Files Missing in iTunes Library

I am trying to download a song for dance from a website to iTunes and then to my iPod touch. I got the song into my iTunes library, but now it won't import to my iPod. In the library there is a little white exlamation point inside a grey circle next to the song. When I double click on the icon, it gives me this message: "The song 'Breakeven' could not be used because the original file could not be found. Would you like to locate it?" Then I click locate and find where it is saved on my computer, open that file, and then nothing happens and I am still not able to import it to my iPod. I need help please!

Patrick Collins wrote:
every now and then I try to play a track and a "!" appears
maybe this helps:
iTunes Track CPR v1.3
This script attempts to locate the files of so-called "dead tracks"--iTunes tracks designated with (!)--that you assume are not actually missing but are still located in the iTunes Music folder in their "iTunes File Order" (Music -> Artist -> Album -> file.xxx)."
additionally, this application may be useful:
_*Music Folder Files Not Added v2.0*_
This application will list the file paths of the files in your designated "iTunes Media" folder which are not in iTunes' library. Additionally, you can select a different parent folder and its contents will be compared to the iTunes library. Options to Add a selection of found files to iTunes or move them to the Trash.
JGG
edited by the Jolly Green Giant (where Green stands for environmentally friendly)

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Very Strange Problem w/ external HDD - MP3 files missing on iTunes Library

I'm using a late-2007 MacBook, iPhone 3gs and an HP "SimpleSave" external HDD (500GB) which is NTFS-formatted. Since I wanted my media files on my ext. HDD, some of which exceed 4GB, to be read/written on both Windows and Mac, I had no choice but to use such applications as Paragon NTFS or MacFUSE, and I'm currently using Paragon NTFS on my Mac.
As mentioned, so.. I manage my media files - music, videos & photos - on my ext. HDD. I listen to a great deal of classical music, so managing my media files on my iTunes Library is so critical. I found iTunes suitable for managing classical music, because it provides diverse methods of managing, sorting and viewing my music list.
Disappointingly, however, I lately found that some of my music files on my iTunes Library as well as on the hard drive's actual location of the files were missing, even though I didn't change or delete those files. Those files, literally, vanished for no reason, and this happens occasionally on my ext. HDD. Now I have to identify those missing files and do the ripping, converting & putting in the DB again, having absolutely no idea as to which files are going to be deleted by itself again or what on earth the reason is.
It's unlikely that I accidentally deleted the files somehow, since I'm well aware of whereabouts of the files and I manage my iTunes Library 100% manually.
I googled the issue, but the clear reason is yet to be found. I would be grateful if you can help me with this.
Thank you.
Message was edited by: Shramana

> To Urami: Some of us hate newsreaders. Agreed, the web
based Adobe forums are
> pathetic and slow. But newsreaders are not for everyone:
yet another program
> running on the desktop, when people edit their posts
you're not assured of
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interfaces that are not
> comfortable to browse through. Please don't criticize
anyone for bumping a post
> or not using a newsreader. Chances are that someone has
the perfect answer for
> Nemesis, but doesn't obsessively check the forum every
day (and happens to also
> dislike newsreaders), and will have missed seeing it on
the top page. I don't
> find the bumping rude at all.
It's not about "like" or "not like", it's about following
common code of conduct of
this forum specified by the posting guidelines, to which by
the way you agreed upon
singing up in here.
Secondly, regardless your personal feeling on the topic, it
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but before you do that, familiarize yourself with posting
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http://www.adobe.com/support/forums/guidelines.html
the "Don't..." section, topic "Don't 'bump' post."
Best Regards
Urami
<urami>
If you want to mail me - DO NOT LAUGH AT MY ADDRESS
</urami>

I have multiple libraries on an external drive. Somehow all the iTunes library files i.e. iTunes Library.itl, xml, itdb, Media folder, etc disappeared! Only the music files remain. Now when I start iTunes w/option it can't find any of the old libraries!

Help! I 'm using an old G4 powerbook, Mac OSX 10.5.8, iTunes ver 10. I have multiple iTunes libraries on an external drive. Everything was fine for a while, then all of the iTunes library files, i.e. iTunes Library.itl, xml, itdb, artwork folder, Media folder, etc mysteriously disappeared! Only the music files remain (thank god) So now when I start iTunes w/option key to choose a library, I can't choose any of them because iTunes won't recognize them. Because all the library stuff is missing. So can I re-create the library files? (I don't care if I lose my ratings)
Or should I create a new empty library on the external drive, then manually move all the music files to the Media folder in the new library?
I tried some stupid ideas like creating a new library just to start iTunes, then going into prefs and advanced, then under iTunes Media folder location, selecting the location of the old library on the external, to see if iTunes would then find all the music which is still there, but no workee.
I'm out of ideas, and I searched the archives.
Help! anyone?
Scott

I don't know if this is me adding files to iTunes when the external wasn't connected
it is.
is it OK to just keep deleting that library on the Air?
i wouldn't - at least not until i
mount the external
point iTunes media folder location back to the external via preferences > advanced
consolidate my library via file > library > organize library
The ntfs hasn't seem to be causing any problems, but I've always wanted to know.
in order for your Mac to write to NTFS drives, it needs some help by installing e.g. the NTFS 3G driver. apparently that or something similar is installed on your Mac already. preferably, it would be formatted for Mac but then windows machines would need to have e.g. MacDrive installed to recognize the drive.

How can I copy mp3 files from my Itunes library to an SD card for use in a non-apple phone?

How can I copy mp3 files from my Itunes library to an SD card for use in a non-apple phone? I can physically copy the tunes as mp3's but the phone does not seem to be able to play all of them. Do I need to copy an entire album or can I just pick & choose individual songs? The phone is question is an LG running who knows what for an operating system.

AAC is Advanced Audio Coding. Basically it's a format that sounds better than MP3 but doesn't take up as much space as a lossless format (like you'd have on a CD). More than likely you've had that encoding turned on when you ripped your music into itunes (it's the default encoder). Therefore your LG phone won't play them.
You need to turn off the AAC format by going to the iTunes menu, Preferences, General (at the top), then clicking the "Import Preferences" button. Change the AAC Encoder to MP3 Encoder. After that you'll have to make MP3 copies of your songs by right clicking them and selecting "Create MP3 Version." You'll get a copy of the song that should transfer to your SD card and have MP3 encoding. Hopefully your phone will play that.

How can I put my mp3 files into my iTunes library? Every time I download a song from a website and try to drag it to my library, it won't add on. How can I fix this?

Back then when I had the older update with iTunes i never had this problem with trying to put my mp3 files of music into my iTunes library. Now it doesn't want to be put into the library. Once I try to drag the music file to the iTunes library nothing happens, it just keeps showing a cancellation sign with my mouse. So how can I fix this?

Hi William.
The problem is probably that the index is corrupt and you need to completely re-create it rather than rebuilding individual mailboxes. I have no idea what the situation really is now after having tinkered with the contents of ~/Library/Mail/, though, so the following procedure may or may not work.
Verify/repair the startup disk (not just permissions), as described here:
The Repair functions of Disk Utility: what's it all about?
After having fixed all filesystem issues, if any, and making sure that there’s enough space available on the startup disk (a few GB, plus the space needed to make a backup copy of the Mail folder), try this:
1. Quit Mail if it’s running.
2. In the Finder, go to ~/Library/Mail/. Make a backup copy of this folder, just in case something goes wrong -- e.g. by dragging it to the Desktop while holding the Option (Alt) key down.
3. Locate Envelope Index and move it to the Trash. If you see an Envelope Index-journal file there, delete it as well.
4. Open Mail. It will tell you that your mail needs to be “imported”. Click Continue and Mail will proceed to re-create Envelope Index -- Mail says it’s “importing”, but it just re-creates the index if the mailboxes are already in Mail 2.x format.
Note: For those not familiarized with the ~/ notation, it refers to the user’s home folder, i.e. ~/Library is the Library folder within the user’s home folder.

I have all my music on an external hard drive. I just transferred all my files to a new hard drive . How do I sync all my files with my itunes library without losing all my playlists etc and keep everything intact?

I have all my music on an external hard drive. I just transferred all my files to a new hard drive . How do I sync all my files with my itunes library without losing all my playlists etc and keep everything intact?

Launch iTunes with the Option key held down, click on Choose Library, and specify it. If the external drive doesn't contain the iTunes database files, create a new library there and import that music.
If the library contains any rented movies, they won't play on a different computer.
(109334)

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

Can the aTV read files from an iTunes library on my nas drive without my computer being on

I have my itunes library on a My Book Live nas drive that contains all of my digital movies and TV shows. I want to be able to watch my movies from the library without a computer running. I understand that Apple has chosen to chain you to the computer and your itunes account through Home Sharing but I can not see why they couldn't allow you to access a nas drive without a computer running because your aTV is tied to your itunes account also so why do they force you to run a computer 24/7 365 in order to access the files you have bought and paid for.
I have a love/hate for Apple because I love the quality of the products they make but I hate how they make all of the digital files you purchase only accessible through a computer running Home Sharing even though the files are not stored on the computer.
I have tried several things to get this to work without a computer but no luck. The only way I have found to be able to do this is to Jailbreak your aTV and install 3rd party software (which I don't want to do) that will allow you to by pass the computer and Home Sharing (which is dumber than ****) because that is all I want to do is eliminate the need of a computer running wasting electricity (I thought Apple was supposed to be an enviro friendly company, guess not). I am not trying to steal or give someone else my purchased movies and using the aTV and an internet connection they could still be able to tie your media to your itunes account so I just don't get there thinking, or lack of thinking I should say.
Is their a way to do this without Jailbreaking or modifying your aTV?
If not is Apple ever going to wake up and allow there customers to actually USE the media they purchase from them without Home Sharing and a computer running?

_Skull wrote:
Can the aTV read files from an iTunes library on my nas drive without my computer being on
no it can't. you need itunes open and running

Can I add a lossless file to my itunes library?

Can i add a lossless music file to my itunes library? Usually what i do is drag the file or folder into music/itunes/itunes media/automatically add to itunes and it works fine, everything shows in my library and plays perfectly. But with this lossless file i drag it into the automatically add to itunes folder and it goes into the folder but doesnt show up in itunes. I think i know that itunes doesn't support lossless files, so can somene tell me how to convert them into apple lossless or MP3s (preferably apple lossless). Please help.

The are a variety of different lossless audio formats, some supported by iTunes, some partially supported and some not at all.
The best lossless audio format to use from an iTunes point of view is Apple Lossless aka. ALAC. iTunes can import (rip) audio CDs using this format. Other lossless formats supported by iTunes include WAV (partially) and AIFF, however these formats use more disk space than Apple Lossless and do not sound any better, and further more do not support meta-tags as well as Apple Lossless.
Another lossless format you may hear of is FLAC, iTunes does not support this format but it can be otherwise considered equivalent to Apple Lossless in file size and capability. You can convert FLAC to Apple Lossless with of course no loss of quality but you will need to use another utility to do the conversion.
There is also WMA Lossless, this is not supported for playing by iTunes but I believe can be imported (only in iTunes for Windows, not Mac).
So, contrary to your message, yes iTunes does support lossless audio files.
For what its worth I have all mine in Apple Lossless and share it with Windows Media Player and Microsoft Media Center which can also play Apple Lossless (with an additional free directshow filter).
Note: Music purchased from the iTunes store will all be in AAC format which is a lossey format.

"iTunes Media" file in "Previous iTunes Library" taking up 50Gb of much-needed hard drive space. Can this be safely deleted?

Hi everyone,
My 3.5 year old 15" Macbook Pro is running out of hard drive space, so I have been trying to clean out some of the dross. I recently found that there is a file called "Previous iTunes Library" in my iTunes folder that is taking up approximately 50Gb of space. I would love to delete this folder and reclaim the space, but I am not sure what it is or where it came from, and I don't want to lose music files accidentally. Can someone tell me (1) what this folder is and (2) if I can safely delete it?
Here is a screenshot of these folders and their sizes:
Thanks for the help!

Hello facetious1212,
Take a look at this part of the article named iTunes: What are the iTunes library files? Found here http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1660.
Tip: New versions of iTunes sometimes include enhancements to the iTunes library. When you open the new version of iTunes, iTunes upgrades your existing library to the new format and places a copy of the old library in the Previous Libraries folder. If everything goes fine during your upgrade to the latest version of iTunes, you can delete the older iTunes Library files.
All the very best,
Sterling

How do I authorize my computer to play my audible files in the iTunes library?

Problem: Some of the Audible files in the iTunes library were not copied to the ipod, because you are not authorized to play them on this computer.
What is the solution to this problem?
Thank you, lisachillin

Authorizing and deauthorizing.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1420

ITunes 11 previously imported a video file, which I loaded on to my iPod Nano, but I removed the file from the iTunes library and now it won't (re-)import the same video. Any thoughts on why not?

iTunes 11 previously imported a video file, which I loaded on to my iPod Nano, but I removed the file from the iTunes library and now it won't (re-)import the same video.
I'm using 2 PCs, each with video files (.MP4) on their respective hard drives, and also one external drive with other video files on that I move between the two devices.
iTunes on one PC will (sometimes!) let me add video content from the external hard drive, which is clearly iTunes-compatible, because I can then copy it over to my iPod Nano. On the other PC, I couldn't load that same video from the external hard drive. But if I copied that same video on to the PC's internal hard drive first, then iTunes would let me import it. That was yesterday - now iTunes is refusing to load any files from the internal or external hard drive(s).
Any thoughts or suggestions, please?

So I tried copying the files from the external hard drive to a USB drive. I could import the video files from the USB drive!
So then I tried importing the same files on to my PC's internal hard drive again. I could import the video files from the internal hard drive!
So then I tried to import the very same files that failed to load on the very same PC previously. I could now import them!
I still can't import from the external hard drive directly, though.
I really don't think I like the process of importing things into iTunes very much... any suggestions on what's causing any of this behaviour would be very interesting.

Most of my songs have gone missing from itunes library leaving only 1, 2 or 3 on each album. What can I do to recover them?

Most of my songs have gone missing from itunes library leaving only 1, 2 or 3 songs on each album. How can I recover them?

Hello there, gags1246.
There are a few valuable steps recommended in the following Knowledge Base article that should help you locate your content:
iTunes: Finding lost media and downloads
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1408
Thanks for reaching out to Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Pedro D.

ITunes 10.5.2 will not let me add files to my iTunes library. What do I do?

Hello,
Ever since I downloaded iTunes 10.5.2, I have been unable to add music files to my iTunes library. Whenever I am browsing for the file and double-click it, I am immediately given the "This program has stopped working... Trying to find a solution to this problem." box.
Any help is appreciated.

Of course not. Reinstall and if the Libraries are in the standard location in your computer (i.e. iTunes placed them and not you), it will immediately find the libraries. Just don't throw away the libraries. You can reinstall over the existing iTunes. BTW never forget to backup your computer.

I have many thousands of songs in my itunes library. Unfortunately, most are now pointing toward .jpgs instead of the m4a files in my itunes library. Is there anyway to fix this without reimporting all the files into itunes from scratch??

I have many thousands of songs in my itunes library. Unfortunately, most are now pointing toward .jpgs instead of the m4a files in my itunes library. Is there anyway to fix this without reimporting all the files into itunes from scratch?

OMG...I'm glad to know I'm not the only one. Since my computer is a goner, I don't have any other way to access all that music.

Files Missing in iTunes Library

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