Ipod playlists' contents gone

I disconnected my iPod from the cable without pressing the Eject button first & ended up losing all the data on the iPod. After restoring & syncing it, the contents of the playlists are missing in iTunes & the iPod. When I look in Finder though, the music files are still where they were before.
Which file(s) does iTunes use to map the music files to the playlists? I'd like to restore the file(s) from my backup program so I don't have to copy music files from the Music tab in iTunes to the correct playlists in iTunes.
TIA,
Elllen

I have no idea. Try syncing it back to the iPod or redownload iTunes purchases.
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

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My playlist is gone. can i transfer from itunes

My ipod playlist is gone. Can i transfer it from itunes? Syncing will not work.

Hi milsto,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities! I understand that you would like to sync a playlist from your iTunes library on your computer to your iPod. I suggest taking a look at the following article to make sure the sync settings are correct for syncing that playlist to your iPod.
iTunes: Syncing media content to iPod
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1351
Syncing music
Connect your iPod to your computer and open iTunes.
Click the button with your device's name, below the Spotlight window.
In the main iTunes browser window, select Music.
Select Sync Music. You can select "Include music videos" if you want to sync Music videos to your device.
Your device needs to have enough free space to sync the content that you selected from your library.
Tip: You can use the capacity bar at the bottom of the device settings window to see how much free space is available. The window will update with an estimate as you select content.
Click Apply. iTunes will sync the content you selected to your device. The iTunes LCD will show the sync progress and notify you when the sync is complete.
To disconnect your device, find your device in iTunes and click the eject icon.
If syncing your entire library doesn't bring that playlist over to your iPod, try selecting the Selected playlists, artists, albums, and genres button from the picture under number 4. Just make sure that all music, including the playlist that you want, is selected in the sections for playlists, artists, albums, and genres. After you make the selections, choose Apply in the bottom right corner and the content you selected should sync to your iPod.
Thanks for reaching out,
-Joe

Computer hit by lightning...new computer /no IPOD playlist

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I just downloaded the newest reconfigured version of iTunes, and for the first time ever my content is all screwed up. Specifically, all of my playlists are gone, so are my apps. The good news is that my music library is intact and that I've got more than one device with everything as it should be on them; the bad news is that my PC does not recognise my devices and keeps defaulting to " lets sync your devices to this new computer loose all of the playlists I've spent years compiling". I don't get it. Any ideas?
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See this post.
tt2

IPod playlist = no podcast content

iTunes (11.0.3.42) on Windows XP
iTouch 64 GB iOS 6.1.3
These are recent updates.
playlists on the iPod no longer receive podcast content that is set up for them in iTunes.
What this means is, the podcasts are on the iPod and iTunes, the podcasts do get updated on the
iPod, but the iPod playlist does not show the content that consists of podcasts, whereas the equivalent iTunes
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I've reset & rebuilt the iPod device and this did not improve things -
in fact it made it worse, as it seems that some playlists still had
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playlists that consist only of podcast content aren't even made available
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even made visible. And even then, no podcast content.
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I fixed it. How is one thing, but why is another.
The rebuilt iPod caused ITunes to complain about 2 items -
one was a podcast (one element of a large group) that for
some reason was no longer visible to ITunes - the file was
there, but iTunes decided it was missing. I deleted the file
and had it re-fetch. The other item was a video podcast
that was in a format iTunes said the device couldn't play.
I deleted it.
After this, the playlists on the iPod sync complete.
I'd call that a bug.
iTunes didnt complain about these items before the rebuild.

I was logged in with a temporary profile on my pc, after restarting everything seemed to be fine. But my iTunes music is all in the cloud now, and my playlists are gone. What do I do?

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iOS: How to back up and restore your content
Syncing to a "New" Computer or replacing a "crashed" Hard Drive: Apple Support Communities

HELP!! Moved iTunes music to new comp, but playlists are GONE!!!

Ok, I've posted a couple times now, gotten no helpful responses as of yet, so here goes another attempt:
I just got a new computer. My iTunes music was stored on an external harddrive. I was able to get the music to show up in the iTunes library on the new computer, but
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3.) Some of the album artwork is gone. Some isn't. What gives? How can I restore the missing artwork?
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That's it for now. Someone PLEASE help, this is a major pain....

Chris CA answered most of your questions in your other posts.
You need that iTunesLibrary.itl file from your old PC.
That's the way iTunes was designed, the way it works, and if you want your play lists and checkmarks back, you need to get it back.
Here is a good article on that - scroll down to the section titled
*iTunes: The Database versus the Content*
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/moving-your-itunes-library-to -a-new-hard-drive
Your exHD needs to have the same drive letter as it did on your old system, too.

I just updated the new iTunes and now all my playlists are gone!! What the heck?!

All my playlist are gone from itunes with the new update. If I click on "sync" it asks me to erase all my music and videos... Is there a way to avoid doing this? Thanks.

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
In the unlikely event that your media has been wiped from your computer see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

My itunes library and ipod playlist disappeared?

i'm not sure what happened, but i intentionally deleted a bunch of mp3 files from my library (about 75% of my music folder) after uploading them to my 30 gig new generation Ipod. I believe that after this action, my Itunes library disappeared - including my Ipod playlist (the playlist i defaulted my Ipod to sync with). Now, whenever i open up Itunes, there's no music in my library or anything. I still have my 10 gigs of music on my Ipod that i had uploaded prior to this, however, i want to add more songs onto my Ipod. The problem and question here is, i'm afraid that when i sync my Ipod with a new playlist, will all of the songs on my Ipod be erased?
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You can use a keyboard command to prevent your iPod auto-syncing with iTunes. While connecting the iPod to the computer on Windows with iTunes 7 installed hold down the Control and Alt keys (or Shift + Ctrl keys in older versions). 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: iTunes 7 Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows
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If you prefer something more automated then there are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. You'll find that they have varying degrees of functionality and some will transfer movies, videos, photos, podcasts and games as well. Have a look at the web pages and documentation, this is just a small selection of what's available, they are generally quite straightforward. You can also read reviews of some of them here: Wired News - Rescue Your Stranded Tunes
TuneJack Windows Only
iPod2PC Windows Only
iGadget Windows Only
iDump Windows Only
YamiPod Mac and Windows Versions
Music Rescue Mac & Windows
iPodCopy Mac and Windows Versions
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. I would also advise that you get yourself an external hard drive and back your stuff up in case you have problems again. Relying on an iPod as your sole backup is not a good idea and external drives are comparatively inexpensive these days you can get loads of storage for a reasonable outlay.

I went into ITunes and All of my movies on my iPhone, ipad and computer all have to be redownloaded. All of my playlists are gone! It cleared out my phone, computer and iPad. Its not even working on Apple TV. Why am I having to redownload everything?

After the recent update, I went into update IPAD and all of my movies were gone. Which this is set up for my daughter was a bummer. All of her kid moveies were gone. When I plugged it in for an update that is all I did. I didnt change anything.
When I plugged my phone in to update it all of my playlists were gone and so were the few movies I had on there.
Today I turned on the Apple TV so my daughter could watch a movie and it is still downloading and I have 15 hours before I can watch it. What is going on?
The main itunes account no longer has any of my playlists and I am concerned I lost some music. All of my self downloads seem to be gone, playlists gone.
Updates are suppose to be helpful, what happened with this one?

Hello SHEFE
If iTunes did not have anything in it after the update, there is a way to go back to what it was before. The steps are located in the article below.
No content shows up in iTunes after updating
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1967
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Regards,
-Norm G.

Copy iPod Playlists to iTunes?

I have a 30GB iPod w/video and a Windows XP computer that just had its motherboard replaced. Now that I'e reinstalled all my apps, including iTunes, my old Playlists are gone. I still have them on my iPod, and the MP3s are all on my external hard drive (thank god), so how do I restore my playlists in iTunes?
Thanks!
Kim

There are several third party utilites to do this task... I use PodUtil http://www.kennettnet.co.uk/software/podutil.php.
It will take a back up of your ipod and update your itunes inc playlists, it copies the videos too but does not copy the contacts/calender/notes folders... It available as a free down load inc. nag screens or £10 without. Works well for me and has got me out of a couple of stickie moments!

Ipod playlists and deletion from ipod list

My old computer died suddenly. Thankfully my itunes library was backed up but in syncing to a new computer my ipod playlists have not been preserved. I have reloaded my favourite songs manually and would like to reinstate play lists but can't seem to do that from the drop down list within my ipod. Has itunes changed the way lists are formed? Do I now have to make the list on my computer and sync that list to the ipod? And why can't I delete songs from the ipod while I am listening to them? I have to go to the screen that lists the songs I have manually added and remove them from that spot. Seriously inconvenient. And now itunes says a new version is available and that everything will be wiped again if I want to upgrade. What the??????

my itunes library was backed up
Sounds like the itunes library content was backed up, but not the itunes library database. The database is what holds the playlists, play counts, ratings, etc.
The filename of the database is
iTunes Library.itl
If you don't have a backup of that database file, and can't get if off the old hard computer's hard drive, you're essentially starting over with itunes.
Going forward, make regular backups of that file.
Another option is to buy 3rd-party ipod manager software that can get playlists off the ipod. Here is a page to start your research - it's 5 years old, but still a good starting place. Make sure whatever you buy supports your model ipod.
http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/articles/comments/copying-music-from-ipod-to-co mputer/P2/

Ipod playlists to itunes

my itunes recently deleted its library. i finally re-uploaded all of my music, but my playlists are gone.
is there any way to upload my playlists which are still on my ipod onto itunes? or do i have to do this manually?
i'm using a mac and the most recent version of itunes.
also, if you know how to keep itunes from deleting the library, that would be helpful too. is it just the recent version that has this issue, or is it a deeper problem?

There are a number of third party utilities that you can use to retrieve the music files and playlists from your iPod. I believe these three will all clone playlists and other metadata such as play counts, ratings etc. from an iPod, you could begin your research here:
iRepo Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
iPod Access Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)
TouchCopy Mac & Windows (iPhone and iPod Touch compatible)

Suddenly my playlists are gone and I can't get them back!

Can anyone help me?
I've been adding lots of music to my IPOD in anticipation of a trip, adding to my awesomely well-organized playlists. Suddenly I got a pop-up saying that my ITunes library couldn't hold anymore songs - which is puzzling since there aren't that many there. With the pop-up was a question like, "ITunes can create a new playlist - yes or no?" At first I said no but it popped up again. So I said yes and it created a new playlist in ITunes called Rebecca's IPOD. All of the playlists are still there on ITunes but now, on my IPOD, the playlists are gone! Instead of all my playlists there is now just "Rebecca's IPOD Selection" which has all the songs on my IPOD, but no playlists!! If anyone can please help me get my playlists back on my IPOD I would be very, very appreciative~!! Thank you.
Mac G4 Mac OS X (10.4.1) Using a nano

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Your iPod is still set to automatically update songs from a playlist, so you cannot drag playlists to it in iTunes.
See this for more info about what happened...
How to sync music to your iPod when your library is bigger than your iPod storage space
Since the size of your library is bigger than iTunes, you have a few options...
1) Remove some songs from your library or uncheck the ones that you don't want on your iPod. If you uncheck the ones you don't want on your iPod, connect your iPod to the computer. When it appears in iTunes go to iTunes-->preferences. Click the iPod. Click the Music tab under that. Check "Only Update Checked Songs." Also, click the bubble next to Automatically Update All Songs and Playlists. Click OK. Assuming the size of your library is smaller than your iPod again (or the size of the checked songs is), iTunes should load all your songs and playlists onto the iPod.
2) You can automatically update selected playlists. Pick the playlists you want on your iPod and only those will be put on. This works only if all the songs in the playlists (together) are smaller than the size of your iPod.
To do this, connect your iPod to the computer. When it appears in iTunes go to iTunes-->preferences. Click the iPod, the music tab under that, and click the bubble next to automatically update selected playlists only. Click the playlists you want and click OK.
3) Manually update your iPod. Only put the songs and playlists you want to onto the iPod. See this for info...
Managing Your Songs Manually
btabz

Where has my Itunes content gone?

I opened itunes today and many things were gone i.e. all apps and podcasts, and all of my playlists have gone. when I plugged in my iphone to itunes it also showed no apps ,podcasts music. what could be wrong?

Empty/corrupt library after upgrade/crash
Hopefully it's not been too long since you last upgraded iTunes, in fact if you get an empty/incomplete library immediately after upgrading then with the following steps you shouldn't lose a thing or need to do any further housekeeping. In the Previous iTunes Libraries folder should be a number of dated iTunes Library files. Take the most recent of these and copy it into the iTunes folder. Rename iTunes Library.itl as iTunes Library (Corrupt).itl and then rename the restored file as iTunes Library.itl. Start iTunes. Should all be good, bar any recent additions to or deletions from your library.
See iTunes Folder Watch for a tool to catch up with any changes since the backup file was created.
When you get it all working make a backup!
Should you be in the unfortunate position where you are no longer able to access your original library, or a backup of it, then see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device.
tt2

Ipod playlists' contents gone

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