Force iTunes to rescan library?

I've two Macs, and I just updated bunch of old songs to itunes plus on one of them. Then I used rsync to sync two libraries. However, now iTunes complains that it can't find old m4p files (they are all m4a now). Is there a way to tell iTunes to rescan what it has under iTunes Music folder?

Why is this such a hidden feature? I have been deleting the library and adding my folder back for years to correct my library as i update, add or change files or tags on my server....25000 songs and it takes forever! This is an awesome tip thank you so much. it only took about a minute to add 1800 songs and relink everything that had changed! Absolutely Awesome. post is in response to oliveirventurini's suggestion:
File, add to library, choose same directory and itunes scans and repairs, adds to library leaves everything else alone.
Edit: does not remove dead tracks but does put exclaimation mark beside them.....easy enough to find and delete

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Force iTunes to "rescan" iTunes folder?

I keep my library on an external drive. I have iTunes looking in the correct place and I have consolidated to the new folder.
After upgrading, iTunes says it can't find the original files to about 200 songs even though they are in the iTunes folder. All I have to do is help iTunes find each song which is very time consuming.
Is there a way to force iTunes to "rescan" the folder for the missing songs so I don't have to point each one individually?

There is no way known to me to let iTunes rescan the 'iTunes Music' folder and restore the 'dead' links.
iTunes Track CPR v1.3 might help.
I've tested it a while ago with a deliberate messed up library and it was able to restore the links with about 70 % of the 'dead tracks'.
Hope this helps.
M
17' iMac 800 MHz, 768 MB RAM, 200 GB HD, DL burner Mac OS X (10.4.8) iTunes 7.0.1

How do I get iTunes to rescan media folder

Hi - I have new music that was correctly added to the media folder (artist/album folders), but is not showing up in the iTunes library. How do I force iTunes to rescan the currently designated media folder, so that it will add the new music to the library? Thanks

iTunes doesn't automatically scan the media folder. There is a tool called iTunes Folder Watch which can be used to scan the media folder and can tell you which files in the media folder are not connected to the library and (with the option check for dead tracks on start up enabled) which entries in iTunes are not connected to any file. You could also just use File > Add Folder to Library and select the media folder if you only want to add new tracks.
tt2

How can I force Itunes to show me the missing music in my library?

How can I force Itunes to show me the missing music in my library? Somwhere I found that if you Select all, Ctrl-I it would do it. But it did not help. I need to find the broken ones! Help!

Create a new, regular playlist named All music.
Drag everything under Library > Music to this playlist.
Create a new Smart playlist.
Match all rules;
Playlist is Music
Playlist is not All music. This contains all songs that cannot be found

How can I force iTunes Match to upload a "Duplicate" to the iCloud?

I have one album where the first track was uploaded, and the other eleven tracks are all tagged as "Duplicates." These tracks were not uploaded to the iCloud. How can I force iTunes Match to upload these eleven tracks erroneously tagged as Duplicates?

I'm adding my 2¢ because I just "discovered" iTunes Match yesterday and decided to subscribe thinking there was no downside (doh!).
Well, firstly, there's the enormous downside of Apple's structure not being able to keep up with (what they should have known would be) enormous interest... my iTunes has been matching for >20-hours and has yet to reach half-way up my library. BTW: I thought I read the iTunes Match info fairly thoroughly prior to subscribing and did not see anything about it being for songs vrs full library.
And secondly, and even more important to me, is that Apple's method of determining duplicate songs is not robust enough, especially for classical music and audio books (e.g., LoTR). I have >12000 "songs" in my library, and Match has determined a boatload are duplicates. They are not of course and even if Apple's duplicate-determining algorithm just looked at disc & track numbers it would "know" that. Anyway, there's a fairly good chance I will not have one complete album upload/match out of >500 albums. That's nae Scottish, in anybody's book.
Gotta say, using Garage Band to individually alter >2000 "songs" on the off-chance that may assist Apple's duplicate algorithm to be correct is not gonna happen. If, after the matching/uploading is complete, I still have >even 100-not-duplicate-songs listed as duplicates, I'm getting my $29.95 subscription back.
... and C: does anybody know why Apple's Lion spell check doesn't work on Apple's discussion forums???

How do you force itunes comments to ID3 tags in MP3 files?

I have comments all throughout itunes. The mp3 files do not have those comments in the ID3 info.
How do you force itunes comments to write out to ID3 tags in MP3 files?
The folder and files all have write permission.

Yeah, don't do that, you probably also degrade the sound quality... If you've confirmed it is something odd with multiple tags try this.
Select a group of mp3 files (You might want to start with a smart playlist so you don't mess with any other format)
Right-click and use Convert ID3 Tags > None (may need to repeat this step if multiple tags)
Then right-click and use Convert ID3 Tags > v2.3 (v2.4 support still patchy from various accounts)
Downside is that it will lose any embedded artwork, but it should preserve all other meta-data, both tag-based and stored within the library itself.
In fact, if you use my CreateFolderArt script before and after updating the tags it should archive any artwork as a local Folder.jpg image for each album and then reinsert that image on the subsequent run... Check it out on a single album first. If it doesn't work as expected let me know and I'll tweak the script to achieve this end.
tt2

IPhone not syncing... I've deleted my iphone backup... Can I force iTunes to create a backup?

Hi guys! First time poster. I've searched the web before posting. Hope you can help...
iTunes has been telling me my iphone has been syncing, but when I looked at the date on the backup file, my phone backup file located here:
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
...hadn't been updated for months.
So I have safely made a copy of the backups that were in that folder, and trashed the backups hoping that would force iTunes to backup my iphone from scratch... But that hasn't happened.
Instead, when I sync my phone on itunes, it takes about 15 seconds and then says "sync complete"... But when I look in the backups folder:
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
There are NO BACKUPS of my iphone... And this is confirmed in the iTunes preferences - see screenshot below:
So is there a way to force iTunes to make a fresh backup of my iPhone?
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tina

Hi iDome90,
That screenshot was helpful, because I didn't have "Back Up" as an option. Check out this screenshot:
So I trashed my iTunes preferences
I went into my user preferences and trashed all my itunes-related preferences:
User>Library>Preferences... Anything beginning with "com.apple.iTunes".
I then reopened iTunes, and guess what? I now have the option to "Back Up". So I chose it, and a few minutes later, I now appear to have a backup of my iPhone!
A BIG THANK YOU!
Thanks to both kelseyaudrey and iDome90 for taking an interest and helping me solve this issue. I hope this thread will help others in the future.
Cheers,
Tina99

How do I force iTunes to recalculate hard drive space?

How do I force iTunes to recalculate hard drive space? I have 7384 audio files and it says that takes up 262,206.65 GB!

iTunes has many components. The two main ones are the application itself (which is what ones means when ones says "iTunes") and the library which is a set of files and folders. I take it you want to move the iTunes library (you cannot run iTunes the application off a non-boot drive).
iTunes: How to move [or copy] your music to a new computer [or another drive] - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527
Quick answer 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), then guide it to the new location of the library.
My one hesitation regarding the above is it sounds like you already have some things on the external drive and you have not shared with us the details of your setup. You have already modified itunes from its standard behavior and this can sometimes introduce problems.

ITunes 7 - Loads Library, then won't open

Hello,
I've had smooth running for a long while, but suddenly iTunes
- LOADS library, but doesn't open a window with my music (the menu bar shows, but is unresponsive)
- WON'T QUIT, even if I try FORCE QUIT.
I've restarted multiple times and repaired permissions - no luck.
Any ideas that won't trash my ratings and groups, etc.?
Thanks.

What if I attach the firewire drive that my iTunes music is on to my Powerbook and open it in my Powerbook's iTunes? What library info does it use?
Whichever music library is on the drive, however, first you'll need to point iTunes to the drive via the iTunes preferences>advanced>general panel: see iTunes music folder location section.
However, before you go there:
From your original post and response It sounds like there may be iTunes application corruption.
I would remove/download/reinstall iTunes. This would include removing the following:
iTunes.app in your Applications folder
iTunesX.pkg and iTunes.pkg in your /Library/Receipts folder
The 3 preference files I mentioned in my previous post
iTunes folder in your /Library/Documentation/Applications
The reinstall ought to leave your iTunes music folder alone. However, just to be safe: make a copy (highlight/cmd. key + D) of your
iTunes Music Library.xml
iTunes Library
files in your /UserAccount/Music/iTunes folder and move these copies to your desktop.
Remember to "repair permissions" once the upgrade is complete.
Post back

How do I force Itunes to backup from specific backup folder?

Dear all, Thank you for reading.
I have searched high and low for an answer to my question but no dice. Please excuse me if some of you have answered this question numerous times.
On 3/5/13 I was up to my neck in inpatience with the email function on my Iphone. It wasnt't receiving emails as my Ipad was so I decided to backup the phone and restore it hoping that would fix the problem. I plugged my iphone 4S in and waited for it to complete backup and sync then I restored the phone. Somewhere right before the phone finished restoring from the previous back up, Itunes informed me I could not save the back up and returned the phone to me as a regular new phone out of the box with factory settings. I tried again to restore from that old back up but somehow it seems that when the phone was restored to factory settings, it saved those settings and erased my old. The only other back up file showing up on itunes is a back up from 6 months ago. This is completely heartbreaking.
Through my research I found the folder containing the backup folders and found a folder marked as a backup from several days before the failed restore. I want to try to back up from this folder but Itunes is not recognizing it. Is there anyway I can force itunes to back up from this folder? I have tried uninstalling itunes and installing it back but it still only recognizes the back up from 6 months ago. Please if anyone knows the answer please inform me! Ive been walking around with this faint feeling of pain as if I lost a whole bunch of money and it almost is as there was so much research, pictures from around the world ive taken, voice memos etc that was a chronicle of my time and like the saying goes "time is money".
Best regards
Danny

If were talking about iTunes Store purchases then...
In iTunes go to Edit > Preferences > Store and turn off
Show iTunes in the Cloud purchases
Share details about your library with Apple
On any iOS device go to Settings > Music and turn off
Show All Music
Close and reopen iTunes and/or reset the device and you should see your version of the metadata for each track rather than the original store data.
As given in my previous post there is a way to prepare an iTunes library for moving between systems such that it won't break the links between the library and the media. It sounds as if your library wasn't in quite the right shape to be moved successfully. Options are to go back and do it again, or you could repair what you have with my script FindTracks. For details on how it works see this thread.
tt2

Force iTunes to Sync Videos

I have several hundred TV show episodes in my iTunes library that are in H.264 format at [email protected] but with a low enough bitrate that they play on my Apple TV 2 fine. They also play on my iPod touch 4G through AirVideo without transcoding. So I know they will play on my iPod but iTunes still won't sync them. I get an error saying that the video will not play on my iPod. Is there anyway to force iTunes to sync it?
Thanks
P.S: I know I can use the VLC app to save them to my iPod and play them like that, but I would really prefer to just do it all through iTunes and the Video app on my iPod. I also want to use AirPlay to stream them from my iPod to an Apple TV, so I mist use the stock Videos app for this.

The tech specs for the 4G H.264 video are:
H.264 video up to 720p, 30 frames per second, Main Profile level 3.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
Note i says level 3.1 but it appears that yours are L4.1. That may be the problem. Have you tried the Convert to Ipod and iPhone Version in the Advanced tab of iTunes?

Forcing Itunes to find songs

How can you force itunes to search your hard drive for new songs?

From what I understand, you can designate itunes where to look for files.
Sort of.
You can share your iTunes library via iTunes prefs -> Sharing.
When teh user runs iTunes it will share/look for other users on the same network sharing their libraries.
If you mean iTunes will look for files in folder/computer, it won't.
If you want them in your library you need to File -> Add to library.

How can I force iTunes to make a new time-stamped bacukp?

How can I force iTunes to make a new time-stamped bacukp which it won`t replace with a next one? I would like to backup my iPhone as it is and erase some stuff from it now but also I want to be able to get it back in the future.
Thanks

Don't think you can. Your best bet is to copy the backup you want to keep to a different location to prevent it from being overwritten. You can later return it to it's original location and iTunes will recognize it and make it available to restore from. Your backup(s) will be located at one of the following locations:
Mac OS: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
Windows XP: %AppData%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Windows Vista: %AppData%\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Windows 7: %AppData%\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

Can I force iTunes to display file extensions?

I just downloaded iTunes yesterday. It's my first experience with the program.
Can I force iTunes to display file extensions? If so, how?
For example, when converting an MP4 audio file to an MP3 one, neither shows its extension, and so the two files appear the same within iTunes.

I wrote a program for Windows to embed the downloaded
artwork into the file. Please note, embedding the
artwork takes up more disk space; Apple's method of
NOT embeddeding it means they only have one copy of
the artwork. Embedding the artwork takes up X times
as much space, where X is the number of tracks for
that album. (e.g. if the album artwork is 500 KB,
and you have 10 tracks, the disk space consumed is
10*500KB or 5000 KB (~5MB))
http://home.comcast.net/~teridon73/itunesscripts/itune
sinsertartwork.zip
That sounds exactly like something I am looking for. Yes, I realize that I am sacrificing disk space to do this - but I have a lot of space to spare on my iPod and I am really tired of redownloading artwork when I change the way I organize my files (or God forbid I have to do a full restore at some point).
I am running your tool now and it looks to me like it works great! Thanks for posting it, I truly appreciate it. Do you know of any sites where people develop these kinds of tools for iTunes (I suspect you participate in one or more of these).
One question - from the looks of it, you do handle the case where I have already embedded my own artwork in files (for those that are not in the Apple iTunes library). Does iTunes actually put that image in its database (the one I embedded) or did you have to allow for that in your utility? Just curious.
Thanks a LOT for that utility!

I have iTunes on my iPad. I have a new iPod nano. How do I connect iPod to iPad to download iTunes and music library?

I have iTunes on my iPad. I have a new iPod nano. How do I connect iPod to iPad to download iTunes and music library?

Hi Divine Inspiration,
You wouldn't connect the iPod to the iPad for data transfers. Music is stored and shared either through a computer or iCloud.
This article gives an overview of moving music and data off the iPad.
iTunes: Transferring media from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or iPod
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1209
and this article explains syncing to the iPod.
iTunes: Syncing media content to iPod
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1351
Thank you for thinking of Apple Support Communities for your support needs.
Nubz

Force iTunes to rescan library?

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