Having issues with putting purchased music back into iTunes after reinstall

I have been having issues with iTunes closing itself out right after I open it. I deleted the program, then re-installed it, which fixed the problems with quitting. However, I cannot copy my previous library back into iTunes. I saved the iTunes music file and the .xml file to my desktop before uninstalling the program. When I tried to add the music back into iTunes, I keep getting this message: Attempting to copy the disk "Macintosh HD" failed. The disk could not be read from or written to. It does not appear on all songs that I tried to add back, but it happened for quite a few of my purchased songs. Is there any way to fix the files or do I need to download the songs again? I tried running the Disk Utility to repair Permissions, but that has not helped with anything.
I am running iTunes on a MacBook with Mac OS X 10. 4. 11, if that will help with anything.

jjdevney wrote:
I had to reinstall Windows XP, erasing everything on the hard disk. I had saved the music files with backup software, so I now have them back. But iTunes won't add them to my library. I tried importing songs from a new CD to see where iTunes put those files, and then copying an album folder into the same location. But Windows wouldn't copy the files inside the foder. Nearly all the songs were originally taken from CDs in my collection, and the songs are still on my iPod Nano.
Wow,
Wonder why XP won't let you copy files?, perhaps you used a different user name?
Or these are the old DRM versions of the songs? You should be able to log into your iTunes account and authorize the computer and iTunes should recognize the songs.
Well since you have the iPod Nano, you can head over to iLounge and ask them what current third party software works to move your iPod Nano music back to iTunes.
Hope that works out for you

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HD reformat & want to put iPod music back into iTunes

I have been using my 60GB 5th gen iPod as usual (so the music was NOT saved as a file nor was the iPod being used as a hard drive) when the computer crashed. I had to completely erase the HD and reformat it, so the computer is starting from scratch.
Can I somehow get the music on the iPod back into iTunes when it was not saved into a music folder on the iPod? The computer crash was unexpected, so the music on the iPod is not saved into one folder as per the instructions on copying music from one computer to another via the iPod.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I plug the iPod into the computer, iTunes will sync with it and erase all of the music on the iPod to match the empty library on the computer, right?
Do you think it's possible to connect the iPod to a PC which may be able to see the music as a file and then save the music to the PC & pull it off of the PC back to the Mac? Connecting the iPod to a Mac that does not have iTunes only results in contacts, calendar, & notes to be accessible, but the music is not seen on the iPod.
Any help would be greatly appreciated! I'd hate to lose anything! Thank you!
Intel iMac Mac OS X (10.4.8)

"Can I somehow get the music on the iPod back into iTunes when it was not saved into a music folder on the iPod?"
You can't sync or drag your non iTMS music back directly from an iPod to iTunes, the transfer of music is designed by default to be one way from iTunes to iPod. However there's a manual method of copying songs from your iPod to your Mac at this link: Two-way Street: Moving Music Off the iPod
If you prefer something more automated there are also a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward. I use Senuti but check the others out and choose whichever you are happy with.
Senuti Mac Only
iPodRip Mac Only
PodWorks Mac Only
iPod.iTunes Mac Only
PodView Mac Only
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
There is a new function in iTunes 7 under File, "Transfer Purchases from iPod" which transfers iTMS purchases. A paragraph on it has been added to this article: How to use your iPod to move your music to a new computer
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I plug the iPod into the computer, iTunes will sync with it and erase all of the music on the iPod to match the empty library on the computer, right?"
If your iPod is set to update automatically you just need to take care when connecting back to your computer and an empty iTunes. You will get a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press *No* (or "Cancel" if you are using iTunes 7). Pressing "Yes" (or Erase and Sync in iTunes 7) will irretrievably remove all songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual and use your iPod without the risk of accidentally erasing it. In iTunes 7 Check the "manually manage music and videos" box in Summary then press the Apply button. Don't uncheck Sync Music it will be unchecked by default when you choose the manual setting: Managing content manually on iPod
Keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again. I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up in case you have problems again. External drives are comparatively inexpensive these days and you can get loads of storage for quite a small outlay.

How can I get my music back into iTunes after erasing my disk?

I had to reinstall Windows XP, erasing everything on the hard disk. I had saved the music files with backup software, so I now have them back. But iTunes won't add them to my library. I tried importing songs from a new CD to see where iTunes put those files, and then copying an album folder into the same location. But Windows wouldn't copy the files inside the foder. Nearly all the songs were originally taken from CDs in my collection, and the songs are still on my iPod Nano.

jjdevney wrote:
I had to reinstall Windows XP, erasing everything on the hard disk. I had saved the music files with backup software, so I now have them back. But iTunes won't add them to my library. I tried importing songs from a new CD to see where iTunes put those files, and then copying an album folder into the same location. But Windows wouldn't copy the files inside the foder. Nearly all the songs were originally taken from CDs in my collection, and the songs are still on my iPod Nano.
Wow,
Wonder why XP won't let you copy files?, perhaps you used a different user name?
Or these are the old DRM versions of the songs? You should be able to log into your iTunes account and authorize the computer and iTunes should recognize the songs.
Well since you have the iPod Nano, you can head over to iLounge and ask them what current third party software works to move your iPod Nano music back to iTunes.
Hope that works out for you

I had to do a complete system restore on my computer and now I am having issues getting all my music back. It's telling me that my account is in use with a different user but I'm the only user on my computer. When I go to sync it, it wants to delete all.

I had to do a complete system restore on my computer and now I am having issues getting all my music back. It's telling me that my account is in use with a different user but I'm the only user on my computer. When I go to sync it, it wants to delete all my music and ringtones. What should I do? I don't want to loose all my items.

When in recovery mode you can't backup the iPod.
You will have to restore via iTunes. See:
iTunes: Restoring iOS software
To restore from backup see:
iOS: How to back up
If you restore from iCloud backup the apps will be automatically downloaded. If you restore from iTunes backup the apps and music have to be in the iTunes library since synced media like apps and music are not included in the backup of the iOS device that iTunes makes.
You can redownload iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

I am using a T61 ThinkPad with an external hard drive and my itunes library keeps disapearing but remains on the external drive. Any idea how to fix this so my music doesn't disapear all the time? It's a real drag pulling music back into iTunes each week.

I am using a T61 ThinkPad with an external hard drive and my itunes library keeps disapearing but remains on the external drive. Any idea how to fix this so my music doesn't disapear all the time? It's a real drag pulling music back into iTunes each week

In iTunes 11 uncheck the preferences setting in in the iTunes Preferences panel "Advanced > Copy Files to iTunes Media folder when adding to Library"

I'm having issues with connecting my iPhone 4 to iTunes?

Here's some information:
Apple product: iPhone 4
Computer: Windows 8 (originally) to Windows 8.1 (upgraded version)
Okay, I'm having issues with connecting my iPhone 4 to iTunes. I've connected it via U.S.B. and now everything's not working right the 10th time. Am I to redownload the iTunes software once again or will I never be able to add music anymore?

OffTime wrote:
What do you mean with logging?
Hans
Close any open applications.
Click the Apple icon top left of the screen.
Select the bottom option in the cascading menu: Log Out (your user name).
Log in a Guest.
This will dertermine if there is a problem with your Admin account.
Al

How do I put content from my iphone back into itunes after installing a new hard drive?

How do I put content from my iphone back into itunes after I have installed a new hard drive on my computer?

See Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

Putting music back into Itunes library after reformat? Help Macmuse!!!

Reformated my hard drive and now I need to get my music back into mt iTunes library from my iPod. Tried using Macmuses idea from a previous thread but I get stuck when copying the music file from my iPod onto my hard drive. It'll start copying(and by the way, its taking a very, very long time to copy-is that normal?) then it stops saying there's a problem with my I/O device. Only a few files get copied before stopping. I'm using the USB cable that came with the iPod. And the files on my iPod are all still there and playable on my iPod. So I'm not sure what the problem is. Can anyone help?

Oh, it took over 8 hours to get songs from my 20G iPod using that method. Incredibly slow.
You might look at some of the free 3rd-party applications mentioned in Buegie's post. But I don't know if they are any faster.
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1890689#1890689
What's that exact error message about I/O device?
Anyway try one of the utilities in that post, maybe that error message will go away.

Putting Ipod Music back into library?

I had to reformat my computer and after storing all of my important files on my nano I figured that once every thing was reinstalled I would also be able to move my music back into my itunes library. It isn't letting me do this. Is there anyway that I can get my library back?

I use this app-
http://www.thelittleappfactory.com/application.php?app=iPodRip
Well worth the 15$ price tag, and the interface is great!
Hope that helps,
J Rod

How do I move music back into iTunes?

I've tried a couple of third party programs that move your music from your ipod back into itunes. However, none of them seem to keep your playlists and the order that the music was listed intact. This is driving me nuts since I have almost 5000 songs and my old hard drive died. I do not want to have to buy all of the music again and spend days importing CD's. I'm also holding off on buying a new iPod until I can get this resolved since I don't want to start from square one.
If anyone knows of any utilities that can preserve my playlists and keep the play order intact (I have some books on tape and other things where play order is important) would love to hear from you. Thanks!!!!

The following utilities claim to be able to restore counts, ratings and playlists, although I haven't tried them myself and they are not free. No doubt there are others that could be found with google.
http://www.ipodsoft.com/site/pmwiki.php?n=igadget.Homepage
http://www.copytrans.net/

Computer Crashed,how do I get music back into itunes w/o erasing Ipod?

My computer crashed, and I had to get a new hard drive. I was able to save all of my music on cd, and it is all still currently on my Ipod. I have downloaded Itunes again, but how do I upload all the music on my ipod into Itunes without it automatically erasing my Ipod when I plug it in? Am I able to save my play lists when I reload my music to Itunes?
Dell PC Windows XP

If you are using the iPod in manual update mode it is safe from being accidentally erased when you connect to an empty iTunes after reinstalling your operating system. However if your iPod is set to automatically update you will get a message that your iPod is linked to a different library and asking if you want to link to this one and replace all your songs etc, press *No*. Pressing "Yes" will irretrievably remove all songs from your iPod. Your iPod should appear in the iTunes source list from where you can change the update setting to manual.
You can use a keyboard command to prevent your iPod auto-syncing with iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer on Windows hold down the Shift + Ctrl keys (on a Mac hold down the Option and Command (⌥ and ⌘) keys). This will stop the iPod from auto-syncing with iTunes and the iPod will appear in the source list. Wait until you are sure the iPod has mounted, and that it will not auto sync and then you can let the keys go. This may take between 20 to 30 seconds depending on your computer. Then go to Preferences>iPod and check the "Manually manage songs and playlists" box: Managing Your Songs Manually
While you can't sync your music back from an iPod to iTunes, if you want to check this out, there is a manual method of accessing the iPod's hard drive and copying songs back to iTunes on Windows posted in this thread: MacMuse - iPod to iTunes
If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the files from an iPod, this is just a selection. Have a look at the web pages and documentation for these, they are generally quite straightforward and will copy songs and playlists.
iPod Access Mac and Windows Versions
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
PodUtil Mac and Windows Versions
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
PodPlayer Windows Only
iGadget Windows Only
Whichever of these retrieval methods you choose, keep your iPod in manual mode until you have reloaded your iTunes and you are happy with your playlists etc then it will be safe to return it auto-sync again.

How to get music back into itunes library?

Before i restored my laptop back to original default settings, i saved an itunes folder onto a external hardrive, thinking that i wouldnt need to re-install it etc. But it wasnt working, so im downloading itunes again now...but how do i get all my music back into my itunes library. The music is still on my ipod. Do i need to plug my ipod in or will that erase all my music on my ipod?! Stressing out! Please help!
Thanks x

Quit iTunes.
Copy the entire /iTunes/ folder from you external to /My Music/ folder on your computer.
That is all you need to do.

My last pc crashed, how do i get content from ipod/iphone/ipad and previously purchased items back into itunes on pc?

How do I get content back into itunes from ipod/iphone and ipad when old pc died and now have a blank itunes?

check out this post by Zevoneer.

Can't Get External music back into itunes with song rankings

For various reasons my wondows PC crashed and I've had to clear out various drives.
No problem I thought, because I regularly back-up my 10,000 plus songs on an external hard drive.
Problem is that when I connect it to the PC and try to copy the songs into itunes I do not get my song rankings appearing any more, I just get the other ID3 tags details. Where are they stored and can I find them again ?
Also,
all the while the external HD is attached and I've copied some folders into itunes, all appears fine with the songs showing and playing, but when I disconnect the song still appears in my open version of itunes but then no longer plays and says it can't find the song ?
Help ! I don't want to rank all 10,000 songs again and I want the songs all back on my PC.
I could use my 60 Gig ipod to reload the PC but I only have about 80% of all the music files I own, so the obvious choice is the other external drive with everything from my PC on it. Can you help me please ?

luckily that is also backed up on the external drive too so I'll try looking there, but do you have any thoughts on why I can't get the backed up files to stay on the PC correctly ? because until they are back on my PC I can't use it or get the rankings back right?

I need help putting Classical Music CDs into iTunes

I need help - this question has lots of subquestions, sorry.
I have found just a few discussions that deal with this but I am still confused. Forgive me if I get wordy and misuse technical terms - I am trying to learn this thing...
I'm an iPod newbie and haven't a clue on the best way to organize my many, many classical CDs that I'd like to put onto my iPod Classic 160G. I'd also like to do this with as little fussing around as possible since there are lots of CDs I've got to deal with.
If each CD is a separate entry [album?] in the playlist and titled with composer name first [ex Bach, Brandenburg Concertos, Titov conductor] I'll have several playlist entries with the same titles, but different contents. No problem really.
But, should I separate it further, by having each concerto [say] be a separate entry in the playlist - without having to download the CD again. [I've just practiced on a few CDs but I imagine it being a problem if I had to download each CD several times - once for each work] Does it make sense to leave gaps between movements? [I'm not finding a way to remove gaps, though I have seen that suggested somewhere]
And when I come to play the pieces, if I start playing a work in a playlist, will the iPod keep going from one movement to the next as it makes its way through the playlist - or will it stop at each movement and wait for me to tell it what to do next?
Advanced Settings - are these the best? I'll be listening to music on an airplane using noise cancelling headphones and at destination attaching iPod to portable speakers to listen to music in hotel rooms.
General: Keep iTunes Music folder organized - unchecked? [not sure what this means or does or doesn't do]
Copy files to iTunes Music folder when adding to library - checked?
Importing: AAC encoder? High quality -128 kbps?
Thanks for all your help - I know this is a multiple set of questions and perhaps should have been broken up...
Mrs H
Message was edited by: Mrs H to fix typos
Message was edited by: Mrs H

Thank you so much for your help. You have sorted out a lot of problems for me. I've tried to go through what you wrote, add some more info and I have asked a few more questions below-
I re-ripped at 256. I too have the 160GB classic so it's good to know that it will take 10,000 tracks as lossless - now I have to re-rip again! I actually hadn't anticipated using the iPod with anything other than our high quality noise canceling airplane headphones, our cheap, portable travel speakers for hotel rooms and our Cambridge sound speakers for our cabin. It's that last set of speakers that makes me think I should follow you advice and go with lossless.
QUESTION #1 - When I re-rip and do an automatic sync, will the tracks at 256 automatically be replaced by the bigger lossless ones with the same name or should I delete everything from the iPod and begin anew?
"I create a playlist for each work, using a systematic naming convention..." What I did on my test was create a playlist for each composer breaking it down - ex- Bach:concertos, Bach:sonatas, etc. I have the Album column highlighted and it appears as if the movements stay together in the correct order. I fear that the task might be too large to create a playlist for each work, though that certainly is appealing.
QUESTION #2 If the Album column is highlighted and the movements are in the correct order in iTunes in the playlist, will they stay that way in the iPod?
"I tend to use just surnames for composers for example, or at least "surname, firstname"." I finally found in settings on the iPod the way to change sort by composer to last name, first name. In iTunes, the composer column which is imported from the internet search for info on the CDs gives composer with first name first and I can't find a place in iTunes to reverse this. Typing it or erasing the first name will be a huge chore.
QUESTION #3 Is there a place in iTunes to change the order of the composers' name in the composer column?
"For compilations etc I still create one for the whole CD or box set"
I figured this out on my own before you corroborated my idea - I think I'm getting the hang of this...
"The option iTunes has to "organise your music" is a good one"
QUESTION #4 - are you referring to the preferences > advanced check box "Keep iTunes Music Folder Organized" ? If not, what are you referring to?
"I have my library in its own dedicated disk. Wherever you put it, its important to then never change it or doing anything else with it: leave it for iTunes."
QUESTION #5 "dedicated disk"? as in hard drive? I have been using SuperDuper to back up my Mac to an external HD; I plan to put a copy of the iTunes folder onto yet another HD where I keep copies of all our photos as well.
"never change it"? I noticed a misspelling "Haendel" from the on-line CD/track info - no problem in fixing that - right? Since you later say you do change info, what is it you are never changing?
QUESTION #6 - "Disk N of M capability" - what? Where do I find this option? And when you say "for multiple CD albums, don't include the cd number in the album name." Where? when you put the CD into a playlist entry? or just in the list of music in the album column - do you change the listing?
ONE FINAL QUESTION - when I turn on the iPod when it's not attached to headphones or speakers, and I'm just looking at the screen to see settings or how the syncing worked, the iPod appears to begin playing something as soon as I turn it on. THIS IS A STUPID QUESTION, but I can't find the answer, how to I get it to stop playing without turning the iPod itself off???
"I hope that helps a little. " A little?? It helps a lot - and I'll award those points as soon as I get it all resolved.
Thanks again,
Mrs H

Having issues with putting purchased music back into iTunes after reinstall

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