one by one. I would like to use a method that would show me all empty folders within the big "Music" folder. I am aware that I can use the Terminal app to do this but have been unable to find a source that clearly explains how to do it for a non-expert like myself. I am an amateur mac user so a beginner's guide to this solution would help. Thanks!

Since you are determined to solve this puzzle, I rolled up my sleeves & dove in -- starting with a refined search...
Some of the categories may be found under Other (which is found at the bottom of the list that pops up when you click on the button to the right of the button).
Before I took this screen shot, I selected all & then ticked Get Info -- obviously, just to view the confirmation dialog box.
On my machine, when I clicked on a folder, the path was revealed on the bottom bar. It was typically either Michael > Music > iTunes > Album Artwork> Cache > (####'s, etc...) [italics mine] or Michael > Music > iTunes > Album Artwork> Cloud Purchases > (####'s, etc...) [italics mine].
Disclaimer: If you do similar to what I have done, then select all, you could use the command in Finder > file > Move To Trash; however, the onus would be on you. Notice how the System Files were specifically NOT included in the search parameters. If you don't empty the trash, then the folder(s) could (theoretically) be dragged back out of the trash & returned to their respective original location(s). Of course you could just select one folder, click on that, check the path for yourself, & decide to do a test drag to trash using said single folder. Then simply investigate the effect it has on your iTunes library.
Finally, you may also wish to see if any higher level ASC volunteers chime in as well -- as they oftentimes do when they come across a rather unique issue such as yours.
Click on the screen shot & it will zoom larger for you.
That's my story & I'm stickin' to it!
mm
iMac (20-inch Early 2008), Mac OS X (10.6.8), iTunes 11.3.1

How do I "link" my music folders to the iTunes Library?

I have recently upgraded my computer. I have formated my disk and installed a new XP, Office, iTunes etc.
Now I have all my music files on a disk D: and my iTunes at C: but I can't manage to "add"/"link" my music folders to the iTunes Library. After iTunes installation, I have changed the path at Edit/Preferences/Advanced/iTunes Music Folder Location to D: ... but the iTunes Library keeps "empty".
Help please !!!
Thanks.

Goncalo,
Changing the location of the iTunes Music folder will only affect songs you add with iTunes in the future.
To add the songs you already have, use the File menu > Add Folder to Library ... option and select the folder that contains your music in the navigation pop-up window that appears.

The location for my music folders in itunes is showing correctly (E:\itunes\iTunes Media) but none of the songs are showing in my itunes library. Would be extremely grateful of any suggestions

The location for my music folders in itunes is showing correctly (E:\itunes\iTunes Media) but none of the songs are showing in my itunes library. Would be extremely grateful for any suggestions

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps youshouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
tt2

Junk files in music folders

I namually manage all my music folders, with each album being a subfolder of the artist folder. I do my best to keep junk files out of these folders when I edit the ID3 tags using Mp3tag or Tagscanner. Now that I've been using a program called Xinorbis to evaluate the contents of my music folders, I see that I have many junk files that don't show up when I simply open the folder. I believe I have "show hidden files" checked, but there are still some rogue files. Most of them are either .ini or .jpg (small album art stuff) with a few .db and .nfo files.
Does iTunes use any of these files? Any danger of deleting them? Will they be regenerated by iTunes or any other program? These files don't take up much space, but it does confuse things when "properties" shows several hundred (or thousand) files more than my mp3 count. (Mp3 13934 files, 3573 graphics files, 413 system files)
This is the first step of cleaning out the files so that I may run the script that will extract album art into the folders. You know, get rid of the old stuff first.

Adding to Katrina's answer slightly...
Windows Media Player & Windows Explorer may typically create up to 6 additional files in each album folder containing .mp3 or .wma files - sometimes more if you've tried getting it to refetch album information, for example because the first attempt gave the tracks in a different order. These are:
desktop.ini - records WMP's identification of the album
Folder.jpg - 200x200px album art, displays as a folder thumbnail image
AlbumArtSmall - 75x75px small version of the above
AlbumArt{GUID}Large.jpg - 200x200px artwork
AlbumArt{GUID}Small.jpg - 75x75px artwork
Thumbs.db - cache of images used by Windows Explorer
where there might be multiple files with different GUID's (Globably Unique IDentifier). Occasionaly the images are not square in which case 200px & 75px will be the maximum dimension. The files are nomally both Hidden and marked as System files which might be why they are not showing.
If you've been letting iTunes or any other program reorganise your music folders then you may have some that are empty of music and simply contain the legacy of WMP's earlier involvement. I've written a script called CleanDeadArt which can be used to tidy these up. For folders that still contain music they won't be doing any harm. WMP will just try to recreate them given a chance. Again the script is fairly easy to modify if you want it to be more aggressive, e.g. remove/archive all artwork, or it could be set to just unhide things so you can see what is going on.
tt2

How to move from 3 separated itunes music folders into one new hard discs??

So : i bought a new external 6TB thunderbolt hard disc (for extra speed for my huge library) and i copied from 3 other 2TB hard disc into there. I named the sub folder the same like an original. I thought it is enough to determine the new place of each in "media folder locations" and updated.... but its not working
What should i do? How will see the itunes these music folders like an originals??? I dont want to reimporting, because i dont want to loose all of my "date added, played etc" informations.
If I'm doing three partitions with folders, as were the old ones will work?
..or should i rewrite the iTunes Music Library.xml with text editor?
pls help me and thx for answering!!!!!
macbook pro/ osx 10.8.4 / itunes 11.0.4

Best to give the new iPad a different name. I assume you have purchased an iPad 2 or the next generation iPad which is just called "iPad"? If so, you can name the iPad 2 "Kens iPad 2" or "Kens iPad 3" since the new iPad just introduced is the 3rd generation.
The first time you connect your new iPad to iTunes on the computer used for syncing your existing iPad, you will be prompted to transfer the backup for your existing iPad to the new iPad, or set up the new iPad as a new iPad. Both must be followed by a sync with iTunes.
Each device has its own sync preferences with iTunes, which can be the same or different for each device synced with the same iTunes library and computer.

Can I have two identical iTunes Music Folders for my Laptop and my desktop

I have an iMac Flower Power, 20GB of HD running OSX 10.2.8 as my desktop, 2 users, with an 80GB External HD (Firewire). I also have my new MacBook. Right now all my music and pictures are in my MacBook and I have BUps of everything in my external HD. My problem is that when I'm away, my wife can't listen to our music with the iMac 'cause I have all the files (iTunes is using the Library located at my Laptop). My questions are... Can I have 2 identical iTunes Music Folders, one in the XHD and one in my MacBook? How can I do to have both Folders sycronized so when I add music being away with my Laptop, then when I get back home the "home" Folder gets updated with the new music or viceversa? I have an iPod but I want to have the ability to also change the playlists in my iPod when I'm away. I hope this is not too hard to do.

This is what I did: First, I backed up my iTunes Music Folders. Then, I disconnected my xternal HD from my iMac and connected it to my MacBook where I had my iTunes Music Folder. Then, I copied the whole iTunes Music Folder to my xternal HD. Then I ejected the xHD from my MacBook, and connected back it to my iMac and restart. When the iMac was up I sent to the trash all the content of the iTunes Folders in my iMac, there is one in the root directory /Documents/iTunes and another in /Users/Home/Music/iTunes. Be aware that you need to "clean" the iTunes Folder which includes the iTunes Music Folder. Then I went to the xHD and copied the iTunes Library file (the data file) to /Users/Home/Music/iTunes Folder in my iMac, then open iTunes. After doing that you should be able to open your iTunes program in your desktop without having your laptop conected to your network. The only thing is that, in order to keep both libraries identical, you have to update podcasts in both computers every day, and import CD's in both computers every time you add one to your library, if you want to have the same thing in both computers. There might be another way to keep them both syncronized but I'm still searching for it. Make sure after you have your iTunes running, to go to Preferences/Advance, and set up you iTunes Music Folder Location exactly where you want it. I hope this help you guys. Let me know if you need clarification in any of this.
MacBook Black Mac OS X (10.4.7) 2GHz Intel Core Duo, 1GB RAM

Copying music folders from an old ext HD to a new one

Hey guys, long time off the discussions, back with a question I hope you can help me in.
Got a macbook. Have all my iTunes library on an external HD. Since this HD is failing, bought a new one. The failing HD is not being recognized by my new macbook, only by my old powerbook.
My goal is to transfer my music files from the failing HD, connected to the old powerbook, to the new HD, connected to the new macbook.
My (idiot?) plan is:
1) To set the new iTunes library location to the new HD through my macbook;
2) To use a flash drive to copy all FOLDERS of artists from the failing HD;
3) To connect the flash drive on the macbook and ask it to add the folders to my new location (the new ext. HD)
4) Thing is, I´m not sure if iTunes will be able to copy FOLDERS instead of simple mp3 files. Is it possible? Is there a simpler plan to this mess??
Thanks a lot guys, any help appreciated.
Paulo

Copy the music folders to the new hd.
On the new computer, set iTunes prefs -> Advanced - iTunes music folder to the location of the music on the external drive.
File -> Add to library and select the music folder on the external.

Is there a way to mass add m4a music folders to the library?

I have several thousand music folders containing m4a music. The files are in the iTunes music folder but are not in the library. iTunes can only add one folder at a time to the library, a time consuming, user hostile restriction. Is there a way to mass add all of the folders to the library using either iTunes or another program?

Will iTunes ignore the non-music folders and files?
Yes, it will only import the files it can import.
I've read posts about files disappearing seemingly caused by iTunes.)
It shouldn't but you do have an up-to-date back of all your files, correct?

Any hope for music folders on the ipod Touch?

Hi All
It is getting VERY difficult to manage my music on my 32 Gb iPod Touch. I have hundreds of playlists (for example one playlist for every version of a classical piece; on playlist for a pop album, etc. etc.)
Is there any hope for music folders as in iTunes on the Touch?
ed

Why do you have a playlist for every album? If your tracks are tagged properly, you can just use the album menu on the Touch.
As for when/if there will be folders on the Touch, the only people who know are probably working under non-disclosure agreements. Who knows what will change when version 2.0 of the software comes out next month.
Best of luck.

In Windows 7, how to make music folders open with iTunes??

Ok, here’s my little problem:
In Windows 7, I have iTunes installed with WMP disabled. In the registry, I have added a Windows Explorer right-click shortcut for folders so that I can choose to open/play that folder’s content in iTunes (see image link below).
http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u297/akita11/Explorer.jpg
All well and good, but I’m the lazy type. So what I would like, is when I left-click on a music folder that has audio files (like mp3’s) in it, instead of Windows Explorer opening the folder, for Windows to open/play such a folder in iTunes automatically. But, and that’s the thing I guess, this should only apply to music folders with audio files (like mp3’s) in it, and not to any other folder containing non-audio files.
I know I can go to the Folder Options control panel applet | File types, and edit the advanced settings for “Folder” from ‘Explore’ to ‘Play with iTunes’ as the default. But then this will be applied so that all and any folders open in iTunes, which isn’t exactly what I’m after.
I guess this can be handled via an advanced registry change, just like I added the Windows Explorer right-click shortcut via a simple registry setting. But for the **** of me I can’t figure out how to do it. I did google around a bit, but without any success.
All help and advice would be greatly appreciated. Cheers

You need to place a shortcut to open Firefox in the Start > Programs > Startup folder.<br />
That is basically the same in all Windows versions.

I have a windows pc, and a 2Tb portable HD, this contains all my music folders, what settings do i use or how do i get itunes to read my portable HD on F;/ drive ?

i have a windows pc, and a 2Tb portable HD, this contains all my music folders, what settings do i use or how do i get itunes to read my portable HD on F;/ drive ?

Hopefully you have the library files on the drive too, or access to the original computer where the library still works. See Make a split library portable.
tt2

I clicked and drug music into my itunes library folder inI clicked and drug music folders stead of adding it with itunes. how do i get itunes to see the new music?

I drug music folders into my itunes folder instead of useing the add folder feature in itunes. What do I do now to allow iTunes to see and play this new music? There is now about 40 gigs of music like this in a 140 gig library.

NTG,
Dragging them into the iTunes folder does not add them to the library. However, you can still add them to the library by finding the new location you dragged it to, and using the command File > Add folder to library.

How do I move music folders with individual music files from windows 7 to itunes folder so that they are recognizable and playble?

How do I move music folders with individual music files from windows 7 to the itunes library so the files are usable in itunes?

All of the following programs should work with Vista.
Yamipod. This is a free program that transfers music from iPod back to the computer. However, it does not transfer playcounts/ratings etc.
Another free program is Pod Player.
SharePod is also freeware.

My iPad will not allow both my pic & music folders to load. When syncing one loads and the other is deleted and vice versa. All softwaew is updated and I would have about a 2Gig reserve on my 14Gig machine with both folders transfered. How do I fix this?

I have updated all software on my iPad and iTunes in my PC. Now when syncing my pics and music folders one or the other folder is always dropped. I should have an unused capacity of 2Gig after transfer on my 14Gig capacity machine. How do I get the ipad to retain both folders like it did before the software updates?

Try the following:
Open iTunes on your computer, go to Edit>Preferences>Devices, click on your most recent iPad backup in the Backups list and click Delete Backup.
Further down on the Devices screen, click Reset Sync History.
Connect your iPad and try syncing again.

Empty music folders!

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