I moved my song files and now my playlists can't find them

Here's my scenario:
I run iTunes off my laptop and stored most of my songs on an external drive. My external drive went bad, so I copied the songs off my external drive onto the laptop hard drive in a separate folder.
Now when I run iTunes and open a playlist, there are exclamations next to all the songs that used to be on the external drive but are now on the laptop drive.
I can re-locate the songs one by one, but that will be a pain for the 2000 plus songs that used to be on the external drive.
My purchased music stays on my laptop, so I have music in two different folders.
How can I re-point the playlists to the correct folder(s) without doing it song by song? I don't want to lose the playlists (i.e. I don't care about metadata like ratings, play count, etc.) I have seen the "Moving Your iTunes Music Folder" article, but I'm not sure if this applies to my situation because I already moved my song files through Explorer and not through iTunes. I want to make sure that my playlists can find the song files even though I've moved them.
HP pavilion laptop Windows XP

Well, I think I figured it out. My playlists were pointing to an external drive E:, which I had removed from my system. So I gave the playlists something to find: I enabled my iPod as an external disk, moved the files that I had previously removed my exHD and put them on my iPod. With my ipod connected and now acting as a new exHD, I opened itunes and hat cleared up all the exclamation points. Then I consolidated my library (in edit>preferences>advanced menu, check "keep itunes music folder organized," check "copy files to iTunes music folder when adding to library," then OK; in advanced menu choose "consolidate library"). That put all those songs from the exHD into the iTunes music folder. I then deleted those files from my iPod, enabled automatic update again, and now I'm back in business.
Hope that helps anyone else out there with the same problem. My advice is to keep your library all in one place. Easier to backup and restore. Also, if you want to move itunes song files, read the article "changing where your itunes files are stored" and "moving your itunes music folder."

Similar Messages

I moved songs within my iTunes media folder and now my iPod can't find them

Hello. I have a few albums in my iTunes library that organize the artists by such folders as Artist feat. So-and-So. This makes it difficult to scroll through artists on my iPod and in my car. So I moved those songs that are in those folders to their corresponding album folder under the original artists' names. Now when I try to sync my iPod it tells me that those songs cannot be found. I completely restored my iPod and tried again after unchecking the following, but it still couldn't find the songs.
Convert higher bit rate songs to X kbps AAC
Keep iTunes Media folder organized
Copy files to iTunes Media folder when adding to library
Luckily I do still have the original CDs and can delete the albums then restore them, but I find this particular feature to be pretty ridiculous.
Can anyone help? Thanks in advance!

The Macintosh has something called "file aliases" which allow you to move files from their original locations and applications that reference those files will still know how to find them. Windows does not have anything like that. It works off of full path / file names. So, when you moved your music folder and all your music in Windows Explorer, iTunes is still pointing to the old location.
Here is the knowledge base article with the information on how to move your iTunes Music Library without these issues, <http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305451>

I bought a new laptop with Windows 7. My computer name in Windows has changed, and now, my Ipad can't find Itunes

I bought a new laptop with Windows 7. My computer name in Windows has changed, and now, my Ipad can't find Itunes, and Itunes can't find my Ipad. [email protected]

Ok, if reinstalling iTunes as suggested above does not resolve the issue of iTunes recognising the iPad then try this -
Firstly, make sure that your device is not hidden (left hand pane). If it just reads device then toggle between SHOW and HIDE.
Secondly, try all the other ports on your computer, even a number of times.
Thirdly, make sure your lead /connections are no faulty.
Fourthly, if you have another computer try plugging your device into it without taking any action, give it a moment, remove it and try it back in your other computer again.
Failing all that, see here - http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1538
And failing all that put the device into Recovery mode. See here and note the paragraph 'If you restore from a different computer.... ' down near the bottom of the page -
http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/assistant/itunes/
As for making your new laptop your 'home computer' follow these instructions -
1. Without connecting your iPad to your computer -
A) Install iTunes / make sure the latest version of iTunes is installed.
B) Go to the Store tab and click on "Authorise This Computer".
C) Go to Edit, click on Preferences [iTunes and Preferences on Macs] and click on Devices. Put a check mark in the box next to "Prevent iPods/iPhones/iPads from syncing automatically". Click OK and close iTunes.
2. Connect your iPad to your computer -
A) Start iTunes (it will not start automatically because of the action at 1(C) above).
B) Right click on your iPad under Devices in the left column. Select "Transfer purchases".
C) When the transfer has completed, right click on your iPad again and select "Backup".
D) When the backup has completed, left click on your iPad, click on the Apps tab, and put a check mark in the box next to "Sync Apps", and then click on "Apply" (bottom right).
E) Unless you want to always do a manual sync (as I do), go back to Edit, Preferences [iTunes and Preferences on Macs] and uncheck the box next to "Prevent your iPod.....".
F) Finally, on your iPad, check that everything is syncing properly. If not, go back to iTunes and check all settings.
NB You should not lose any apps. However, any 'purchased' missing apps can be downloaded again FOC. As with updates, this must be done with the Apple ID under which they were originally 'purchased'.
Also see here as to moving your music to your new computer -
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4527

I "sent as gift" two songs to a friend. She can't find them. Are they sent to her in an email? Will they download during a sync? How can we recover the songs and get them to her iPhone?

I "sent as gift" two songs to a friend. She can't find them. Are they sent to her in an email? Will they download during a sync? How can we recover the songs and get them to her iPhone?

Try going to iTunes Store from the left column, then Account, then Purchase History, then Manage Gifts.

Problem. Alla my tools and panels are hidden, can´t find them. Have try Windows menyer....... and checked. all is ok.

Problem. Alla my tools and panels are hidden, can´t find them. Have try Windows>menyer....... and checked. all is ok.

Press the Tab key, it shows/hides panels.
Or Window > Workspace > Reset or use a different workspace.
Gene

HT201250 I disconnected My Passport by mistake, and now Time Machine can not find it. Although connected, it does not appear in the My Devices section of Finder. What do I do?

I disconnected My Passport by mistake, and now Time Machine can not recognise it. It no longer appears in the My Devices section of Finder. What do I do?

Hello rjhc49,
Thank you for the details of the issue you are experiencing with your external hard drive. I found an article with steps you can take when an external device is not being recognized.
I recommend following the steps in the section titled "Top troubleshooting tips" in the following article:
USB and FireWire Quick Assist
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1151
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Why is the new itunes not picking up my music it shows them and yet says it can not find them

why is the new itunes not picking up my music it shows them and yet says it can not find them

the ipod forum is very good entertainment. i remember reading it last christmas day. lots of folk blaming apple for ruining their families christmas by intentionally providing ipods that didn't work. i knew apple was pretty big i didn't know it could ruin so many xmas celebrations.

I moved the project files and now I can't get them back into iMovie 11

I was working on a project but I ran out of disk space before I could finish it. Now, for this very purpose, I have an external hard drive with plenty of space on it. So I tried moving the folder with all my project files onto the external hd, and now iMovie can't find my project anymore. With iMovie '06 it was as simple as hitting "save as" and saving the project to the external hd, but I guess that's not complicated enough for the new version. Now I can't get into my project. I even try clicking on the actual project file, and it goes to iMovie as if the project was about to open, but nothing happens. So I fear I wasted a lot of time working on that project only to have to start all over because I ran out of disk space.
Someone please tell me there's a way to get the project files open again. Thanks

enoughsaid3 wrote:
... my external disk isn't formatted as Mac OS extended (journaled). I don't know how to do this,...
that is a simple one and should be a routine after purchasing a new drive (in a Mac-only environment!):
• on your Mac, Apps/Utilities you'll find Disk 'Utility'
• on the left lane, you'll notice your connected hard drive(s)
• select it, click on the 'erase' tab
• NOTE: FORMATTING A DRIVE MEANS ERASING ALL CONTENT ON THAT DRIVE!
that's why you should do it as step#1 after purchasing a new drive
done ...-

I moved a html file and now the page doesn't have a background

I was trying to remove the .html tags from my web pages and followed the advice on this past post. I created a new folder in Dreamweaver's File tab, then moved the .html file over and renamed it to index.html. Unfortunatley the swf and background images are broken and can't reference them. I'm wondering what step I missed, or how can I relink them?
Original how to remove .html link discussion I referenced.
http://forums.adobe.com/message/722731#722731
I wanted to try and use .htaccess with my current GoDaddy account, but I couldn't get that working correctly.
http://simplemediacode.info/remove-index-html-andor-index-php-from-the-url/
My website blank page.
http://www.victorylcms.org/testimonials/
Thanks for any help!

You have bad paths to all your external CSS and Scripts. Typically when you move a file into a folder in the Files Panel, DW will ask you if you want to update links. You should have hit YES.
To fix the problem, change all of this in your code:
<link href="style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="layout.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<script src="js/jquery-1.3.2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="js/cufon-yui.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="js/cufon-replace.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="js/Schneidler_Md_BT_400.font.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="Scripts/swfobject_modified.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="/assets/js/jquery.cycle.lite.js"></script>
to this:
<link href="../style.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<link href="../layout.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" />
<script src="../js/jquery-1.3.2.min.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="../js/cufon-yui.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="../js/cufon-replace.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="../js/Schneidler_Md_BT_400.font.js" type="text/javascript"></script>
<script src="../Scripts/swfobject_modified.js" type="text/javascript"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="../assets/js/jquery.cycle.lite.js"></script>
Nancy O.

I moved my Itunes music and now it won't automatically locate them?

I moved all my music to a different folder, and I click one song in my library to locate it, and then I locate it, and I click locate all files and it won't add them, and I have over 1k songs so I don't want to locate them all manually one by one. What do I do? Is there a fix or program for Windows?
I have a backed up Library.xml file can I edit that somehow?
Thanks!

It all depends a bit on what you want to do.
Option 1
The "offical" method (i.e. there is a support article describing it) for moving your media around is to allocate a new media folder and then consolidate your content to that new location. The downside with it is that you then have to manually clean up what gets left behind. The other problem with that method is that it splits the library and the media folder up. Once this has happened it is less easy to do the following trick.
Option 2
The "unofficial" but still widely documented alternative is to move the entire iTunes folder to a new location. This assumes the media folder was inside the main iTunes folder to start with. If you move a library in this layout to a new location then you can hold down shift when iTunes is starting and choose to open the libary in the new location. (Hold shift, click icon for iTunes, carry on holding shift for some time until a prompt appears). iTunes should open the library from its new location and automatically update the preference for the iTunes Media folder to match. Everything just works.
Actually, if your library was created by iTunes 8 or earlier and you haven't updated to iTunes Media Organisation then you might need to fix up a few things like iPod Games and Mobile Apps, or better yet, upgrade to iTunes Media Organisation before you go moving the iTunes folder with File > Library > Organise Library > Reorganise files in the folder <Media Folder>. If the last option is greyed out you've already done it.
Option 3
Finally, if you just want to consolidate files to a new folder without creating copies then my script ConsoldateByMoving will move files to their default location (i.e. where iTunes would copy it to) within the current media folder. It is also possible to modify the script to use a different root folder for all the files it is moving, or indeed adapt it (carefully & take a backup first) for your own personal naming scheme.
Option 4
There are also all sorts of move-my-iTunes-library-guides that talk about editing the XML file to update files with the new location that you've just given them by hand and then "damaging" the ITL file in a way that makes iTunes rebuild the ITL from the XML data. Ignore all such nonsense, there are easier ways to destroy your library.
I'd recommend you go for option 2. I actually organise my media with a personalised version of the script, but there is no real benefit other than a warm glow that everything is organised my way because I want it that way.
tt2

Corrupted song files within itunes not playing - can I get them back?

I'm having a few problems with upgrading from iphone3 to iphone5 - end result is only 85 out of 230 music files are now on the new iphone5. The rest exist on the old phone but only as a link/data file and cannot be played.
Is there a way to claim these back from itunes?
If they have been bought there, surely I must be able to re-download them?
Any help would be great - cheers

You can re download Music files purchased from itunes by
Go to the iTunes Store
Select Purchased from under the Quick links section on the right
Navigate to the music you want and click on the Cloun button to re download at no extra cost

Just updated to ios 5 and now my computer can not find iphone or ipad

after I updated my iphone 4 and both of my ipad 2s to ios 5 and my computer no longer finds them. They used to show up as devices with removable storage, but now they dont show up anymore. does anyone have a fix for this? any help would be appreciated

correction to my last remark....... resetting my iphone worked, now it show up as digital camera again. However resetting the ipad 2s didnt do anything. I dont know if this is an ipad2 thing or not. My original ipad1 showed up on my pc (before i sat on it and broke it) but both of my ipad2s dont show up. am I screwed?

I have a canon scanner MP560 wireless. Needed to create new wireless network and now my computer can't find the scanner/fax..

My iMac doesnt' see my Canon MP560 wi fi scanner ever since I created a wireless network in my house. Can't find a way to change whatever settings i need to to connect the scanner. help.

Well let's see if we can help you get set up. Have you got any 2.4 GHz cordless phones in the house and if so try unplugging them and do a hard reset of the express.
1. unplug the express
2. press the reset button
3. while pressing the reset button plug in the base station
4. keep holding the rest button till you see 4 green lights flash
you may have to hold it for 30 seconds or so
if this doesn't work try plugging the express in right beside the computer and then going through the airport setup assistant
Good luck
Let me know
iMac G5 iSight 17" Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Access and activity logs, where can I find them?

does Time Capsule keep access logs/activity logs going back at least a week?
and if so how do I access them?
I use mine for creating my WiFi network and backing up, but I want to check what devices have been on my TC in the last 7days and has it been accessed from something it shouldnt.
opened Airport Utility 5.6 /my TC/ Advanced/ Logs and Statistics but it only shows info spanning the last 48hours
TIA

Unfortunately, the logs that you have already accessed in AirPort Utility are the only source of information about activity on your network.

I need to download Acrobat Pro X and Fireworks CS5, Where can I find them?

I have decommisioned one of my computers, and I want to install these Licensed older versions, where can I download them?

Hi Tom-Payne\'s
As mentioned by John please follow the very important instructions before download.
Regards,
Romit Sinha

I moved my song files and now my playlists can't find them

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for