Friend(really) just erased & trashed iTunes database....
I just received a panic email from a friend who said she just erased & trashed her entire iTunes database.
Is there something on her Mac(Intel iBook OSX10.4.10)that she can use to recover it; or even a software program she has or can get?
I guess one of our worst Mac nightmares...!!
Hi Robert,
Have her open a Finder window. In the Sidebar on the left, tell her to click Music. With any luck at all, her iTunes library should be in there.
And ...
From the File menu, choose Find (if using Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, you can alternatively click the Spotlight menu).
Type either .m4p or .m4v or .ipg as the search term.
Click Search (Spotlight automatically searches as you type, and does not have a Search button).
If you see the files you are looking for in the Search Results window, you can add them back into your iTunes library.
Check your Recycle Bin/Trash
Another place to look for wayward music files is in your Recycle Bin (Windows) or the Trash (Mac). Don't ask. Sometimes things happen and files wind up there. We've all done it and couldn't even begin to guess how. If you find any, just move them from the Recycle Bin or Trash, and add them back to iTunes.
If you don't allow iTunes to automatically organize your music or make copies of songs and videos to the iTunes folder (such as if you use a customized file structure), you may need to rebuild the structure before adding the files back. Check the structure and see if the songs have been returned to their former homes.
Still can't find them?
You may need to restore the files from your backup, if you have one. If a backup is not available, the music or videos may be lost. In that event you may need to purchase replacements. For content acquired through the iTunes Store, please read Apple's policy on replacement.
The best way to avoid this regrettable situation is to make regular backups of your music and video files—especially your downloaded purchases—before this situation arises. Instructions for making an initial backup and subsequent incremental backups are included in the above articles.
Article ID: 301749
Carolyn
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Start a new iTunes database (erase old one completely) ?
As discussed in the following old post of mine, my wife's iTunes database has been corrupt and I can't find any workable solution. Songs just continue to disappear without a trace, so, with the purchase of a new iPhone4 I'd like to start from scratch;
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1683512&tstart=0
Note that we have two user accounts on our computer, the music is on the shared drive, and both of our iTunes "accounts" point there. So, we pull from the same source of music, but each have our own playlists and such. This was the only way I could find to not replicate all our music twice on two different user accounts.
We're not geting a new MacBook or iPod, but she is getting a new iPhone. So, I would like to completely blow away her old iTunes directory and start fresh.
However, the new iPhone4 will be restored from the iPhone 3G backup which will by default include all of the iTunes data as well. We'll do this so call history, texts and applications will all come over as-is.
We're prepared to go through the pain of creating new playlists again or at least importing them from the old database (that will be exported before we blow it away).
Just in case I may have over complicated this question;
*How do I erase a user's iTunes database so I can create a fresh one?*
THANKS!Thanks, Chris. This is really helpful. A couple more questions based on your answers;
Chris CA wrote:
6 - File -> Library -> Import playlist and select the iTunes library.xml file in the iTunes folder on the desktop. This will bring back all the playlists and some other info. This needs to be done after step 5 because if the songs are not in iTunes, they will not show up in the playlists.
If the songs are missing, will they not show up at all (which is preferred) or will they show up with an exclamation point stating "the song could not be used because the original file can not be found..." Which is what happens now.
If it just only lists the songs that it can find, that would be great. We can focus on replacing files and not worry about all these playlists with huge holes of available music.
Chris CA wrote:
7 - File -> Add to library and select the *Mobile applications* in the iTunes folder on the desktop.
When she plugs in her new iPhone, she should select Restore from backup then select the latest backup in ~\Library\Application support\Mobilesync\Backup
Okay, so what will happen here exactly... if she restores from backup won't it bring back the old iTunes library which we have just blown away? How do I restore everything, but then have her iTunes sync with the new library instead of the old one. (since the user account is the same i thought it might confuse the phone.
I will try the repair and restore suggestion as well when booted from the DVD. It was so long ago I can't remember if I did that, but I don't think so. I think I just restored from the backup and she has had files mysteriously disappearing ever since. Odd thing is, it doesn't happen to any of my songs...not a single one. Only happens to songs that are only in one of her playlists. But, rather than solve that puzzle I'd rather just start fresh. I'm picking my battles and have already lost that one.
Thanks! -
Just set up iTunes for windows but when I try to sync my iPhone to it this is what it says, I have another iTunes library on my power book. It than asks if I want to erase this iPhone and sync with this iTunes library. I used the same password on this windows pc system same log on etc..I don't have anything loaded on it. All I want is for the info that's on the power book in iTunes and my iPhone to snyc/update etc on the windows pc. How do I do this? My power book is dead to the world.
Read here.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/18565125#18565125 -
I just downgraded from iTunes 11 back to itunes 10.7.5. My iTunes is now working from one of the Previous Music Librabies. How can I make that previous library my current library? Also, I can't empty iTunes 11 frome the trash. It tells me iTunes 11 is still open. What's going on?
Thanks in advance!Without providing details on exactly what you did it is hard to provide an answer. It's like me saying, "This chocolate cake I made tastes wrong," but not providing the recipe for review. Maybe it was the garlic in that particular recipe.
If iTunes is successfully using a previous library which you rename to iTunes Library.itl then that is now the current library.
Have you restarted your computer and then tried emptying the trash? -
My iTunes gave me the option to erase and sync with the library or just sync with Itunes purchases. Since I have songs from more than one source and all my music was in the library, I chose the erase and sync option. All my music was wiped off my iPod and a few recent iTunes purchases were synced onto the iPod. All my music is still in the library, but it won't sync to my iPod. Making me crazy.
do this
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My daughter's ipod touch has been disabled because she forgot her password. It also will not connect to itunes because it's been disabled. How can I just erase or reset the ipod so she can use it? We don't mind if the info. on the ipod is lost.
Hi Guys,
I havent touched my Iphone 4s in ages (about a month). I came back to it the other day. I forgot the password, so naturally it disabled it and is telling me to connect to iTunes. In the meantime, i had got a new computer and didnt back up the itunes files (because im an idiot). So now when i connect it to iTunes it tells me to verify it on the phone, but i cant get in there because it is disabled. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP!!! I HAVE NO IDEA ON HOW TO FIX IT!! I've tried to restore it, I've tried to jailbreak it. NOTHING works!! PLEASE HELP!!! -
How to edit iTunes database outside of iTunes
Hello everyone,
After a successfull (more or less) migration of my user account in Windows, I've found myself with a small problem concerning iTunes. The "My Music" folder of the user account was tranferred including the iTunes database & its Library folder. Outside of this folder I had another folder (located in D:\multimedia\lossless) which was also added to the iTunes database & now this folder is in E:\multimedia\lossless).
A lot of songs contained in that external folder are used in playlists & I have stats & ratings on them that I don't want to lose. With that being said, how could I modify the iTunes database (after a careful backup of course) so that every occurence of the path d:\multimedia\lossless could be changed into the new location e:\multimedia\lossless ?
I really need help on this so thanks in advance so anyone who could help.You can't edit the iTunes database directly. Which version of Windows are we talking about here? Can you move them back to D:\multimedia\lossless\, at least temporarily? iTunes reports the location of "missing" files as "unavailible" which makes it hard to write a script which does a search & replace on the missing files. I do however have a script which will move things that can be found to a new location and updates iTunes as it goes, thereby preserving all metadata.
An alternative possiblity would be to create a "junction" so that D:\multimedia\lossless actually points to the folder on E:\ then create a script that updates the locations without needing to physically move the files. Once the update is complete the junction could be deleted. Or you could just create the junction and leave things as they are...
tt2
Oops, we talking Mac or PC? Talk of drive letters says PC but the sig says otherwise? Macs can also support junctions aka symbolic links... Ignore me...
Message was edited by: turingtest2 -
I've been working on ripping my extensive CD collection to iTunes over the past year, and have started to have serious issues with the database size and the way iTunes updates the tables. My database file has reached 92MB in size and the library itself, stored on an external firewire 800 drive, has reached 225 GB in size. Most items are encoded at the standard 128 bit rate.
iTunes appears to update the database table after each file is ripped, and if there are lots of short tracks on the CD, the table isn't finished updating before the next track is done being encoded, which results in severly degraged performance. I used to be able to rip a standard length CD in under ten minutes, but as the database has grown the time to rip the CD has dropped to almost thirty minutes ... sometimes longer if there are a lot of short tracks on the CD. Going back and editing the tags on the encoded files causes the same problem, especially if I'm skipping from one to the next to change simple information such as year or composer.
Is there any solution to this problem? Has any thought gone into making the iTunes database more scaleable or breaking it up into separate tables?
I've started using a separate account to perform the encoding and tag editing before importing the tracks into my main library. While this works, there are still issues when I need to update the tags. I've also considered breaking up the database and iTunes folder into smaller chunks, but I like the convenience of having everything together.
PowerBook 1.67GHz G4 Mac OS X (10.4.7)There's no solution within iTunes that I'm aware of. The flat file format of iTunes really isn't well suited to very large collections and, as you've discovered. performance drops off when the library gets large. Whether or not Apple is looking at this issue and planning any changes to iTunes to better adapt to being a true media engine for those of us who'd like to have all our collection in iTunes, no one here can say; we're all just your fellow users and have no insight into what Apple might be working on. You can submit comments to Apple through the iTunes application feedback page; perhaps if they hear from enough people who want to have large libraries, they'll put the issue farther up their priority list.
Meanwhile, you might try Max (freeware) for doing your ripping. Since it's a separate encoder app, it might help work around the slow tag updating issue.
Regards. -
Rebuild iTunes with Just VERY LARGE iTunes Music Folder
Hello,
As much as I tried to back every bit of my iTunes database up regularly, I failed to assure the quality of these files. Well, I had a family member accidentally delete the iTunes Library and iTunes Library.xml files (yup, my mistake to allow them access to my Mac in the first place). It is only now that I realize the most recent backup copy of these files are corrupted. The really good news here is that I have multiple intact copies of my entire iTunes Music Folder. My goal is to recreate my iTunes Library and iTunes Library.xml files to accommodate it.
Now, here is the kicker. My database is 38000 songs and 190 GB large! I certainly know how to add songs iTunes, but it seems as though it chokes with large projects like this and misses random parts of the tag information. So, what is the best way to get me out of this hole, with the least amount of trouble and most efficient restorative actions? While I wait for an answer, I am also researching various other options and digging deep into the root to rescue deleted files.
If we learn from our mistakes, then I obtained my PhD years ago,
Dr. Z.Dr. Z,
My iTunes library is about the same size. I am experiencing a little different problem though. At times when I start iTunes up I get a message stating that my library is corrupt and it then tries to restore it from the xml file. It finishes, but doesn't get every song. I then have to select all song and clear them while keeping the files intact on the hard drive. I then have to add my iTunes music folder and all its contents using the iTunes "Add to Library" function. I gets all the songs, but of course now all the dates, when the songs were added to the library, have the current day's date. I have to repeat this whole scenario about three times a week. Grrrrr...
It seems like iTunes isn't capable of handling large amounts of songs. I'm sure it shoud be able to, but it sure isn't at the moment.
As to your problem, what if you try adding your songs a chunck at a time instead of all at once? Maybe that will keep your data intact. Just a thought. Might work. I've seen stranger things work.
G5 2.5gHz PowerMac w/DVD-RW Drive, G3 400mHz Powerbook Mac OS X (10.4.3) -
Duplicate iTunes database files in Home Folder
Due to an ever-increasing number of songs in iTunes, I downloaded them to an external hard drive -relatively easily(with a lot of help) and successfully for the most part. But....
In order to trash my iTunes Music on the internal drive I had to re-organize the sub-files found in the iTunes file(path - Home>Music>iTunes>). All of the iTunes database files were in the iTunes Music file so I dragged them out and put them in the iTunes file. After I trashed all the music, by highlighting the songs and dragging them to the trash bin, the iTunes Music file(which should be empty) has ‘re-created’ the iTunes database files.
The iTunes seems to work fine. All newly added music is stored on the external hard drive and downloads to my iPod. However now my iTunes window crashes consistently and my external hard drive gets disconnected intermittently.
What should I do about the duplicate iTunes database files and is this duplication causing these new problems?I would happily assign to you 100 points even now
LOL - just clicked 'Solved' on one of my replies when or if you are happy!
Is it possible that when you create a new library the database files also get duplicated
Well, almost. When you create a new Library, you are creating a new iTunes "window" into which you can import any of your music, irrespective of whether it also exists in another library. So, although the music may be the same, iTunes creates a NEW (not duplicate) set of iTunes Library database files for your new Library. The main one (iTunes Library) holds all your playlists, ratings, etc.
That explains why those new files you found inside your iTunes Music folder were all much smaller than the 4 files you moved out - they were new iTunes Library files. (that's what I meant in paragraph 2; the file sizes of the new set were all wrong - way too small; the set you moved out of the iTunes Music folder, were much more realistically bigger.
However, it may be that the CURRENT set of iTunes Library files is on the eHD with your iTunes Music folder, from what you say. Does the iTunes Library file on the eHD have a very recent timestamp on it? If so, that's the one iTunes seems to be using.
Following your directions in paragraph 3 I couldn't find the main iTunes Preferences .plist file
I'm now inclined to believe that your Preferences are not the problem, though I'm baffled as to how you couldn't find the file. The com.apple.iTunes.plist file MUST be there, I'm not sure how iTunes can run without it. And if it wasn't there, iTunes would create it anew when you run the program. You sure you looked in ~user/Library/Preferences ?
then download iTunes from the Apple site
The problems you describe are from a "wrong way of doing things" rather than a corrupt application, so I'd say no to this, right now.
Could I delete or trash parts or all of the iTunes folders and files somewhere along the path, such as after User/Music and on the external hard drive, without jeopardizing the music located on the external hard drive
{sharp intake of breath} - this is ONLY worth doing once we know which is the Library that iTunes is currently using. Certainly, we haven't got to the bottom of why iTunes re-creates those iTunes Library files in your iTunes Music folder.
One way to track down the current Library file is to add one track only to your iTunes, then quit iTunes. Now, drag each of the "iTunes Music Library.xml" onto TextEdit and then do a TextEdit "Find" for that track name. The .xml file that has that track in it, is part of the set currently being used by iTunes and you should note down where that set is.
Will hear from you again, I'm sure. -
Anybody else finding that the iPod classic cannot handle their iTunes database?
I have a very complex database that heavily uses the smart playlists. I have playlists referencing playlists, etc. and the last 2 operating systems can't handle it. I've got way too many hours behind my iTunes database and I'm unwilling to throw it out to use the iPod. It works great on my machine, allowing me to create well balanced and interesting playlists that are broad and diverse. My database used to work on the iPod. The problem arose with the instalation of a new iPod operating system back over a year ago. The installation killed my iPod and Apple refused to consider that the upgrade was responsible and called it coincidence. Since then an iPod will only work until I make some small mistake, like trying to use the Genius or plugging it into my computer and making some change in my iTunes database. Then it's back to disk mode, erase, reboot, reload and eventually replace.
Apple dismisses the idea that there is some software or hardware flaw causing the trouble. They claim that the iPod software will handle any iTunes database that is functional and fits on the iPod with a little extra room. They have replaced my iPod 4 times in the last 6+ months under the now impossible idea that I am receiving a series of flawed machines. These iPods sits in my glove compartment of my car and suffer no abuse. Since the last OS update, I can only load an iPod by importing my music in smaller chunks, a day long process at best. A full load of the database kills a new iPod immediately. My last time through tech support we came up with this technique as a way to isolate a potential bad song or album. Everything loaded fine in chunks and the iPod handled everything until a made a change to one of the songs and it went into eternal Apple mode and was replaced at the store. I am pretty convinced that Apple is wrong on this one and that the iPod software or hardware is not robust enough to handle what you can do in iTunes. Anyone else have a similar problem? Anyone at Apple care to look a little more carefully at the problem as a learning tool?
Dan, Tired of Riding the BullHi huskerpapa!
The issue you are seeing could be related to several things, but luckily, we have an article that can help you troubleshoot this issue and find the source of the problem. That article can be found right here:
iTunes for Windows Vista or Windows 7: Troubleshooting unexpected quits, freezes, or launch issues
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1717
Thanks for coming to the Apple Support Communities!
Regards,
Braden -
I just bought a iTunes card and its not accepting it. It already sent it to the support team and they said they were going to get back to my within 24 hours and i am trying to buy a program in the app store for work. How can I expedite this process?
Has it been 24 hours?
I take it this was a gift card. iTunes Store: Invalid, Inactive, or Illegible codes http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1292 - gift cards
I don't know if this provides an alternative means: https://expresslane.apple.com ; select 'iTunes' in the first column; 'iTunes Store' in the second column
If you are really desperate you could buy the app yourself, then request reimbursement. -
HT204053 registered my ipod using a new apple id - can I still sync it with my itunes database?
Hi,
The subject says my question completely. I just registered a new ipod, and it will not sync with the itunes database that I've exported / synced to
my other ipods for years. I used a different Apple ID to register it, since both my husband and I forgot the password to the account created years
ago. Please recommend a solution.
Thank you.
Karen WestThe Apple Support Communities are an international user to user technical support forum. As a man from Mexico, Spanish is my native tongue. I do not speak English very well, however, I do write in English with the aid of the Mac OS X spelling and grammar checks. I also live in a culture perhaps very very different from your own. When offering advice in the ASC, my comments are not meant to be anything more than helpful and certainly not to be taken as insults.
Content is forever tied to the Apple ID used to buy it. Apple does not merge Apple IDs and Apple does not transfer content from one Apple ID to another. You will only be able to update the content bought with the old Apple ID by using the old Apple ID. Otherwise you will need to abandon everything from the old ID and biy it again with the new ID. -
Using one Itunes database across two macs
Using one itunes database across two macs
I currently run a 2010 MBP (500gb hd) at home and on the road and a 2013 Imac (1Tb hd) at work. I have a large lossless itunes library of about 300gb and would like to increase the library further.
My MBP started running slowly and I realised that my iTunes library was choking the whole computer. I started to explore ways to store my library on a remote disk and bought a G drive 1Tb portable drive.
My efforts to carry out the transfer were only partially successful with most of my library transferring but a significant number of tracks displaying the ! sign which means they couldn't be located.
I have also got an Imac at work and what I had hoped to achieve was to have my iTunes database on the 1tb portable drive and use the portable disk on both my MBP and iMac.
Our technical support company are dubious about whether this will work because the local specific itunes library data on each machine will differ and each machine will not operate correctly with the underlying data on the portable drive.
I am not very technical and I am finding it difficult to follow the various posts on this board and elsewhere. Many seem to comment on splitting their library across multiple disks but I cant really seem to get to the bottom of storing my library on one disk and using it across multiple computers.
Is what I am trying to achieve practical?
If it is, can someone point me to an article/post please? Or alternatively could someone explain how I might achieve my goal.
Thanks in a advance for your help.Here you go.
http://lifehacker.com/software/itunes/ultranewb--how-to-move-your-itunes-library -to-an-external-drive-238296.php -
Can you merge two user accounts on a macbook? my wife has created a new user on her new macbook air then, inadvertently, created a second one when using the migration tool. 1st a/c has her office 365 install, while 2nd has her itunes database, docs and contacts. What is the best way forward to get everything into the one account? Not sure if the office 365 will allow another installation into the second account, otherwise would just do that and delete the first, if that is possible?
There is no merge but you can move data from one account to another via the Shared folder. Data is copied from Shared. Watch your free space when copying. These are large files. Do one at a time if you are on a small drive. After making copy, delete from other users before you start next copy.
Office365 installs in the main Applications folder and is available for all users on the computer. Activation is tied to the drive not the User.
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