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.

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Main HDD formatted. How to get music back into iTunes?

Hi,
I've just had a bit of a disaster. My main (internal) HDD became corrupted and I was forced to format, losing all my data.
Not too much of a problem, as my iTunes library was stored on an external concatenated RAID. I did, however, lose the two files in the default Music folder -- the XML one and one other (I forget what it's called, But I know it's important!).
No matter -- I don't really care about ratings, playcounts, etc. What I want to do, however, now that I've reinstalled and get everything up to date, is point iTunes at the external drive, get it to recognise the songs, movies, etc, and rebuild it's library. However, I don't want to copy the files -- I don't have another external drive and there's not enough room on the RAID for two copies of everything, even temporarily...
Hope I've explained this okay. In a nutshell -- how to point iTunes at my song files and get it to recognise them?
(I want iTunes to automatically organise my music, I don't want to do it manually).
It is imperative that iTunes does not destroy these files -- I don't have a backup and won't have one until i can afford more HDD space in a few weeks time... (dangerous, I know...)
Any help much appreciated.
Steve.

iTunes prefs -> Advanced.
Set the iTunes music folder to the location where your music is now.
Then File -> *Add to library*.

How do you get music back into iTunes?

I know that if you delete a song from iTunes, it still stays on your computer, just not in iTunes. Since I have Windows, the deleted songs still stay as a Quicktime file in my documents/my music/itunes. I accidentily deleted "complilations" which had around 50 songs on it... but was weird was it didnt ask me if i wanted to delete the artist, it just did it. but other then burning the songs to a CD and uploading them again, does anybody know a way to get them back to itunes? Thanks in advance.
~Matt

I know that if you delete a song from iTunes, it still stays on your computer, just not in iTunes. Since I have Windows, the deleted songs still stay as a Quicktime file in my documents/my music/itunes. I accidentily deleted "complilations" which had around 50 songs on it... but was weird was it didnt ask me if i wanted to delete the artist, it just did it. but other then burning the songs to a CD and uploading them again, does anybody know a way to get them back to itunes? Thanks in advance.
~Matt

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.

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.

HT5295 How do I get podcasts back into itunes in ios6?

I updated to IOS6 yesterday and found that podcasts had been removed from iTunes and put into the new Podcasts app. Having spent a day using this app, I have found it to be terrible: it's slow (podcasts take 10-20 seconds to start after I select them - and these are podcasts I've already downloaded, no streaming), the "next" button takes you to an older podcast rather than a newer one like in itunes, for some reason it decided I hadn't listened to about 40 podcasts that I had definitely listened to, the interface is unresponsive, etc. I went from having a pleasant podcast experience in IOS5 to a terrible one in IOS6. Does anyone know how to get podcasts back into iTunes, or if that's not possible, can anyone recommend a podcast app that works as smoothly as iTunes did in IOS5?
Thanks!

I've just now stumbled into this briar patch with my 4th Gen IPod Touch. Have only used it to date for music, and it's worked fine.
I would LOVE to add podcasts. I'm able to download them to my iTunes PC files, but the pre-loaded 'music' app doesn't seem to want to play them. I've downloaded the Podcast App, but it's for the IOS series 7.
There are a number of suggestions on line regarding how Apple had recognized this problem and had finally made previous versions available "underneath" the App Store Podcast icon . . . but nothing seems to work.
Did Apple turn around and remove the older Podcast App versions?
Does anyone know how to get Podcast functionality for a 4th gen IOS 6 series? This seems like a basic function for an iPod!

Itunes got delted,songs still on ipod,how to get them back in itunes librar

my computer crashed so i had to redownload everything, now that i redownloaded itunes, and plugged in my ipod(all songs are still on ipod) how do i get them back into itunes library music section?

Transferring tracks from an iPod back to iTunes has been covered here a number of times already, but again:
First, you need to prevent automatic synchronzation with a blank copy of iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer, click "cancel" when iTunes presents the dialog box offering to synchronize to the iPod. Or hold down the Shift and Ctrl keys in Windows. This should stop the iPod from auto synching 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 3 and 25 seconds depending on your computer.
Then if you're using iTunes 7, you can then copy music that you purchased from the iTunes Store back to iTunes directly (use the Transfer Purchases From iPod command under the iTunes File menu).
If you're not using iTunes 7 or want to copy back other tracks, the easiest way will be to search VersionTracker for "iPod". You'll find a number of utilities that can transfer your tracks and your playlists from your iPod back to your PC.
It's also possible to do this manually, but the procedure is rather involved. If you're interested, though, see this thread:
MacMuse: Computer crashed
Hope this helps.

I have updated iTunes on my computer and my iPod nano 4 is up to date but not all music shows up in my iTunes library..only the purchased songs..what happened and how do I get them back into the library?

The music library in the updated version of iTunes is grossly incomplete although the music still remains on my iPod. Why did this happen and how do I get the music back into the library?

Hi Dalegu219,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
If your iTunes library is on an external hard drive, but iTunes is not recognizing the library, first make sure the right library is selected.
You can use these steps to make sure iTunes is opening the library on your external drive:
If iTunes is running, quit iTunes.
If you're using Windows, hold down the Shift key and from the Start menu, choose All Programs > iTunes > iTunes.
If you're using a Mac, open iTunes and immediately hold down the Option key.
You should see one of these screens:
Pick Choose Library and locate the library on your external hard drive.
From:
iTunes: How to open an alternate iTunes Library file or create a new one - Apple Support
If the right library is selected, but you do not see your songs, try re-creating the library using the instructions found here:
iTunes: How to re-create your iTunes library and playlists - Apple Support
Best Regards,
Jeremy

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"

My computer crashed, i have my library on an external drive, so how do i get it back into itunes?

Okay so my dad keeps refusing to get a new computer, or a separate laptop for me. Iritatingly, it continues to crash so severely that the hardrive has been wiped clean and restored at least 4 times. Ridiculous. Luckily, I was able to save my library from 9/4/11 on an external drive, but i have no idea how to get it back onto itunes now. Seriously, its a problem because my actual ipod was stolen, ergo i cannot load it from that. What do i do.

This question has to do with how to restore your computer drive if you backed up the computer to an external drive. Did you use backup software or did you just copy the data from the old computer to the new computer? If you just copied, then you need to just copy over the Music folder which should contain the iTunes folder.

I lost songs on my itunes library n i have same songs kn my iphone. So how can i get them back to itunes library?

I lost songs on my itunes library n i have same songs kn my iphone. So how can i get them back to itunes library?

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

How do I get music in my iTunes library onto my husband's MP3??

How do I get music in my iTunes library onto my husband's MP3???

If it's an iPod, just sync it to your iTunes, then you should be able to go to the music tab in the iPod's menu, and choose what you want to sync.
If not, I'm sorry, I do not know. I hope this helps!

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

Got an IPOD nanno last year. Used Itunes often and got a lot of music. Bought another nano for a family member who is using their own laptop . Anyway for me to get music from my Itunes library onto family members ipod? Thanks

Can i get music from my itunes library (created with different computer) onto wife's ipod library (created using different computer)? Hope this makes sense

iTunes and Apple's devices work as an ecosystem. iTunes is designed to sync with Apple's products, not anyone else's. You'll need your songs in a format compatable with the Samsung phone and to use the software transfer program supplied/recommended. It is essentially not an Apple/iTunes problem. You may have better luck finding the information you need on Samsung's forums.
tt2

Ive deleted movies from itunes which has removed them from apple tv, i still have them on my ipad, is there any way i can get them back into itunes?

ive deleted movies from itunes which has removed them from apple tv, i still have them on my ipad, is there any way i can get them back into itunes?

If the movies were rentals then no.
If the movies are purchases and you have the iTunes 10.4 then you should be able to access the 'cloud' option from in the main iTunes page - purchases - (upper right corner) and go from there.
You should also have the option to transfer purchases from the iPad back into iTunes. I don't have an iPad but you can transfer purchases from the iPod/iPhone back to iTunes.
MJ

How to get music back into itunes library?

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